Breakdown of هذه حفلة خاصة، لا نسمح بالدخول إلا للمدعوين.
الal
the
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
حفلةhafla
party / concert
بbi
by, with (attached)
لli
for, to (attached)
لاlâ
not (with present verb)
إلاillâ
except
دخولdukhûl
entry
خاصkhâss
private / special
سمحsamaha
to allow / to permit
مدعوmad'uww
invitee / invited
Questions & Answers about هذه حفلة خاصة، لا نسمح بالدخول إلا للمدعوين.
The translation says "we only permit", but where is the Arabic word for "only"?
In Arabic, the most natural way to express "only" is by using a negative word followed by إلا (except). Here, لا (do not) and إلا (except) work together to create a restriction. Literally, the sentence says "we do not permit entry except to the invitees."
Why are there two different prepositions used with the verb نسمح?
The verb سمح (to permit) requires specific prepositions to connect to its objects. In Arabic, you permit the action using بـ (with) and you give that permission to the person using لـ (to/for). That is why we see بالدخول (with entry) and للمدعوين (to the invitees).
Why does للمدعوين start with two lams, and where did the definite article الـ (the) go?
The definite article is still there, but its spelling changes. The base word is المدعوين (the invitees). When you attach the preposition لـ (to/for) to a word that starts with الـ (the), Arabic spelling rules require you to drop the alif (ا) completely. Therefore, لـ plus الـ becomes للـ.
Why does the word for invitees end in ـين (-iin) instead of ـون (-uun)?
The word مدعوين is a regular masculine plural. Because it comes right after the preposition لـ, it is in the genitive case (majrur). For regular masculine plurals, this grammatical state changes the standard ـون subject ending into ـين.
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