Breakdown of كان عند الجدة حاسوب محمول وقرص موسيقى.
وwa
and
حاسوبhâsûb
computer
عند'inda
at / to have
موسيقىmûsîqâ
music
Questions & Answers about كان عند الجدة حاسوب محمول وقرص موسيقى.
Why do we use كان (was) here when the English translation says "had"?
Arabic doesn't have a direct verb for "to have". To say "someone has something", we use a preposition like عند (with/at) followed by the owner. To make this past tense ("had"), we simply add كان (was) to the beginning. The literal translation is "A laptop was with the grandmother."
Since الجدة (the grandmother) is feminine, why don't we use the feminine كانت?
In "to have" sentences, كان agrees with the thing being owned, not the owner! The grammatical subject of the sentence is حاسوب (laptop), which is masculine. Therefore, we use the masculine كان. If she had a feminine object like a car, we would use كانت.
What is the literal meaning of حاسوب محمول?
It literally means "a carried computer". حاسوب is computer, and محمول is an adjective meaning "portable" or "carried". Together, they form the standard Arabic term for a laptop.
How does the grammatical structure of قرص موسيقى differ from حاسوب محمول?
حاسوب محمول is a noun followed by an adjective. قرص موسيقى is an Idafa (a possession structure) made of two nouns. It connects قرص (disc/record) and موسيقى (music) to literally mean "a disc of music".