במכולת ראיתי גם פלפל צהוב וגם לימון גדול, אבל קניתי רק את מה שהיה טרי יותר.

במכולת means in the grocery store or at the grocery store.

It is made from:

• ב־ = in / at
• מכולת = grocery store, corner store

Because the noun is definite here (the grocery store), Hebrew combines ב־ with ה־ in spelling, so ב + המכולת becomes במכולת.

Hebrew word order is more flexible than English word order. Starting with במכולת sets the scene first: At the grocery store...

So this sentence structure is natural and emphasizes location first. A more neutral order could also be:

• ראיתי גם פלפל צהוב וגם לימון גדול במכולת

But the original sentence sounds very normal.

גם ... וגם means both ... and.

So:

• גם פלפל צהוב וגם לימון גדול = both a yellow pepper and a big lemon

The word גם by itself often means also / too, but when it appears in this paired structure, it works like both ... and.

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• פלפל צהוב = yellow pepper
• לימון גדול = big lemon

This is the normal Hebrew order:

• noun + adjective

Also, the adjective must match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

Here both nouns are masculine singular, so the adjectives are also masculine singular:

• צהוב
• גדול

Because את is usually used before a definite direct object.

Here:

• פלפל צהוב = a yellow pepper
• לימון גדול = a big lemon

These are indefinite, so Hebrew does not use את before them.

That is why the sentence says:

• ראיתי גם פלפל צהוב וגם לימון גדול and not
• ראיתי את פלפל צהוב...

Here, את introduces the direct object of קניתי.

The phrase מה שהיה טרי יותר means something like:

• what was fresher
• the one that was fresher
• the thing that was fresher

So את מה שהיה טרי יותר means the thing/the one that was fresher as the object of I bought.

This is a very common structure in Hebrew:

• את מה ש... meaning
• what...
• the thing that...

Literally, it means what was fresher.

But in smoother English, it often means:

• the one that was fresher
• whichever was fresher

Here it refers back to the two things mentioned earlier: the pepper and the lemon.

So the idea is:

• I saw both
• but I bought only the one that was fresher

It is היה because the sentence is talking about one thing: the one item that was fresher.

Even though two items were mentioned earlier, the speaker bought only one of them, so the clause is singular:

• מה שהיה טרי יותר = the one that was fresher

Also, both possible items are masculine singular nouns:

• פלפל
• לימון

So masculine singular היה fits naturally.

Hebrew usually forms comparisons with יותר plus an adjective, rather than adding an English-style -er ending.

So:

• טרי = fresh
• טרי יותר = fresher / more fresh

In this sentence, the comparison is understood from context: the pepper is being compared with the lemon.

So Hebrew does not need to say than explicitly here.

רק means only.

So:

• אבל קניתי רק את מה שהיה טרי יותר means
• but I bought only the one that was fresher

It limits the action: the speaker saw two items, but bought just one.

Both verbs are in the past tense, first person singular.

So:

• ראיתי = I saw
• קניתי = I bought

The ending ־תי is the key marker here for I in the past tense.

So even if Hebrew does not use a separate word for I in this sentence, the verb form already tells you who did the action.