Breakdown of الشارع مزدحم بسبب صيانة الجسر.
الal
the
شارعshâri'
street
جسرjisr
bridge
مزدحمmuzdaḥim
crowded
بسببbisababi
because of
صيانةsiyâna
maintenance
Questions & Answers about الشارع مزدحم بسبب صيانة الجسر.
How does بسبب connect to the rest of the sentence here?
The word بسبب (because of / due to) is followed by an Idafa (a possession or relationship phrase). Here, that Idafa is صيانة الجسر (the repair of the bridge). Because of the preposition بـ at the start of بسبب, the whole chain is in the genitive case. The word صيانة takes a kasra (i) ending, and الجسر also takes a kasra because it is the second part of the Idafa.
Could we use بفضل instead of بسبب in this sentence?
Grammatically you could, but it would sound strange. Both are followed by an Idafa, but بفضل means 'thanks to' and carries a positive connotation. Since a crowded street is usually a negative thing, بسبب (due to / because of) is the natural choice.
Why doesn't the word صيانة have the definite article ال, even though the English translation says 'the repair'?
This is a core rule of the Idafa structure. The first word in an Idafa never takes the definite article ال. It automatically becomes definite because it is possessed by the definite second word, الجسر (the bridge).
Why is مزدحم masculine when صيانة is feminine?
مزدحم (crowded) is the predicate describing the subject of the nominal sentence, which is الشارع (the street). Since الشارع is masculine, مزدحم must also be masculine. The feminine word صيانة (repair) belongs to the completely separate cause phrase at the end of the sentence.
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