Word
كان النادل سريعا، إلا أن القهوة كانت باردة.
Meaning
The waiter was fast; however, the coffee was cold.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of كان النادل سريعا، إلا أن القهوة كانت باردة.
الal
the
باردbâred
cold
سريعsarî'
fast
قهوةqahwa
coffee
Questions & Answers about كان النادل سريعا، إلا أن القهوة كانت باردة.
Why does the word for fast end with an alif (سريعا) here?
This is because of the verb كان (was). When you use كان, the subject of the sentence takes the standard nominative case, but the descriptive part or predicate takes the accusative case. For an indefinite masculine word like سريع, the accusative case is marked with an 'an' sound, which is written with an extra alif to become سريعا.
What does the phrase إلا أن mean in this context?
The phrase إلا أن translates to 'however,' 'nevertheless,' or 'except that.' It is formed by combining إلا (except) and أن (that). At this level, it is a very useful connector to contrast two ideas. It works similarly to 'but,' but remember that أن must always be followed by a noun or an attached pronoun rather than a verb.
Why would the word for coffee (القهوة) take an accusative 'a' ending if it is the subject of the second clause?
Even though coffee is the subject being discussed, it comes immediately after أن. In Arabic grammar, أن and its sister word إن force the noun that directly follows them into the accusative case. Therefore, it takes an 'a' vowel at the end.
Why do we switch to كانت in the second half of the sentence?