Breakdown of وقفت سبعون سيارة في الشارع.
الal
the
سيارةsayyâra
car
فيfî
in / about, regarding
شارعshâri'
street
وقفwaqafa
to stand
سبعونsab'ûna
seventy
Questions & Answers about وقفت سبعون سيارة في الشارع.
Why is the word for "cars" (سيارة) singular in this sentence?
In Arabic, when you use numbers from 11 to 99, the counted noun must be singular and take the accusative case (usually ending in an "an" sound). So, instead of saying "seventy cars," the grammar literally requires "seventy car."
I've seen the word for seventy written as سبعين (sab'īna). Why is it سبعون (sab'ūna) here?
The "tens" numbers (20, 30, 40...) change their ending based on their grammatical role. Because "seventy" is the subject of the sentence (the ones doing the stopping), it uses the default nominative ending ـون (-ūna). If it were the object of a verb or came after a preposition, it would be سبعين (-īna).
Why does the verb وقفت use the "she" (feminine singular) form?
In Arabic grammar, all non-human plurals (like cars, books, or houses) are treated as feminine singular. Since the cars are the ones stopping, the verb takes the feminine singular ending ـت (-at).
Can وقفت also mean "stood"?
Yes! The verb root can mean both "to stand" and "to stop." Context tells you which one makes sense. Since cars don't stand on two feet, "stopped" or "parked" is the natural translation here.
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