Breakdown of كنت سأسافر، لكن الطقس ساء فجأة.
الal
the
سافرsâfara
to travel
سsa
will (future prefix)
فجأةfaj'atan
suddenly
لكنlâkin
but
كانkâna
to be
طقسtaqs
weather
ساءsâ'a
to worsen
Questions & Answers about كنت سأسافر، لكن الطقس ساء فجأة.
How do we form the 'was going to' meaning in this sentence?
We combine the past tense of 'to be' (كنت, meaning I was) with a present tense verb that has the future prefix attached (سأسافر, meaning I will travel). Together, كنت سأسافر translates to 'I was going to travel.'
Does the word لكن (but) affect the grammar of the word الطقس (weather)?
Yes. Because لكن (lākinna) is one of the 'sisters of Inna,' it requires the noun immediately following it to take the accusative case (mansub). If you were reading this with full vowels, the end of the word would take a fatha: لكنَّ الطقسَ (lākinna al-taqsa).
The verb ساء looks very short. What kind of verb is this?
ساء (sā'a) means 'worsened' or 'became bad.' It is a Form I 'hollow' verb, meaning its middle root letter is a weak letter. Notice that while the first half of the sentence discusses a future plan in the past, ساء is simply in the past tense because the weather actually did get worse, breaking the plan!
Why does فجأة have a tanween fatha (the 'an' sound) at the end?
The base word فجأة refers to a sudden event or surprise. Adding the accusative 'an' ending (tanween fatha) is a very common way in Arabic to turn a noun or adjective into an adverb, giving us the meaning 'suddenly' here.
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