Questions & Answers about يأكل النباتي كل شيء إلا اللحم.
Why does the word for meat (اللحم) take an "a" sound (fatha) at the end if we read it with full case endings?
In Arabic, when you use إلا (except) in a positive sentence (a sentence without a negative word like "not"), the noun being excluded must be in the accusative case. This means اللحم takes a fatha (a short "a" sound) at the end, becoming اللحمَ (al-lahma).
The word for vegetarian is النباتي. How is this word built?
It is made using a "nisba" suffix, which creates a relational adjective. The base word is نبات (nabaat), meaning "plant" or "vegetation". By adding the ـي (-iyy) suffix, it describes someone related to plants. Here, it is used as a noun meaning "the vegetarian".
How exactly does كل شيء translate to "everything"?
The word كل (kull) means "every" or "all". When you follow it with a singular, indefinite noun like شيء (thing), it means "every [noun]". So كل شيء literally translates as "every thing". Note that a noun immediately following كل is always in the genitive (possessive) case, which is why it takes a kasratayn (in) sound here: "kulli shay'in".
Why does the verb يأكل (eats) come first in the sentence?
This is standard Arabic sentence structure. While English uses Subject-Verb-Object ("The vegetarian eats..."), Arabic strongly prefers verbal sentences that begin with the verb. So the order here is Verb-Subject-Object (يأكل النباتي كل شيء).