Breakdown of لما سألت المتهم، لاحظته مرتبكا.
الal
the
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
سألsa'ala
to ask
متهمmuttaham
defendant / accused person, suspect
لماlammâ
when (past)
لاحظlâhadha
to notice
مرتبكmurtabik
confused
Questions & Answers about لما سألت المتهم، لاحظته مرتبكا.
Why does the word for confused, مرتبكا, end with an extra alif (ا)?
This is because مرتبكا is acting as the ḥāl (Adverbial Accusative of State), which is the focus of this lesson! It describes the condition or state of the suspect at the time you noticed him. In Arabic, words in this role must take the accusative case. Since it is an indefinite noun, it gets the fatḥatayn (double fatha) sound at the end, which requires adding a placeholder alif (ا) in writing.
Does مرتبكا (confused) describe 'me' (the person noticing) or 'him' (the suspect)?
It describes 'him' (the suspect). The ḥāl always matches the person or thing it describes in gender and number. Since مرتبكا is masculine and singular, it matches the attached pronoun ـه (him) in لاحظته. If you had noticed a female suspect, you would say مرتبكةً (confused, feminine). Note that the ḥāl itself is always indefinite, even though the suspect it describes is a specific, definite person!
Why use لما for 'when' instead of متى?
متى is a question word used to ask 'When?' (as in, 'When did you ask him?'). However, لما is a conjunction used to say 'At the time that...' to connect two events in the past. Because this sentence is a statement connecting two past actions rather than asking a question, you must use لما (or a similar word like عندما).
How do you break down the word لاحظته (I noticed him)?
This single word actually contains the verb, the subject, and the direct object! It breaks down into three parts: the root verb لاحظ (to notice), the suffix ـتُ which shows that 'I' did the action in the past tense, and the attached pronoun ـهُ which means 'him'. In Arabic, object pronouns are attached directly to the end of the conjugated verb.
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