Breakdown of سموا الطفل على اسم جده.
الal
the
على'ala
on / of (evidence of) / to (lie to someone) / for (difficult for someone)
اسمism
name
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
طفلtifl
child
جدjadd
grandfather
سمىsammâ
to name
Questions & Answers about سموا الطفل على اسم جده.
The verb in this sentence is سموا (they named). Since this lesson is about verbal nouns of defective roots, what is the verbal noun of this verb?
سموا comes from the Form II verb سمى (to name), which has a defective root (it ends in a weak letter). Regular Form II verbs use the pattern تفعيل for their verbal noun, but defective ones use the pattern تفعلة. Therefore, the verbal noun for "naming" is تسمية.
How exactly is سموا pronounced, and what is the function of the final alif?
It is pronounced "sammū". The final alif is silent. It is a spelling convention called the "plural alif," which is added after the و (waw) in masculine plural verb conjugations. It simply helps the reader know that the و is a plural suffix and not part of the verb's original root.
How does Arabic express the English concept of being named "after" someone?
While English uses the word "after," Arabic uses the phrase على اسم (literally "on the name of"). Prepositions rarely translate one-to-one, and على is frequently used in Arabic when assigning a label or title to something.
Are the noun اسم (name) and the verb سموا (they named) from the same root?
Yes, they both come from the root س م و (S-M-W). The Form II verb سمى literally means to give an اسم to someone. Interestingly, the core meaning of this root is related to height or elevation, with the underlying idea that a name elevates or distinguishes a person.
What case ending does جد (grandfather) take in this sentence?
It takes a kasra (making it جَدِّهِ / jaddihi) because it is in the genitive case. The phrase اسم جده (the name of his grandfather) is an idafa (possessive construction). Since اسم comes directly after the preposition على, it is genitive, and it forces the second part of the idafa (جد) to be genitive as well.
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