Question 1

Why is 'twenty to' translated using إلا and ثلثا?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, minutes are often expressed using fractions of an hour. The word ثلث means a third. Since a third of 60 minutes is 20 minutes, ثلث is used for twenty. The word إلا means except or less. So, التاسعة إلا ثلثا literally means the ninth hour, less a third, giving us twenty to nine.

Question 2

Why does the Arabic sentence say the ninth (التاسعة) instead of just the number nine?

Accepted Answer

Arabic uses ordinal numbers (first, second, third) to state the hour, rather than regular counting numbers (one, two, three). So instead of saying hour nine, you literally say the ninth hour.

Question 3

Why is the word for nine (التاسعة) in the feminine form?

Accepted Answer

When telling time, the number describes the word الساعة (the hour). Because الساعة is a feminine word ending in a taa marbuta (ة), the ordinal number that follows it must also be feminine to match it.

Question 4

Why does the word for a third (ثلثا) have an extra alif (ا) at the end here?

Accepted Answer

The base word is ثلث. When a noun follows إلا (except or less), it takes a grammatical state called the accusative case. For undefined words, this case adds an 'an' sound at the end, which requires adding an alif (ا) to the written spelling.

Question 5

The sentence starts with the verb ذهب (went). Is it common to put the verb before the subject الجمهور?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In Modern Standard Arabic, the most common sentence structure is Verb-Subject-Object. Starting the sentence with the action is the most natural way to express that the audience went.

ذهب الجمهور في الساعة التاسعة إلا ثلثا.

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