אם הציפור תחזור מחר, נשאיר מים ליד הקן ולא ניגע בענף.

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Breakdown of אם הציפור תחזור מחר, נשאיר מים ליד הקן ולא ניגע בענף.

• ו: and
• לא: not
• מחר: tomorrow

Questions & Answers about אם הציפור תחזור מחר, נשאיר מים ליד הקן ולא ניגע בענף.

Why does the sentence use אם and not כש?

אם means if, so it introduces a condition.

Here the idea is conditional: the bird may return tomorrow, and if that happens, then we will do something.

Hebrew would use כש for when if the speaker treats the event as expected or certain:

• אם הציפור תחזור מחר... = If the bird returns tomorrow...
• כשהציפור תחזור מחר... = When the bird returns tomorrow...

So אם is the natural choice for an open possibility.

Why are the verbs after אם in the future tense? In English we usually say if the bird returns, not if the bird will return.

That is a very common difference between English and Hebrew.

In modern Hebrew, with a real future condition, it is normal to use the future tense in both parts:

• אם הציפור תחזור מחר, נשאיר...
• literally: If the bird will return tomorrow, we will leave...

English usually uses:

• present in the if clause: if the bird returns
• future in the main clause: we will leave

So the Hebrew structure is normal, even though it does not match English word-for-word.

Why is it תחזור and not a masculine form?