Learn Hardcore Hebrew: אם המנהלת לא זמינה עכשיו, אפשר לדחות את השיחה למחר. - If the manager is not available now, we can postpone the conversation until tomorrow.

Word

אם המנהלת לא זמינה עכשיו, אפשר לדחות את השיחה למחר.

Meaning

If the manager is not available now, we can postpone the conversation until tomorrow.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of אם המנהלת לא זמינה עכשיו, אפשר לדחות את השיחה למחר.

Why is זמינה feminine here, not זמין?

Because it describes המנהלת (the manager, feminine). In Hebrew, adjectives usually agree with the noun in gender and number.

So המנהלת לא זמינה means the manager is not available.

What does אם mean here?

אם means if. It introduces a condition:

This is a very common way to start conditional sentences in Hebrew.

Why is there no Hebrew word for is in המנהלת לא זמינה?

In present-tense Hebrew, the verb to be is usually omitted.

So instead of saying something like the manager is not available, Hebrew simply says:

Literally, that is closer to the manager not available, but it naturally means the manager is not available.

What exactly does אפשר mean in this sentence?