Breakdown of في أي مدينة تسكن؟
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مدينةmadîna
city
أيayy
which (+ noun) / any
سكنsakana
to live (reside)
Questions & Answers about في أي مدينة تسكن؟
Why does the preposition في (in) come before the question word أي (which)?
Just like in formal English ('In which city...'), Arabic prepositions usually come right before the question word they belong to. You won't see prepositions dangling at the end of a sentence in Arabic like you sometimes do in casual English ('Which city do you live in?').
Why doesn't the word for city, مدينة, have the prefix for 'the' (ال) attached to it?
The question word أي (which) always pairs directly with a noun. When you use أي, the noun that immediately follows it stays indefinite, meaning it doesn't take ال (the). You just write the plain noun to mean 'which city'.
The verb تسكن can mean 'you live' (for a male) or 'she lives'. How do we know it means 'you live' here?
Out of context, it could actually mean either! However, this is a very common direct question to ask someone you are speaking to. If you wanted to make it absolutely clear you were asking 'you', you could add the pronoun أنت after the verb, but pronouns are usually dropped when the context is clear.
Can I use أي by itself before a verb, like the other question words in this lesson?
No, أي (which) is unique. Unlike question words like متى (when) or لماذا (why) that can be placed right before a verb, أي almost always needs a noun immediately after it to make sense, because you have to specify 'which thing' you are asking about.
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