Breakdown of يجب أن نفحص نظام الأمن قبل أن نغادر المبنى.
الal
the
قبلqabla
before
أنan
to (with verbs)
مبنىmabnâ
building
يجبyajibu
must / has to
غادرghâdara
to depart
فحصfaḥaṣa
to examine
نظامnizâm
system; regime
أمنamn
security
Questions & Answers about يجب أن نفحص نظام الأمن قبل أن نغادر المبنى.
Why do we use قبل أن instead of just قبل to say 'before'?
You use قبل (before) when it is followed by a noun, like 'before the meeting'. But when 'before' is followed by a full action or clause, like 'we leave', Arabic requires قبل أن (literally 'before that'). The أن connects the sequence of events.
How does the word أن affect the verbs نفحص and نغادر?
The particle أن forces the following present tense verb into the subjunctive mood. For 'we' verbs like these, it changes the final spoken vowel from a 'u' sound (damma) to an 'a' sound (fatha). So you say نفحصَ (nafHasa) and نغادرَ (nughaadira).
How do we say 'we must'? I only see the word يجب which I learned means 'it is necessary'.
In Arabic, you don't usually conjugate a verb for 'must' to match the speaker. Instead, you use the fixed phrase يجب أن ('it is necessary that') and then conjugate the second verb. 'We must check' is literally 'it is necessary that we check' (يجب أن نفحص).
Why does the word نظام (system) lack the word for 'the' (ال) if we are talking about a specific system?
The phrase نظام الأمن (the security system) is an Idafa, or possession structure. It literally translates to 'the system of the security'. In an Idafa, the first word never takes ال, but it automatically becomes definite because the second word (الأمن) is definite.
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