Breakdown of אם התשלום לא דחוף, אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר.
Questions & Answers about אם התשלום לא דחוף, אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר.
Why is לא דחוף translated as is not urgent even though there is no Hebrew word for is?
In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.
So:
- התשלום לא דחוף = the payment is not urgent
- literally: the payment not urgent
This is completely normal Hebrew.
If you wanted past or future, then Hebrew would use forms of היה:
- התשלום לא היה דחוף = the payment was not urgent
- התשלום לא יהיה דחוף = the payment will not be urgent
But in the present, Hebrew normally just leaves is/am/are out.
What does אם mean here, and does it always mean if?
Yes, in this sentence אם means if:
- אם התשלום לא דחוף = if the payment is not urgent
This is the standard Hebrew word for introducing a condition.
Be careful not to confuse it with other similar-looking words, especially in fast reading. Here it is simply the conditional if.
A very useful pattern is:
- אם + clause, ... = if + clause, ...
So the structure of the sentence is:
- אם התשלום לא דחוף = If the payment isn’t urgent
- אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר = I’ll transfer the money tomorrow morning
Why is it התשלום and not just תשלום?
The prefix ה־ is the definite article, equivalent to the.
So:
- תשלום = a payment / payment
- התשלום = the payment
In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific payment already known from context, so התשלום is natural.
This also matters later in the sentence, because Hebrew marks definite direct objects with את, which is why you get:
- את הכסף = the money
What exactly does דחוף mean?
דחוף means urgent, pressing, or needing immediate attention.
So:
- לא דחוף = not urgent
This is a very common everyday word in Hebrew. You may hear:
- זה דחוף = It’s urgent
- זה לא דחוף = It’s not urgent
It can be used in formal and informal situations.
What does אעביר mean, and how is it formed?
אעביר means I will transfer / I will pass on / I will move over, depending on context.
Here it means I will transfer money.
It comes from the verb להעביר, which often means:
- to transfer
- to pass
- to move something from one place/account/person to another
The form אעביר is first person singular future:
- אני אעביר = I will transfer
The initial א־ is a common future-tense marker for I in many Hebrew verbs.
Why is אני included? Could the sentence just say אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר?
Yes, it could.
Hebrew often allows you to omit subject pronouns because the verb already tells you the person:
- אעביר already means I will transfer
So both are possible:
- אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר
- אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר
Including אני can make the sentence a little clearer, more explicit, or slightly more emphatic. In everyday speech, both are natural.
Why is there an את before הכסף?
את is the Hebrew marker for a definite direct object.
It does not mean with here.
In this sentence:
- הכסף = the money → definite
- so Hebrew uses את
Therefore:
- אני אעביר את הכסף = I will transfer the money
Compare:
- אני אעביר כסף = I will transfer money (indefinite, no את)
- אני אעביר את הכסף = I will transfer the money (definite, with את)
This is one of the most important grammar points in Hebrew.
Why is it הכסף and not just כסף?
Because the sentence refers to specific money, so Hebrew uses the definite article ה־:
- כסף = money
- הכסף = the money
In English, money often appears without the, but Hebrew may choose either form depending on context. Here, הכסף suggests a specific amount already understood by both speaker and listener.
Since הכסף is definite, it also triggers the direct object marker את:
- את הכסף
Why is the time expression מחר בבוקר and what does it literally mean?
מחר בבוקר means tomorrow morning.
Literally, it is:
- מחר = tomorrow
- בבוקר = in the morning
So word-for-word it is something like tomorrow in-the-morning, but the natural English translation is tomorrow morning.
This is a very common Hebrew way to express time:
- מחר בערב = tomorrow evening
- היום בבוקר = this morning / today in the morning
- מחר בלילה = tomorrow night
What is the function of the ב־ in בבוקר?
The prefix ב־ usually means in / at.
So:
- בוקר = morning
- בבוקר = in the morning
Because the noun בוקר is definite here, the form becomes ב + ה + בוקר, which contracts into בבוקר.
You will see the same thing in many other expressions:
- בבית = in the house
- בשבוע הבא = next week / literally in the coming week
- בערב = in the evening
Why is the order מחר בבוקר instead of בבוקר מחר?
מחר בבוקר is the normal, natural Hebrew order for tomorrow morning.
Hebrew time expressions often work as a fixed phrase:
- מחר בבוקר
- מחר בערב
- מחר אחר הצהריים
While Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, מחר בבוקר is the standard way to say it. For a learner, it is best to memorize it as one chunk meaning tomorrow morning.
Is the comma after דחוף important?
Yes, it reflects the structure of the sentence.
The first part is a conditional clause:
- אם התשלום לא דחוף = If the payment is not urgent
Then comes the main clause:
- אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר = I’ll transfer the money tomorrow morning
So the comma helps separate:
- the condition
- the result/action
This works much like English:
- If the payment isn’t urgent, I’ll transfer the money tomorrow morning.
How would you pronounce the whole sentence?
A common pronunciation guide would be:
im ha-tashlum lo dakhuf, ani a'avir et ha-kesef makhar ba-boker
A few notes:
- אם = im
- התשלום = ha-tashlum
- דחוף = dakhuf or dachuf, depending on how you represent ח
- אעביר = a'avir
- הכסף = ha-kesef
- מחר = makhar
- בבוקר = ba-boker
The ח sound in דחוף and מחר is the throaty Hebrew sound that English does not really have.
Could this sentence also be said without התשלום, using just אם זה לא דחוף?
Yes. That would also be very natural, but it would mean something slightly less specific:
- אם זה לא דחוף, אני אעביר את הכסף מחר בבוקר
= If it’s not urgent, I’ll transfer the money tomorrow morning
That version uses זה = it/this, while your original sentence specifically says:
- אם התשלום לא דחוף = If the payment is not urgent
So the original is more explicit about what is not urgent.
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