Breakdown of أزور زميلي في المقهى، وهو يعيش بجانب النادي.
الal
the
وwa
and
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هوhuwa
he / his / him (attached)
زميلzamîl
colleague
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
زارzâra
to visit
بجانبbijânibi
next to
عاشâsha
to live
مقهىmaqhâ
cafe
ناديnâdi
club
Questions & Answers about أزور زميلي في المقهى، وهو يعيش بجانب النادي.
Why does the verb أزور (I visit) have a 'waaw' (و) in the middle, but its past tense زار has an 'alif' (ا)?
This is a 'hollow verb', meaning its middle root letter is a weak vowel. In the past tense, this vowel often hides as a plain 'alif' (زار). But in the present tense, its true identity is revealed! For this verb, the hidden letter is a 'waaw' (و), so it becomes أزور (I visit) or يزور (he visits).
The verb يعيش (he lives) is also a hollow verb. Why does its middle vowel change to a 'yaa' (ي) instead of a 'waaw' (و)?
Hollow verbs belong to different groups based on their 'true' middle letter. While the past tense of both verbs looks similar with an alif (زار for visited, عاش for lived), their roots are different. The root of عاش has a middle 'yaa' (ي). So in the present tense, it shows up as يعيش (he lives). You just have to learn whether a hollow verb takes a 'waaw' or a 'yaa' when you memorize the verb!
What exactly does the بـ attached to بجانب do in this sentence?
The noun جانب literally means 'side'. By attaching the preposition بـ (which can mean 'by', 'at', or 'with' depending on context), you create the phrase بجانب (bi-jaanib). This is the standard, everyday way to say 'beside' or 'next to' in Arabic.
The word for cafe is مقهى. It ends in a letter that looks like a 'yaa' (ي) but has no dots. How is it pronounced?
That letter is called an 'alif maqsurah' (broken alif). Even though it is shaped like a dotless 'yaa', it is always pronounced exactly like a regular 'alif' (an 'aa' sound). Therefore, المقهى is pronounced 'al-maqhaa'.
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