Breakdown of هل سافر بالطائرة؟
الal
the
هلhal
is / are (question marker)
سافرsâfara
to travel
بbi
by, with (attached)
طائرةtâ'ira
airplane
Questions & Answers about هل سافر بالطائرة؟
Why are the words for 'by' and 'the airplane' written as a single connected word?
In Arabic, certain single-letter prepositions like بـ (meaning by or with) never stand alone. They must be written physically attached to the beginning of the following word. Here, it attaches to الطائرة (the airplane) to form بالطائرة.
How do you pronounce بالطائرة? Do I pronounce the alif in the middle?
No, you skip the alif sound entirely. When بـ is attached to a word starting with the definite article الـ, that alif becomes silent in pronunciation even though it is still written. Furthermore, because ط is a sun letter, the laam is also skipped and the ط sound is doubled. It is pronounced bit-taa'ira.
Why does the Arabic literally translate to 'by the airplane' instead of just 'by airplane'?
When talking about modes of transportation generally, Arabic uses the definite article الـ. So you must say by the airplane rather than by airplane.
Where is the word for 'he' in this sentence?
The pronoun is built right into the verb. سافر is the base form of the past tense verb, which automatically includes the meaning he travelled. You don't need to add a separate pronoun.
Learn هل سافر بالطائرة؟ and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free