Breakdown of كان يجب أن يلغى القانون.
الal
the
أنan
to (with verbs)
كانkâna
to be
يجبyajibu
must / has to
ألغىalghâ
to cancel
قانونqânûn
law
Questions & Answers about كان يجب أن يلغى القانون.
Why is القانون the subject here if the law isn't doing the canceling?
Because يلغى (be canceled) is a passive verb. In Arabic, when a verb is passive, the original object of the action steps in to become the proxy subject (نائب الفاعل). This means القانون acts grammatically like a normal subject, taking the nominative case with a Damma on the final letter (القانونُ).
How can we recognize that يلغى is in the passive voice?
Present tense passive verbs take a Damma on the first letter and a Fatha on the middle root letter. Here, it is يُلْغَى (yulghā) instead of the active يُلْغِي (yulghī). The final alif maqsura (ى) instead of a regular yaa (ي) is your visual clue that the vowel before it is a Fatha, confirming it is passive.
If يجب and يلغى are both in the present tense, how does this sentence mean "should have been"?
The past tense verb كان (was) at the very beginning acts like a time machine, shifting the entire following phrase into the past. While يجب أن means "it is necessary to" (or "must/should"), adding كان creates the structure كان يجب أن, which translates to "it was necessary to" or "should have".
Doesn't the particle أن (to/that) normally add a Fatha to the end of the following verb?
Yes, أن normally forces the following verb into the subjunctive mood, which adds a Fatha to the last letter. However, because the passive verb يلغى ends in an alif maqsura (ى), it is physically impossible to add or pronounce a Fatha on it. The grammatical change is assumed, but the spelling remains entirely unchanged.
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