הוא לא רוצה למכור את השידה, אלא לתקן אותה ולהשאיר אותה בבית.

רוצה is the masculine singular present-tense form of the verb לרצות (to want).

Because the subject is הוא (he), Hebrew uses the masculine singular form:

• הוא רוצה = he wants
• היא רוצה = she wants

So רוצה agrees with the subject in gender and number.

In Hebrew, after a verb like רוצה (wants), the next verb usually appears in the infinitive form, which often begins with ל־.

So:

• למכור = to sell
• לתקן = to repair / to fix
• להשאיר = to leave

This is similar to English wants to sell, wants to fix, wants to leave.

את marks a definite direct object.

Here, השידה means the dresser / the chest of drawers, and because it is definite (the dresser), Hebrew puts את before it:

• למכור את השידה = to sell the dresser

English has no direct equivalent for את, so it often feels strange to learners at first.

A useful rule:

• definite object → usually use את
• indefinite object → usually no את

For example:

• הוא מוכר שידה = He is selling a dresser
• הוא מוכר את השידה = He is selling the dresser

Because השידה is a feminine singular noun, the object pronoun must also be feminine singular.

So:

• אותה = her / it for a feminine noun
• אותו = him / it for a masculine noun

In this sentence, אותה means it, referring back to השידה.

This is one of the places where Hebrew is different from English: even inanimate things have grammatical gender, and pronouns must match that gender.

A very common clue is the ending ־ה. Many Hebrew nouns ending in ־ה are feminine, and שידה is one of them.

Because שידה is feminine, other words referring to it also become feminine, such as:

• אותה = it (feminine)
• any adjective describing it would also be feminine

This does not mean the object is biologically female; it is just grammatical gender.

Because both לתקן (to fix) and להשאיר (to leave) need an object, and in this sentence that object is the dresser.

So Hebrew says:

• לתקן אותה = to fix it
• ולהשאיר אותה בבית = and leave it in the house / at home

Repeating the pronoun makes the sentence clear and natural. English does the same here:

• fix it and leave it at home

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• לא X, אלא Y = not X, but rather Y

So here:

• הוא לא רוצה למכור את השידה, אלא לתקן אותה...
• He doesn’t want to sell the dresser, but rather to fix it...

אלא is used when the second part replaces or corrects the first idea after a negation.

Usually, אלא is the better choice in this exact structure.

Why? Because the sentence is not just showing contrast; it is correcting the first idea:

• not sell it
• but rather fix it and keep it

That is exactly what לא ... אלא ... does.

By contrast, אבל just means but in a more general sense. It often introduces contrast, but not necessarily this kind of correction.

So:

• לא X, אלא Y = the most natural pattern here

בבית means in the house or at home, depending on context.

It is made from:

• ב־ = in / at
• הבית = the house / the home

When Hebrew adds the preposition ב־ to a word with ה־ (the), they combine into one written word:

• ב + הבית → בבית

So בבית is not a random spelling; it is a regular Hebrew pattern.

In this sentence, בבית most naturally means:

• in the house or
• at home

Because the subject stays the same throughout the sentence.

Hebrew does not need to repeat הוא if the same person is doing all the actions:

• He doesn’t want to sell it
• He wants to fix it
• He wants to leave it at home

Once הוא לא רוצה is established, the later infinitives naturally continue with the same subject.

So Hebrew can simply say:

• הוא לא רוצה למכור..., אלא לתקן... ולהשאיר...

The ו־ is פשוט the Hebrew word for and, attached directly to the next word.

So:

• ולהשאיר = and to leave

Hebrew often attaches short connecting words like ו־ directly to the following word, instead of writing them separately.

That is why you see:

• לתקן אותה ולהשאיר אותה בבית
• to fix it and leave it at home