Breakdown of أخبرتني صديقتي أن الخبر صدمة.
الal
the
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
خبرkhabar
news item
نيni
me
أنanna
that (conjunction)
صديقةsadîqa
friend
أخبرakhbara
to tell (information)
صدمةsadma
the shock
Questions & Answers about أخبرتني صديقتي أن الخبر صدمة.
Why is there no word for 'was' in the Arabic sentence, even though the translation says 'the news was a shock'?
This is exactly how sequence of tenses works in Arabic reported speech! In English, we backshift the tense to the past because the telling happened in the past. Arabic keeps the tense of the original statement. The friend originally thought or said 'The news is a shock' (a present-tense nominal sentence with no verb). So, Arabic just uses أن (that) followed by the original verbless sentence: الخبر صدمة.
Why do we use أن here instead of إنّ for 'that'?
We use إنّ almost exclusively after the verb قال (to say) and its variations. For other verbs of communication, feeling, or thought, such as أخبر (to tell) in this sentence, we must use أن.
Why does the object pronoun for 'me' come before the subject 'my friend' in أخبرتني صديقتي?
In Arabic, when the direct object is a pronoun attached to the verb (like ني for 'me' in أخبرتني), it physically attaches to the verb and therefore must come before the standalone subject noun صديقتي (my friend).
If I were pronouncing the case endings, what vowel would go on the end of الخبر?
It would take a fatha (an 'a' sound), making it الخبرَ. This is because أن acts just like إنّ (they are 'sisters'): it forces the subject of the following nominal sentence into the accusative case.
Learn أخبرتني صديقتي أن الخبر صدمة 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