Breakdown of لم يعجبني الطعام في هذا المطعم.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
مطعمmat'am
restaurant
طعامta'âm
food
نيni
me
لمlam
did not
أعجبa'jaba
to please (someone)
Questions & Answers about لم يعجبني الطعام في هذا المطعم.
Why is the subject of the sentence 'the food' and not 'I'?
In Arabic, the verb يعجب literally means 'to please'. Instead of saying 'I liked the food', Arabic speakers say 'The food pleased me' (يعجبني الطعام). The food is the one doing the action (the subject), and 'me' is the object attached to the end of the verb.
The translation says 'didn't like' in the past tense, but isn't يعجب a present tense verb?
Yes, it is! However, the negative word لم is special: when placed before a present tense verb, it changes the meaning to the past tense. So لم يعجبني means 'it did not please me' (past tense), which is the standard way to say 'I didn't like it'.
Where does the 'n' sound come from in يعجبني?
That is the 'noon of protection'. The suffix for 'me' is just ي. But adding an 'ee' sound directly to a verb would force the verb's final vowel to change, which Arabic doesn't allow. The ن acts as a buffer to protect the verb, creating the suffix ـني.
Why does the word for restaurant, المطعم, have ال (al-) at the beginning when it comes after هذا?
In Arabic, to say 'this restaurant', the noun following 'this' (هذا) must have 'the' (ال) attached. If you take away the ال and say هذا مطعم, the meaning changes completely into a full sentence: 'This is a restaurant.'
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