Conditionals מִשְׁפְּטֵי תְּנַאי
Real conditions in Israeli Hebrew open with אִם and usually put a present or future in both clauses. Unreal “if only I had known” conditions use לוּ or אִלּוּ plus a past, and speech often substitutes אִם הָיִיתִי instead.
Use אִם for real if-clauses; use לוּ / אִלּוּ plus past, or spoken אִם הָיִיתִי, for counterfactuals.
אִם יֵשׁ זְמַן, נֵלֵךְ and אִם תָּבוֹא, אֲנִי אֶשְׁמַח are the basic shape. The result clause can be future, present, or an imperative: אִם אַתָּה בָּא, תָּבִיא לֶחֶם. Israeli speech is happy with present in the if-clause even when the time is later today. Do not insert “then” as a required word; אָז is optional.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אִם יֵשׁ זְמַן, נֵלֵךְ | im yesh zman, nelekh | If there is time, we will go | |
| אִם תִּרְצֶה, אֲנִי אָבוֹא | im tirtzeh, ani avo | If you want, I will come | |
| אִם אַתָּה עָיֵף, שֵׁב | im atah ayef, shev | If you are tired, sit |
| Type | Marker | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Real | אִם | אִם יֵשׁ זְמַן, נֵלֵךְ |
| Counterfactual | לוּ | לוּ יָדַעְתִּי, הָיִיתִי בָּא |
| Spoken unreal | אִם הָיִיתִי | אִם הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ, הָיִיתִי בָּא |
| Purpose (not if) | כְּדֵי שֶׁ | כְּדֵי שֶׁתָּבִין |
לוּ יָדַעְתִּי, הָיִיתִי בָּא is the textbook unreal past: לוּ plus a past, result with הָיָה plus a participle or past. אִלּוּ is a close formal twin of לוּ. In conversation, אִם הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ, הָיִיתִי בָּא is the form you will actually hear. The הָיָה + participle periphrasis marks the unreal result.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| לוּ יָדַעְתִּי, הָיִיתִי בָּא | lu yadati, hayiti ba | If I had known, I would have come | |
| אִם הָיָה לִי כֶּסֶף, הָיִיתִי קוֹנֶה | im hayah li kesef, hayiti koneh | If I had money, I would buy it |
אִם לֹא and כָּל עוֹד cover “if not” and “as long as.” אַחֶרֶת is “otherwise” as a result linker, not an if-word: תָּבֹא בַּזְּמַן, אַחֶרֶת נֵצֵא בִּלְעָדֶיךָ. בִּתְנַאי שֶׁ plus a clause is a more formal “on condition that.”
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| אִם לֹא תָּבוֹא, נַתְחִיל בִּלְעָדֶיךָ | im lo tavo, natkhil bil'adekha | If you do not come, we will start without you | |
| כָּל עוֹד יֵשׁ אוֹר, אֶפְשָׁר לִקְרֹא | kol od yesh or, efshar likro | As long as there is light, one can read |
Exceptions
Im plus past in speech
A past after אִם is often a counterfactual in conversation: אִם יָדַעְתִּי would be odd; אִם הָיִיתִי יוֹדֵעַ is the usual spoken unreal. A real past condition (“if it rained yesterday…”) is possible but less common than a present or future if-clause.
Lu is rare in casual talk
לוּ is understood and appears in writing and set phrases (לוּ יְהִי). For everyday unreal wishes, prefer אִם הָיִיתִי or הַלְוַאי שֶׁ. הַלְוַאי is a wish, not a two-clause condition.
| הַלְוַאי שֶׁיֵּרֵד גֶּשֶׁם | halvai sheyered geshem | I wish it would rain |
Common mistakes
אִם אֲנִי אֶהְיֶה יֵשׁ זְמַן → אִם יֵשׁ זְמַן
Do not stack a future of “be” onto יֵשׁ; אִם יֵשׁ is already the real condition.
לוּ אֲנִי בָּא מָחָר as a real plan → אִם אֲנִי בָּא מָחָר
לוּ marks an unreal condition, not a real future if.
אִם תָּבוֹא, אָז שֶׁאֲנִי שָׂמֵחַ → אִם תָּבוֹא, אֲנִי אֶשְׂמַח
The result is a normal clause, not a שֶׁ complement after אָז.
Go on to
Because and so
Cause and result are split by what follows the linker: כִּי and מִפְּנֵי שֶׁ take a clause, בִּגְלַל takes a noun, and לָכֵן or spoken אָז introduce the result. Purpose uses כְּדֵי plus an infinitive, which is not a cause.
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The future puts a prefix on the verb: a- for I, t- for you and she, y- for he and they, n- for we. אכתוב is I will write, and the same conjugation also builds many commands and a lot of polite requests.
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The past tense is the first conjugation where the verb itself names the person, so כתבתי already means I wrote and you can drop אני. The dictionary form of many verbs is the third-person masculine singular past.
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The smallest glue words (וְ, אוֹ, אֲבָל, גַּם, אֶלָּא) do most of the joining work in Israeli sentences. They stay in front of the clause or phrase they add, and וְ is written attached to the next word.
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