Breakdown of كانت القاضية عادلة في هذه المحاكمة.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
كانkâna
to be
قاضqâdin
judge
محاكمةmuhâkama
the trial
عادل'âdil
fair
Questions & Answers about كانت القاضية عادلة في هذه المحاكمة.
Why would the word for "fair" (عادلة) take an accusative ending if spoken with full vowels?
Because of the verb كانت (was). In Arabic grammar, the verb كان (to be) changes a nominal sentence's predicate (the descriptive part) into the accusative case. If you read it with full case endings, it is pronounced عادلةً (ʿādilatan) instead of the nominative عادلةٌ (ʿādilatun).
If reading out loud, how do I smoothly connect the verb كانت (was) and the noun القاضية (the judge)?
The verb كانت normally ends with a silent consonant marker (sukūn). However, the next word starts with the definite article ال (al-). Arabic doesn't allow two unvoweled consonants in a row, so you add a short "i" sound to bridge them. You would pronounce this pair as كانتِ القاضية (kānat-i l-qāḍiyatu).
Why does the word for "trial" (المحاكمة) have the definite article ال (al-) attached to it?
In Arabic, to say "this trial" you must literally say "this the-trial" (هذه المحاكمة). If you leave off the ال (al-), the phrase هذه محاكمة would turn into a complete sentence meaning "This is a trial."
Is the word القاضية (the judge) related to other common legal words?
Yes! It comes from the root ق-ض-ي (q-ḍ-y), which has to do with judging, deciding, or settling a matter. القاضية is a noun formed as an "active participle," meaning it literally translates to "the one who judges." You will also frequently see this root in the word قضية (a legal case or issue).
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