Breakdown of بحثت عن مقابر فرعونية في مدينة عتيقة.
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مدينةmadîna
city
بحث عنbaHatha 'an
to search for
مقبرةmaqbara
tomb; cemetery
فرعونيfir'awniyy
Pharaonic
عتيقatîq
ancient
Questions & Answers about بحثت عن مقابر فرعونية في مدينة عتيقة.
Why does مقابر (tombs) take a fatha sound at the end instead of a kasra, even though it follows the preposition عن?
Because مقابر is a diptote (a word restricted from full declension). It follows a special broken plural pattern called the ultimate plural (صيغة منتهى الجموع). Diptotes do not take tanween, and in the genitive case, they take a fatha instead of a kasra. Since it comes after the preposition عن, it is genitive and pronounced مقابرَ (maqabira).
If مقابر is in the genitive case, why does its adjective فرعونية take the regular genitive ending (kasratayn) instead of matching the fatha?
Adjectives must match the grammatical case of the noun they describe, but not necessarily the exact vowel ending. مقابر is in the genitive case, so فرعونية must also be genitive. Because فرعونية is a regular, fully-declined word, it shows its genitive case normally with kasratayn. You pronounce the phrase as مقابرَ فرعونيةٍ (maqabira fir'awniyyatin). This visual mismatch is a very common feature when modifying diptotes!
Why is the adjective فرعونية (Pharaonic) in the feminine singular form when it describes مقابر (tombs), which is plural?
This is a great refresher of a golden Arabic rule: all non-human plurals are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Since مقابر (tombs) are inanimate objects, the adjective describing them must be feminine singular.
I see the preposition عن is used here. Is this the standard way to say search for?
Yes, the verb بحث (to search) almost always pairs with the preposition عن to mean to look for or to search for. Even though English uses the word for, which might tempt you to use لِـ, you should memorize the fixed chunk بحث عن.
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