Breakdown of ليس العقد ملزما إلا إذا كان هناك اتفاق خطي.
الal
the
هناكhunâka
there
ليسlaysa
to not be
كانkâna
to be
Questions & Answers about ليس العقد ملزما إلا إذا كان هناك اتفاق خطي.
How does إلا إذا work together to mean "unless"?
The phrase إلا إذا literally translates to "except if." It combines the exception particle إلا with the conditional word إذا. Just like a regular conditional clause, it must be followed by a verb to introduce the condition that must be met.
Why is the past tense verb كان used if the English translation says "unless there is"?
In Arabic, conditional clauses introduced by إذا (and therefore إلا إذا) typically use a past tense verb to express a present or future condition. Even though كان is formally in the past tense here, the conditional structure makes it refer to a present or general state.
Why does the word ملزما have an accusative ending?
It is the predicate of the negative verb ليس. Just like its sister verb كان, ليس requires its subject (here, العقد) to be in the nominative case, while its predicate (what the subject is or isn't) must take the accusative case.
In the phrase كان هناك اتفاق, what is the grammatical subject of كان?
The subject is اتفاق (agreement). The word هناك acts as an adverb meaning "there." Because اتفاق is an indefinite noun, it naturally comes after هناك, but it remains the grammatical subject of the verb.