لو لقيت جواز السفر، هاتهولي مع البطاقة.

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Breakdown of لو لقيت جواز السفر، هاتهولي مع البطاقة.

• مع: with
• لو: if
• ل: to

Questions & Answers about لو لقيت جواز السفر، هاتهولي مع البطاقة.

What does لو mean here?

لو means if. It introduces the condition:

• لو لقيت جواز السفر = if you find the passport

The second part gives the result or instruction:

• هاتهولي مع البطاقة = bring it to me with the card

So the whole sentence follows a very common pattern: if X happens, do Y.

Why does لقيت look like a past tense form if the meaning is if you find?

That is very normal in Egyptian Arabic. After لو, speakers often use a past-form verb to talk about a possible future condition.

So:

• لقيت literally looks like you found
• but in this structure it means if you find

This is one of those places where Arabic and English structure things differently.

Who is the you in لقيت?

In this sentence, you is understood from context.

لقيت can match more than one subject in colloquial Arabic depending on context, but here the next verb is an imperative:

• هاتهولي = bring it to me

That makes it clear the speaker is talking to someone directly, so the meaning is if you find...

As written, the command form later in the sentence shows the speaker is addressing one male.

Why is it and not ?