Breakdown of اعتذر الطالب لكن عذره لم يكن مقبولا.
الal
the
طالبtâlib
student
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
لكنlâkin
but
كانkâna
to be
لمlam
did not
عذر'udhr
excuse
اعتذرi'tadhara
to apologize
مقبولmaqbûl
acceptable
Questions & Answers about اعتذر الطالب لكن عذره لم يكن مقبولا.
Why is the verb يكن missing its middle vowel? Shouldn't it be يكون?
This is because of the negative word لم. The word لم forces the present tense verb into the jussive mood, which usually places a sukoon (no vowel) on the last letter. For a hollow verb like يكون, doing this creates two unvowelled letters in a row (the و and the ن). To fix this clash, Arabic drops the long vowel, giving us يكن.
Why does مقبولا end with an extra alif?
That alif is there to hold the double fatha ending (tanween fatha), which marks the accusative case. It needs to be in this case because it is the predicate (the descriptive part) of the verb كان (which is يكن here). In Arabic, the verb "to be" always makes its predicate accusative.
Does the word لكن (but) affect the noun عذره (his excuse) that comes after it?
Yes! In this sentence, it is specifically لكنَّ (with a shadda), which belongs to a group of words called the "sisters of إنَّ". These words make the noun right after them accusative. So, if you were pronouncing the short vowels, it would be عذرَهُ ('udhra-hu) with a fatha on the letter ra, rather than a damma.
Are the words اعتذر (apologized) and عذر (excuse) related to each other?
Yes, they share the same three-letter root: ع - ذ - ر. This root relates to excusing or forgiving. اعتذر is the verb for "he apologized", and عذر is the noun for "an excuse". Recognizing these root letters is a great way to figure out new vocabulary!
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