בערב יש הרצאה באוניברסיטה, ואני הולכת להגיע מוקדם כדי לשבת קרוב.

בערב literally means in the evening.

In many real-life contexts, it can also be understood as this evening / tonight, depending on the situation. Hebrew often leaves that kind of time reference to context instead of adding a separate word.

So:

• בערב = in the evening
• in context, it may feel like this evening / tonight

יש is the normal Hebrew way to say there is / there are.

So יש הרצאה means there is a lecture.

This is a very common structure in Hebrew:

• יש פגישה = there is a meeting
• יש בעיה = there is a problem
• יש זמן = there is time

Putting יש first is the most natural and standard word order here.

Because the sentence means there is a lecture, not there is the lecture.

Hebrew uses the definite article ה־ when something is specific or already known:

• הרצאה = a lecture
• ההרצאה = the lecture

After יש, Hebrew often introduces something new or indefinite, so יש הרצאה is exactly what you would expect.

Because Hebrew often attaches prepositions directly to the following noun.

Here:

• ב־ = in / at
• האוניברסיטה = the university

When ב־ combines with ה־, the result is בָּ in writing as באוניברסיטה.

So:

• ב + אוניברסיטה would mean in a university
• ב + האוניברסיטה becomes באוניברסיטה = at the university

This kind of contraction is very common:

• בבית = in a house / at home, depending on context
• בבית הספר = at the school
• במשרד = in the office

Technically, Hebrew often allows subject pronouns to be omitted, because the verb can already show who is doing the action.

So הולכת להגיע already tells you the speaker is I if the context is clear.

But ואני is still very natural. It can be used:

• for clarity
• for contrast
• to sound more explicit

Here it feels like:

• There’s a lecture at the university, and I’m going to arrive early...

So אני is not absolutely required, but it sounds perfectly normal.

This is a very common Hebrew way to express the near future.

Literally, הולכת להגיע is something like am going to arrive.

Structure:

• הולכת = going (feminine singular)
• להגיע = to arrive

Together:

• אני הולכת להגיע = I am going to arrive

Hebrew often uses הולך / הולכת + infinitive the way English uses be going to + verb.

Examples:

• אני הולך ללמוד = I’m going to study
• היא הולכת לקנות = she’s going to buy

Because the speaker is female.

Hebrew verbs in the present tense agree with gender and number.

For I am going:

• male speaker: אני הולך
• female speaker: אני הולכת

So:

• ואני הולכת להגיע = and I’m going to arrive (said by a woman)

If a man were speaking, it would be:

• ואני הולך להגיע

Because after הולכת in this future-like structure, Hebrew uses the infinitive.

So:

• הולכת = going
• להגיע = to arrive

This is parallel to English going to arrive.

The same thing happens in many other phrases:

• רוצה לשבת = wants to sit
• יכולה לבוא = can come
• מתחיל לעבוד = starts to work / starts working

So להגיע is correct because it follows another verb and functions as to arrive.

Because מוקדם here is acting like an adverb, meaning early, not like an adjective describing a feminine noun.

Compare:

• אני מגיעה מוקדם = I arrive early
• השעה מוקדמת = the hour is early

In the first sentence, מוקדם describes how someone arrives, so Hebrew usually uses the basic adverb-like form.

Even with a female speaker, you still say:

• אני הולכת להגיע מוקדם

not

• אני הולכת להגיע מוקדמת

כדי means in order to.

It is very commonly followed by an infinitive with ל־:

• כדי לשבת = in order to sit
• כדי לראות = in order to see
• כדי ללמוד = in order to study

So:

• כדי לשבת קרוב = in order to sit close / sit near the front

This is a very standard Hebrew structure.

Because קרוב here works adverbially, meaning close / nearby, not as an adjective agreeing with a noun.

It describes the position of sitting, not the gender of the speaker.

So Hebrew naturally says:

• לשבת קרוב = to sit close / nearby

If קרוב were describing a noun, then agreement would matter:

• תחנה קרובה = a nearby station
• מקום קרוב = a nearby place

But here it is more like sit close, so קרוב stays in this form.

Literally, קרוב just means close / near.

But in the context of a lecture, לשבת קרוב usually means to sit close to the speaker / close to the front. Hebrew often leaves the exact object understood from context.

If someone wanted to be more explicit, they could say:

• לשבת קרוב למרצה = sit close to the lecturer
• לשבת קרוב לבמה = sit close to the stage
• לשבת מקדימה = sit in the front

So קרוב is somewhat general, but the context strongly suggests near the front.

Yes, this word order is natural and idiomatic.

The sentence flows like this:

• בערב יש הרצאה באוניברסיטה
• ואני הולכת להגיע מוקדם
• כדי לשבת קרוב

That is a very normal Hebrew way to organize the information:

1. time
2. event
3. what the speaker plans to do
4. purpose

Hebrew does allow variation, for example:

• יש הרצאה באוניברסיטה בערב...
• אני הולכת להגיע מוקדם כדי לשבת קרוב...

But the original version sounds completely natural and conversational.