יש לי רק דקה אחת לפני הפגישה.

I have only one minute before the meeting.

Breakdown of יש לי רק דקה אחת לפני הפגישה.

• יש: there is
• לי: to me
• לפני: before
• רק: only
• פגישה: meeting
• דקה: minute
• אחת: one

Questions & Answers about יש לי רק דקה אחת לפני הפגישה.

Why does Hebrew use יש לי for I have?

Hebrew usually does not use a verb meaning to have the way English does.

Instead, it uses:

• יש = there is / there are
• ל־ = to

So יש לי literally means there is to me, but in natural English that becomes I have.

So:

• יש לי דקה = I have a minute
• literally: There is to me a minute

A very useful related form is the negative:

• אין לי = I do not have

---

What exactly does לי mean?

לי means to me.

It is made from:

• ל־ = to / for
• ־י = me

So:

• לי = to me
• לך = to you
• לו = to him
• לה = to her

In this sentence, יש לי is the possession structure: I have.

---

Why is it דקה אחת and not דקה אחד?

Because דקה is a feminine noun, and the number one must agree with the noun’s gender.

• masculine one = אחד
• feminine one = אחת

So:

• יום אחד = one day
• דקה אחת = one minute
• שעה אחת = one hour

Also, after one, the noun stays singular, so דקה אחת is correct, not דקות אחת.

---

Why does אחת come after the noun instead of before it?

In Hebrew, when you say one + noun, the word for one usually comes after the noun.

So Hebrew says:

• דקה אחת
• literally: minute one

This is normal Hebrew word order.

Compare:

• ספר אחד = one book
• ילדה אחת = one girl

This often feels unusual to English speakers at first, because English puts one before the noun.

---

Do I have to say אחת, or could I just say יש לי רק דקה לפני הפגישה?

Yes, you can absolutely say יש לי רק דקה לפני הפגישה.

Both are natural, but there is a small difference in feel:

• יש לי רק דקה לפני הפגישה = I only have a minute before the meeting
• יש לי רק דקה אחת לפני הפגישה = I only have one minute before the meeting

Adding אחת makes the amount a little more explicit: exactly one minute.

In everyday speech, people often omit it if the meaning is already clear.

---

Why is רק placed before דקה אחת?

רק means only or just, and it usually comes right before the part it is limiting.

Here it limits the amount of time:

• יש לי רק דקה אחת = I have only one minute

That placement is very natural.

If you move רק, the emphasis can change. For example:

• רק לי יש דקה אחת = Only I have one minute

So in your sentence, רק is placed where it clearly means only one minute.

---

Why is it לפני הפגישה with ה, not just לפני פגישה?

Because הפגישה means the meeting.

• פגישה = a meeting / meeting
• הפגישה = the meeting

So:

• לפני הפגישה = before the meeting
• לפני פגישה = before a meeting

Since the meaning has already been given as referring to a specific meeting, Hebrew uses the definite article ה־.

Also notice that לפני stays a separate word. Unlike short prepositions such as ב־, ל־, or כ־, it does not merge with the article.

---

What does לפני mean exactly? Is it only for time?

לפני can mean two related things:

1. before in time
2. in front of in space

In this sentence, it is clearly time:

• לפני הפגישה = before the meeting

A spatial example would be:

• לפני הבית = in front of the house

So the same word can be temporal or spatial, depending on context.

---

How is the whole sentence pronounced?

A simple pronunciation guide is:

yesh li rak da-KA a-CHAT lif-NEI ha-pgi-SHA

A few notes:

• יש = yesh
• דקה is stressed on the last syllable: da-KA
• אחת is stressed on the last syllable: a-CHAT
• לפני is lif-NEI
• פגישה is pgi-SHA

Two sounds may be tricky:

• ח in אחת is a throaty sound not found in standard English
• פגישה begins with a consonant cluster, roughly pgi-

---

Can the word order change, or is this the only correct order?

The sentence order can change, but the emphasis changes with it.

Your sentence:

• יש לי רק דקה אחת לפני הפגישה

is a very natural, neutral way to say it.

Another natural option is:

• לפני הפגישה יש לי רק דקה אחת

This puts more focus on before the meeting.

So the original order is not the only possible one, but it is a very standard and useful default.