Breakdown of كم من صنف غريب عند تلك البائعة!
الal
the
عند'inda
at / to have
بائعbâ'i'
seller
تلكtilka
that (feminine/non-human plural)
كمkam
how many
غريبgharîb
strange
صنفsinf
item / kind, type
منmin
one of, among (partitive)
Questions & Answers about كم من صنف غريب عند تلك البائعة!
How can you tell that كم means "so many" here rather than "how many"?
This is the exclamatory كم (kam al-khabariyyah). You can spot it because it is followed by من (min) and a noun in the genitive case (صنفٍ). The question word "how many" (interrogative كم) would be followed directly by a singular noun in the accusative case, like كم صنفاً (kam ṣinfan).
The translation says "strange kinds" (plural), but isn't صنف غريب singular?
Yes, صنف (ṣinf) is singular. However, with the exclamatory كم, you can use either a singular or a plural noun. Even though it is grammatically singular here, the phrase expresses a large quantity ("so much of a strange kind"), which naturally translates to English as the plural "so many strange kinds".
What role does عند play here, and why does it translate to "at that seller's"?
The word عند ('inda) is a preposition of place and possession meaning "at", "with", or "have". In this context, عند تلك البائعة literally means "at/with that female seller", which is how Arabic usually expresses "that seller has" or "at that seller's [shop]".
Why does البائعة take a genitive case ending (kasra) if it comes directly after تلك?
The preposition عند forces the noun phrase following it into the genitive case. The demonstrative تلك (that) is indeclinable, meaning its ending never changes. However, the definite noun right after it, البائعة (al-bā'i'ati), still takes the genitive kasra to show the grammatical case of the whole phrase.
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