אני מנסה לעודד את הילד לפני המבחן, כי הוא לחוץ מאוד.

Yes, Hebrew can sometimes drop subject pronouns, but in the present tense they are often kept because the verb form does not clearly show person.

So מנסה by itself means something like trying, and the context has to tell you whether it is I, you, or he.
Adding אני makes it clear that the subject is I.

So:

• אני מנסה = I am trying
• מנסה = trying / am trying / is trying, depending on context

It is the present-tense form of לנסות = to try.

In Hebrew, the present tense can often match either:

• I try
• I am trying

So אני מנסה לעודד can mean either I try to encourage or I am trying to encourage, depending on context. In this sentence, the most natural English translation is I am trying to encourage.

The ל־ at the beginning usually marks the infinitive, like English to in to encourage.

So:

• עודד = encouraged / encourage (depending on form and context)
• לעודד = to encourage

After a verb like מנסה (trying), Hebrew normally uses the infinitive:

• מנסה לעודד = trying to encourage

את is the direct object marker. It has no real English translation.

Hebrew uses את before a definite direct object—usually one with ה־ (the) or another definite noun.

Here:

• הילד = the child
• את הילד = marks the child as the direct object of לעודד

So:

• אני מנסה לעודד את הילד = I am trying to encourage the child

But if it were indefinite, Hebrew would usually leave out את:

• אני מנסה לעודד ילד = I am trying to encourage a child

Because ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ילד = a child / child
• הילד = the child
• מבחן = a test / exam
• המבחן = the test / exam

Unlike English, Hebrew attaches the directly to the noun as a prefix.

Here לפני means before, in a time sense:

• לפני המבחן = before the test

It can also mean in front of in other contexts, but here the meaning is clearly temporal, not spatial.

Examples:

• לפני הארוחה = before the meal
• לפני הבית = in front of the house

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So Hebrew says:

• הוא לחוץ = literally he stressed
• natural English: he is stressed

This is very normal in Hebrew.

Compare:

• הוא תלמיד = he is a student
• היא עייפה = she is tired
• הוא לחוץ מאוד = he is very stressed

But in the past or future, Hebrew does use forms of to be.

לחוץ means stressed, tense, or under pressure.

In everyday Hebrew, it is a very common way to describe someone who is mentally pressured, worried, or tense—especially before something like a test.

Here it agrees with הוא / הילד, which are masculine singular.

If the child were a girl, it would be:

• היא לחוצה מאוד = she is very stressed

In Hebrew, מאוד (very) often comes after the adjective it modifies.

So:

• לחוץ מאוד = very stressed
• עייף מאוד = very tired
• חשוב מאוד = very important

This post-adjective position is very common and natural in Hebrew.

In this sentence, הוא most naturally refers to הילד.

So the meaning is:

• I am trying to encourage the child before the test, because he is very stressed.

Grammatically, הוא could refer to another masculine person if the wider context made that clear, but without extra context, readers will understand it as referring to the child.

Yes. This is a very normal Hebrew sentence structure.

It follows a common pattern:

• subject + verb + object + time expression + כי + reason clause

So here:

• אני = subject
• מנסה = verb
• לעודד את הילד = object/complement
• לפני המבחן = time expression
• כי הוא לחוץ מאוד = reason clause

This is natural, clear Hebrew. English speakers sometimes expect a different order, but this one is completely standard.