אחר כך ישבנו במרפסת והיא סיפרה שהייתה אמורה ללמוד בערב, אבל כבר לא היה לה כוח.

Yes. אחר כך is a very common and neutral way to say after that, afterwards, or later.

In this sentence, it sets the next event in the story: אחר כך ישבנו... = After that, we sat...

A common alternative in everyday speech is אחרי זה, which is a bit more conversational.

ישבנו is the past tense, first person plural form of the verb לשבת (to sit).

So it means:

• we sat
• sometimes, depending on context, we were sitting

The ending ־נו often marks we in the past tense.

Hebrew past tense often does not make the same clear aspect distinction that English does.

So ישבנו can mean:

• we sat
• we were sitting
• sometimes even we sat down, if the context suggests the beginning of the action

Here, with אחר כך and the next action following, English might naturally translate it as either:

• After that we sat on the balcony...
• After that we were sitting on the balcony...

Context decides.

במרפסת is made of:

• ב־ = in / at / on
• מרפסת = balcony

In Hebrew, short prepositions like ב־ attach directly to the next word, so they are written as one word.

As for the translation: Hebrew ב־ covers several location meanings that English splits into in, at, and on. With מרפסת, Hebrew says במרפסת, while natural English usually says on the balcony.

So this is a normal Hebrew usage, even though the English preposition is different.

In unpointed Hebrew spelling, במרפסת can represent either:

• בְּמִרְפֶּסֶת = on a balcony
• בַּמִּרְפֶּסֶת = on the balcony

Without vowel marks, the spelling is the same.

Usually, context tells you which one is meant. In your sentence, the intended meaning is clearly on the balcony.

Yes, Hebrew could often omit היא here and simply say וסיפרה, because סיפרה already shows third person feminine singular.

But adding היא can:

• make the sentence clearer
• sound more natural in narration
• slightly emphasize she
• help the flow between actions

So:

• וסיפרה = and told / and said
• והיא סיפרה = and she told / and she said

Both are possible, but the full version is very normal.

סיפרה comes from לספר, which means to tell or to narrate.

אמרה comes from לומר, which means to say.

So:

• אמרה = she said
• סיפרה = she told / she related / she recounted

In this sentence, סיפרה gives a slightly more narrative feel, as if she was explaining or telling what the situation was.

The prefix ש־ means that.

So:

• היא סיפרה שהייתה אמורה ללמוד... = She said/told that she was supposed to study...

In natural English, we often omit that:

• She said she was supposed to study...

In Hebrew, ש־ is very common and is attached directly to the following word.

הייתה אמורה ללמוד means she was supposed to study.

Breakdown:

• הייתה = she was
• אמורה = feminine singular form of supposed / expected
• ללמוד = to study

This pattern is very common in Hebrew:

• הוא היה אמור... = he was supposed to...
• היא הייתה אמורה... = she was supposed to...
• הם היו אמורים... = they were supposed to...

Notice that אמורה agrees with the person doing the action, so it is feminine singular here because the subject is she.

After אמור / אמורה / אמורים / אמורות, Hebrew normally uses an infinitive.

So:

• הייתה אמורה ללמוד = she was supposed to study not
• הייתה אמורה לומדת — this is not correct Hebrew

This is similar to English:

• supposed to study not
• supposed studying

בערב means in the evening or sometimes at night, depending on context.

It is:

• ב־ = in
• ערב = evening

So:

• ללמוד בערב = to study in the evening

This is a very common time expression in Hebrew.

This is a very important Hebrew structure.

Breakdown:

• אבל = but
• כבר לא = no longer / not anymore
• היה = there was
• לה = to her
• כוח = strength / energy

Literally, Hebrew says something like: but already there was not to her strength

Natural English:

• but she no longer had the strength
• but she didn’t have the energy anymore
• but she had no energy left

Two key points:

1. לה means to her, because Hebrew often expresses possession with יש / היה ל־...

   • יש לה כוח = she has energy
   • לא היה לה כוח = she didn’t have energy

2. היה is masculine singular because it agrees with כוח, and כוח is a masculine singular noun.

So even though the person is she, the verb is היה, not הייתה.