Connecting Sentences with أنّ
In English, we often use the word "that" to connect a verb of thinking, knowing, or discovering to a statement of fact (e.g., "I know that space is huge"). In Arabic, we use the particle أنّ for this exact purpose.
أنّ is a "sister" particle to إنّ, which you learned in the previous lesson. Because they belong to the same grammatical family, أنّ follows the exact same rule: the noun immediately following it must be in the Accusative case (taking a fatha ending).
| The scientist discovered that space is very wide. | اكتشف العالم أن الفضاء واسع جدا.iktashafa al-'âlimu anna al-fadâ'a wâsi'un jiddan |
| The scientist believes that the earth is a beautiful planet. | يعتقد العالم أن الأرض كوكب جميل.ya'taqidu al-'âlimu anna al-arda kawkabun jamîlun |
Verbs of Knowledge and Perception
You will most frequently use أنّ to introduce noun clauses after verbs that express knowledge, belief, or perception. Just place أنّ immediately after the verb (or the verb and its subject) to link the discovery to the fact.
| The boy knew that the earth is smaller than the sun. | عرف الولد أن الأرض أصغر من الشمس.arafa al-waladu anna al-arda asghara mina ash-shamsi |
| I understood from the picture that space is completely black. | فهمت من الصورة أن الفضاء أسود تماما.fahimtu mina as-sûrati anna al-fadâ'a aswadu tamâman |
| We discovered that the new planet is very far from the earth. | اكتشفنا أن الكوكب الجديد بعيد جدا عن الأرض.iktashafnâ anna al-kawkaba al-jadîda ba'îdun jiddan 'ani al-ard |
Using أنّ with Prepositions and Phrases
أنّ often combines with prepositions to form new expressions. For instance, combining the preposition لِـ (for) with أنّ creates لأنّ (because). Just like إنّ, if the subject following أنّ is a pronoun, it must be attached directly to the particle (e.g., لأنها for "because she").
| She read the article because she believes that space is interesting. | قرأت المقال لأنها تعتقد أن الفضاء ممتع.qara'ati l-maqâla li'annahâ ta'taqidu anna l-fadâ'a mumti'un |
You will also see أنّ used to turn phrases like "evidence of" into "evidence that" (دليل على أنّ).
| We found evidence that the moon is old. | وجدنا دليلا على أن القمر قديم.wajadnâ dalîlan 'alâ anna l-qamara qadîm |
Finally, if you want to say "that there is" or "that there are", you simply place هناك directly after أنّ.
| The team believes that there is life in space. | يعتقد الفريق أن هناك حياة في الفضاء.yataqidu alfariqu anna hunâka hayâtun fî alfadâ'i |
| Do you think that there is life on that far planet? | هل تعتقد أن هناك حياة على ذلك الكوكب البعيد؟hal ta'taqidu anna hunâka hayâtan 'alâ dhâlika al-kawkabi al-ba'îd? |
