Breakdown of قال الأستاذ: الامتحان سهل.
الal
the
أستاذustâdh
professor / teacher
سهلsahl
easy
امتحانimtihân
exam
قالqâla
to say
Questions & Answers about قال الأستاذ: الامتحان سهل.
Why doesn't the past tense verb قال have a suffix at the end?
In Arabic, the 'he' form of a past tense verb is the basic, standard form. It doesn't take any extra suffixes. If the professor were female, we would add the 'she' suffix to make it قالت (she said), but for 'he', قال stands completely on its own.
The verb قال has an Alif in the middle. Is that normal for past tense verbs?
Most simple past tense verbs have three distinct consonants, like كتب (he wrote). However, قال is part of a special, very common group of verbs that have a 'weak' middle letter. To make it sound smoother and easier to pronounce, the middle letter turns into a long 'aa' sound (written as an Alif) in this past tense form.
Why is the verb قال (said) placed before the subject الأستاذ (the professor)?
In Arabic, it is extremely common for sentences to start with the verb. The standard word order is Verb-Subject-Object, so we literally say 'Said the professor...' rather than 'The professor said...'. Starting with the verb is the most classic way to build an Arabic sentence.
Where is the word for 'is' in the phrase الامتحان سهل (the exam is easy)?
Arabic does not use the verb 'to be' (is, are, am) in the present tense! To say 'the exam is easy,' you simply put the defined noun الامتحان (the exam) right next to the adjective سهل (easy). The 'is' is automatically understood.
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