העיקר שתגיעי בזמן.

on time

Breakdown of העיקר שתגיעי בזמן.

• להגיע: to arrive
• העיקר ש: the main thing is that

Questions & Answers about העיקר שתגיעי בזמן.

What does העיקר mean here?

העיקר literally means the main thing, the essential point, or what matters most.

In this sentence, העיקר ש... is a very common pattern meaning the important thing is that... or what matters is that....

So העיקר שתגיעי בזמן means something like what matters is that you arrive on time.

Why is there no Hebrew word for is in the sentence?

Because Hebrew often leaves out the verb to be in the present tense.

So where English says:

The main thing is that you arrive on time

Hebrew can simply say:

העיקר שתגיעי בזמן

The idea of is is understood automatically. This is normal in Hebrew nominal sentences.

What is the ש doing in שתגיעי?

The prefix ש־ means that here.

It introduces the clause that follows העיקר:

• העיקר = the main thing
• שתגיעי בזמן = that you arrive on time

So ש־ connects the two parts of the sentence, just like that in English.

It is attached directly to the next word, which is very common in Hebrew.