إمتى ʾimta asks when an event, state, or arrangement holds. In neutral Cairene questions it commonly stays near the time slot, often at the end of the clause: الاجتماع هيبدأ إمتى؟ literally “the meeting will start when?” English fronts when and may add an auxiliary; Egyptian normally keeps its own declarative order.
إمتى does not select one tense. Perfect, b- imperfect, future حـ/هـ, participles, and كان constructions can all occur with it, depending on whether the speaker asks about a completed event, a timetable, a plan, or a state.
Rule 1: replace the known time with إمتى
Compare a statement and information question:
القطر هيوصل المحطة الساعة سبعة.
il-ʾaṭr hayiwṣal il-maḥaṭṭa s-sāʿa sabʿa.
The train will reach the station at seven.
القطر هيوصل المحطة إمتى؟
il-ʾaṭr hayiwṣal il-maḥaṭṭa ʾimta?
When will the train reach the station?
The answer phrase الساعة سبعة is replaced by إمتى. The subject and future predicate do not invert.
إنت خلصت الاجتماع إمتى امبارح؟
inta khallaṣt il-igtimāʿ ʾimta imbāriḥ?
When did you finish the meeting yesterday?
The larger day امبارح limits the search; إمتى asks for the time within that day.
Rule 2: the verb form supplies the temporal viewpoint
Completed event: perfect
سلمى وصلت البيت إمتى بعد السفر؟
Salma wiṣlit il-bēt ʾimta baʿd is-safar?
When did Salma get home after the trip?
Published schedule: b- imperfect
المحاضرة بتبدأ إمتى يوم الاتنين؟
il-moḥāḍara bitibdaʾ ʾimta yōm il-itnēn?
What time does the lecture start on Monday?
Projected completion: future marker
هتخلصوا التصليحات إمتى؟
hatkhallaṣu t-taṣlīḥāt ʾimta?
When will you finish the repairs?
Arranged movement: active participle
إنتي مسافرة إسكندرية إمتى؟
inti mosāfra ʾIskandariyya ʾimta?
When are you traveling to Alexandria? (to a woman)
The question word stays the same. The predicate frames the event as completed, scheduled, projected, or arranged. For schedules, review present forms for scheduled future.
Rule 3: neutral إمتى is in situ; fronting adds discourse force
The everyday unmarked order places إمتى after the event description.
المدير هيعلن النتيجة إمتى؟
il-modīr hayiʿlin in-natīga ʾimta?
When will the manager announce the result?
Fronting can set a contrastive time topic or convey urgency:
إمتى بالظبط هتعلنوا النتيجة للناس؟
ʾimta biẓ-ẓabṭ hatiʿlinu n-natīga lin-nās?
Exactly when are you going to announce the result to people?
Both orders are Egyptian. The error is not “fronting is impossible”; it is assuming English initial when must be copied every time. Use the final position as the neutral production baseline and front when time itself is the contrastive frame.
Rule 4: من إمتى and لحد إمتى define interval boundaries
من إمتى asks for the starting point of a state or repeated situation. لحد إمتى asks for its endpoint.
إنت شغال في الشركة دي من إمتى؟
inta shaghghāl fi sh-shirka di min ʾimta?
Since when have you worked at this company?
الطريق هيفضل مقفول لحد إمتى؟
iṭ-ṭarīʾ hayifḍal maʾfūl laḥadd ʾimta?
Until when will the road remain closed?
المحل بيفتح متأخر من إمتى؟
il-maḥall biyiftaḥ mitʾakhkhar min ʾimta?
Since when has the shop been opening late?
These questions presuppose a continuing interval. A one-time event normally takes bare إمتى instead.
Rule 5: an إمتى question normally presupposes that the event is expected
Asking “when” often presents the event as planned, likely, or already known to have happened. If whether it will happen is genuinely unsettled, first ask a yes–no question.
الاجتماع اتأكد ولا لسه؟
il-igtimāʿ itʾakkid walla lissa?
Has the meeting been confirmed yet?
لو اتأكد، هيبدأ إمتى؟
law itʾakkid, hayibdaʾ ʾimta?
If it's confirmed, when will it start?
Jumping straight to هيبدأ إمتى؟ can conversationally assume there will be a start. That presupposition may be useful for scheduling or too strong when plans remain uncertain.
Negative إمتى questions are often rhetorical or challenging because “when did X not happen?” requires a special context:
هو إمتى ماوقفش جنبنا في مشكلة؟
huwwa ʾimta ma-wiʾifsh gambina fi moshkila?
When has he ever failed to stand by us when we had a problem? (rhetorical)
The expected answer is “never.” This is a marked discourse use, not the neutral way to ask for a date.
Rule 6: answers can be clocks, dates, or relative times
الورشة هتبدأ إمتى؟ ـ الساعة عشرة إلا ربع.
il-warsha hatibdaʾ ʾimta? — is-sāʿa ʿashara illa robʿ.
When does the workshop start? — At quarter to ten.
هتسافروا إمتى؟ ـ أول الأسبوع الجاي.
hatisāfru ʾimta? — ʾawwil il-ʾosbūʿ il-gāy.
When are you all traveling? — At the beginning of next week.
رجعت من الدكتور إمتى؟ ـ من حوالي ساعة.
rigiʿt min id-doktōr ʾimta? — min ḥawāli sāʿa.
When did you get back from the doctor? — About an hour ago.
Natural answers match the precision of the situation. إمتى does not demand a clock time; a day, interval, or relative expression is enough.
Intonation: information versus echo
A neutral إمتى question commonly gives the wh-word prominence and closes. A strong rise signals surprise or failed hearing.
بتقول هيسلموا المشروع إمتى؟!
bitʾūl hayisallimu l-mashrūʿ ʾimta?!
You're saying they'll deliver the project when?!
The word order can remain unchanged; pitch range and context create the echo reading. Do not shorten the long vowels elsewhere in the sentence to imitate surprise.
Embedded إمتى keeps clause order
مش عارف الاجتماع هيخلص إمتى النهارده.
mish ʿārif il-igtimāʿ hayikhlaṣ ʾimta n-naharda.
I don't know when the meeting will finish today.
قوللي الطلبات وصلت المخزن إمتى.
ʾulli ṭ-ṭalabāt wiṣlit il-makhzan ʾimta.
Tell me when the orders reached the storeroom.
The embedded question preserves Egyptian order. It does not move a subject behind an auxiliary, and nonhuman plural الطلبات keeps feminine-singular وصلت.
A confirmation check
إنت جاي المكتب إمتى، يوم الخميس؟
inta gāy il-maktab ʾimta, yōm il-khamīs?
When are you coming to the office—on Thursday?
لأ، جاي يوم الأربع بعد الضهر.
laʾ, gāy yōm il-arbaʿ baʿd iḍ-ḍohr.
No, I'm coming Wednesday afternoon.
The proposed date gives the first question confirmation bias. The answer rejects only that date while preserving the plan to come.
Register and variation
إمتى is mainstream Cairo (informal/neutral). Formal متى belongs to MSA writing and prepared speech (formal). Alexandrian, Delta, Upper Egyptian, Bedouin, age, class, and community varieties differ in vowel quality, question particles, and contour (regional/social). Announcements may code-switch to formal time phrases, while dramatic dialogue may front or lengthen إمتى for impatience (performance).
Common Mistakes
1. Fronting every إمتى by copying English.
❌ إمتى إنت خلصت الشغل؟
Marked and unnatural as a neutral request — keep إمتى near the missing time slot.
✅ إنت خلصت الشغل إمتى امبارح؟
inta khallaṣt ish-shoghl ʾimta imbāriḥ?
When did you finish work yesterday?
2. Adding English do-support or inversion.
❌ عمل المدير هييجي إمتى؟
Incorrect — no Egyptian auxiliary corresponding to English ‘does/will’ is inserted before the subject.
✅ المدير هييجي إمتى بعد السفر؟
il-modīr hayīgi ʾimta baʿd is-safar?
When will the manager come after the trip?
3. Using formal متى in casual Cairo speech.
❌ متى يبدأ الاجتماع بكرة؟
Register mismatch — متى and this fronted pattern are formal MSA, not neutral Cairene.
✅ الاجتماع بيبدأ إمتى بكرة؟
il-igtimāʿ biyibdaʾ ʾimta bokra?
When does the meeting start tomorrow?
4. Asking إمتى before establishing that an uncertain event will happen.
❌ الرحلة اللي ممكن تتلغي هتقوم إمتى؟
Pragmatically premature if nobody knows whether the flight will operate; إمتى presupposes an expected departure.
✅ الرحلة اتأكدت؟ ولو اتأكدت، هتقوم إمتى؟
ir-riḥla itʾakkidit? wi-law itʾakkidit, hatʾūm ʾimta?
Has the flight been confirmed? And if so, when will it leave?
Key Takeaways
- Neutral إمتى normally stays near the missing time phrase; fronting adds contrast or urgency.
- Perfect, b- imperfect, future, and participial predicates keep their own aspectual meanings with إمتى.
- Use من إمتى for a starting point and لحد إمتى for an endpoint.
- An إمتى question often presupposes the event is expected; confirm uncertain plans first.
- Embedded questions preserve Egyptian clause order, and answers can give any contextually adequate time expression.
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- Question IntonationA2 — Distinguish Cairene yes-no, information, echo, and incredulous questions through syntax, pitch range, and boundary shape.