הסוודר הזה מצמר, אבל הסוודר האפור שעל הכיסא מכותנה.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted. So instead of saying The sweater is wool, Hebrew simply says הסוודר הזה מצמר — literally, this sweater from-wool.

The same thing happens in the second half: הסוודר האפור שעל הכיסא מכותנה = the gray sweater on the chair [is] cotton.

If you wanted past or future, Hebrew would use forms of להיות (to be), but in the present it is normally left out.

The prefix מ־ often means from, and in sentences about materials it is commonly used the way English uses made of.

So:

• מצמר = from wool / made of wool
• מכותנה = from cotton / made of cotton

This is a very natural Hebrew pattern. You do not need an extra word for made here.

In Hebrew, demonstratives like הזה (this, masculine singular) usually come after the noun.

So:

• הסוודר הזה = this sweater
• literally: the-sweater this

This is normal Hebrew word order.

Also notice that the noun takes ה־:

• סוודר = a sweater
• הסוודר הזה = this sweater

Hebrew often uses both the definite article and the demonstrative together in this pattern.

When a noun is definite in Hebrew, its adjective is usually definite too.

So:

• סוודר אפור = a gray sweater
• הסוודר האפור = the gray sweater

Both the noun and the adjective get ה־.

This is a very important rule in Hebrew adjective agreement: if the noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite.

שעל is a combination of:

• ש־ = that / which
• על = on

So שעל הכיסא literally means that is on the chair or which is on the chair.

In natural English, we usually just say on the chair, but Hebrew often uses this relative structure:

• הסוודר האפור שעל הכיסא = the gray sweater that is on the chair

It is a shortened, very common Hebrew form.

Hebrew adjective order and modifier structure are different from English.

Here:

• הסוודר האפור = the gray sweater
• שעל הכיסא = that is on the chair

So Hebrew first gives the noun, then its adjective, and then the relative phrase: the sweater + gray + that’s on the chair

Putting האפור after שעל הכיסא would sound unnatural because gray is describing the sweater, not the chair.

Because סוודר is a masculine singular noun, the demonstrative must match it.

Here are the common present-tense forms of this:

• הזה = this, masculine singular
• הזאת or זו = this, feminine singular
• האלה = these

So with סוודר you use הזה:

• הסוודר הזה = this sweater

If the noun were feminine, the form would change.

אבל means but. It connects the two clauses and shows contrast:

• this sweater is made of wool,
• but the gray sweater on the chair is made of cotton.

So אבל is doing the same job as English but. No extra and is needed.

No, סוודר is a loanword, ultimately from English sweater. Hebrew uses many loanwords, especially for clothing and modern objects.

Even though it is borrowed, it behaves like a normal Hebrew noun:

• סוודר
• הסוודר
• סוודרים = sweaters

So learners should treat it grammatically like other Hebrew nouns.

In this sentence, it naturally describes the sweater.

The structure is: הסוודר האפור שעל הכיסא = the gray sweater that is on the chair

The relative phrase comes after the noun phrase it modifies, so the most natural reading is that the sweater is on the chair.

If Hebrew wanted to emphasize that the chair was gray instead, the sentence would need a different structure, such as making chair the noun that gets gray attached to it.

It is normal and natural Hebrew. Everything in it is standard and common:

• הסוודר הזה = everyday way to say this sweater
• מצמר / מכותנה = ordinary way to say what something is made of
• שעל הכיסא = very common contraction in both speech and writing

So this is a good model sentence for everyday Hebrew.