Questions & Answers about החברה חייבה אותי בעמלה נוספת על המשלוח.
Because the subject is החברה (the company), and חברה is a grammatically feminine singular noun in Hebrew.
So the verb must agree with it:
- החברה חייבה = the company charged
- If the subject were masculine, you would use חייב
- If the subject were plural, the verb would change again
This is a very common feature of Hebrew: past-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.
Here חייבה means charged in the financial sense: the company charged me an extra fee.
It comes from the verb לחייב, which can mean:
- to charge someone money
- to obligate
- to hold liable
So in this sentence, it does not mean simply owed or was obligated. It specifically means the company imposed a charge on someone.