Breakdown of المستأجر قرأ العقد، لكنه لا يريد أن يوقع الآن.
الal
the
الآنal-ân
now
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
قرأqara'a
to read
Questions & Answers about المستأجر قرأ العقد، لكنه لا يريد أن يوقع الآن.
How is 'but he' formed in this sentence?
We use the conjunction لكن (but) and attach the pronoun suffix ـه (him) to make لكنه (but he). When using لكن, you must attach the pronoun directly to it instead of using a separate independent word like هو.
Why couldn't we use the word بل here instead of لكن?
The word بل means 'but rather', and the current lesson shows it is used to correct a negative statement. Since the first half of this sentence is a positive fact (the tenant read the contract), we just use لكن to add a contrasting thought.
Why is the word أن used between the two verbs?
The word أن means 'to', and it is used to connect two verbs. Just like in English where we say 'wants to sign', in Arabic we put أن between يريد (he wants) and يوقع (he signs).
How do we know if قرأ means 'read' in the past tense or 'reads' in the present tense?
In Arabic, the past tense form is قرأ (he read) and the present tense form is يقرأ (he reads). Even though the English word 'read' is spelled the same in both tenses, the Arabic word used here is specifically the past tense.