Breakdown of أرسل المخبر رسالة مشفرة إلى السفارة.
الal
the
إلىilâ
to
أرسلarsala
to send
رسالةrisâla
letter / message
Questions & Answers about أرسل المخبر رسالة مشفرة إلى السفارة.
Why does المخبر start with مـ (mu-), and how does that make it mean 'the informant'?
المخبر (al-mukhbir) is an active participle, which means it describes the person doing the action. For derived verbs (Forms II through X), active participles always start with the prefix مُـ (mu-) and have an 'i' vowel (kasra) on the middle root letter. Here, the root is خ ب ر (related to news or information), so a مُخبِر is 'the one who informs' (the informant).
How can we tell that مشفرة means 'encrypted' (passive) rather than 'encrypting' (active)?
The difference between active and passive participles in these verb forms is just one short vowel! Both start with مُـ (mu-). While an active participle (like مُخبِر) has an 'i' sound before the last root letter, a passive participle has an 'a' sound (fatha) there instead. In مُشَفَّر (mushaffar), the 'a' sound tells us it receives the action, meaning 'encrypted'.
Why does مشفرة end with a ة (taa marbuuta) in this sentence?
Participles can act as nouns or adjectives. Here, it acts as an adjective describing the noun رسالة (message or letter). Because رسالة is a feminine noun, the adjective مشفرة must also take the feminine ending ة to match it.
What verb form is أرسل (arsala)?