המכונאי פתח את מכסה המנוע ובדק את המצבר והמנוע.

A common modern Israeli pronunciation is:

ha-mekhona'i patakh et mikhse ha-manoa u-vadak et ha-matzber ve-ha-manoa

A rough breakdown:

• המכונאי = ha-mekhona'i
• פתח = patakh
• את = et
• מכסה המנוע = mikhse ha-manoa
• ובדק = u-vadak
• המצבר = ha-matzber
• והמנוע = ve-ha-manoa

The exact vowels are not written here, because the sentence is in normal unpointed Hebrew.

את is the direct object marker. It does not really get translated into English.

It tells you that the next noun phrase is the thing receiving the action of the verb.

So:

• פתח את מכסה המנוע = opened the hood
• בדק את המצבר והמנוע = checked the battery and the engine

In Hebrew, את is usually used before a definite direct object, such as something with ה־ (the) or a proper name.

In Hebrew, one את can cover two direct objects joined by ו (and).

So:

• את המצבר והמנוע = the battery and the engine

This is completely normal.

You could also say:

• את המצבר ואת המנוע

That is also correct, and sometimes it sounds a little clearer or a little more emphatic. But in your sentence, using את only once is very natural.

Because this is a construct phrase (called smikhut in Hebrew).

מכסה המנוע literally means:

• cover of the engine

In this structure:

• the first noun (מכסה) usually does not take ה־
• the second noun (המנוע) carries the definiteness

So even though מכסה has no ה־, the whole phrase is still definite:

• מכסה המנוע = the engine cover / the hood

This is a very common Hebrew pattern.

Yes.

Word for word, it is basically:

• מכסה = cover
• המנוע = the engine

So literally it is the engine’s cover or cover of the engine.

But in normal car-related Hebrew, this phrase means the hood (US English) or the bonnet (UK English).

So the Hebrew expression is more literal than the everyday English word.

Both verbs are in the past tense, third person masculine singular.

That matches the subject:

• המכונאי = the mechanic (masculine singular)

So:

• פתח = he opened
• בדק = he checked

If the subject were feminine, you would have:

• המכונאית פתחה ... ובדקה ...

In Hebrew, ו־ means and, and it is normally written as a prefix, attached to the following word.

So:

• ובדק = and checked
• והמנוע = and the engine

This is standard Hebrew spelling.

The conjunction ו־ changes pronunciation depending on the sound that follows.

Very often it is pronounced ve-, but before some consonants, especially ב, ו, מ, פ, it is often pronounced u- in standard pronunciation.

So:

• ובדק is commonly pronounced u-vadak

But:

• והמנוע is pronounced ve-ha-manoa

So the spelling stays the same, but the pronunciation can change.

Because Hebrew expresses the as a prefix, not as a separate word.

Examples from the sentence:

• המכונאי = the mechanic
• המצבר = the battery
• המנוע = the engine

So where English says the mechanic, Hebrew says basically the-mechanic as one written word.

Because in Modern Hebrew, subject–verb–object order is very common and neutral.

So:

• המכונאי פתח... = The mechanic opened...

This sounds natural and straightforward.

Hebrew can also use other word orders, including verb-first order, but this sentence uses a very normal everyday structure.

Because מצבר is especially common for a car battery.

That fits the context of a mechanic checking a vehicle.

By contrast:

• סוללה is the more general everyday word for batteries, especially small consumer batteries

So in this sentence, מצבר is the most natural automotive term.

Because it is doing two different jobs.

First:

• מכסה המנוע = the hood / engine cover

Here המנוע is part of a larger phrase.

Later:

• והמנוע = and the engine

Here it is a separate noun by itself.

So the sentence mentions:

1. the hood
2. the battery
3. the engine

Even though המנוע appears inside the first phrase, that first phrase does not mean the engine itself.