Breakdown of ذهب الطالب إلى المدرسة.
الal
the
طالبtâlib
student
ذهبdhahaba
to go
إلىilâ
to
مدرسةmadrasah
school
Questions & Answers about ذهب الطالب إلى المدرسة.
Why do we use إلى in this sentence instead of في?
إلى means to or towards and is used to show direction or destination, which pairs perfectly with the verb ذهب (he went). You wouldn't use في (in/at) here because the student is traveling to the school, not already located inside it.
Why does the verb ذهب (went) come before the subject الطالب (the student)?
In Arabic, sentences that describe an action usually start with the verb. This is called a verbal sentence. So instead of saying The student went, Arabic naturally says Went the student (ذهب الطالب).
The word إلى ends with a letter that looks like a yaa (ي) but doesn't have dots. How is it pronounced?
That letter is called alif maqsura (ى). It acts exactly like a regular alif and makes a long aa sound. So, إلى is pronounced ilaa.
Does the preposition إلى affect the word المدرسة (the school) that comes right after it?
Yes! In Arabic, a preposition forces the noun directly following it to change its case. For a beginner, this simply means that if you are reading with full vowel marks, the last letter of المدرسة gets a kasrah (a short i sound) underneath it, making it al-madrasati.
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