Breakdown of أولا، في المدينة جامعات كثيرة. ثانيا، فيها فرص عمل.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مدينةmadîna
city
هاhâ
her / her (object) / it (feminine)
عملamal
work
كثيرkathîr
many / a lot
جامعةjâmi'a
university; league (the Arab League)
فرصةfursa
opportunity
أولاawwalan
first(ly)
ثانياthâniyan
second(ly)
Questions & Answers about أولا، في المدينة جامعات كثيرة. ثانيا، فيها فرص عمل.
Why does the sentence say في المدينة جامعات (in the city are universities) instead of putting the universities first?
In Arabic, when the subject of an equational (verbless) sentence is indefinite like جامعات (universities) rather than 'the universities', the subject must come after the prepositional phrase. That is why the sentence literally says 'In the city [are] many universities.' If the subject were definite, the normal order would apply: الجامعات في المدينة (The universities are in the city).
The word جامعات means 'universities' and is plural. Why is the adjective كثيرة (many) in the singular feminine form?
This is a core rule of Arabic grammar: non-human plurals are always treated as feminine singular. Since جامعات (universities) is a non-human plural, any adjective describing it, such as كثيرة, must take the feminine singular form.
Why do the words أولا and ثانيا end with an extra alif?
The alif at the end of أولا and ثانيا holds the 'tanween fatha', which produces an '-an' sound at the end of the word. In Arabic, this ending is frequently used to turn nouns and adjectives into adverbs. Here, it turns the words for 'first' and 'second' into the adverbs 'firstly' and 'secondly'.
Why isn't there an 'al-' (the) on either word in the phrase فرص عمل (work opportunities)?
The phrase فرص عمل is an 'idafa' (a noun-of-noun possession phrase) meaning 'opportunities of work'. Because the sentence is talking about work opportunities in general rather than specific, definite ones, the entire phrase is indefinite. In an indefinite idafa, neither the first nor the second word takes ال (al-).
What does the pronoun suffix ها in فيها refer back to?
The attached pronoun ها (it/her) in فيها (in it) refers back to المدينة (the city). Because المدينة ends in a taa marbuuta and is a grammatically feminine word, the sentence must use the feminine pronoun ها to say 'in it'.
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