Breakdown of عند أخي أحد عشر كتابا.
كتابkitâb
book
أخakh
brother
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
عند'inda
at / to have
أحد عشرahada 'ashara
eleven
Questions & Answers about عند أخي أحد عشر كتابا.
Why is the word for 'books' singular (كتابا) instead of plural?
In Arabic, when counting things using numbers from 11 to 99, the noun that follows is always singular. Even though we say 'eleven books' in English, Arabic literally says 'eleven book'.
Why is there an extra alif at the end of كتابا?
That alif carries the '-an' sound (a double fatha). The rule for numbers 11 to 99 is that the singular noun being counted must take the accusative case, which usually means adding this '-an' ending.
Would the word for 'eleven' (أحد عشر) change if my brother had eleven cars instead of books?
Yes. Because a book (كتاب) is masculine, both parts of the number eleven are masculine here. If you were counting a feminine noun, both parts of the number would change to their feminine forms.
We learned that عند means 'at' or 'with', so why does the English translation say 'has'?
Arabic doesn't have a direct verb that means 'to have'. To show possession, you use عند plus the owner. So عند أخي literally translates to 'at my brother', which is the standard way to say 'my brother has'.
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