Breakdown of جدي يمشي ببطء.
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
مشىmashâ
to walk / to go, to move along (of a vehicle)
جدjadd
grandfather
ببطءbibut'in
slowly
Questions & Answers about جدي يمشي ببطء.
How do we say "slowly" if Arabic doesn't have an "-ly" ending?
Instead of an "-ly" suffix, Arabic often creates adverbs of manner by attaching the preposition بـ (bi-, meaning "with") to a noun. Here, بـ is attached to the noun بطء (buṭ', meaning "slowness"), so ببطء literally translates to "with slowness".
Why does the verb يمشي end in a long vowel instead of a short vowel like regular present tense verbs?
The verb يمشي (he walks) comes from a "defective" root, meaning its final root letter is weak (ي). Regular present-tense verbs usually end in a short "u" sound (damma), but defective verbs often just hold onto their long vowel to make pronunciation flow more smoothly.
How do I pronounce the very end of the word ببطء?
The word ends with an isolated hamza (ء). This represents a glottal stop, which is a sudden stop of airflow in the back of your throat, similar to the catch in the middle of the English word "uh-oh". You pronounce the ط (ṭaa) sound and then cut the breath short.
Could I put the verb first in this sentence?
Yes! You could flip the first two words to make a verbal sentence: يمشي جدي ببطء. Both word orders are perfectly correct. Starting with the noun (a nominal sentence) like in our example often emphasizes the subject (My grandfather), while starting with the verb is the standard, classical Arabic structure.
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