Breakdown of بدت اللعبة ممتعة، لكن الأوراق كانت مقلوبة.
الal
the
ورقةwaraqah
paper / card (playing card)
ممتعmumti'
interesting / enjoyable
لكنlâkin
but
كانkâna
to be
بداbadâ
to appear
مقلوبmaqloob
face down
لعبةlu'ba
game
Questions & Answers about بدت اللعبة ممتعة، لكن الأوراق كانت مقلوبة.
Why does the verb بدت (badat) drop the weak letter from its root بدا (bada)?
بدا is a defective verb, meaning its root ends in a weak letter. When attaching the feminine past-tense ending ـت, the weak letter is dropped to avoid two unvoweled letters in a row. So instead of badaat, it simply becomes بدت.
Why is ممتعة (fun) in the accusative case here?
The verb بدا (to seem or appear) takes the accusative case for the word describing the subject. Grammatically, ممتعةً acts as an adverb of state (hal), describing the condition of the game when it appeared.
Why are the words كانت and مقلوبة feminine singular when they refer to the plural الأوراق (cards)?
In Arabic, all non-human plurals are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Since الأوراق (the broken plural of ورقة) refers to inanimate objects, its verb (كانت) and its describing adjective (مقلوبة) must both be feminine singular.
How does the word pattern of مقلوبة (face-down) give away its meaning?
It follows the passive participle pattern for a Form I verb. Derived from the root ق-ل-ب (to flip or turn over), the مـ prefix and ـو pattern make it mean flipped or turned over. The ة at the end is just the feminine marker.
Should لكن be pronounced as lakin or lakinna here?
It should be pronounced لكنَّ (lakinna). When meaning but and followed immediately by a noun, it acts as a sister of inna, meaning it takes a doubled nun and puts the following noun into the accusative case (الأوراقَ). If it were followed by a verb, you would use the lighter لكنْ (lakin).
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