Breakdown of كان الملعب مكتظا لدرجة أننا لم نجد مقعدا.
الal
the
ملعبmal'ab
stadium / playground, sports field
ناnâ
our / us (object) / we (subject suffix on past verb)
مقعدmaq'ad
seat
وجدwajada
to find / to exist, there is (passive)
كانkâna
to be
لمlam
did not
لدرجة أنli-darajati anna
to the extent that
مكتظmuktazz
packed
Questions & Answers about كان الملعب مكتظا لدرجة أننا لم نجد مقعدا.
How does لدرجة أننا translate to 'so... that we' in this sentence?
The phrase لدرجة literally translates to 'to a degree'. To connect it to a new clause, it is followed by أنّ (that). Because the subject of the second part is 'we', the pronoun نا (us/we) is attached to أنّ to make أننا. Together, لدرجة أننا means 'to the degree that we' or 'so much that we'.
Why does the word for packed, مكتظا, end with an alif?
It is the predicate of the verb كان (was). While the subject of كان (the stadium, الملعب) takes the nominative case, the predicate describing it takes the accusative case. The alif at the end of مكتظا is added to hold the double fatha sound (tanween fath) that marks this accusative case.
The English translation says 'we did not find', but نجد is the present tense verb for 'we find'. Why?
In Arabic, to negate the past tense, you use the particle لم followed by the present tense verb in the jussive mood. The word لم itself forces the meaning into the past. Therefore, لم نجد is the standard way to say 'we did not find'.
I don't recognize the root for نجد. Where did the first letter go?
The root is و ج د (w-j-d), which means to find. For many verbs where the root begins with the letter واو (waw), that first letter is dropped in the present tense. Instead of saying 'nawjid', the و disappears, leaving us with نجد.
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