عندما تكون أمي جاهزة، نخرج من البيت ونذهب إلى السوق.

house

Breakdown of عندما تكون أمي جاهزة، نخرج من البيت ونذهب إلى السوق.

• ي: my
• و: and
• الى: to

Questions & Answers about عندما تكون أمي جاهزة، نخرج من البيت ونذهب إلى السوق.

What does عندما mean, and how is it used here?

عندما means when.

In this sentence, it introduces a time clause:

• عندما تكون أمي جاهزة = when my mother is ready

After that, the main action follows:

• نخرج من البيت ونذهب إلى السوق = we leave the house and go to the market

So the sentence structure is:

• When X happens, Y happens.

This is a very common way to connect events in Modern Standard Arabic.

Why is تكون used? I thought Arabic usually leaves out to be in the present tense.

That is a very common question.

It is true that in simple present-tense sentences, Arabic often omits to be. For example:

• أمي جاهزة = My mother is ready

There is no separate word for is there.

But in this sentence, Arabic uses تكون because the clause is introduced by عندما and refers to a situation like when my mother is ready. In this kind of time clause, using a form of كان / يكون is very natural.

So:

• أمي جاهزة = My mother is ready
• عندما تكون أمي جاهزة = When my mother is ready

Here, تكون is the feminine singular form of to be / become in the present tense.