מתי היא יכולה לבוא?

When can she come?

Breakdown of מתי היא יכולה לבוא?

• היא: she
• מתי: when
• לבוא: to come
• להיות יכול: to be able

Questions & Answers about מתי היא יכולה לבוא?

Why is יכולה feminine?

Because the subject is היא (she), which is feminine singular.

In Hebrew, יכול / יכולה changes form to match the subject:

• הוא יכול = he can
• היא יכולה = she can
• הם יכולים = they can
• הן יכולות = they can

So in מתי היא יכולה לבוא?, the feminine form יכולה is required.

What exactly is לבוא?

לבוא is the infinitive to come.

A very common Hebrew pattern is:

יכול / יכולה + infinitive

So:

• יכולה לבוא = can come / is able to come

The ל־ at the beginning of לבוא is the usual infinitive marker, similar to English to in to come.

Why is the question word מתי at the beginning?

In Hebrew, question words usually come near the beginning of the sentence, just like in English.

So:

• מתי היא יכולה לבוא? = When can she come?

This is the normal and natural word order. Putting מתי later would sound unnatural in standard Hebrew.

Can I leave out היא?

Sometimes, but here היא is very useful because it makes the meaning clear.

The form יכולה by itself does not tell you person clearly. It could refer to:

• I can, if the speaker is female
• you can, if speaking to one female
• she can

So if you said only מתי יכולה לבוא?, it would sound incomplete or unclear in most situations. Including היא makes it clearly mean she.

Is יכולה a verb like English can?

In Modern Hebrew, יכול / יכולה is used to express ability, like English can or be able to.

So:

• היא יכולה לבוא literally means something like she is able to come
• in natural English, that is usually just she can come

So even though English uses a modal verb (can), Hebrew uses a form of יכול plus an infinitive.

How is the sentence pronounced?

A common pronunciation guide is:

ma-TAI hee ye-kho-LA la-VO?

Or in simpler transliteration:

Matai hi yechola lavo?

A few notes:

• מתי = matai
• היא = hi
• יכולה = yechola
• לבוא = lavo

The stress is usually on the last syllable of יכולה and לבוא.

Does מתי mean only when, or can it also mean what time?

מתי usually means when in a general sense.

It can be used for many kinds of time questions:

• מתי היא יכולה לבוא? = When can she come?

If you want to ask for a more exact clock time, Hebrew often uses:

• באיזו שעה היא יכולה לבוא? = At what time can she come?

So מתי is broader, while באיזו שעה is more specifically about the hour.

How would I say the same sentence with he instead of she?

You would change the pronoun and the form of יכול:

• מתי הוא יכול לבוא? = When can he come?

Compare:

• היא יכולה = she can
• הוא יכול = he can

So the main change is feminine יכולה to masculine יכול.

Is there anything irregular about לבוא?

Yes. לבוא is a very common verb, but it is not one of the simplest, most regular-looking infinitives.

It comes from the root ב־ו־א, related to coming/entering. Because this root is somewhat irregular in its patterns, learners often just memorize:

• לבוא = to come
• בא = comes / is coming (masculine singular)
• באה = comes / is coming (feminine singular)

So it is worth learning לבוא as a whole word early on.

Could this sentence also be understood as When is she able to come?

Yes. That is a very close literal sense.

Hebrew יכולה often corresponds to:

• can
• is able to

So depending on context:

• מתי היא יכולה לבוא? = When can she come?
• מתי היא מסוגלת לבוא? would be more like When is she capable of coming?, which is less neutral and can sound a bit different in tone

In everyday speech, מתי היא יכולה לבוא? is the normal way to ask When can she come?