Breakdown of بدأ المشروع قبل أربع سنوات.
الal
the
بدأbada'a
to begin
قبلqabla
before
مشروعmashrû'
project / draft (bill)
Questions & Answers about بدأ المشروع قبل أربع سنوات.
Why is the number أربع in the masculine form here?
In Arabic, numbers 3 to 10 use reverse agreement. To decide if the number should be masculine or feminine, you always look at the singular form of the counted noun. The singular for years is سنة, which is feminine. Because the singular noun is feminine, the number drops its ending and takes the masculine form أربع.
Why is the word for years (سنوات) plural? Don't we sometimes use singular nouns with numbers?
For numbers 3 through 10, the noun that follows must always be plural, which is why we use سنوات (the plural of سنة). You might be remembering the rule for numbers 11 and up, which do take a singular noun. But for 3 to 10, always use the plural!
Is there a grammar reason why سنوات would have a specific case ending here?
Yes! When you count with numbers 3 to 10, the number and the counted noun act together like a possessive phrase (an Idafa). Because of this, the counted noun (سنوات) must be in the genitive case. If you were pronouncing the full grammatical endings, it would sound like arba'i sanawātin.
I see قبل, which means before. How does that translate to ago?
In Arabic, expressing ago is done by using قبل (before) followed by the amount of time. So the phrase قبل أربع سنوات literally means before four years, which is how Arabic speakers naturally say four years ago.