לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר, אבל השעון המעורר שלי לא עבד.

Because כוונה (intention) is a feminine singular noun, and the verb in this kind of past-tense sentence agrees with it.

• היה = masculine singular
• הייתה = feminine singular

So:

• הייתה לי כוונה = I had an intention
• literally: There was to me an intention

Since the sentence says לא הייתה לי כוונה, it means I had no intention.

לי means to me / for me.

Hebrew often expresses possession with a structure like:

• יש לי... = I have...
  literally: There is to me...
• הייתה לי... = I had...
  literally: There was to me...

So:

• לא הייתה לי כוונה literally = There was not to me an intention
• natural English = I had no intention

This is a very common Hebrew pattern.

Because after כוונה (intention), Hebrew often uses an infinitive to say what the intention was.

So:

• כוונה לאחר = an intention to be late / to arrive late
• לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר = I had no intention of being late

This works much like English intention to... or intention of ...-ing.

Here it means to be late / to arrive late.

The root א-ח-ר is related to lateness or being behind. In this sentence, לאחר means:

• to be late
• to arrive late

So the full idea is:

• לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר = I had no intention of being late

Because each clause is negated separately.

The sentence has two parts:

1. לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר = I had no intention of being late
2. אבל השעון המעורר שלי לא עבד = but my alarm clock didn’t work

The first לא negates הייתה (was), and the second לא negates עבד (worked).

Hebrew usually puts לא directly before the verb it negates.

Because this is a definite noun + adjective combination:

• שעון = clock
• מעורר = waking / alarm-related
• שעון מעורר = alarm clock

When a noun phrase is definite in Hebrew, the adjective also usually becomes definite:

• שעון מעורר = an alarm clock
• השעון המעורר = the alarm clock

So both words take ה־ because the whole phrase is definite.

Yes, effectively it functions like one here.

מעורר comes from the verb לעורר (to wake up / to awaken), and in שעון מעורר it describes the kind of clock it is: a clock that wakes you up, or an alarm clock.

So even though it comes from a verbal form, in this phrase it behaves like an adjective modifying שעון.

Because Hebrew possessive words like שלי (my), שלך (your), שלו (his), etc. usually come after the noun.

So:

• הספר שלי = my book
• הבית שלה = her house
• השעון המעורר שלי = my alarm clock

This is one of the standard ways to show possession in Modern Hebrew.

Yes, עבד literally means worked, but in Hebrew it is very natural to use it for machines, devices, and systems.

So:

• המחשב לא עבד = the computer didn’t work
• האינטרנט לא עבד = the internet didn’t work
• השעון המעורר שלי לא עבד = my alarm clock didn’t work

In context, it means the alarm clock failed to function properly.

Yes. If you specifically want to say that the alarm did not ring, you could use another verb, for example:

• השעון המעורר שלי לא צלצל = my alarm clock didn’t ring

The sentence you were given, though, is a bit broader:

• לא עבד = didn’t work

That could mean it didn’t ring, it malfunctioned, the battery died, or something else went wrong.

The sentence is:

לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר, אבל השעון המעורר שלי לא עבד.

A natural breakdown is:

• לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר
  I had no intention of being late
• אבל
  but
• השעון המעורר שלי לא עבד
  my alarm clock didn’t work

Hebrew word order is often flexible, but this order is very natural. The first clause starts with the negated verb phrase, and the second clause is a straightforward subject + negation + verb structure.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

Lo hayta li kavaná le'acher, aval ha-sha'on ha-me'orer sheli lo avad.

A few notes:

• לא = lo
• הייתה = hayta
• כוונה = kavaná
• לאחר = le'acher
• אבל = aval
• השעון = ha-sha'on
• המעורר = ha-me'orer
• שלי = sheli
• עבד = avad

The stress is usually near the end in words like kavaná and me'orer.

Yes, absolutely.

• לא הייתה לי כוונה לאחר = I had no intention of being late
• לא התכוונתי לאחר = I didn’t intend to be late

Both are natural, but they are slightly different in style:

• לא הייתה לי כוונה... sounds a bit more noun-based and sometimes a little more formal or explanatory.
• לא התכוונתי... is more directly verbal and very common in everyday speech.

Both would fit this context well.