Breakdown of يجرب أخوك العطر منذ أمس.
الal
the
أخakh
brother
كka
your / you (object)
أمسams
yesterday
عطر'itr
perfume
منذmundhu
since / for
جربjarraba
to test / to try
Questions & Answers about يجرب أخوك العطر منذ أمس.
Why does this sentence use the present tense verb يجرب if the English translation says 'has been testing'?
In Arabic, to talk about an action that started in the past and is still happening right now, you use a present tense verb along with منذ (since/for). English uses 'has been doing', but Arabic just keeps it simple with the regular present tense.
Why is there a long و (waw) in the middle of أخوك (your brother)?
The word for brother, أخ, is one of a few special nouns in Arabic (along with father, أب). When it is the doer of the action (the subject), it takes a long و before the attached pronoun. Since your brother is the one doing the testing, it becomes أخوك.
Does منذ mean 'since' or 'for' in this sentence?
It can mean both, depending on what follows it! Because أمس (yesterday) is a specific point in time, منذ means 'since' here. If it were followed by an amount of time, like 'two days', it would translate to 'for'.
Does the word أمس (yesterday) always end with a 'kasra' (short i sound)?
Yes, the word أمس is fixed and always ends with a kasra, no matter its role in the sentence. Additionally, since منذ acts as a preposition, the word immediately after it usually takes a kasra anyway.
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