אבא גאה בי כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים.

Because מדברת is the feminine singular present form of לדבר (to speak).

In this sentence, the speaker is saying כשאני מדברת = when I speak, and the form shows that the speaker is female.

• אני מדבר = I speak / I am speaking (said by a male)
• אני מדברת = I speak / I am speaking (said by a female)

So if a man were saying the sentence, it would be:

אבא גאה בי כשאני מדבר עברית עם השכנים.

כש means when. It attaches directly to the next word, so:

• כש = when
• אני = I
• כשאני = when I

This is very common in Hebrew. You will often see short prepositions or conjunctions attached as prefixes:

• כשאני = when I
• שאני = that I
• ואני = and I
• לאני is not possible, because ל works differently here

So כשאני מדברת literally means when I am speaking / when I speak.

בי means in me or, in this expression, of me / in me as part of the phrase גאה ב־.

The adjective גאה (proud) usually takes the preposition ב־. So Hebrew says something like:

• גאה בי = proud of me
• גאה בך = proud of you
• גאה בה = proud of her

So this is not random. It is the normal pattern:

• גאה ב... = proud of ...

The ב is attached directly to the pronoun:

• ב + אני does not become באני
• it becomes בי

This is just the standard prepositional pronoun form.

גאה is an adjective meaning proud.

In Hebrew, many adjectives and verbs require a specific preposition after them. גאה takes ב־.

So:

• אבא גאה בי = Dad is proud of me
• literally: Dad proud in-me/of-me

A few more examples:

• אני גאה בך = I am proud of you
• היא גאה בבן שלה = She is proud of her son

Also notice that גאה changes for gender:

• masculine singular: גאה
• feminine singular: גאה (same spelling, usually same pronunciation in modern Hebrew)
• masculine plural: גאים
• feminine plural: גאות

Here אבא is masculine singular, so גאה matches it.

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not stated.

So Hebrew says:

• אבא גאה בי = Dad proud of me

but in natural English we translate it as:

• Dad is proud of me

This is completely normal in Hebrew present-tense sentences:

• אני עייפה = I am tired
• הוא בבית = He is at home
• הם שמחים = They are happy

If you want past or future, then forms of to be are expressed differently:

• אבא היה גאה בי = Dad was proud of me
• אבא יהיה גאה בי = Dad will be proud of me

Because when Hebrew names a language in a general sense, it often appears without the definite article.

So:

• אני מדברת עברית = I speak Hebrew
• הוא לומד אנגלית = He studies English
• אנחנו מבינים קצת ערבית = We understand a little Arabic

Here עברית means the language Hebrew, not the Hebrew language in a specifically definite sense.

You can sometimes see העברית, but that usually means something more like:

• the Hebrew language
• or Hebrew as a specific subject/topic already being discussed

In this sentence, the plain language name עברית is the natural choice.

Because השכנים means the neighbors, and here Hebrew is referring to a specific group of neighbors.

Breakdown:

• שכנים = neighbors
• השכנים = the neighbors

So:

• עם השכנים = with the neighbors

Why no ה־ on the others?

• אבא often behaves almost like a name in family speech, so Dad is natural without the
• עברית is a language name, and language names usually appear without the

So the definiteness makes sense:

• אבא = Dad
• עברית = Hebrew
• השכנים = the neighbors

Usually אבא feels more like Dad than Father.

So the sentence naturally feels like:

• Dad is proud of me when I speak Hebrew with the neighbors.

If you wanted a more formal word for father, you would more likely use:

• אבא = dad
• אב = father (more formal/literary, less common in everyday speech)

In everyday spoken Hebrew, אבא is very common.

It is the Hebrew present tense form, but Hebrew present tense often covers several English meanings.

So אני מדברת עברית can mean:

• I speak Hebrew
• I am speaking Hebrew

In this sentence:

• כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים

can be understood as:

• when I speak Hebrew with the neighbors
• when I’m speaking Hebrew with the neighbors

Both are possible depending on context.

That is very normal in Hebrew. Present participle-like forms do a lot of work.

Yes. The sentence is very natural.

Structure:

• אבא גאה בי = Dad is proud of me
• כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים = when I speak Hebrew with the neighbors

So the whole sentence is:

• main clause + time clause

Hebrew could also move parts around for emphasis, but this order is straightforward and common.

For example, you could also say:

• כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים, אבא גאה בי.

That means the same thing, but it puts the when clause first.

Many learners notice that גאה looks unusual because of the א and ה at the end.

It is pronounced roughly:

• ga-eh

So:

• גאה בי ≈ ga-EH bee

The א is not a full consonant here in normal modern pronunciation; it helps mark the vowel pattern. The final ה also helps indicate the ending.

So the phrase sounds roughly like:

• ga-EH bee

Learners often want to simplify it too much, but it is best to hear it as a two-part sound: ga-eh.

If the speaker were male, change מדברת to מדבר:

• אבא גאה בי כשאני מדבר עברית עם השכנים.

If the subject were Mom, then גאה stays the same in spelling, because feminine singular is also גאה:

• אמא גאה בי כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים.

If both the subject and speaker changed, adjust each part separately.

Examples:

• אמא גאה בי כשאני מדבר עברית עם השכנים.
  Mom is proud of me when I speak Hebrew with the neighbors. (male speaker)

• אמא גאה בי כשאני מדברת עברית עם השכנים.
  Mom is proud of me when I speak Hebrew with the neighbors. (female speaker)

No. עם means with, not to.

So:

• עם השכנים = with the neighbors

If you wanted to the neighbors, Hebrew would use a different preposition, such as ל־:

• אני מדברת עם השכנים = I speak with the neighbors
• אני מדברת לשכנים = I speak to the neighbors

In many real-life contexts, English uses speak with and speak to almost interchangeably, but Hebrew distinguishes them with different prepositions.

In this sentence, עם clearly means a conversation or interaction with them.