Breakdown of أراد الرجل أن ينفتح الباب.
الal
the
رجلrajul
man
بابbâbun
door
أرادarâda
to want
أنan
to (with verbs)
انفتحinfataha
to open (intransitive)
Questions & Answers about أراد الرجل أن ينفتح الباب.
How can I tell that ينفتح is a Form VII verb?
The root of this verb is ف ت ح (meaning to open). In the present tense, Form VII verbs have the prefix ينـ (yan-) for the he/it form. The يـ (ya-) tells us it is present tense, and the ـنـ (-n-) is the signature marker of Form VII.
Does Form VII always translate to a passive English phrase like "to be opened"?
Not necessarily. Form VII verbs like ينفتح describe actions that happen to the subject without mentioning who did it. In English, we often use intransitive verbs for this, saying "the door opens" instead of "the door is opened". Both concepts work, but Form VII focuses on the door undergoing the action.
Why is the vowel on the last letter of ينفتح a fatha (yanfatiha) instead of a damma (yanfatihu)?
Because it comes right after the particle أن (to/that). The word أن forces the following present tense verb to change its default final damma to a fatha, a grammar rule you might remember as the subjunctive mood.
Why does الباب (the door) come after the verb ينفتح?
Arabic prefers Verb-Subject-Object word order. Just like the main sentence starts with the verb أراد (wanted) followed by its subject الرجل (the man), the second part of the sentence also puts the verb ينفتح (to open) before its subject الباب (the door).
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