Breakdown of شخصيا، أحب القهوة أكثر من الشاي.
الal
the
قهوةqahwa
coffee
شايshây
tea
أحبuhibbu
to love
منmin
than
أكثرaktar
more
شخصياshakhsiyyan
personally
Questions & Answers about شخصيا، أحب القهوة أكثر من الشاي.
Why do we say القهوة (the coffee) and الشاي (the tea) when the English translation just says 'coffee' and 'tea'?
In Arabic, when you talk about a broad category or things in general (like coffee or tea), you must use the definite article ال (al-). If you left it out, it would sound like you are saying 'I like some coffee more than some tea.'
Why does the word شخصيا (personally) end with an extra alif (ا)?
That alif carries a 'tanween fatha' (an '-an' sound), making the word pronounced 'shakhsiyyan'. In Arabic, adding this ending to an adjective is the standard way to turn it into an adverb. Here, it changes شخصي (personal) into شخصيا (personally).
The word من usually means 'from'. Why is it translated as 'than' here?
To make comparisons in Arabic, you use the comparative form of an adjective followed by من (min). Because أكثر means 'more', the phrase أكثر من translates to 'more than'. Arabic doesn't have a separate word for 'than', so it relies on 'from' to build these comparisons.
Where is the word for 'I' in the phrase أحب (I like)?
In Arabic, the subject pronoun is built right into the present tense verb. The prefix أ (alif with a hamza) at the beginning of أحب (uhibbu) automatically tells us the subject is 'I'. You do not need to add the separate word أنا (I) unless you want to add special emphasis.
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