בסוף השאלה צריך סימן שאלה, אבל במילים עצמן לא צריך מרכאות.

בסוף is one word made of:

• ב־ = in / at
• סוף = end

So בסוף means at the end.

Hebrew very often attaches short prepositions like ב־ to the following word. So instead of writing a separate word for at/in, Hebrew usually writes it as a prefix.

השאלה means the question.

Hebrew adds ה־ to make a noun definite, like English the. So:

• שאלה = a question / question
• השאלה = the question

In this sentence, בסוף השאלה means at the end of the question.

Also, Hebrew often uses the definite form in places where English might use a more general expression. So this can still describe a general rule, not only one specific question.

סימן שאלה literally means sign of question, but naturally it means question mark.

This is a very common Hebrew noun pattern called a construct chain:

• סימן = sign / mark
• שאלה = question

Together:

• סימן שאלה = question mark

English often uses two nouns together too, but Hebrew does this in its own way, and the first noun usually does not take ה־ in this structure unless the whole phrase is definite in a specific way.

Because Hebrew does not have an indefinite article.

English has:

• a question mark
• the question mark

Hebrew only marks definiteness with ה־:

• סימן שאלה = a question mark / question mark
• סימן השאלה = the question mark

So in this sentence, צריך סימן שאלה naturally means a question mark is needed / you need a question mark.

צריך means need / necessary / required, depending on context.

In this sentence, צריך is used in a very common Hebrew pattern that expresses necessity:

• צריך סימן שאלה = a question mark is needed / you need a question mark

This is less like a normal action verb and more like saying something is necessary.

Hebrew often uses צריך / צריכה / צריכים / צריכות in this way.

Good question, because this form can be confusing.

Here צריך is being used in a somewhat impersonal way, like it is necessary or one needs. In this kind of sentence, masculine singular צריך is very common, even when the thing being discussed is feminine or plural.

So:

• בסוף השאלה צריך סימן שאלה = At the end of the question, you need a question mark

If the sentence were built differently, agreement might be more visible. But in this common pattern, צריך often stays in the default masculine singular form.

Because in Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense.

English says:

• There is no need for quotation marks
• A question mark is needed

Hebrew often says the equivalent without a present-tense is/are.

So a sentence like this can sound perfectly complete even though there is no separate word for is.

במילים עצמן means in the words themselves.

Breakdown:

• ב־ = in
• מילים = words
• עצמן = themselves

So the phrase means that the punctuation mark belongs at the end of the question, but the words themselves should not be surrounded by quotation marks.

Because מילים is a feminine plural noun.

Hebrew reflexive/emphatic forms like עצמו / עצמה / עצמם / עצמן agree with the noun:

• masculine singular: עצמו
• feminine singular: עצמה
• masculine plural: עצמם
• feminine plural: עצמן

Since מילים is feminine plural, the correct form is עצמן.

Because quotation marks are thought of as a pair, and in Hebrew the normal word for them is plural: מרכאות.

So:

• מרכאות = quotation marks

This is similar to how English also usually says quotation marks in the plural, even when talking about one pair around a word or phrase.

Literally, it means quotation marks are not needed or you do not need quotation marks.

Breakdown:

• לא = not
• צריך = needed / need
• מרכאות = quotation marks

So אבל במילים עצמן לא צריך מרכאות means that the words themselves should not be put inside quotation marks.

Hebrew word order is often more flexible than English.

This sentence begins with location/topic information:

• בסוף השאלה = at the end of the question

Then it gives the rule:

• צריך סימן שאלה = you need a question mark

Then it contrasts with:

• אבל במילים עצמן לא צריך מרכאות = but in the words themselves, you do not need quotation marks

This kind of ordering is very natural in Hebrew: first set the context, then say what is needed or not needed.

Yes. אבל is the normal word for but.

It introduces a contrast:

• You do need a question mark at the end,
• but you do not need quotation marks around the words themselves.

So אבל works exactly as a contrast word here.

It can function as a general instruction.

Even though Hebrew uses השאלה = the question, that does not always mean one uniquely specific question in the way English would interpret it. Hebrew often uses the definite singular for general statements or instructions.

So the sentence is naturally understood as a rule about how to punctuate a question.