Breakdown of أرسلت لجدتي بطاقة: سنة سعيدة!
يi
my / me (after a preposition)
لli
for, to (attached)
أرسلarsala
to send
جدةjadda
grandmother
بطاقةbiTâqah
card
سنة سعيدةsanatun sa'îdah
happy new year
Questions & Answers about أرسلت لجدتي بطاقة: سنة سعيدة!
Why is there a لـ attached to the word for grandmother?
In English, we can say "I sent my grandmother a card" without a preposition. In Arabic, the verb أرسل (to send) uses the preposition لـ (to) or إلى (to) to indicate the recipient. So literally, this sentence says "I sent to my grandmother a card."
What happens to the spelling of جدة (grandmother) when we add the word for my?
The word for grandmother ends in a taa marbuta (ة). When you attach a possessive pronoun suffix like ـي (my), that tied-up ة must open up into a regular ت so the suffix can attach to it. That is why it is written as جدتي.
The translation says "Happy new year", but I don't see the Arabic word for new here. Why?
The phrase سنة سعيدة literally translates to "a happy year." In Arabic, it is the standard idiom for wishing someone a Happy New Year. Adding the word for new (جديدة) isn't necessary and would sound less natural as a greeting.
What verb form is أرسلت?
It is a Form IV verb from the root ر س ل (r-s-l), which has to do with messages and sending. Form IV verbs usually start with an alif in the past tense (أفعل). The ـت at the very end tells us it is conjugated for the first person "I" in the past tense.
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