Learn Arabic (Modern Standard): بدت اللعبة ممتعة، لكن الأوراق كانت مقلوبة. - The game seemed fun, but the cards were face-down.

بدت اللعبة ممتعة، لكن الأوراق كانت مقلوبة.badati allubatu mumtiatan, lakinna al-awrâqa kânat maqlûbatan.

The game seemed fun, but the cards were face-down.

Breakdown of بدت اللعبة ممتعة، لكن الأوراق كانت مقلوبة.

الal

the

ورقةwaraqah

paper / card (playing card)

ممتعmumti'

interesting / enjoyable

لكنlâkin

but

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.