אני לא שותה יין בצהריים, אבל בערב אני לפעמים שותה בירה קרה.

Because את is used only before a definite direct object. In this sentence, יין and בירה mean wine and beer in a general or indefinite sense, so את is not used.

Compare:

• אני שותה יין = I drink wine
• אני שותה את היין = I am drinking the wine

In normal unpointed Hebrew writing, שותה can be either masculine singular or feminine singular in the present tense. So אני שותה can mean I drink said by either a man or a woman.

In speech, the pronunciation usually shows the difference:

• male speaker: shoté
• female speaker: shotá

But in writing without vowel marks, the form looks the same.

It can mean either one. In Modern Hebrew, the present tense often covers both:

• simple present: I drink
• present progressive: I am drinking

In this sentence, because of words like בצהריים, בערב, and לפעמים, it sounds habitual, so the best understanding is: I don’t drink wine in the afternoon, but in the evening I sometimes drink cold beer.

Because in Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• בירה קרה = cold beer

Also, the adjective has to agree with the noun in gender and number:

• בירה is feminine singular
• so קרה is also feminine singular

If the noun were masculine, you would use a masculine adjective:

• יין קר = cold wine

Because בירה is a feminine noun. Hebrew adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness

So:

• בירה קרה = cold beer
• בירות קרות = cold beers
• הבירה הקרה = the cold beer

צהריים is a fixed time word meaning noon or afternoon, depending on context. In this sentence, it means in the afternoon.

It has a special ending that looks plural or dual, but learners usually just memorize it as a set time expression:

• בצהריים = at noon / in the afternoon

So even though it looks unusual, it functions as one common word for a part of the day.

Hebrew word order is more flexible than English word order. Putting בערב first gives it extra emphasis and creates a clear contrast with בצהריים.

So the structure is basically:

• In the afternoon I don’t drink wine,
• but in the evening I sometimes drink cold beer.

You could also say:

• אני לפעמים שותה בירה קרה בערב

But the original sentence highlights the time contrast more strongly.

לפעמים means sometimes, and its position is somewhat flexible.

All of these are possible:

• אני לפעמים שותה בירה
• לפעמים אני שותה בירה
• אני שותה בירה לפעמים

The original sentence, אבל בערב אני לפעמים שותה בירה קרה, sounds natural and places sometimes near the verb.

Because the sentence has two separate clauses, and Hebrew often repeats the subject for clarity, especially in the present tense.

That is useful because present-tense verb forms do not clearly show person the way English does. So repeating אני helps make the second clause clear and balanced:

• אני לא שותה... אבל... אני לפעמים שותה...

In casual speech, speakers may sometimes leave it out if the subject is obvious, but repeating it is completely normal.

Hebrew normally makes a sentence negative by putting לא before the verb.

So:

• אני שותה = I drink / I am drinking
• אני לא שותה = I do not drink / I am not drinking

That is the standard pattern with ordinary verbs.

Because short prepositions like ב־ attach directly to the word that follows them.

So:

• ב + ערב → בערב

This attached ב־ usually means in, at, or during, depending on context. So בערב means in the evening.

No. They are related, but not the same.

• בערב = in the evening
• בלילה = at night / during the night

So this sentence specifically says that the beer-drinking sometimes happens in the evening, not necessarily late at night.