Word
لعب الكلب بكرة صغيرة.
Meaning
The dog played with a small ball.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about لعب الكلب بكرة صغيرة.
Why is the verb لعب at the very beginning of the sentence?
In Arabic, the standard word order for sentences describing an action is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). So instead of saying 'The dog played' like in English, Arabic structures it as 'Played the dog' (لعب الكلب).
How does the verb match the subject when the subject comes after it?
Even though the subject الكلب (the dog) comes second, the verb still needs to match its gender. Since الكلب is a masculine noun, we use the basic masculine past tense form of the verb, لعب (he/it played).
Where is the word for 'with' in this sentence?
The word for 'with' is the single letter بـ attached directly to the front of the word for ball, making بكرة (with a ball). In Arabic, short prepositions like this one are always glued to the noun that follows them.
Why does the adjective صغيرة (small) have a taa marbuta (ة) at the end?
Adjectives in Arabic must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because the word for ball (كرة) is feminine (ending in a taa marbuta), the adjective describing it must also be feminine. This is why we use صغيرة instead of the masculine form صغير.