Breakdown of متى بنيتم هذا المستشفى؟
الal
the
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
مستشفىmustashfâ
hospital
متىmatâ
when
بنىbanâ
to build
Questions & Answers about متى بنيتم هذا المستشفى؟
How do we break down the verb بنيتم to mean "you all built"?
The base of the verb means to build, and the suffix ـتُم (-tum) is the past tense ending for "you" (plural masculine). You use this suffix when addressing a group of men or a mixed-gender group. Together, بنيتم means "you all built".
The basic verb for "he built" is بنى. Why is there a ي (ya) inside بنيتم?
The root for building ends in a "weak" letter (ي). When saying "he built" (بنى), it is written with an alif maqsura (ى) and makes an "a" sound. But when you add a past tense suffix that starts with a consonant, like the ـتُم for "you all", that original ي comes back. That is why it is pronounced "banaytum".
Why does المستشفى (hospital) have the prefix الـ (the) attached to it here?
In Arabic, to say "this hospital", you must literally say "this the-hospital" (هذا المستشفى). If you drop the الـ and just say هذا مستشفى, you are actually making a full sentence that means "This is a hospital."
Doesn't the ending ى usually make a word feminine? Why are we using the masculine هذا?
You are right that the alif maqsura (ى) is often a feminine ending. However, مستشفى (hospital) is a masculine noun despite its spelling. Therefore, it must be paired with the masculine word for "this", which is هذا.
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