Breakdown of אם נצא עכשיו, נספיק להגיע לבית הקפה לפני שהוא נסגר.
Questions & Answers about אם נצא עכשיו, נספיק להגיע לבית הקפה לפני שהוא נסגר.
Why are the verbs in both parts of the sentence in the future tense?
Because Hebrew often uses the future tense in both clauses of a real future condition.
So:
- אם נצא עכשיו = if we leave now
- נספיק להגיע... = we’ll manage to get...
This is different from English, where we usually say if we leave now, not if we will leave now. In Hebrew, אם + future is very normal in this kind of sentence.
What does נצא mean exactly?
נצא is the 1st person plural future form of לצאת = to go out / to leave.
So נצא means:
- we will leave
- we will go out
- sometimes we’ll head out
In this sentence, leave is the best fit.
Also, Hebrew usually does not need a separate word for we, because the verb form already shows it.
Why use נצא and not נלך?
Because נצא focuses on leaving the place you’re in now, which is exactly the idea here.
- נצא עכשיו = let’s leave now / if we leave now
- נלך עכשיו = if we go now
נלך can work in some contexts, but it is a little less precise here. It can also suggest simply go or even walk.
נצא is more natural when the idea is head out from here now.
What does נספיק mean?
נספיק is the future form of להספיק.
In this sentence, it means:
- we’ll manage to
- we’ll have enough time to
- we’ll make it in time to
So:
- נספיק להגיע = we’ll manage to get there / we’ll make it there in time
This verb is very common in everyday Hebrew.
Examples:
- לא נספיק = we won’t make it / we won’t have enough time
- הספקת? = did you manage? / did you have time?
Why is להגיע in the infinitive?
Because after להספיק, Hebrew normally uses an infinitive.
Pattern:
- להספיק + infinitive
So:
- נספיק להגיע = we’ll manage to arrive / get there
Here, להגיע means to arrive / to get to.
This is similar to English structures like:
- manage to get
- have time to arrive
Why does it say לבית הקפה and not something like אל בית הקפה?
Because the verb להגיע usually goes with the preposition ל־.
So Hebrew says:
- להגיע ל... = to arrive at / get to...
That gives:
- להגיע לבית הקפה = to get to the café
Also, ל־ attaches directly to the next word:
- ל + בית → לבית
Using אל is possible in some kinds of Hebrew, but with להגיע, ל־ is the normal and most natural choice.
Why is it בית הקפה and not הבית קפה?
Because בית קפה is a construct phrase (called סמיכות in Hebrew).
Literally, it is something like house of coffee, but it means café.
In this structure, if the whole phrase is definite, the ה־ usually appears on the second word, not the first:
- בית קפה = a café
- בית הקפה = the café
So:
- לבית קפה = to a café
- לבית הקפה = to the café
This is a very common Hebrew pattern.
What is שהוא doing in לפני שהוא נסגר?
Here, ש־ introduces the subordinate clause, and הוא means he/it.
So:
- לפני ש... = before...
- שהוא = that it / that he
In this sentence, הוא means it, referring to בית הקפה.
Hebrew nouns have grammatical gender, and בית קפה is masculine, so the pronoun is הוא.
So:
- לפני שהוא נסגר = before it closes
Why does Hebrew say נסגר here instead of a future form like ייסגר?
Because Hebrew often uses the present form after words like לפני ש־ in a way that sounds natural for something expected or scheduled.
So:
- לפני שהוא נסגר = before it closes
This is actually not so different from English, which also says before it closes, not usually before it will close.
A future form such as לפני שהוא ייסגר can also exist, but לפני שהוא נסגר sounds very natural and common here.
Is נסגר active or passive?
It comes from להיסגר, which is a Nifal verb.
For places like shops, cafés, offices, etc., נסגר is the normal Hebrew way to say:
- it closes
- it is closing
So although its pattern is not the plain active one, in everyday English translation you should usually just understand it as:
- the café closes
Very common examples:
- החנות נסגרת בשמונה = the store closes at eight
- הדלת נסגרה = the door closed
Why is there no separate word for will in the sentence?
Because Hebrew does not usually use a separate helper word like English will.
Instead, the verb form itself shows the future:
- נצא = we will leave
- נספיק = we will manage
- נסגר here is a present form used naturally after לפני ש־, as explained above
So Hebrew packs a lot of information directly into the verb.
Could the sentence also mean If we go out now, we’ll have time to reach the café before it closes?
Yes. That is basically the same idea.
The exact English wording can vary:
- If we leave now, we’ll manage to get to the café before it closes
- If we head out now, we’ll make it to the café before it closes
- If we go out now, we’ll have time to get to the café before it closes
All of those are reasonable translations of the Hebrew structure. The key ideas are:
- conditional: if
- future result: we’ll make it
- time limit: before it closes
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning HebrewMaster Hebrew — from אם נצא עכשיו, נספיק להגיע לבית הקפה לפני שהוא נסגר to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions