ליד הפסל עמד קהל קטן, כי האנשים שם חיכו שההופעה תתחיל.

ליד הפסל means next to the statue or by the statue.

Hebrew often starts a sentence with a place expression to set the scene first. So instead of beginning with a small crowd stood, Hebrew can naturally begin with next to the statue and then continue with what was there.

Word-for-word, the beginning is:

• ליד = near / next to / by
• הפסל = the statue

So ליד הפסל עמד קהל קטן is literally something like Near the statue stood a small crowd.

ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• פסל = a statue / statue
• הפסל = the statue

In this sentence, it is a specific statue, so Hebrew uses הפסל.

Also notice that after ליד, Hebrew does not use a separate word for the. The definiteness stays on the noun itself:

• ליד פסל = near a statue
• ליד הפסל = near the statue

Both word orders are possible in Hebrew, but עמד קהל קטן is very natural, especially in written or narrative style.

This is a common Hebrew pattern:

• place or time first
• then verb
• then subject

So:

• ליד הפסל עמד קהל קטן

literally feels like:

• Near the statue stood a small crowd

If you said קהל קטן עמד ליד הפסל, that would also be correct, but it would sound a little more straightforward and less scene-setting.

Because קהל is grammatically singular in Hebrew.

Even though a crowd contains many people, the noun itself is treated as a singular collective noun. So Hebrew uses singular agreement:

• קהל קטן עמד = a small crowd stood

Not:

• קהל קטן עמדו

The same idea exists in English sometimes with words like group, team, or crowd, though English usage can vary.

For the same reason: קהל is singular.

In Hebrew, adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number. קהל is masculine singular, so the adjective must also be masculine singular:

• קהל = masculine singular
• קטן = small, masculine singular

So:

• קהל קטן = a small crowd

If the noun were feminine singular, you would expect קטנה. If it were masculine plural, you would expect קטנים.

Here כי means because.

So the second part of the sentence explains the reason:

• כי האנשים שם חיכו שההופעה תתחיל
• because the people there were waiting for the show to begin

In other contexts, כי can also mean that, especially in more formal or literary Hebrew, but here the meaning is clearly because.

שם means there.

So:

• האנשים = the people
• שם = there

Together:

• האנשים שם = the people there

This is a very common Hebrew structure: noun + שם to mean the ... there.

It does not mean that שם is part of the noun itself. It is just adding location.

Because its subject is האנשים = the people, which is masculine plural.

So the agreement is:

• האנשים = masculine plural
• חיכו = waited / were waiting, masculine plural past

Hebrew past tense verbs change according to person, number, and sometimes gender. Here חיכו matches they.

Hebrew does not always distinguish between simple past and past continuous the way English does.

So חיכו can mean:

• waited
• were waiting

The exact English translation depends on context.

In this sentence, were waiting sounds more natural in English because it describes an ongoing situation in the past: the people were there, waiting, and because of that, a small crowd was standing near the statue.

This is ש־ plus ההופעה.

• ש־ = that
• ההופעה = the show / the performance

So:

• שההופעה תתחיל = that the show will begin or more naturally for the show to begin

This ש־ is very common in Hebrew. It introduces a subordinate clause.

Notice the double ה sound in writing:

• ש + ההופעה = שההופעה

That is completely normal.

Because after waited for..., Hebrew often uses a clause with a future verb to express the event that had not happened yet.

So:

• חיכו שההופעה תתחיל
• literally: they waited that the show will begin
• naturally in English: they were waiting for the show to begin

This is very normal Hebrew usage. The beginning of the show is still in the future relative to the waiting, so Hebrew uses future tense:

• תתחיל = she/it will begin

Since הופעה is a feminine noun, the verb is in feminine singular future form.

Because הופעה is a feminine noun.

In Hebrew, future tense verbs agree with the subject. Here the subject of תתחיל is ההופעה:

• הופעה = performance/show, feminine singular
• תתחיל = will begin, feminine singular

Compare:

• הסרט יתחיל = the movie will begin
• ההופעה תתחיל = the show will begin

So the ת־ here is not you. It is the feminine singular future form matching ההופעה.

Yes, in many cases Hebrew speakers also say:

• חיכו להתחלת ההופעה in a more formal style
• חיכו שההופעה תתחיל in a very natural clause-based style
• sometimes also חיכו להתחיל would mean waited to begin, but that would usually refer to someone else starting something, so it is not the best match here

For this sentence, חיכו שההופעה תתחיל is a natural way to say they were waiting for the show to begin.

So a learner should recognize that Hebrew often prefers a full clause with ש־ where English might use an infinitive phrase.

הופעה is a general word for a performance, show, or appearance, depending on context.

It can refer to:

• a concert performance
• a stage show
• a public performance
• sometimes even an appearance

In this sentence, it most naturally means the performance or the show.

So שההופעה תתחיל means the people were waiting for the performance to start.