אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע?

אפשר literally means possible or it is possible. In everyday Hebrew, אפשר + infinitive is a very common way to ask for permission or possibility.

So אפשר להשאיר... ? is like:

• Is it possible to leave ... ?
• Can I leave/keep ... ?
• May I keep ... ?

It is an impersonal expression, which is one reason it sounds natural and polite.

Hebrew often does not need to say I in this kind of request.

Instead of saying something like Can I..., Hebrew commonly uses:

• אפשר + infinitive

So אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? literally works like Is it possible to leave the book with me another week?

The idea of me is already partly expressed by אצלי = at my place / with me.

If you want to make I explicit, you could say:

• אני יכול להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? — if the speaker is male
• אני יכולה להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? — if the speaker is female

That version is also correct, but אפשר... is very common and often sounds a bit softer.

להשאיר means to leave.

In this sentence, Hebrew uses the idea of leaving the book with me / at my place where English would often say keep the book.

So even though the English translation may use keep, the Hebrew verb is still להשאיר.

This is very natural in Hebrew. It focuses on where the book remains:

• להשאיר את הספר אצלי = leave the book with me / at my place

A verb like לשמור usually means to guard, to watch over, or to keep safe, so it would not be the most natural choice for this borrowing situation.

את is the direct object marker. It appears before a definite direct object.

Here, הספר means the book, which is definite, so Hebrew uses את:

• את הספר = the book as a direct object

Important points:

• את does not mean with
• It usually is not translated into English
• You use it before definite nouns, such as nouns with ה־ or proper names

Compare:

• אני קורא ספר = I am reading a book
• אני קורא את הספר = I am reading the book

הספר means the book, with the definite article ה־ = the.

That tells us the speaker is talking about a specific, known book, probably one already mentioned or understood from the situation.

Because it is definite, it also takes את:

• את הספר

If it were indefinite, it would be:

• ספר = a book

and then you would normally not use את.

אצלי means at my place, by me, or sometimes with me, depending on context.

It comes from:

• אצל = at/by someone
• plus the suffix ־י = my

So:

• אצלי = at my place / with me
• אצלך = at your place
• אצלו = at his place
• אצלה = at her place

In this sentence, אצלי is what makes the meaning come out as keep it with me or leave it at my place.

In this sentence, עוד שבוע means another week or one more week.

So the idea is:

• Can I keep it for one more week?

However, you are right to notice that עוד שבוע can sometimes also be understood as in a week, depending on context.

Here the context strongly points to for another week, because the speaker is asking about keeping the book longer.

If you want to make the duration even clearer, Hebrew can also say:

• לעוד שבוע = for another week

So you may also hear:

• אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי לעוד שבוע?

In Hebrew, yes/no questions often do not need a special question word in everyday speech.

The sentence can simply be a statement-shaped sentence said with question intonation:

• אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע?

That is completely normal.

You can add האם to make it more formal or explicit:

• האם אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע?

So:

• without האם = normal, natural, common in speech
• with האם = more formal, more written, or more careful

The given word order is very natural:

• אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע?

Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but not every rearrangement sounds equally natural.

This version flows well because it goes:

1. permission/possibility — אפשר
2. action — להשאיר
3. object — את הספר
4. place/person — אצלי
5. time/duration — עוד שבוע

You might hear slight variations, but the original sentence is a very standard way to say it.

Yes, it is already polite and natural.

Using אפשר + infinitive often sounds less blunt than directly saying I can?

If you want to make it a bit softer, you could say:

• אפשר בבקשה להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? = Could I please keep the book another week?
• האם אפשר להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? = a bit more formal

If you want to be more direct, you could say:

• אני יכול להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? — male speaker
• אני יכולה להשאיר את הספר אצלי עוד שבוע? — female speaker

So the original version is a good neutral, everyday choice.