אם תחנת הדלק קרובה, אפשר ללכת ברגל.

If the gas station is close, we can walk.

Breakdown of אם תחנת הדלק קרובה, אפשר ללכת ברגל.

• ללכת: to go
• אם: if
• אפשר: possible
• קרוב: close

Questions & Answers about אם תחנת הדלק קרובה, אפשר ללכת ברגל.

Why does the sentence start with אם?

אם means if. It introduces a condition:

• אם תחנת הדלק קרובה = If the gas station is close

So the whole sentence has the structure If X, then Y.

Why is there no word for the before קרובה?

Because קרובה is an adjective meaning close/near, not a noun. In Hebrew, predicate adjectives usually do not take the definite article.

Compare:

• תחנת הדלק הקרובה = the nearby gas station / the close gas station
  
  • here the adjective is directly describing the noun, so it takes ה
• תחנת הדלק קרובה = the gas station is close
  
  • here קרובה is part of the predicate, so there is no ה

This is similar to the difference between:

• the big house
• the house is big

Why is it קרובה and not קרוב?

Because תחנת הדלק is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective must agree with it.

• masculine singular: