Breakdown of الحصان أسرع من الدراجة الحمراء.
الal
the
أحمرahmar
red
حصانhisân
horse
أسرعasra
faster / fastest
منmin
than
دراجةdarrâja
bicycle
Questions & Answers about الحصان أسرع من الدراجة الحمراء.
How do we get the word أسرع (faster) from the regular word for fast?
The regular adjective for "fast" is سريع. To make it comparative ("faster"), we use the pattern أفعل. By taking the three core root letters for fast (س-ر-ع) and plugging them into this pattern, we get أسرع.
I learned that من means "from". Why is it translated as "than" here?
You are right that من normally means "from". However, when it is used immediately after a comparative adjective like أسرع, it functions as the word "than" to compare two things. So, أسرع من means "faster than".
Why is the word for red الحمراء instead of الأحمر?
In Arabic, adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because الدراجة (the bicycle) is feminine, which you can tell by the taa marbuta (ة) at the end, the color must also be feminine. أحمر is the masculine form, and حمراء is the feminine form.
Why doesn't أسرع have the definite article الـ (al-) like the other words in the sentence?
This is a standard nominal sentence (a sentence without an "is" verb). The subject, الحصان (the horse), is definite. The new information we are giving about the horse is that it is faster, making أسرع the predicate. Predicates are usually indefinite, which is why it lacks الـ. If you added it to make الحصان الأسرع, it would just be a fragment meaning "the fastest horse".
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