The preposition belongs to the verb
Many verbs reach their object through one fixed preposition. Learn the pair as one unit, like the عبر عن and اعتنى ب you know: the preposition is not translated on its own.
| verb + partner | meaning |
|---|---|
| تعرض ل(ta'arrada li) | to be exposed to, to suffer |
| تمكن من(tamakkana min) | to manage to |
| تعامل مع(ta'âmala ma'a) | to deal with |
| اشترك في(ishtaraka fî) | to take part in |
| أشار إلى | to point to, to indicate |
| دافع عن | to defend |
تعرض ل is for what happens to you: an accident, an attack, a storm.
| The player suffered a serious injury in the match. | تعرض اللاعب لإصابة خطيرة في المباراة.ta'arrada l-laa'ibu li'isaabatin khateeratin fee l-mubaaraati |
تمكن من stresses success, often against difficulty; what you managed usually follows as a verbal noun: تمكن من الوصول managed to arrive, or as أن + a verb: تمكن من أن يصل. استطاع is the plain to be able to. In the sense take part, اشترك في means the same as شارك في; it also means to subscribe to: اشتركت في المجلة.
| I couldn't sleep because of the coffee. | لم أتمكن من النوم بسبب القهوة.lam atamakkan mina n-nawmi bisababi l-qahwati |
The preposition changes the meaning
| usual preposition (or none) | another preposition |
|---|---|
| خاف من to be afraid of | خاف على(khâfa 'alâ) to worry about |
| أتى to come | أتى ب(atâ bi) to bring |
| The child is afraid of the dog, and his mother worries about him. | يخاف الطفل من الكلب، وتخاف أمه عليه.yakhâfu at-tiflu mina al-kalbi, wa takhâfu ummuhu 'alayhi |
أتى ب is the بـ you met with verbs of motion: to come with something is to bring it.
| My sister came late, but she brought the cake. | أتت أختي متأخرة، لكنها أتت بالكعكة.atat ukhtî muta'akhkhiratan, lâkinnahâ atat bil-ka'kati. |
Affecting and preventing
أثر في(aththara fi) to affect is spelled like the noun أثر trace, but it is the verb أَثَّرَ, present يُؤَثِّر. حال دون(hâla dûna) to prevent is the formal منع: something stands in the way. Its present is يحول دون, and what is prevented follows as a noun.
| The crisis affects the whole economy. | تؤثر الأزمة في الاقتصاد كله.tu'aththiru al-azmatu fil-iqtisâdi kullihi |
| Nothing stands in the way of your success. | لا شيء يحول دون نجاحك.lâ shay'a yahûlu dûna najâhika. |
