Question 1

How does the word يدان mean "two hands" when the normal word for hand is يد?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, you don't usually use the number "two" with nouns. Instead, you add a special dual suffix to the end of the singular noun. Here, we add the suffix ـان to يد (hand) to create يدان (two hands).

Question 2

Why does the adjective نظيفتان have the feminine dual suffix ـتان if the word for hand (يد) doesn't end in a feminine marker?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, most body parts that come in pairs (like hands, eyes, and ears) are treated as feminine words, even without a feminine ending. Because يد is feminine, any adjective describing it must also be feminine. When we describe two hands, the adjective takes the feminine dual suffix ـتان instead of the masculine ـان.

Question 3

I also learned that the dual suffix can be ـين. Why do we use ـان in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The dual suffix changes depending on the word's job in the sentence. You use ـان when the word is the subject or the main topic, and ـين when it is the object of an action or comes right after a preposition. Here, the "two hands" are the main items existing in the sentence, so they take the default ـان ending.

Question 4

Why is the word لها used here to mean "has"?

Accepted Answer

Arabic doesn't have a direct verb for "to have". Instead, it uses prepositions attached to pronouns. لها is made of the preposition لـ (to/for) and the feminine pronoun ـها (her). Literally, the sentence translates to "The nurse, to her [are] two clean hands."

الممرضة لها يدان نظيفتان.

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