Breakdown of كل أصدقائي سمر.
صديقsadîq
friend
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
كلkull
all / every
سمرsumr
dark-skinned (pl.)
Questions & Answers about كل أصدقائي سمر.
Why is the word for "dark-skinned" سمر here instead of أسمر?
Because it describes a plural noun (أصدقائي - my friends), the adjective must also be plural. Adjectives for colors and physical traits (like أسمر for a man and سمراء for a woman) share a special broken plural pattern: فُعْل (fu'l). By following this pattern, the singular أسمر becomes the plural سُمْر (sumr).
How does كل mean "all" here? Doesn't it usually mean "every"?
The meaning of كل changes depending on the word that comes after it. When followed by a singular indefinite noun, it means "every" (for example, كل صديق means "every friend"). But here, it is followed by a definite plural noun (أصدقائي, which counts as definite because of the "my" suffix). When attached to a definite plural, كل means "all of".
Where is the verb "are" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use the verb "to be" (is/are/am) in the present tense. This is a nominal (verbless) sentence. The subject is كل أصدقائي (all my friends) and the predicate giving us the new information is the adjective سمر (dark-skinned).
What is the singular form of أصدقائي?
The singular is صديق (friend). The plural is a broken plural, أصدقاء (friends). To say "my friends", you just add the possessive suffix ـي to the end to get أصدقائي.
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