Breakdown of الكرة فوق العارضة وبعيدة عن المرمى.
الal
the
وwa
and
كرةkura
ball
فوقfawqa
above
عن'an
about / from (far from) / on the basis of (merit)
بعيدba'îd
far
عارضةâridah
crossbar
مرمىmarmâ
goal
Questions & Answers about الكرة فوق العارضة وبعيدة عن المرمى.
Where is the verb in this sentence?
There is no verb! This is a standard Arabic nominal sentence. In the present tense, Arabic doesn't use a 'to be' verb like 'is'. You simply place the subject, الكرة (the ball), right before the information about it, فوق العارضة (above the crossbar).
Why is the word for 'far', بعيدة, in the feminine form?
It is describing the subject of the sentence, الكرة (the ball). Since الكرة ends in a taa marbuuta (ة) and is feminine, any adjectives or descriptive predicates referring back to it must also be feminine.
How does the word و (and) work in the middle of this sentence?
It links two different pieces of news (predicates) about the ball. The sentence is essentially saying: The ball is above the crossbar, and (the ball is) far from the goal. The و connects these two descriptions.
I thought the word for 'from' was من. Why does this sentence use عن for 'far from'?
While من usually translates to 'from', the adjective بعيد (far) is almost always paired with the preposition عن in Arabic. Learning these specific word pairings, like بعيد عن (far from) and قريب من (close to), is an important step to sounding natural at this level.
Learn الكرة فوق العارضة وبعيدة عن المرمى and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free