Questions & Answers about אם אין לי זמן עכשיו, אז אני אבוא מחר בבוקר.
Why does Hebrew say אין לי זמן for I don’t have time instead of using a verb meaning to have?
In Hebrew, possession is usually expressed with יש ל־ and אין ל־.
- יש לי זמן = I have time
Literally: There is time to me - אין לי זמן = I don’t have time
Literally: There is no time to me
So Hebrew normally does not use a verb like English have here. This is one of the most basic sentence patterns in Hebrew.
Why is it אין and not לא?
Because אין is the normal negative word for existence/possession.
- יש לי זמן = I have time
- אין לי זמן = I don’t have time
By contrast, לא usually negates verbs:
- אני לא בא עכשיו = I am not coming now
- אני לא אבוא מחר = I will not come tomorrow
So in this sentence, אין is correct because the idea is there is no time for me / I don’t have time.
Why is the first part in the present, but אבוא is in the future?