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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.

{{item:1161201}}

{{item:1161206}}

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):

{{item:1161212}}

### "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):

{{item:1161204}}

Here is another example with two weak verbs. Notice how both (يرعى) and (يرتوي) drop their final vowels entirely to become (يرع) and (يرتو):

{{item:1161210}}

Similarly, when addressing a female, the final (نون) is dropped from both verbs (تبدئين becomes تبدئي, and تحتاجين becomes تحتاجي):

{{item:1161222}}

### 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**.

Spatial and temporal conditionals (متى / أينما)

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
wherever	أينماaynamâ
to migrate	ارتحلirtahala
Bedouin	بدويbadawiy
belongings (personal effects, goods)	متاعmatâ'
Wherever the Bedouin migrates, he carries his belongings.	أينما يرتحل البدوي يحمل متاعه.aynamâ yartahili l-badawiyyu yahmil matâ'ahu
whenever (conditional)	متىmataa
to be guided	اهتدىihtadâ
Whenever you (m) travel at night, you are guided by the stars.	متى تسافر ليلا تهتد بالنجوم.matâ tusâfir laylan tahtadi bilnnujûm
to camp	خيمkhayyama
Wherever the caravan finds water, it camps.	حيثما تجد القافلة ماء تخيم.haythumâ tajidi-l-qâfilatu mâ'an tukhayyim.
to graze	رعىra'â
herd	قطيعqatî'
to be quenched	ارتوىirtawâ
Whenever the herd grazes in the pasture, it is quenched.	متى يرع القطيع في المرعى يرتو.matâ yara al-qatîu fî al-marâ yartawi.
Walk (m) in the desert and forget your problems.	امش في الصحراء وانس مشاكلك.imshi fi as-sahrâ'i wansa mashâkilak
Wherever they go, they set up their tents.	أينما يذهبوا ينصبوا خيامهم.aynamâ yadh'habû yansibû khiyâmahum.
wandering	ترحالtarhâl
If it were not for the wandering, the Bedouin would not have known the desert.	لولا الترحال ما عرف البدوي الصحراء.lawlâ at-tarhâlu mâ 'arafa al-badawiyyu as-sahrâ'a
Whenever the woman camps near the well, she is quenched.	متى تخيم المرأة قرب البئر ترتو.matâ tukhayyimi l-mar'atu qurba l-bi'ri tartawi
The Bedouin will migrate without his belongings.	سوف يرتحل البدوي بدون متاعه.sawfa yartahilu al-badawiyyu bidouni mataaihi
Wherever you (f) are, I will find you.	أينما تكوني أجدك.aynamâ takûnî ajidki
Whenever the caravan migrates, it finds an oasis.	متى ترتحل القافلة تجد واحة.mata tartahili l-qâfilatu tajid wâhatan
Wherever there is a spring, the caravan is quenched.	حيثما يوجد نبع ترتو القافلة.haythumâ yûjad nab'un tartawi l-qâfilah
He was going to camp here, but the herd migrated.	كان سيخيم هنا لكن القطيع ارتحل.kâna sayukhayyimu hunâ lâkini l-qatî'u irtahala
The water was sold, and the belongings were stolen.	بيع الماء وسرق المتاع.bee'a al-mâ'u wa suriqa al-matâ'u.
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
Wherever the girl migrates, she discovers a new civilization.	أينما ترتحل الفتاة تكتشف حضارة جديدة.aynamâ tartahili alfatâtu taktashif hadâratan jadîdatan
Wherever the bedouin tends his flock, he is guided by the moon.	أينما يرع البدوي قطيعه، يهتد بالقمر.aynamâ yar'a al-badawiyyu qatî'ahu, yahtadi bil-qamar

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