Breakdown of نعم، هما شريكان متفائلان جدا.
نعمna'am
yes
جداjiddan
very
شريكsharîk
partner
هماhumâ
they (two)
متفائلmutafâ'il
optimistic
Questions & Answers about نعم، هما شريكان متفائلان جدا.
Why use هما here instead of هم?
The pronoun هما is the independent dual pronoun meaning 'they two'. Because the sentence specifically talks about exactly two partners (شريكان), you must use the dual pronoun rather than the plural pronoun هم, which is for three or more people.
Does هما tell us the gender of the two partners?
No, the pronoun هما is gender-neutral and can mean two men, two women, or a mixed pair. However, we know it is a masculine or mixed pair here because the noun شريكان uses the masculine dual ending. If they were two female partners, the noun would be شريكتان.
Why do both the noun and the adjective end in ـان?
In Arabic, an adjective must exactly match its noun in number. Since the noun شريك (partner) is made dual by adding ـان to become شريكان, the adjective متفائل (optimistic) must also take the dual ending to become متفائلان.
Why is جدا placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word جدا means 'very'. In Arabic, it almost always comes immediately after the adjective it modifies. Since it describes how optimistic they are, it directly follows the adjective متفائلان.
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