Breakdown of قرأ الأستاذ سبعة عشر سؤالا.
الal
the
أستاذustâdh
professor / teacher
سؤالsu'âl
question
قرأqara'a
to read
سبعة عشرsab'ata 'ashara
seventeen
Questions & Answers about قرأ الأستاذ سبعة عشر سؤالا.
Why is the word for questions singular (سؤالا) instead of plural?
In Arabic, when counting from 11 to 99, the counted noun is always singular. Even though we say seventeen questions in English, Arabic literally says seventeen question using the singular سؤال.
Why does سؤالا have an extra alif at the end?
That extra alif holds the "an" sound (fat-hatayn). Nouns counted by numbers from 11 to 99 must be in the accusative state. For most masculine words, this means adding the "an" ending written with an extra alif, making it سؤالا (su'alan).
Why does the number seventeen (سبعة عشر) have a feminine part (سبعة) and a masculine part (عشر)?
For numbers 13 through 19, the first part of the number takes the opposite gender of the counted noun, while the "teen" part matches it. Because سؤال is masculine, the first part is feminine (سبعة) and the second part is masculine (عشر).
Do the parts of the number 17 change their endings depending on their role in the sentence?
No, they do not. Numbers from 11 to 19 (with the exception of 12) are locked in with a fat-ha (short "a" sound) on both parts, meaning سبعة عشر will not change its endings regardless of whether it is the subject, object, or following a preposition.
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