Breakdown of إذا لم يكن لدي وقت في الصباح، أكتب الواجب في المساء.
في
in
المساء
evening
الصباح
morning
يكتب
to write
Questions & Answers about إذا لم يكن لدي وقت في الصباح، أكتب الواجب في المساء.
Why does the sentence start with إذا? Does it mean if?
Yes. إذا means if in this sentence.
It is commonly used for a condition that is:
- real or likely
- general
- often future-related
So إذا لم يكن لدي وقت في الصباح، أكتب الواجب في المساء means something like:
- If I don’t have time in the morning, I write the homework in the evening
- or more naturally in English, If I don’t have time in the morning, I do the homework in the evening
In many contexts, إذا suggests a realistic situation, while إن can sound a bit more neutral or more open-ended.
Why is it لم يكن and not لا يكون?
Because لم is the standard particle used to negate a verb in the past form while giving a present/future meaning in many contexts.
Here is the pattern:
- كان = he was / was being
- يكون = he is / will be
- لم يكن = was not / is not / does not have been
In this sentence, لم يكن لدي وقت literally means there was not time with me or more naturally I don’t have time.
Arabic often uses لم + past-form verb in conditional sentences like this, even when English uses the present:
- If I don’t have time...
So لم يكن is completely normal here.