עדיף שתבואי עם סוודר אפור אם קר בחוץ, ועם סנדלים אם חם.

עדיף literally means better / preferable.

In this sentence, עדיף שתבואי... means it’s better that you come... or more naturally in English, you’d better come...

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• עדיף ש... = it’s better that...
• כדאי ש... = it’s כדאי / advisable that...

So:

• עדיף שתבואי עם סוודר אפור = It’s better that you come with a gray sweater

Even though English often says you should or you’d better, Hebrew often uses this עדיף ש + verb structure.

The ש at the beginning is short for ש־, meaning that.

So:

• תבואי = you will come / you come
• שתבואי = that you come / that you should come

After עדיף, Hebrew usually uses ש + future-tense verb:

• עדיף שתבואי = it’s better that you come
• עדיף שתישארי = it’s better that you stay

In everyday speech, this is the normal construction.

תבואי is the 2nd person singular feminine future form of לבוא (to come).

That means the speaker is talking to one female.

So the sentence is addressed to a woman or girl.

Compare:

• שתבואי = that you come (to one female)
• שתבוא = that you come (to one male)
• שתבואו = that you come (to more than one person)

So if the speaker were talking to a man, the sentence would be:

• עדיף שתבוא עם סוודר אפור אם קר בחוץ, ועם סנדלים אם חם.

Yes, literally it is with a gray sweater, but in context it means something like:

• wearing a gray sweater
• bringing / having on a gray sweater

Hebrew often uses עם (with) in a very natural way where English might prefer in, wearing, or with on.

So:

• לבוא עם סוודר = to come wearing / with a sweater
• לבוא עם סנדלים = to come in sandals / wearing sandals

This is idiomatic and very common in spoken Hebrew.

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• סוודר אפור = gray sweater
• בית גדול = big house
• ילדה חכמה = smart girl

This is the normal Hebrew word order.

Also, the adjective has to agree with the noun in gender and number:

• סוודר אפור = masculine singular
• חולצה אפורה = feminine singular
• סנדלים יפים = masculine plural form used with masculine noun
• נעליים יפות = feminine plural

Here, סוודר is masculine singular, so אפור is also masculine singular.

Yes. סוודר is a standard modern Hebrew word, and it is a loanword, originally related to sweater.

Many everyday Hebrew words are borrowed or adapted from other languages, especially for modern objects.

So even though it sounds European/English-like, it is completely normal Hebrew.

In present-tense Hebrew, there is usually no verb “to be”.

So Hebrew says:

• קר בחוץ = (it is) cold outside
• חם = (it is) hot
• הוא עייף = he is tired
• היא בבית = she is at home

This is one of the most important things for English speakers to get used to.

So:

• אם קר בחוץ = if it’s cold outside
• אם חם = if it’s hot

There is no separate present-tense word for is here.

Because Hebrew, like English, often omits repeated information when it is obvious.

The first part says:

• אם קר בחוץ = if it’s cold outside

Then the second part says only:

• אם חם = if it’s hot

The meaning is understood as if it’s hot outside. Repeating בחוץ would also be possible, but leaving it out sounds natural because the listener already knows the context.

So this is just normal ellipsis:

• אם קר בחוץ, ועם סנדלים אם חם
• understood as: if it’s cold outside ... and with sandals if it’s hot outside

Hebrew often repeats the preposition before each item in a contrast or list, especially when the two phrases are clearly parallel.

So:

• עם סוודר אפור ... ועם סנדלים ...

sounds neat and balanced.

This is similar to English saying:

• with a sweater if it’s cold, and with sandals if it’s hot

You might sometimes hear less repetition in casual speech, but here repeating עם is very natural and stylistically clear.

Because each condition belongs to a different clothing suggestion:

• עם סוודר אפור אם קר בחוץ = with a gray sweater if it’s cold outside
• ועם סנדלים אם חם = and with sandals if it’s hot

Repeating אם makes the contrast explicit and easy to follow.

Hebrew often does this in paired choices:

• אם יש זמן, נלך לים, ואם לא, נישאר בבית.
• If there’s time, we’ll go to the beach, and if not, we’ll stay home.

So in your sentence, the repetition helps show that each item has its own condition.

Yes. A more explicit version might be:

• עדיף שתבואי לבושה בסוודר אפור אם קר בחוץ, ושתנעלי סנדלים אם חם.

That would be something like:

• It’s better that you come dressed in a gray sweater if it’s cold outside, and wear sandals if it’s hot.

But the original sentence is shorter and very natural in everyday Hebrew:

• עדיף שתבואי עם סוודר אפור אם קר בחוץ, ועם סנדלים אם חם.

So the original is not strange or incomplete—it is simply a more colloquial, efficient way to say it.