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أعمل عن بعد بدلا من التنقل كل يوم.

أعمل عن بعد بدلا من التنقل كل يوم.a'malu 'an bu'din badalan mina at-tanaqquli kulla yawmin.
I work remotely instead of commuting every day.
From Lesson 287:Instead of (بدلاً من)·Arabic (Modern Standard)

Questions & Answers about أعمل عن بعد بدلا من التنقل كل يوم.

Why does بدلا have an extra alif at the end?
It is written with an alif because it takes the accusative case (tanwin fatha), making it بدلاً (badalan). As an adverbial expression meaning "as a substitute," it needs this ending. You will almost always see it written this way before من.
How does the phrase بدلا من connect to "commuting" in this sentence?
The phrase بدلا من means "instead of," and it must be followed by a noun or a verbal noun (masdar). Here, it is followed by the verbal noun التنقل (commuting). Because it comes after the preposition من, the word التنقل is grammatically in the genitive case.
How can I tell that التنقل is a verbal noun and not a regular verb?
It follows the specific pattern for Form V verbal nouns. The past tense verb is تنقّل (tanaqqala - to commute or move around). To make the verbal noun, the pattern keeps the "ta-" prefix and the doubled middle letter, but changes the vowel before the last letter to a "u" sound: تَنَقُّل (tanaqqul). Also, it has ال (the) attached to it here, which a verb cannot take.
The English translation says "remotely." What is the literal translation of عن بعد?
Literally, it means "from a distance." The preposition عن means "from" or "about," and بعد means "distance." In Modern Standard Arabic, عن بعد is the fixed expression used for doing things remotely, like working or distance learning.

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