كسرت الرياح السارية وسقط الشراع.

Questions & Answers about كسرت الرياح السارية وسقط الشراع.

Why does the verb كسرت have a feminine ending if الرياح is a plural word?
In Arabic, non-human plurals like الرياح (the winds) are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Because of this rule, the verb takes the feminine singular form كسرت instead of a plural form.
How do you pronounce the transition between كسرت and الرياح?
You pronounce it as "kasarati-r-riyāḥ". Normally, كسرت ends with a silent consonant (a sukun). However, to avoid having two silent consonants in a row when connecting to the word الرياح, we add a short helping "i" sound (a kasra) to the end of the verb.
Could I use the verb انكسرت instead of كسرت to mean "broke" here?
No, because كسر means "to break something" (transitive), which fits here since the wind is breaking a direct object (the mast). The verb انكسر means "to break" on its own without an object (intransitive). If you just wanted to say "the mast broke", you would use انكسرت السارية.
Why does the sentence switch from a feminine verb (كسرت) to a masculine verb (سقط)?
Arabic verbs must agree with their specific subjects. The subject of the first part is الرياح (the winds), which functions as feminine singular. The subject of the second part is الشراع (the sail), which is a masculine singular noun, so its verb سقط (fell) takes the masculine singular form.

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