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لن أكوي هذه الملابس ما خلا معطفا.

لن أكوي هذه الملابس ما خلا معطفا.lan akwiya hâdhihi-l-malâbisa mâ khalâ mitafan
I will not iron these clothes except a coat.
From Lesson 220:Exceptions with verbs (ما عدا / ما خلا)·Arabic (Modern Standard)

Questions & Answers about لن أكوي هذه الملابس ما خلا معطفا.

Why is معطفا in the accusative case (ending in -an)?
When you use ما خلا (except) to make an exception, the word ما forces خلا to act purely as a verb meaning 'it excluded'. Because it acts as a verb, the noun that follows it (معطفا) is treated as its direct object, putting it in the accusative case (mansub) with a tanwin fatha.
Can I remove the ما and just say خلا?
Yes, but the grammar rules become more flexible. Without ما, the word خلا can act either as a verb (keeping the noun accusative: خلا معطفا) or as a preposition. If you treat it as a preposition, the following noun must take the genitive case (majrur): خلا معطفٍ. Adding ما locks it into being a verb.
Why is the verb أكوي pronounced with a fatha on the end (akwiya)?
The negative future particle لن forces the following present tense verb into the subjunctive state (mansub). For verbs ending in a weak letter like ي, the subjunctive is marked by a clearly pronounced fatha on that final letter, making it أكويَ (akwiya).
Why is a plural noun like الملابس used with the singular feminine word هذه?
In Arabic grammar, all non-human plural nouns are treated as feminine singular. Since الملابس (the clothes) refers to inanimate objects, we must use the feminine singular demonstrative pronoun هذه (this/these) to point to them.

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