Questions & Answers about الدراجة الزرقاء أبطأ من السيارة.
How do we get أبطأ (slower) from the regular word for "slow"?
The normal adjective for "slow" is بطيء. To say "slower", we put its core letters into the comparative أفعل pattern, which gives us أبطأ.
Both nouns here are feminine. Why doesn't the comparative adjective أبطأ have a feminine ending?
When you use a comparative adjective followed by من (than), it always stays in its default masculine singular form. It doesn't change to match the feminine noun الدراجة (the bicycle).
Does the preposition من mean "than" here?
Yes! While من usually means "from", it is the standard word used after a comparative adjective to mean "than". So أبطأ من literally translates to "slower from", but means "slower than" in English.
Why is the word for "blue" الزرقاء instead of taking a standard feminine ending like ـة?
Colors have their own special pattern for gender. The masculine word for blue is أزرق, and its feminine form is زرقاء. Because الدراجة (the bicycle) is feminine, the color adjective must match it, so we use الزرقاء.