Breakdown of سألنا حوالي مئة شخص، وأغلبهم يسكنون هنا.
هناhunâ
here
وwa
and
سألsa'ala
to ask
شخصshakhs
person
همhum
their / them (object)
سكنsakana
to live (reside)
مئةmi'a
hundred
حواليhawâlay
about / approximately
أغلبaghlab
most (+ noun)
Questions & Answers about سألنا حوالي مئة شخص، وأغلبهم يسكنون هنا.
Why is شخص (person) singular when the English translation says "people"?
In Arabic, the rules for numbers change depending on how big the number is. For 100 (مئة) and 1000 (ألف), the noun that follows must be singular and in the genitive case. It behaves like an idafa (possession) phrase, so the phrase literally translates to "a hundred of a person".
I sometimes see the word for "hundred" written as مائة. Are مئة and مائة the same?
Yes, they are exactly the same word and are pronounced identically (mi'a). Historically, an extra alif was added to spell مائة so readers wouldn't confuse it with other words before dots were commonly used in Arabic writing. Today, مئة is the standard phonetic spelling, but you will still encounter both forms.
How does the word أغلبهم translate to "most of them"?
The word أغلب is an elative noun that means "most" or "majority" (it comes from the same root as the verb for "to defeat" or "to overcome"). To say "most of" a specific group, you simply attach a pronoun suffix to it. Here, adding ـهم (them) creates the phrase أغلبهم ("most of them").
Why does the verb يسكنون end with the full ـون suffix here?
The verb يسكنون is in the present tense, third-person masculine plural ("they live"). It keeps the final noon (ن) because it is in the indicative mood. This is the default state for present tense verbs as long as they are not preceded by grammatical triggers like "to" (أن) or "will not" (لن).
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