Breakdown of هناك تلوث كبير في البيئة اليوم.
الal
the
هناكhunâka
there
فيfî
in / about, regarding
كبيرkabîr
big
اليومal-yawma
today
تلوثtalawwuth
pollution
بيئةbi'ah
environment
Questions & Answers about هناك تلوث كبير في البيئة اليوم.
The word for pollution is تلوث (talawwuth). How does this fit into the Form V verbal noun pattern we are learning?
تلوث (talawwuth) is the verbal noun, or masdar, of the Form V verb تلوث (talawwatha), meaning to become polluted. The regular pattern for a Form V verbal noun is tafa''ul, which starts with a ta- prefix, doubles the middle root letter, and changes the vowel before the last letter to a u sound. Applying this to the root letters l-w-th gives us تلوث (ta-law-wuth).
Why does كبير (kabir) come after تلوث (talawwuth) and not have the ال (al-) prefix?
In Arabic, adjectives like كبير (major/big) always follow the noun they describe. Also, adjectives must match their noun in definiteness. Since تلوث (pollution) is indefinite here (it does not have ال attached), its adjective must also be indefinite, remaining simply كبير.
I see هناك (hunaka) at the beginning. Doesn't that usually point to a location meaning over there?
It can mean over there, but when placed at the very beginning of a sentence, هناك is the standard way to say there is or there are. It introduces the existence of something, which in this sentence is the تلوث كبير (major pollution).
Why is اليوم (al-yawm) translated as today instead of the day?
While يوم (yawm) by itself means a day, adding the definite article to make it اليوم (al-yawm) is the standard Arabic adverb for today. Even though it literally translates to the day, it is used to show that the situation is happening in the present day.
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