בן דוד שלי גר בצפון העיר, אבל בת דודה שלי גרה בדרום העיר.

Hebrew usually distinguishes the cousin’s gender:

• בן דוד = a male cousin
• בת דודה = a female cousin

English uses cousin for both, so this is one of the first things English speakers notice.

They do look literal:

• בן = son
• בת = daughter
• דוד = uncle
• דודה = aunt

But in modern Hebrew, בן דוד and בת דודה are standard fixed expressions for male cousin and female cousin. They do not normally tell you whether the cousin is from your mother’s side or father’s side.

That is the normal Hebrew pattern. Hebrew commonly says:

• בן דוד שלי = literally cousin my
• בת דודה שלי = literally female cousin my

So Hebrew possession is often built as noun + שלי / שלך / שלו / שלה, rather than my + noun as in English.

With family relationship words, Hebrew often omits ה when using a possessive like שלי. So:

• בן דוד שלי
• בת דודה שלי

sound completely natural.

With many other nouns, Hebrew often does use ה:

• הספר שלי = my book
• הבית שלי = my house

So this sentence reflects a very common pattern with kinship terms.

Because שלי means my, and it does not change according to the gender of the thing being possessed.

So both are correct:

• בן דוד שלי = my male cousin
• בת דודה שלי = my female cousin

The word for my stays שלי either way.

Because Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the subject’s gender.

• גר = masculine singular
• גרה = feminine singular

So:

• בן דוד שלי גר = my male cousin lives
• בת דודה שלי גרה = my female cousin lives

This is very normal Hebrew grammar.

Because the subjects are already stated:

• בן דוד שלי
• בת דודה שלי

Hebrew does not need an extra he or she here. The sentence is already complete and clear. In fact, adding הוא or היא would usually sound unnecessary in a simple sentence like this.

The letter ב is the preposition in / at.

Hebrew often attaches short prepositions directly to the following word:

• בצפון = in the north
• בדרום = in the south
• בעיר = in the city
• בבית = in the house

So this attached spelling is completely normal.

Hebrew often prefers a noun + noun structure that means the X of Y:

• צפון העיר = the north of the city
• דרום העיר = the south of the city

This is a very common Hebrew pattern. English often uses of, but Hebrew frequently avoids that and joins the nouns directly.

You may hear של in other contexts, but here צפון העיר and דרום העיר are the more natural standard expressions.

Because העיר means the city, and the whole phrase is definite because the second noun is definite.

So:

• צפון העיר = the north of the city
• דרום העיר = the south of the city

In this structure, the first word often does not take ה, even though the whole phrase is definite. That is a point that often feels strange to English speakers at first.

It can cover both ideas, depending on context. In this sentence, the most natural meaning is lives / resides.

So the sentence is describing where each cousin lives, not just what they are doing right now at this moment.