אם הכוס תיפול שוב, תרימי אותה לאט.

If the glass falls again, pick it up slowly.

Breakdown of אם הכוס תיפול שוב, תרימי אותה לאט.

• אם: if
• לאט: slowly
• אותה: it
• כוס: glass

Questions & Answers about אם הכוס תיפול שוב, תרימי אותה לאט.

Why does the sentence use אם at the beginning?

אם means if. It introduces a conditional clause:

• אם הכוס תיפול שוב = if the cup falls again

So the whole sentence has the structure:

• If X happens, do Y.

This is a very common pattern in Hebrew.

Why is תיפול in the future tense?

In Hebrew, after אם meaning if, it is very common to use the future tense when talking about a possible future situation.

So:

• אם הכוס תיפול שוב literally = if the cup will fall again
• but in natural English this is just if the cup falls again

That is a normal difference between Hebrew and English. English often uses the present after if, while Hebrew often uses the future.

Why is it תיפול and not some other form?

תיפול comes from the verb ליפול = to fall.

It is in the 3rd person feminine singular future form, because הכוס is treated as a feminine singular noun.

So:

• הכוס = the cup / the glass
• תיפול = she/it will fall

In Hebrew, nouns have grammatical gender, so the verb has to match the noun.