Question 1

Why is لأن used here instead of just the prefix لـ?

Accepted Answer

لأن (because) is used when you want to introduce a full sentence that starts with a noun or a pronoun. Here, it introduces the noun الشبكة (the network). The prefix لـ (for/to) is usually attached to a single noun to show possession or reason, but it cannot introduce a whole new sentence.

Question 2

If I wanted to say "because it is weak" instead of "because the network is weak", how would I change لأن الشبكة?

Accepted Answer

You would attach a pronoun suffix directly to the end of لأن. Since الشبكة is a feminine noun, you use the feminine "it" suffix ـها (ha), making the phrase لأنها ضعيفة (because it is weak).

Question 3

I learned that لا means "no" or "not". Why do we use ما at the beginning of this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, ما is the standard word used to make a past tense verb negative. Since قرأت (I read) is in the past tense, we use ما to say "I did not read". You would use لا to negate a present tense verb.

Question 4

Where is the word for "is" in the phrase "because the network is weak"?

Accepted Answer

Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" in present-tense sentences like this. After لأن (because), we just have a normal noun-based sentence: الشبكة (the network) followed directly by its adjective ضعيفة (weak).

Question 5

Why does the word for weak (ضعيفة) end with a taa marbuta (ة)?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for network, الشبكة, is feminine (notice it also ends in a taa marbuta), so we must use the feminine form of the adjective, ضعيفة, instead of the masculine form ضعيف.

ما قرأت المقال لأن الشبكة ضعيفة.

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