Breakdown of الطلاب الذين شاركوا في المشروع لم يناقشوا الموضوع.
الal
the
طالبtâlib
student
شارك فيshâraka fî
to participate in
مشروعmashrû'
project / draft (bill)
Questions & Answers about الطلاب الذين شاركوا في المشروع لم يناقشوا الموضوع.
Why is the verb يناقشوا missing its final ن?
It is because of the negative word لم (did not). The word لم changes the present tense verb that follows it into the Jussive mood. For a masculine plural verb like يناقشون (they discuss), the Jussive mood requires dropping that final ن and adding a silent alif, making it لم يناقشوا.
The past tense verb شاركوا also ends in وا, so did it also drop a ن because of the Jussive mood?
No, شاركوا is in the past tense, and past tense verbs do not have a Jussive mood. Past tense masculine plural verbs naturally end in a waw and a silent alif. Only present tense verbs like يناقشوا drop a ن when they are put into the Jussive mood.
Could I just use الذي instead of الذين for who in this sentence?
No, because in Arabic, relative pronouns must match the noun they describe. Since الطلاب (the students) is a masculine plural noun referring to humans, you have to use the masculine plural pronoun الذين (who). الذي is only for singular masculine nouns.
Why do المشروع (the project) and الموضوع (the topic) sound so similar?
They share the same grammatical pattern! Both words are passive participles, which usually take a ma- prefix and a waw before the last root letter. So while their roots are different, they rhyme because they are built using the exact same vowel template.