Breakdown of كانت عند جدتي آلة تقليدية.
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
عند'inda
at / to have
كانkâna
to be
جدةjadda
grandmother
آلةâla
machine / instrument, tool
تقليديtaqlîdî
traditional
Questions & Answers about كانت عند جدتي آلة تقليدية.
How does كانت عند mean "had"?
Arabic doesn't have a direct verb for "to have". Instead, we use prepositions like عند (at/with). To say someone had something in the past, we put the past tense verb كان (was) in front of the preposition. Literally, this sentence translates to "A traditional machine was with my grandmother."
Why do we use the feminine كانت instead of كان? Is it because "grandmother" is feminine?
Actually, no! In Arabic possession sentences, the verb agrees with the thing being owned, not the owner. The owned item here is آلة (machine). Since آلة is a feminine word (it ends in a taa marbuta), we must use the feminine verb كانت.
Where is the word for "my" in جدتي (my grandmother)?
The "my" is the suffix ـي (-i) attached to the end of the word. The base word for grandmother is جدة, which ends in a taa marbuta (ة). When you add a suffix to a word ending in taa marbuta, that ة "opens up" into a regular ت (t) so it can connect to the next letter. That is why it becomes جدتي.
Why do both آلة and تقليدية end in a taa marbuta (ة)?
تقليدية is an adjective meaning "traditional", and it describes the noun آلة (machine). In Arabic, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender. Because آلة is feminine, the adjective also takes the feminine ending ة.
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