אני לא אוהבת לנהוג במרכז העיר, כי קשה מאוד לחנות שם.

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Breakdown of אני לא אוהבת לנהוג במרכז העיר, כי קשה מאוד לחנות שם.

• שם: there
• לא: not
• ב: in

Questions & Answers about אני לא אוהבת לנהוג במרכז העיר, כי קשה מאוד לחנות שם.

Why does the sentence start with אני? Could Hebrew leave out I here?

Yes, Hebrew can sometimes leave out subject pronouns, but here אני is very helpful because the present-tense form אוהבת does not tell you the person by itself. It can mean I like, you like (to a woman), or she likes, depending on context.

So אני לא אוהבת clearly means I do not like.

Why is it אוהבת and not אוהב?

אוהבת is the feminine singular present form, so it tells you the speaker is female.

• אני לא אוהבת... = said by a woman
• אני לא אוהב... = said by a man

Hebrew present-tense forms agree with gender and number.

Is אוהבת really a verb in the present tense?

Yes. In Modern Hebrew, the present tense is usually built from forms that historically are participles. So אוהבת is functioning as the present tense of to love / to like.

That is why it behaves a little differently from English:

• Hebrew does not need a separate word like do in I do not like
• Hebrew also does not use a word like am here

So אני לא אוהבת directly means I don't like.