כשהוא מודאג, הוא בודק את הטלפון כל כמה דקות.

When he is worried, he checks the phone every few minutes.

Breakdown of כשהוא מודאג, הוא בודק את הטלפון כל כמה דקות.

• הוא: he
• את: direct object marker
• טלפון: phone
• כל: every

Questions & Answers about כשהוא מודאג, הוא בודק את הטלפון כל כמה דקות.

What does כשהוא mean, and how is it built?

כשהוא means when he.

It is made from:

• כש־ = when
• הוא = he

So:

• כשהוא מודאג = when he is worried / when he’s anxious

You may also see כאשר הוא in more formal Hebrew, but כשהוא is very common in everyday language.

Why is הוא used twice in the sentence?

Because the sentence has two clauses, and each one has its own subject:

• כשהוא מודאג = when he is worried
• הוא בודק את הטלפון... = he checks the phone...

In English, we also normally repeat he:

• When he is worried, he checks the phone every few minutes.

So the repetition is completely normal.

Why is there no separate word for is in כשהוא מודאג?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So Hebrew says:

• הוא מודאג = literally he worried/anxious but it means:
• he is worried/anxious

This is one of the most important differences from English.