Breakdown of كل الأوراق مقلوبة على الطاولة.
الal
the
طاولةtâwilatun
table
ورقةwaraqah
paper / card (playing card)
على'ala
on / of (evidence of) / to (lie to someone) / for (difficult for someone)
Questions & Answers about كل الأوراق مقلوبة على الطاولة.
Why is the adjective مقلوبة (face-down) in the feminine singular form instead of plural?
In Arabic, non-human plural nouns like الأوراق (the cards) are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Therefore, any adjectives or verbs describing them, like مقلوبة, must also take the feminine singular form.
What kind of word is مقلوبة?
It is a passive participle (a word showing that an action was done to the subject) from the root ق-ل-ب, which relates to turning or flipping. So مقلوبة literally means turned over or inverted, which translates perfectly to face-down here.
How does the grammar of كل work in this sentence?
When كل is followed by a definite plural noun, like الأوراق, it translates to all the. If it were followed by an indefinite singular noun, like كل ورقة, it would mean every card instead.
I learned that الأوراق means papers or leaves. How does it mean cards here?
The word ورقة (singular) and its plural أوراق are used for leaves of a tree, sheets of paper, and playing cards (أوراق اللعب). The context of them being face-down on a table makes it clear that cards are meant here.