Just as we can set conditions based on people ("whoever") or things ("whatever"), we can set conditions based on time and place.
The Grammar of Time and Space Conditionals
Like the conditional particles in the previous lesson, spatial and temporal particles govern two present tense verbs (the condition and the result). Both of these verbs are forced into the Jussive mood (المضارع المجزوم).
As a quick refresher on how the Jussive mood affects verbs:
- Regular verbs take a sukun (سكون) at the end.
- Weak verbs (verbs ending in a long vowel) drop their final letter entirely (e.g., يرعى becomes يرع).
- Five verbs (such as the plural "they/you" or the feminine "you") drop their final nun (نون) (e.g., يذهبون becomes يذهبوا).
"Wherever" (أينما / حيثما)
To state that an action or consequence will happen regardless of the location, use (أينما) or (حيثما). Both mean "wherever" and function identically in the sentence.
| Wherever the Bedouin migrates, he carries his belongings. | أينما يرتحل البدوي يحمل متاعه.aynamâ yartahili l-badawiyyu yahmil matâ'ahu |
| Wherever the caravan finds water, it camps. | حيثما تجد القافلة ماء تخيم.haythumâ tajidi-l-qâfilatu mâ'an tukhayyim. |
Notice what happens when the subject is plural. The verbs drop their final (نون) to satisfy the Jussive mood (يذهبوا instead of يذهبون, and ينصبوا instead of ينصبون):
| Wherever they go, they set up their tents. | أينما يذهبوا ينصبوا خيامهم.aynamâ yadh'habû yansibû khiyâmahum. |
"Whenever" (متى)
You likely already know (متى) as the question word "when?". However, when placed at the beginning of a sentence to govern two Jussive verbs, it acts as a conditional particle meaning "whenever".
Pay attention to the weak verb in the result of this sentence (يهتدي becomes يهتد):
| Whenever you (m) travel at night, you are guided by the stars. | متى تسافر ليلا تهتد بالنجوم.matâ tusâfir laylan tahtadi bilnnujûm |
Here is another example with two weak verbs. Notice how both (يرعى) and (يرتوي) drop their final vowels entirely to become (يرع) and (يرتو):
| Whenever the herd grazes in the pasture, it is quenched. | متى يرع القطيع في المرعى يرتو.matâ yara al-qatîu fî al-marâ yartawi. |
Similarly, when addressing a female, the final (نون) is dropped from both verbs (تبدئين becomes تبدئي, and تحتاجين becomes تحتاجي):
| Whenever you (f) begin the wandering, you need the belongings. | متى تبدئي الترحال تحتاجي إلى المتاع.matâ tabda'i at-tarḥâla taḥtâji ilâ al-mataa |
Seeing the endings
This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is usually something you hear in the audio but cannot see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:
| as written | fully vocalized | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| متى تسافر ليلا تهتد بالنجوم. | مَتَى تُسَافِرْ لَيْلًا تَهْتَدِ بِالنُّجُومِ. | Whenever you (m) travel at night, you are guided by the stars. |
| أينما ترتحل الفتاة تكتشف حضارة جديدة. | أَيْنَمَا تَرْتَحِلِ الفَتَاةُ تَكْتَشِفْ حَضَارَةً جَدِيدَةً. | Wherever the girl migrates, she discovers a new civilization. |
| حيثما يوجد نبع ترتو القافلة. | حَيْثُمَا يُوجَدْ نَبْعٌ تَرْتَوِ القَافِلَةُ. | Wherever there is a spring, the caravan is quenched. |
Both verbs are jussive. A regular verb takes a sukun, which you hear but never see: تُسَافِرْ, تَكْتَشِفْ, يُوجَدْ. Before ال the sukun is pronounced as a linking kasra: تَرْتَحِلِ الفَتَاةُ. A verb ending in a weak letter shows the change in writing, because it loses that letter: تَهْتَدِ, تَرْتَوِ.
