אם לא יהיה קפה בבית, אני אקנה קפה במשרד.

If there is no coffee at home, I will buy coffee in the office.

Breakdown of אם לא יהיה קפה בבית, אני אקנה קפה במשרד.

• אני: I
• קפה: coffee
• לא: not
• ב: in

Questions & Answers about אם לא יהיה קפה בבית, אני אקנה קפה במשרד.

Why is יהיה used here instead of יש?

יש means there is / there are and is normally used for the present:

• יש קפה בבית = There is coffee at home

But this sentence is talking about the future, so Hebrew uses the future form of היה:

• יהיה קפה בבית = There will be coffee at home

So:

• אם לא יהיה קפה בבית = If there won’t be coffee at home

A useful contrast:

• אם אין קפה בבית = If there is no coffee at home
• אם לא יהיה קפה בבית = If there will be no coffee at home

Why is the future tense used in both parts of the sentence?

Hebrew commonly uses the future tense in both the if-clause and the main clause when talking about a future possibility.

So:

• אם לא יהיה... = If there won’t be...
• אני אקנה... = I will buy...

This is different from English, where we usually say:

• If there is no coffee at home, I’ll buy coffee at the office

English often uses present tense after if, even for future meaning. Hebrew does not have to do that here; future + future is normal.

What exactly does mean?