בבוקר היה קרח על האוטו, ולכן חיכינו כמה דקות לפני שנסענו.

Because the first ב־ is the preposition in/at, and the second ב is part of the noun בוקר (morning).

So:

• בוקר = morning
• בבוקר = in the morning

In a more detailed grammatical sense, this is ב־ plus the definite form the morning, so the whole thing means in the morning, not just in morning.

Hebrew often attaches little prepositions directly to the word that follows. Here, בבוקר is the normal way to say in the morning.

So even though English uses two separate words, Hebrew uses one attached form. This is very common with prefixes like:

• ב־ = in / at
• ל־ = to / for
• כ־ = like / as

Here היה means there was, not just he was.

Hebrew uses the same word in different contexts:

• הוא היה עייף = he was tired
• היה קרח על האוטו = there was ice on the car

So in this sentence, היה is being used in an existential sense: it tells you that something existed or was present.

Because קרח is a masculine singular noun, and היה agrees with it.

A very common pattern is:

• היה
  • masculine singular noun
• הייתה
  • feminine singular noun
• היו
  • plural noun

Examples:

• היה קרח = there was ice
• הייתה בעיה = there was a problem
• היו אנשים = there were people

Literally, קרח means ice, but in context it can naturally refer to frost/ice on the car.

So a learner should know:

• dictionary meaning: ice
• likely real-world meaning here: frost or a layer of ice

Hebrew often leaves that kind of detail to context.

Yes. אוטו is a very common everyday Hebrew word for car.

So:

• על = on
• האוטו = the car

Together: on the car

There is also מכונית, which is another word for car, but אוטו is extremely common in speech.

The ה־ is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• אוטו = a car / car
• האוטו = the car

Hebrew adds ה־ to borrowed words too, not just native Hebrew words. So even though אוטו is not an ancient biblical-style word, it still behaves like a normal noun in this respect.

ולכן means and therefore, and so, or simply so.

It is made of:

• ו־ = and
• לכן = therefore / so

In this sentence, it connects cause and result:

• there was ice on the car
• therefore / so we waited a few minutes

It sounds a bit more formal or written than a very casual אז (so), but it is completely normal.

Because the ending ־נו in the past tense usually marks we.

So:

• חיכיתי = I waited
• חיכית = you waited
• חיכה = he waited
• חיכינו = we waited

That means Hebrew does not need to add אנחנו (we) unless it wants extra emphasis.

Because Hebrew verbs already show the subject.

Both of these verb forms include we inside them:

• חיכינו = we waited
• נסענו = we traveled / drove / left by car

Adding אנחנו is possible, but not necessary. Hebrew often leaves subject pronouns out when the verb already makes the meaning clear.

It can mean both.

• In a question, כמה often means how many / how much
• In a statement, it can mean a few / several

So here:

• כמה דקות = a few minutes / several minutes

This is a very common use.

Because דקה (minute) is a feminine noun, and its plural is דקות.

So:

• דקה = minute
• דקות = minutes

The word כמה does not change form here, so you simply say כמה דקות.

This means before we drove / before we left.

The structure is:

• לפני = before
• ש־ = that / when / introducing a subordinate clause
• נסענו = we drove / traveled

So Hebrew is literally using a full clause: before we drove.

This is a very common pattern:

• אחרי שאכלנו = after we ate
• לפני שהגענו = before we arrived
• לפני שנסענו = before we drove / left

Hebrew usually prefers a full clause like לפני שנסענו when it means before we drove.

Using an infinitive after לפני is much less natural in this kind of sentence. So for learners, the safest pattern is:

• לפני ש־
  • past verb

That is the standard, natural way to say before someone did something.

All of those are possible depending on context.

The verb לנסוע generally means to travel/go by vehicle. In this sentence, since the car is already mentioned, נסענו most naturally means something like:

• we drove
• we drove off
• we left by car

It does not necessarily mean the speaker personally drove the car; it can simply mean we went by car.

Yes, very natural.

The sentence is built in a common way:

1. בבוקר = time setting
2. היה קרח על האוטו = situation
3. ולכן = result connector
4. חיכינו כמה דקות = main action
5. לפני שנסענו = time clause linked to that action

Starting with a time expression like בבוקר is extremely common in Hebrew, just as in English you might begin with In the morning...