המחמאה הקטנה שלך נתנה לי כוח, ודיברת אליי בכבוד.

Because the phrase is definite: the small compliment of yours / your small compliment.

In Hebrew, when a noun is definite and it has an adjective, the adjective also becomes definite. So:

• מחמאה = a compliment
• המחמאה = the compliment
• קטנה = small
• הקטנה = the small

So המחמאה הקטנה שלך is the normal way to say your small compliment.

Because it agrees with מחמאה, which is a feminine singular noun.

Hebrew adjectives must match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

So:

• מחמאה is feminine singular
• therefore קטנה must also be feminine singular

If the noun were masculine, you would expect a different adjective form.

Because Hebrew usually puts שלך after the whole noun phrase.

So the order is:

• noun: המחמאה
• adjective: הקטנה
• possessive: שלך

That gives:

המחמאה הקטנה שלך = your small compliment

This is very typical Hebrew word order. Compare:

• הבית הגדול שלי = my big house
• הספר החדש שלך = your new book

In unpointed Hebrew writing, שלך can mean either:

• your to a man
• your to a woman

The difference is in pronunciation, not spelling:

• masculine: shelkha
• feminine: shelakh

So from spelling alone, the sentence does not tell you whether the person being addressed is male or female.

Because the subject is המחמאה, and מחמאה is feminine singular.

In the past tense, Hebrew verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

• נתן = he gave
• נתנה = she/it gave

Since the compliment is grammatically feminine, Hebrew uses נתנה.

Even though compliment is not a person, Hebrew still treats the noun grammatically as feminine.

Because את is usually used only before a definite direct object.

Here, כוח is not definite. It means strength in a general sense, not the strength.

So:

• נתנה לי כוח = gave me strength
• but נתנה לי את הכוח הזה = gave me this strength

A good rule is:

• definite object → often use את
• indefinite or abstract object → usually no את

Here כוח means strength, inner strength, or energy to keep going.

It is often pronounced roughly KO-akh or koaḥ.

Two things may feel unusual to an English speaker:

• the word has a kind of break between the vowels
• the final ח is a guttural sound, not a regular English h

So it is not a smooth one-syllable word like English core or coach.

Because Hebrew verbs often already include the subject.

So דיברת already means you spoke. Hebrew does not need to add אתה or את unless there is special emphasis.

This is very normal in Hebrew:

• דיברת אליי = you spoke to me
• אתה דיברת אליי = you spoke to me, with extra emphasis

English usually needs the subject pronoun, but Hebrew often leaves it out.

Yes. In unpointed writing, דיברת can mean:

• you spoke to a man
• you spoke to a woman

The spelling is the same, but the pronunciation differs:

• masculine: dibárta
• feminine: dibárt

So once again, the written sentence does not show the gender of the person being addressed.

Because the verb דיבר can take different prepositions depending on the meaning.

Here:

• דיבר אל־ = spoke to
• דיבר עם־ = spoke with / talked with
• דיבר על־ = spoke about

So דיברת אליי means you spoke to me.

Using אל focuses on the speech being directed toward someone. In many contexts, עם would sound more like a mutual conversation.

Both spellings may be seen, but אליי is a common standard spelling in unpointed modern Hebrew.

It means to me and is pronounced roughly elay.

The extra י helps show the pronunciation more clearly in regular spelling without vowel marks.

You may also see similar forms such as:

• עליי = on me / about me
• אליי = to me

Literally, בכבוד means with respect:

• ב־ = with / in
• כבוד = honor, respect

In this sentence, it means something like:

• respectfully
• politely
• in a respectful way

So דיברת אליי בכבוד is not just about the content of the words, but also the manner of speaking.

Yes, very normal.

The sentence is built in a straightforward way:

• המחמאה הקטנה שלך = subject
• נתנה לי כוח = first action
• ודיברת אליי בכבוד = second action

So the structure is basically:

[subject] + [verb phrase], and + [verb phrase]

Also, inside the noun phrase, Hebrew uses its usual order:

noun + adjective + possessive

So the sentence is a good example of standard, natural Hebrew structure.