יש לי רק עשרים דקות לפני השיעור.

there is

Breakdown of יש לי רק עשרים דקות לפני השיעור.

• לי: to me
• לפני: before
• רק: only

Questions & Answers about יש לי רק עשרים דקות לפני השיעור.

Why does Hebrew use יש לי for I have?

In everyday Hebrew, possession is usually expressed with יש + ל־ + person rather than with a separate verb meaning to have.

So:

יש לי = literally there is to me
Idiomatic meaning: I have

That is why יש לי רק עשרים דקות means I only have twenty minutes.

A useful pattern:

• יש לי = I have
• אין לי = I do not have
• היה לי = I had
• יהיה לי = I will have

What exactly does לי mean?

לי is the preposition ל־ meaning to / for, combined with the pronoun me.

So:

• ל־ = to, for
• לי = to me / for me

In this sentence, יש לי literally means there is to me, which Hebrew uses for I have.

Other related forms:

• לך = to you
• לו = to him
• לה = to her
• לנו = to us

Why is there no אני in the sentence?