Breakdown of ما كسر الولد النافذة، وما هرب.
الal
the
وwa
and
ولدwalad
boy
نافذةnâfidha
window
ماmâ
not (negating a past verb or a sentence)
كسرkasara
to break
هربharaba
to escape
Questions & Answers about ما كسر الولد النافذة، وما هرب.
Why do we use ما instead of لا for negation in this sentence?
In Arabic, ما is used to negate actions in the past tense. Because both كسر (broke) and هرب (escaped) happened in the past, we use ما to say they did not happen. If we were negating present tense actions, we would use لا.
Why is the word order كسر الولد instead of الولد كسر?
In Arabic, sentences very often start with the verb. The standard order is Verb-Subject-Object, so we put the verb كسر (broke) before the subject الولد (the boy).
In the second half of the sentence (وما هرب), where is the word for "he"?
You do not need a separate word for "he" here! In Arabic, the subject is built right into the verb. The past tense verb هرب means "he escaped" all on its own. Since we already know we are talking about الولد (the boy), we do not need to repeat it.
Why does وما look like one word?
It is actually two words joined together. The letter و means "and". In Arabic, this word never stands alone; it always physically attaches to the word that follows it. So, وما is just و (and) attached directly to ما (did not).
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