Breakdown of اتصلت بأبي في المساء.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
أبabun
father
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
مساءmasâ'an
in the evening / evening
اتصل بittasala bi
to call
Questions & Answers about اتصلت بأبي في المساء.
How does the ending of اتصلت show that it means "I called"?
In Arabic, past tense verbs change depending on who did the action by adding a suffix to the very end. The base form of this verb is اتصل (he called). To say "I called", we add the "I" suffix, which is the letter ت with a "u" sound (ـتُ, pronounced "-tu"). So, اتصل becomes اتصلت (ittasaltu).
Why is the letter بـ attached to the word for father (بأبي)?
In English, we simply say "I called someone," using no extra little words. However, the Arabic verb اتصل always pairs with the preposition بـ (bi) to introduce the person you are contacting. You can think of it as saying "I got in touch with my father."
How does the word أبي break down into "my father"?
It is made of two basic parts. The word for father is أب (ab). To make it "my father", you add the first-person possessive suffix ـي (-i) to the end. This is the exact same ending you use for other words to mean "my", like "my book" or "my house".
Why do we use في here for "in the evening"?
The word في (fi) translates to "in". Just like in English where we say "in the morning" or "in the evening", Arabic uses في to talk about actions happening during these broad periods of the day. So في المساء matches "in the evening" perfectly.
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