Breakdown of إن طلبت تخفيضا، أعطاك البائع سعرا أفضل.
الal
the
كka
your / you (object)
سعرsi'r
price
بائعbâ'i'
seller
طلبtalaba
to order / to request / to seek
أفضلafdal
best / better
أعطىa'tâ
to give
إنin
if (conditional)
تخفيضtakhfîd
discount
Questions & Answers about إن طلبت تخفيضا، أعطاك البائع سعرا أفضل.
Why do we use the past tense verbs طلبت and أعطاك when the English translation says "If you ask" and "will give"?
In Arabic conditional sentences starting with إن (which means "if" for possible situations), it is the standard rule to use the past tense for both the condition clause and the result clause. Even though the verbs are grammatically past tense, they refer to a hypothetical present or future action, which is why the English translation uses present and future tenses.
How is the word أعطاك put together?
It combines the past tense verb أعطى (he gave) with the attached object pronoun ك (you). When a suffix is attached to a word ending in the letter alif maqsura (the ى without dots), that letter stands up into a regular alif (ا). That is why it is spelled أعطاك.
Why does the subject البائع (the seller) come after the verb أعطاك (gave you)?
The normal word order for an Arabic verbal sentence is Verb-Subject-Object. However, because the object here is the pronoun ك (you) and is physically attached to the verb, it has to come immediately after the verb. This pushes the actual doer of the action, البائع, to come after the attached pronoun.
Why doesn't أفضل (better) end with an extra alif like the noun it describes, سعرا (a price)?
Normally, adjectives match their nouns completely, including case endings. Both words are in the accusative case here. However, أفضل is a comparative adjective. Words built on this specific pattern belong to a grammar category called "diptotes" that are not allowed to take tanwin (the double-vowel ending on indefinite words). Because it cannot take a tanwin fatha, it just takes a single short fatha vowel and does not get the extra alif that regular words like سعرا require.
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