Doing and spending
قام ب(qâma bi) is the formal to do, carry out. The noun after ب names the action: قام بزيارة to pay a visit, قام برحلة to make a trip, قام بالعمل to do the work. Written Arabic prefers it to فعل when the action is a noun.
| We made a long trip to the village. | قمنا برحلة طويلة إلى القرية.qumnâ bi-riḥlatin ṭawîlatin ilâ al-qaryah |
قضى(qadâ) to spend takes a stretch of time as its object: قضى وقتا, قضى أسبوعا. It is never used for money: that is صرف.
| We spent an enjoyable time at the wedding. | قضينا وقتا ممتعا في الزفاف.qadaynâ waqtan mumti'an fi zzifâf |
Verbs with a fixed partner
These verbs always bring their preposition, so learn the pair as one unit, like the اهتم ب you know. ب attaches to the next word, and any preposition takes a pronoun: بالقط, إليك.
| verb + partner | meaning |
|---|---|
| عبر عن('abbara 'an) | to express |
| سلم على(sallama 'alâ) | to greet |
| اعتنى ب(i'tanâ bi) | to take care of |
| اشتاق إلى(ishtâqa ilâ) | to miss |
Without its partner the verb is another word: عبر alone is to cross.
| The groom expressed his love for the bride. | عبر العريس عن حبه للعروس.'abbara al-'arîsu 'an hubbihi lil-'arûs. |
| The groom greeted all the guests. | سلم العريس على كل الضيوف.sallama al-arees ala kulli ad-duyoof |
| I missed you a lot, my brother. | اشتقت إليك كثيرا يا أخي.ishtaqtu ilayka kathîran yâ akhî. |
Marrying, expecting, resembling
تزوج(tazawwaja), توقع(tawaqqa'a) and أشبه(ashbaha) take a direct object, with no preposition. توقع can also take أن with the subjunctive. أشبه is mostly met in its present, يُشْبِه he resembles.
| My sister married an engineer. | تزوجت أختي مهندسا.tazawwajat ukhtî muhandisan |
| We expect a hundred guests to attend. | نتوقع أن يحضر مئة ضيف.natawaqqa'u an yahdura mi'atu dayfin. |
| The child resembles his father. | يشبه الطفل أباه.yushbihu at-tiflu abâhu |
Scoring
أحرز(aḥraza) is the newspaper verb for scoring or achieving: أحرز هدفا to score a goal, أحرز نجاحا to achieve success.
| My little brother scored a goal in the match. | أحرز أخي الصغير هدفا في المباراة.ahraza akhi assaghiru hadafan fil mubarah |
