Breakdown of ما زال السائق ينتظر بسبب المرور.
سائقsâ'iq
driver
بbi
by, with (attached)
سببsabab
reason
انتظرintazir
to wait
ما زالmâ zâla
he is still
مرورmurûr
traffic
بسببbisababi
because of
Questions & Answers about ما زال السائق ينتظر بسبب المرور.
Why is ما زال (which looks like a past tense verb) used to say the driver "is still" waiting right now?
ما زال literally means "he did not cease" or "he has not stopped". Even though it is formed with a past tense verb, when you pair it with a present tense verb like ينتظر (he waits / is waiting), it creates the meaning of an ongoing action in the present: "he is still waiting".
Why is the subject السائق (the driver) placed in between the two verbs?
In Arabic, the typical sentence structure is Verb-Subject-Object. Because ما زال acts as the main verb of the sentence, it comes first. Then comes the subject (السائق), followed by the second verb (ينتظر) which completes the meaning by telling us exactly what the driver is still doing.
I know سبب means "reason". How exactly does بسبب work to mean "because of"?
The word بسبب is made by attaching the preposition بـ (by/with) to the noun سبب (reason), so it literally means "by reason of". It acts as a set phrase and is always followed directly by a noun—in this case, المرور (the traffic).
Where does the word المرور (the traffic) come from?
It comes from the root م-ر-ر, which means "to pass" or "to go by". المرور literally translates to "the passing", which is how Modern Standard Arabic expresses the concept of road traffic.
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