Questions & Answers about وقعت الدولة معاهدة سلام جديدة.
I notice the word معاهدة (treaty) shares a pattern with the Form III verbs we are learning. How are they connected?
The word معاهدة is the verbal noun of the Form III verb عاهد (he made a pact). While this lesson focuses on conjugating Form III verbs, it is helpful to know that their nouns often follow this exact pattern: adding a مـ (mu-) to the beginning and a ـة (-a) to the end of the root.
Why is the feminine ending on وقعت pronounced with an 'i' sound before الدولة?
The verb وقعت (waqqa'at) ends in a silent consonant marker (sukun). The next word, الدولة (ad-dawla), starts with a silent letter too because the 'a' in 'al-' drops when connected. To avoid having two silent consonants in a row, Arabic adds a helper kasra ('i' sound) to the verb, making it sound like 'waqqa'ati d-dawla'.
Why does جديدة (new) come at the very end, rather than right after معاهدة (treaty)?
The words معاهدة سلام (peace treaty) form an 'idafa', which is a possessive chain literally meaning 'a treaty of peace'. In Arabic, you cannot interrupt an idafa with an adjective. Any adjective describing the first word (معاهدة) must wait until the entire chain is finished.
If جديدة is describing معاهدة, why doesn't it have الـ (the) like the state does?