Breakdown of حضر أربعة عشر مشاركا.
حضرhadara
to attend
مشاركmushârik
participant
أربعة عشرarba'ata 'ashara
fourteen
Questions & Answers about حضر أربعة عشر مشاركا.
Why is the word for participants singular (مشاركا) when there are fourteen of them?
In Arabic, for numbers 11 to 99, the counted thing is always singular and takes the accusative case (ending in an -an sound). That is why we use the singular مشاركا instead of a plural, and add the extra alif at the end to hold that accusative ending.
Why does the first part of the number (أربعة) look feminine, while the second part (عشر) looks masculine?
For numbers 13 to 19, the gender rules are split. The ones digit (أربعة) is always the opposite gender of the counted noun. The tens digit (عشر) matches the gender of the counted noun. Because مشاركا (participant) is masculine, the four gets a feminine ending and the ten stays masculine.
The verb حضر means he attended. Why is it singular if fourteen people attended?
In Arabic, when a verb comes before its subject, it stays in the singular form. Even though the subject (fourteen participants) represents multiple people, the verb حضر just needs to match their masculine gender, not the number.
Does the ending of أربعة عشر change because it is the subject of the sentence?
No, it does not. Numbers from 11 to 19 (with the exception of 12) are fixed in their pronunciation. Both parts of the number always end in an a sound (fatha), no matter what role they play in the sentence.
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