Breakdown of انتقلنا إلى شقة جديدة أمس، لذلك كان يجب أن تغلف الأثاث بالكرتون.
الal
the
جديدjadeed
new
إلىilâ
to
ناnâ
our / us (object) / we (subject suffix on past verb)
شقةshaqqa
apartment
بbi
by, with (attached)
أمسams
yesterday
أنan
to (with verbs)
كانkâna
to be
يجبyajibu
must / has to
أثاثathâth
furniture
لذلكlithâlika
therefore
انتقلintaqala
to move / relocate (to a new place)
غلفghallafa
to wrap / pack up
كرتونkartôn
cardboard / carton
Questions & Answers about انتقلنا إلى شقة جديدة أمس، لذلك كان يجب أن تغلف الأثاث بالكرتون.
How do we express "had to" in this sentence, given that يجب means "must" in the present tense?
To express an obligation in the past, Arabic combines the past tense verb كان (was) with the present phrase يجب أن (it is necessary to). Together, كان يجب أن literally means "it was necessary that", which translates smoothly to "had to".
The sentence starts with "we moved" (انتقلنا), so how do we know تغلف means "you wrap" and not "we wrap"?
If it were "we wrap", the verb would start with a "nun" prefix (نغلف). The word تغلف starts with a "ta" prefix, which is used for either "you" (masculine singular) or "she". Context tells us the speaker is shifting to directly address someone ("you").
Why does the word أن come right before the verb تغلف?
The particle أن (that/to) links the obligation phrase to the action verb, similar to how we say "have to wrap" in English. In Arabic grammar, أن forces the following present tense verb into the subjunctive mood, meaning تغلف would end with a short "a" sound (fatha) if read aloud fully.
What are the separate parts attached to the base word for cardboard (كرتون)?
The base word is كرتون (kartūn), an Arabized loanword. First, it takes the definite article ال (the) to become الكرتون. Then, the preposition بـ (bi-), meaning "with" or "by means of", is attached to the very front, forming بالكرتون (with the cardboard).
How does the word لذلك function as "so" in this sentence?
The word لذلك is a compound of the prefix لـ (for) and the demonstrative pronoun ذلك (that). It literally means "for that" and is a very common B1 cohesive device used to say "therefore" or "so", showing cause and effect between two clauses.
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