Breakdown of لم يكن المحقق قد اتصل بالمتهم.
الal
the
اتصل بittasala bi
to call
كانkâna
to be
متهمmuttaham
defendant / accused person, suspect
قدqad
already
لمlam
did not
محققmuhaqqiq
detective
Questions & Answers about لم يكن المحقق قد اتصل بالمتهم.
How does the combination لم يكن قد اتصل translate to "had not called"?
This is the standard way to negate the Past Perfect tense in Arabic. لم يكن (did not be) sets the timeline to the past, while قد followed by the past tense verb اتصل (called) marks the action as complete. Together, they create the meaning "had not [done something]".
Why is the word for "the detective" (المحقق) placed between لم يكن and قد?
In Arabic sentence structure, it is very common to place the subject immediately after the first verb. Here, المحقق is the subject of لم يكن. You could also put it at the very beginning (المحقق لم يكن قد...), but splitting the auxiliary verb (يكن) and the main action (اتصل) with the subject is the standard way to build this tense.
Why is it يكن instead of يكون after لم?
The negative particle لم (did not) forces the present tense verb that follows it into the jussive mood (majzum). For a hollow verb like يكون, the last letter loses its vowel. To prevent two unvoweled letters (the "waw" and the "nun") from sitting next to each other, the long "uu" sound is dropped, turning يكون into يكن.
Why is there a بـ attached to المتهم (the accused)?
In English, you "call someone" directly, but the Arabic verb اتصل (to contact/call) requires the preposition بـ (with/by). You cannot just use a direct object here; you must say اتصل بالمتهم (literally "contacted with the accused").
How is the word المتهم (the accused) formed, and why does it have a double "t"?
The root is actually و-ه-م (w-h-m), which relates to suspicion or illusion. المتهم is a Form VIII passive participle. In Form VIII, a "t" is normally inserted after the first root letter. Because this root starts with a "waw", the "w" and the inserted "t" merge into a double "t" (تّ). It literally means "the one who is suspected/accused".
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