Breakdown of بقيت تذكرتان اثنتان في الصندوق.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
تذكرةtadhkira
ticket
صندوقsundûq
box
بقيbaqiya
to stay
اثنتانithnatâni
two
Questions & Answers about بقيت تذكرتان اثنتان في الصندوق.
Why does تذكرتان end with ـان instead of a regular plural ending?
Arabic has a special 'dual' form used for exactly two of something. Since the singular word for ticket is تذكرة, we change the feminine ending into a regular ت and add the dual suffix ـان to make it تذكرتان (two tickets).
If تذكرتان already means 'two tickets', why is the word اثنتان (two) also in the sentence?
In Arabic, the dual noun already tells you there are two items. Adding the number اثنتان right after it is optional and used for extra emphasis. It's similar to saying 'Exactly two tickets remained' in English.
Why is the verb بقيت (she remained) singular when there are two tickets?
When an Arabic sentence starts with the verb, the verb stays in its singular form even if the subject is dual or plural. It only needs to match the gender of the subject. Since ticket is feminine, we use the 'she' form of the past tense verb.
If this sentence is the answer, how would I ask 'How many tickets remained?' using كم?
You would ask كم تذكرةً بقيت في الصندوق؟. Remember that after كم (how many), the noun being counted must always be in its singular form, which is why the question uses تذكرة instead of the dual form we see in the answer.
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