Breakdown of وصل المسافرون إلى الوجهة متعبين.
الal
the
إلىilâ
to
متعبmuta'ab
tired
مسافرmusâfir
passenger / traveler
وصلwasala
to arrive
وجهةwijha
destination
Questions & Answers about وصل المسافرون إلى الوجهة متعبين.
Why is the verb وصل (arrived) in the singular form when the subject is plural?
In Modern Standard Arabic, when a sentence starts with the verb (Verb-Subject order), the verb remains in its singular form even if the subject is plural. Because the subject المسافرون is explicitly stated right after the verb, we use the singular وصل instead of the plural وصلوا.
Why does المسافرون (the travelers) end with ـون (-oon) instead of ـين (-een)?
المسافرون is the subject of the sentence, meaning they are the ones doing the arriving. In Arabic, subjects must be in the nominative case. For regular masculine plural nouns, the nominative case is always marked with the ـون (-oon) ending.
Why is the word for tired written as متعبين (-een) rather than متعبون (-oon)?
The word متعبين functions as a Haal (adverb of state), which describes the condition or mood of the travelers at the exact moment they arrived. In Arabic grammar, a word acting as a Haal must be in the accusative case. For regular masculine plural words, the accusative ending is ـين (-een).
How do we know if متعبين means the travelers are tired themselves, rather than tiring someone else out?
It depends on the short vowels, which are usually unwritten but understood from context. Here, it is a passive participle pronounced mut'abeen, meaning the travelers were 'made tired' or exhausted. If it were pronounced mut'ibeen (with a short 'i' sound), it would be an active participle meaning the travelers were tiring someone else out!
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