Questions & Answers about كم زجاجة ماء تشرب؟
Why is زجاجة (bottle) singular in the Arabic sentence when the English translation says "bottles"?
After the question word كم (how many), Arabic always uses a singular noun. So instead of "how many bottles," the literal Arabic phrasing is "how many bottle."
Where is the word for "of" in زجاجة ماء (bottle of water)?
There is no separate word for "of." Arabic connects nouns using a relationship structure (often called an Idaafa). By placing زجاجة (bottle) directly before ماء (water), it automatically means "bottle of water."
How do we know تشرب means "you drink" if the word for "you" isn't there?
The verb تشرب starts with the prefix تـ (ta-), which indicates "you" (masculine singular) in the present tense. Because the verb already tells us who is drinking, the separate pronoun أنت (you) is usually dropped.
What if I want to ask a woman this exact same question?
You would only need to change the verb. While تشرب (tashrab) is for a man, you would add a special ending to make it تشربين (tashrabeen) when speaking to a woman.
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