Breakdown of سنحتاج إلى حوالي عشرين لترا من الماء للوليمة.
الal
the
منmin
from
لli
for, to (attached)
ماءmaa'
water
سsa
will (future prefix)
عشرون'ishrûna
twenty
احتاج إلىihtâja ilâ
to need
حواليhawâlay
about / approximately
لترlitr
the liter
وليمةwalîma
the banquet
Questions & Answers about سنحتاج إلى حوالي عشرين لترا من الماء للوليمة.
How does the word حوالي affect the grammar of عشرين (twenty) here?
The word حوالي (about/approximately) acts as the first part of an idaafa (possessive construction). This means the word immediately following it must be in the genitive case. Because "twenty" is in the genitive case here, it takes the form عشرين (ending in "-iin") rather than the nominative form عشرون (ending in "-uun").
Why is لترا (liter) singular and ending with the "an" sound (accusative case) when the English translation says "liters"?
This is a standard rule for counting in Arabic: numbers from 11 to 99 must always be followed by a singular noun in the accusative case (showing the two fatHas on the end). So, instead of a plural word, Arabic requires the singular لترا (litran).
Why is the preposition إلى used after سنحتاج (we will need)?
In English, we just "need" something directly, but the Arabic verb احتاج (to need) usually requires the preposition إلى (to) before the object you need. Literally, the Arabic says "We will need to about twenty liters..."
What happened to the alif (ا) at the beginning of للوليمة (for the banquet)?
The isolated word for "the banquet" is الوليمة. However, a special spelling rule applies here: when you attach the preposition لِـ (for/to) to a word starting with the definite article الـ (the), the alif of the الـ drops completely in writing. So, لِـ + الوليمة becomes للوليمة.
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