בשבת טיילנו במסלול חדש ביער, והוא היה שקט מאוד.

בשבת means on שבת. In context, that is usually on Saturday or on the Sabbath.

It is one word because Hebrew often attaches prepositions directly to nouns:

• ב־ = in / on / at
• שבת = Sabbath / Saturday

So:

• בשבת = on Saturday / on the Sabbath

A useful detail: when ב־ is attached to a noun with ה־ (the), the form changes. So ב + השבת becomes בשבת.

טיילנו is the past tense, first person plural form of the verb לטייל.

So it means:

• we walked / we went for a walk / we hiked / we took a trip

Breaking it down:

• verb: לטייל
• past tense ending ־נו often marks we
• טיילנו = we walked / we hiked

In this sentence, we hiked or we walked sounds natural because it is followed by במסלול (on a trail / route).

Hebrew לטייל often means more than simply to go. It usually suggests:

• going out for pleasure,
• taking a walk,
• strolling,
• sightseeing,
• hiking.

So טיילנו במסלול חדש ביער is more like:

• we hiked on a new trail in the forest or
• we walked along a new path in the forest

If Hebrew used a more basic verb like הלכנו (we went / we walked), the nuance would be less specifically recreational.

במסלול means on a route / on a trail / along a path, depending on context.

It contains:

• ב־ = in / on / at
• מסלול = route / trail / track / course

So:

• במסלול = on a trail / along a route

In English we might say on a new trail, even though Hebrew uses ב־.

Also, notice there is no the here. If it were on the trail, you would usually see במסלול only if the noun were understood as indefinite in context, but more clearly definite forms in Hebrew often show the article. Here מסלול חדש is simply a new trail.

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• מסלול חדש = a new trail
• literally: trail new

This is normal Hebrew word order.

Also, adjectives must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Here:

• מסלול is masculine singular
• חדש is masculine singular

So they match correctly.

Hebrew does not have an indefinite article like English a / an.

So:

• מסלול can mean a trail or just trail, depending on context
• מסלול חדש = a new trail

Hebrew does have a definite article:

• ה־ = the

So:

• מסלול חדש = a new trail
• המסלול החדש = the new trail

ביער means in the forest.

It contains:

• ב־ = in
• יער = forest

Because יער here is definite (the forest), the ה־ article is absorbed into the preposition form, so you get ביער rather than writing the article separately in the usual way.

So in natural English:

• ביער = in the forest

והוא means and he / and it.

It contains:

• ו־ = and
• הוא = he / it for a masculine singular noun

In this sentence, הוא refers back to a masculine singular thing mentioned earlier, most naturally:

• המסלול (the trail) or
• היער (the forest)

Because both מסלול and יער are masculine singular, the pronoun הוא can grammatically refer to either one. In real context, the intended meaning usually becomes clear from common sense.

Hebrew often uses a pronoun like this to start a new clause:

• ..., והוא היה שקט מאוד
• ..., and it was very quiet

Grammatically, Hebrew uses הוא for masculine singular nouns, even when English would say it.

So although הוא literally matches he, in this sentence it is best translated as:

• it

That is because the pronoun refers to something like:

• the trail or
• the forest

English uses it for objects and places, but Hebrew uses the same gendered pronouns that it uses for people.

היה is the past tense of to be.

In present-tense Hebrew, you often do not use a word for is:

• הוא שקט = it/he is quiet

But in the past tense, Hebrew usually does use היה:

• הוא היה שקט = it/he was quiet

So:

• והוא היה שקט מאוד = and it was very quiet

This is a very important pattern:

• present: usually no is
• past: use היה
• future: use יהיה

Because it agrees with a masculine singular noun or pronoun.

Forms of quiet:

• שקט = masculine singular
• שקטה = feminine singular
• שקטים = masculine plural
• שקטות = feminine plural

Since הוא is masculine singular, the adjective must also be masculine singular:

• הוא היה שקט מאוד

If the noun were feminine, you would say:

• היא הייתה שקטה מאוד = it/she was very quiet

In Hebrew, מאוד (very) usually comes after the adjective or adverb it modifies.

So:

• שקט מאוד = very quiet
• literally: quiet very

This is the normal Hebrew order.

More examples:

• גדול מאוד = very big
• יפה מאוד = very beautiful
• לאט מאוד = very slowly

The word order is quite natural in Hebrew and is somewhat flexible.

Here it is:

• בשבת = time expression
• טיילנו = verb
• במסלול חדש = place/path phrase
• ביער = another place phrase

So literally:

• On Saturday we hiked on a new trail in the forest

Hebrew often places a time expression at the beginning of the sentence:

• בשבת = on Saturday
• אתמול = yesterday
• בקיץ = in the summer

Starting with the time phrase is very common and natural.

Sometimes Hebrew can omit a repeated subject, but here והוא helps make the sentence clear and smooth.

Without הוא, והיה שקט מאוד could sound less clear, because the reader may wonder:

• what exactly was quiet?

Using והוא explicitly points back to a masculine singular noun already mentioned.

So:

• והוא היה שקט מאוד is clear and natural
• והיה שקט מאוד might be possible in some contexts, but it is less explicit

Grammatically, it could be either, because both are masculine singular:

• מסלול = masculine singular
• יער = masculine singular

So והוא היה שקט מאוד could mean:

• and the trail was very quiet or
• and the forest was very quiet

In real usage, context decides. Very often, a learner would understand this as the overall setting being quiet, especially the forest area. But strictly grammatically, the pronoun is ambiguous unless more context is given.

Yes. Hebrew prepositions are often attached directly to the following noun.

In this sentence:

• בשבת = ב + שבת
• במסלול = ב + מסלול
• ביער = ב + יער

This is extremely common in Hebrew. Learners should get used to seeing short prepositions attached like this:

• ב־ = in / on / at
• ל־ = to / for
• כ־ = as / like
• מ־ = from

Recognizing these attached forms quickly will make reading much easier.