Question 1

How can I tell that the verb تنذر is a Form IV verb and not a basic Form I verb?

Accepted Answer

In the present tense, Form IV verbs always have a damma (a "u" sound) on the prefix letter, and a kasra (an "i" sound) on the middle root letter. So it is pronounced تُنْذِرُ (tunziru) from the past tense أَنْذَرَ. A basic Form I verb would usually start with a fatha (an "a" sound) on the prefix.

Question 2

Why does the verb start with a feminine "تـ" (ta-) prefix when referring to the police?

Accepted Answer

The Arabic word for police, الشرطة, ends with a taa marbuuta (ة), which makes it a grammatically feminine noun. Even though "the police" refers to a group of people, the word itself is treated as a feminine singular subject, so the verb must match it by starting with تـ.

Question 3

Could I attach the prefix "سـ" (sa-) to the verb instead of using the separate word "سوف"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can! Both سـ and سوف are used before present tense verbs to indicate the future. You could say ستنذر and it would mean the exact same thing. سوف is sometimes used to imply a slightly more distant future, but they are practically interchangeable.

Question 4

How do I know who is warning whom just by looking at the Arabic sentence structure?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, the standard verbal sentence order is Verb - Subject - Object. Here, the verb تنذر (will warn) is followed first by the subject الشرطة (the police), and then the direct object الضحية (the victim). If you were reading with full vowel marks, الشرطةُ would end in a damma ("u" sound) as the subject, and الضحيةَ would end in a fatha ("a" sound) as the object.

سوف تنذر الشرطة الضحية قبل العاصفة.

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