Breakdown of صلوا إلى الميدان قبل الساعة الثامنة.
الal
the
إلىilâ
to
ساعةsâ'a
watch / hour
قبلqabla
before
ثامنthâmin
eighth
وصلwasala
to arrive
ميدانmaydân
public square, plaza
Questions & Answers about صلوا إلى الميدان قبل الساعة الثامنة.
Why does صلوا mean 'get to' here? Doesn't it mean 'pray'?
Without vowels, it looks identical to the plural imperative for 'pray' (صَلّوا). However, here it is the plural imperative of وَصَلَ (to arrive / get to). In Arabic, verbs starting with و (waaw) drop that letter in the present tense and imperative. So وَصَلَ becomes صِلْ (arrive!) and the plural is صِلُوا. The preposition إلى (to) right after it is a strong context clue that it means 'arrive' rather than 'pray'.
Why do we use الثامنة (the eighth) instead of ثمانية (eight)?
In Arabic, telling the time almost always uses ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) rather than regular numbers (one, two, three). So 'eight o'clock' is expressed literally as 'the eighth hour' (الساعة الثامنة). Both words are feminine, which is why they end with a taa marbuta (ة).
What is the purpose of the ا (alif) at the very end of صلوا?
This is a silent alif. It is written after the plural و (waaw) at the end of verbs to show that the و is a plural marker for 'you all' or 'they', rather than being a regular letter from the verb's root. You do not pronounce this alif.
Why would the word الساعة end with a kasra ('i' sound) if we read this sentence aloud?
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