Breakdown of كلتا الحقيبتين اللتين تركتهما في القطار فيهما مجوهرات ثمينة.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
حقيبةhaqîba
bag
قطارqitâr
train
تركtaraka
to leave
هماhumâ
their / them (two)
كلتاkiltâ
both
اللتانallatâni
the two who (f. dual nom.)
ثمينthamîn
valuable
مجوهراتmujawharât
jewelry
Questions & Answers about كلتا الحقيبتين اللتين تركتهما في القطار فيهما مجوهرات ثمينة.
Why is there a هما attached to the end of تركت (I left)?
In Arabic relative clauses, you usually need a resumptive pronoun (a pronoun that points back to the noun being described) if that noun is the object of the verb. In English, we just say "that I left," but in Arabic, you literally say "that I left them." Because we are talking about two bags, we attach the dual pronoun هما to the verb, making it تركتهما.
Where is the verb for "contain" in this sentence?
There is no direct verb for "contain" here. Instead, Arabic often uses a preposition with an attached pronoun to express possession or containing. The main predicate of this sentence is فيهما, which means "in them (two)." The core sentence is literally: "Both bags... in them (is) valuable jewelry."
Why do we use اللتين instead of the standard feminine التي for "that"?
Arabic relative pronouns must match the noun they refer to in gender, number, and case (for duals). Because الحقيبتين (the two bags) is dual and feminine, the relative pronoun must also be dual and feminine. Furthermore, because the noun is in the genitive case, the relative pronoun takes the matching genitive dual form اللتين rather than the nominative اللتان.
Why is الحقيبتين in the genitive/accusative case (ending in -ayn) when it is at the start of the sentence?
The word كلتا (both) always acts as the first part of a possessive construction (idafa). The noun that follows it is the "owner" and must be in the genitive case. For dual nouns, the genitive ending is ـين (-ayn), which is why we see الحقيبتين instead of the nominative الحقيبتان.
مجوهرات (jewelry) is plural. Why is its adjective ثمينة (valuable) singular?
This is a core Arabic rule you might remember from earlier: all non-human plurals are treated grammatically as singular feminine. Since jewelry is an inanimate object, any adjectives describing it must take the singular feminine form, which is why ثمينة is used here.
Learn كلتا الحقيبتين اللتين تركتهما في القطار فيهما مجوهرات ثمينة 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