Breakdown of بدأت المسرحية في الساعة التاسعة والربع.
الal
the
وwa
and
فيfî
in / about, regarding
ساعةsâ'a
watch / hour
بدأbada'a
to begin
تاسعtâsi'
ninth
مسرحيةmasrahiyya
play
ربعrub'
quarter
Questions & Answers about بدأت المسرحية في الساعة التاسعة والربع.
Why do we use التاسعة (the ninth) instead of the regular number for nine when telling time?
In Arabic, we tell the time using ordinal numbers (first, second, third) instead of regular counting numbers. So, to say 'nine o'clock', we literally say 'the ninth hour' (الساعة التاسعة). Notice that it ends in a taa marbuta (ة) because it must match the feminine word الساعة.
How does والربع translate to 'a quarter past'?
The word الربع means 'the quarter'. To say a certain amount of minutes 'past' the hour, Arabic simply uses و (and). So, التاسعة والربع literally translates to 'the ninth and the quarter', meaning a quarter past nine.
Why does the verb بدأت (started) have a 't' at the end?
In Arabic, the verb must match the gender of the subject. The subject here is المسرحية (the play), which is feminine because it ends in a taa marbuta (ة). To make the past tense verb بدأ feminine, we add the suffix ـت (-at) to make it بدأت.
The English translation says 'at a quarter past nine', but doesn't في usually mean 'in'?
Yes, في generally translates to 'in'. However, Arabic uses في to talk about the time an event happens. While we say 'at' a specific time in English, Arabic literally says 'in the hour' (في الساعة).
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