أسلوب الشرط
Basic conditional with إذا + past tense: إذا درستَ نجحتَ (if you study, you succeed)
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
إذا درستَ نجحتَ.
If you study, you will succeed.
إذا جاء المطرُ بقينا في البيت.
If it rains, we stay at home.
إذا سألتَ فهمتَ.
If you ask, you will understand.
لو كنتُ غنياً لسافرتُ.
If I were rich, I would travel.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
أسلوب الشرط — The Conditional
The basic Arabic conditional uses إذا (if) + past tense in both clauses, even for present/future meaning.
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| إذا + past, past | إذا درستَ نجحتَ |
| If + condition, result | If you study, you succeed |
Key rule: إذا always takes the past tense (ماضٍ), but the meaning is present or future. This is different from English! إذا درستَ = if you study (not 'if you studied').
For unlikely/impossible conditions, Arabic uses لو instead of إذا: لو كنتُ غنياً لسافرتُ (if I were rich, I would travel).
إذا درستَ نجحتَ.
If you study, you will succeed.
إذا + درستَ (you studied — past form!) + نجحتَ (you succeeded — past form!). Both verbs are past tense but the meaning is future.
إذا جاء المطرُ بقينا في البيت.
If it rains, we stay at home.
جاء (came) and بقينا (we stayed) — both past tense after إذا, but meaning is 'if it rains, we'll stay.'
إذا سألتَ فهمتَ.
If you ask, you will understand.
سألتَ (you asked) + فهمتَ (you understood). The past-tense pattern is consistent: condition + result both in past form.
لو كنتُ غنياً لسافرتُ.
If I were rich, I would travel.
لو (if — unlikely) vs إذا (if — likely). لو كنتُ (if I were) + لـ + سافرتُ. The لـ prefix before the result clause is common with لو.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Put it into practice
Try a free exercise from the courseFrequently asked questions
- When is أسلوب الشرط used?
- The basic Arabic conditional uses إذا (if) + past tense in both clauses, even for present/future meaning.
- How is أسلوب الشرط formed?
- Key rule: إذا always takes the past tense (ماضٍ), but the meaning is present or future . This is different from English! إذا درستَ = if you study (not 'if you studied'). For unlikely/impossible conditions, Arabic uses لو instead of إذا: لو كنتُ غنياً لسافرتُ (if I were rich, I would travel).
- What are common mistakes with أسلوب الشرط?
- Learners use the present tense after إذا (إذا تدرسُ) instead of the past tense (إذا درستَ). Remember: إذا always requires past tense verbs. English speakers: English uses present tense in conditionals ('if you study'). Arabic uses PAST tense after إذا even for future conditions. Russian speakers: Russian если + future (если будешь учиться). Arabic إذا + past tense — the form looks past but means future. Czech speakers: Czech když + present/future. Arabic إذا demands past tense forms regardless of the time meaning.