Introduction

It is not necessary to put the conditional clauses in the past tense using كان .

One tricky aspect of this construction comes because the habitual in English is unmarked. Therefore the clause 'If you go to the gym...' is ambiguous in English. It either means 'if you go to the gym (later today or tomorrow)' or 'if you go to the gym (with regularity)'. The latter is the habitual, and this is the meaning conveyed using لو + the habitual (In English the two senses are usually disambiguated by the 'then' clause. "If you go to the gym, can you stop by the store on the way home."[the non-habitual reading] "If you go to the gym, why are you so weak?"[the habitual reading]). Think to yourself if this sentence was not in a conditional clause would the main verb have a بـ ? Is so, it should have one with لو

In this page we will look at:

The habitual can be placed in the past tense to express the idea of 'if ____ had been verbing'. It can also be used to express doubt that the ongoing/couninous action is actually occuring. Habitual actions are placed in the past tense with كان . Examples 4 and 5 demonstrate the former and Example 6 the latter.

The habitual can also be used with لو to express an apology.