Breakdown of شارك خمسون مهندسا في المشروع.
الal
the
مهندسmuhandis
engineer
شارك فيshâraka fî
to participate in
مشروعmashrû'
project / draft (bill)
خمسونkhamsûna
fifty
Questions & Answers about شارك خمسون مهندسا في المشروع.
Why is the word for engineers (مهندسا) singular here? Shouldn't it be plural for fifty of them?
In Arabic, when counting from 11 to 99, the noun being counted must actually be singular. It also takes the accusative case, which is why you see the extra ا (alif) with the double 'a' sound (tanween) at the end: مهندسا (muhandisan) instead of just مهندس (muhandis).
Why does 'fifty' end in '-uun' (خمسون) instead of '-iin' (خمسين)?
The 'tens' numbers (20, 30, 40... 90) change their endings depending on their role in the sentence. Because 'fifty' is the subject of the sentence (they are the ones participating), it takes the nominative case ending ـون (-uun). If it were the object of an action or after a preposition, it would be خمسين (-iin).
The subject is 'fifty engineers'. Why is the verb شارك singular?
In Arabic, when the verb comes before the subject (Verb-Subject-Object order), the verb stays in its singular form. Since شارك (participated) comes before the subject خمسون (fifty), we use the masculine singular form of the verb.
Why does المشروع (the project) take the genitive case if I pronounce its ending?
It comes right after the preposition في (in). In Arabic, prepositions always force the noun immediately following them into the genitive case, which means it would end with a 'kasra' (a short 'i' sound).
Learn شارك خمسون مهندسا في المشروع and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free