Breakdown of عندي ثمانية عشر طابعا وتسعة عشر دفترا.
وwa
and
دفترdaftar
notebook
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
طابعtâbaʻ
stamp
عند'inda
at / to have
ثمانية عشرthamâniyata 'ashar
eighteen
تسعة عشرtis'ata 'ashara
nineteen
Questions & Answers about عندي ثمانية عشر طابعا وتسعة عشر دفترا.
Why are the words for stamps (طابعا) and notebooks (دفترا) in the singular form when the English translation says they are plural?
Why do the numbers ثمانية (eight) and تسعة (nine) have the feminine ending (taa marbuta), but the word عشر (ten) does not?
This is a special rule for numbers 13 to 19! The first part of the number (the ones digit) does the opposite of the noun's gender, while the second part (عشر) matches the noun's gender. Since a stamp (طابع) and a notebook (دفتر) are both masculine words, the ones part gets a feminine ending (ثمانية and تسعة) and the ten part stays masculine (عشر).
Are the endings on the numbers ثمانية عشر and تسعة عشر affected by their position in the sentence?
No! Numbers from 11 to 19 (except for 12) are fixed. This means both parts of the number will always end with an 'a' sound (fatha), no matter what role they play in the sentence. So they are always pronounced thamaniyata 'ashara and tis'ata 'ashara.
I know عند means 'at' or 'with'. How does عندي mean 'I have'?
Arabic does not have a direct verb for 'to have'. Instead, you attach a possessive pronoun to a preposition like عند ('inda). By adding the 'my' ending (ـي) to make عندي ('indi), it literally means 'at me' or 'with me' - which is how Arabic expresses 'I have'.
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