Breakdown of الحياة أفضل هنا بفضل شبكة المواصلات.
الal
the
هناhunâ
here
شبكةshabaka
network / web (spider's) / net (fishing)
أفضلafdal
best / better
Questions & Answers about الحياة أفضل هنا بفضل شبكة المواصلات.
How does بفضل work in this sentence, and why does it connect to an Idafa?
The phrase بفضل literally means 'by the grace of' and translates to 'thanks to'. In this sentence, it links directly to the Idafa (possession structure) شبكة المواصلات, meaning 'the network of transportation'. It essentially acts as a preposition, causing the noun phrase that follows it to take the genitive case.
Could I use بسبب (because of) instead of بفضل in this sentence?
Grammatically you could say بسبب شبكة المواصلات (because of the transportation network). However, بفضل is strictly used for positive outcomes ('thanks to'), whereas بسبب is usually neutral or negative ('due to'). Since the sentence describes life being 'better' (أفضل), using بفضل is the most natural choice.
Why is the comparative word أفضل (better) used here without من (than)?
While you will often see أفضل من used to mean 'better than' a specific thing, you can drop من when the comparison is understood from context. Here, it simply means life is generally 'better' than it was before, or better than elsewhere, without needing to state the comparison explicitly.
If I want to read this sentence with full case endings, what vowel does شبكة take?