היא משתדלת להגיע מוקדם, גם כשהדרך לעבודה ארוכה מהרגיל.

She tries to arrive early, even when the way to work is longer than usual.

Breakdown of היא משתדלת להגיע מוקדם, גם כשהדרך לעבודה ארוכה מהרגיל.

• היא: she
• ל: to
• מוקדם: early
• עבודה: work

Questions & Answers about היא משתדלת להגיע מוקדם, גם כשהדרך לעבודה ארוכה מהרגיל.

Why does the sentence start with היא? Can Hebrew drop subject pronouns?

Yes. Hebrew often does drop subject pronouns, because the verb usually shows the person, number, and sometimes gender.

So משתדלת already tells you:

• she
• singular
• present tense

That means היא משתדלת could often be shortened to just משתדלת if the subject is clear from context.

Here, היא is included for clarity or emphasis:

• היא משתדלת להגיע מוקדם = She tries to arrive early

What exactly does משתדלת mean, and what root is it from?

משתדלת means tries, makes an effort, or does her best.

It comes from the root ש-ד-ל and belongs to the hitpa'el verb pattern:

• masculine singular: משתדל
• feminine singular: משתדלת
• masculine plural: משתדלים
• feminine plural: משתדלות

This verb usually suggests effort more than just intention. So it is a bit stronger than simply saying she wants to arrive early.

Why is משתדלת feminine?

Because the subject is היא (she), and in Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

Compare:

• הוא משתדל = he tries
• היא משתדלת = she tries

This is very normal in Hebrew: present-tense verb forms often behave a bit like adjectives in how they agree.