Breakdown of لا أستطيع أن أفهم هذا المقال السياسي.
الal
the
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
سياسيsiyâsiyy
political
مقالmaqâl
article
لاlâ
not (with present verb)
فهمfahima
to understand
أنan
to (with verbs)
استطاعistatâa
to be able to
Questions & Answers about لا أستطيع أن أفهم هذا المقال السياسي.
Why do we put أن between أستطيع and أفهم?
In Arabic, when you use two verbs back-to-back like 'I can' and 'I understand', you usually connect them with أن (which means 'to' or 'that'). Here, you are literally saying 'I cannot that I understand'.
How does أن affect the pronunciation of the verb أفهم?
The word أن changes the final short vowel of the present tense verb right after it. Normally, 'I understand' ends in a 'u' sound (damma), pronounced أفهمُ (afhamu). But after أن, it changes to an 'a' sound (fatha), making it أفهمَ (afhama).
Why does المقال have ال (the) attached to it if we are already saying 'this' (هذا)?
In Arabic, to say 'this article', the noun after 'this' (هذا) must have ال (the) attached to it. If you leave out ال and just say هذا مقال, it becomes a complete sentence meaning 'This is an article' instead of just 'this article'.
Why does the adjective السياسي (political) also start with ال?
Arabic adjectives always have to copy the 'definiteness' of the noun they describe. Because the noun المقال has ال (making it a specific, definite article), the adjective describing it must also take ال.
Learn لا أستطيع أن أفهم هذا المقال السياسي 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