Breakdown of لا تلمس الكهرباء لأنها خطيرة جدا.
الal
the
هاhâ
her / her (object) / it (feminine)
جداjiddan
very
لاlâ
not (with present verb)
لأنli'anna
because
خطيرkhatîr
dangerous / serious, grave
لمسlamasa
to touch
كهرباءkahrabâ'
electricity
Questions & Answers about لا تلمس الكهرباء لأنها خطيرة جدا.
Why is the verb تلمس (talmis) used here instead of an imperative command?
In Arabic, you cannot use the standard command form to tell someone not to do something. Instead, you use the negative particle لا (lā) followed by a present tense verb in the Jussive mood (المضارع المجزوم). For a singular 'you', this usually means dropping the final vowel and replacing it with a 'sukoon' (a silent placeholder, meaning no vowel).
If negative commands make the verb end in a 'sukoon', why is there an 'i' sound at the end of تلمس when reading this sentence aloud?
You are right that تلمس normally ends in a sukoon (تلمسْ) for a negative command. However, the next word الكهرباء starts with the definite article 'al-'. Arabic avoids having two sukoons right next to each other (the end of the verb and the 'l' in 'al-'). To fix this consonant clash, the verb temporarily takes a 'kasra' (i) sound to connect them smoothly: تلمسِ الكهرباء (talmisi l-kahrabā').
Why does the word for 'because it' use the feminine ending ها in لأنها (li-'annahā)?
The pronoun ها (-hā) refers back to الكهرباء (the electricity). While it doesn't end in the typical feminine 'taa marbuta', الكهرباء is a feminine noun. You can also double-check that it is feminine because the adjective describing it, خطيرة (khaṭīrah, 'dangerous'), explicitly ends in the feminine marker ة.
How exactly is the word لأنها (li-'annahā) built?
It is a combination of three pieces stuck together: لـ (li) meaning 'for' or 'because', أن (anna) meaning 'that', and the attached pronoun ها (hā) meaning 'she' or 'it' (referring to the feminine word for electricity). Literally, it translates to 'for that it [is]...'.
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