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In professional agreements and negotiations, you often need to set firm boundaries. To express "unless" in Arabic, use the phrase (إلا إذا), which literally translates to "except if."

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### The Past Tense Rule

Because (إلا إذا) contains the conditional particle (إذا) (if), the verb immediately following it takes the **past tense**, even when the overall meaning applies to the present or future.

Notice how the verbs following (إلا إذا)—such as (كان) and (أرسلت)—are in the past tense:

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### Present and Future Restrictions

The main clause can also be an action in the present or future. The condition following (إلا إذا) still stays in the past tense:

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This pattern is highly common in business dealings, such as setting conditions for payments and deadlines:

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Negative conditionals (إلا إذا)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
binding	ملزمmulzim
unless	إلا إذاillâ idhâ
written	خطيkhattiyy
The contract is not binding unless there is a written agreement.	ليس العقد ملزما إلا إذا كان هناك اتفاق خطي.laysa al-aqdu mulziman illa idha kana hunaka ittifaqun khattiyyun
void	باطلbâtil
notice	إشعارish'âr
This condition is void unless you send a notice.	هذا الشرط باطل إلا إذا أرسلت إشعارا.hâdhâ ash-shartu bâtilun illâ idhâ arsalta ishâran.
extension	تمديدtamdîd
request (noun)	طلبtalab
We will not agree to any extension unless we receive a written request.	لن نوافق على أي تمديد إلا إذا استلمنا طلبا خطيا.lan nuwâfiq 'alâ 'ayyi tamdîdin illâ idhâ istalamnâ talaban khattiyyan
to terminate	فسخfasakha
deadline	مهلةmuhla
She cannot terminate the contract unless the deadline ends.	لا تستطيع أن تفسخ العقد إلا إذا انتهت المهلة.lâ tastatîu an tafsakha al-aqda illâ idhâ intahati al-muhlatu.
fee	أجرajr
in advance	سلفاsalafan
The lawyer will not start the work unless he receives the fee in advance.	لن يبدأ المحامي العمل إلا إذا استلم الأجر سلفا.lan yabda'a al-muhâmî al-'amala illâ idhâ istalama al-ajra salafan
The agreement is void unless you pay the fee.	الاتفاق باطل إلا إذا دفعتم الأجر.al-ittifâqu bâtilun illâ idhâ dafa'tumu al-ajra.
Either you agree to the extension or we terminate the contract.	إما أن توافق على التمديد أو نفسخ العقد.immâ an tuwâfiqa 'alâ at-tamdîdi aw nafsakha al-'aqda.
She got a grace period because she paid the fee in advance.	حصلت على مهلة لأنها دفعت الأجر سلفا.hasalat ala muhlatin li'annaha dafa'ati al-ajra salafan.
The manager kept requesting a written notice.	ظلت المديرة تطلب إشعارا خطيا.zhallatil-mudîratu tatlubu ish'âran khattiyyan
This notice is binding unless the manager objects to it.	هذا الإشعار ملزم إلا إذا اعترضت المديرة عليه.hâdhâ al-ishâru mulzimun illâ idhâ ataradati al-mudîratu alayhi
The tenant's request is rejected unless he pays the fine in advance.	المستأجر مرفوض طلبه إلا إذا دفع الغرامة سلفا.al-musta'jiru marfoodun talabuhu illâ idhâ dafaa al-gharâmata salafan.
You must request the deadline extension in advance.	يجب أن تطلبي تمديد المهلة سلفا.yajibu an tatlubi tamdida al-muhlati salafan