Breakdown of انس الخريطة، واسأل الناس.
الal
the
وwa
and
سألsa'ala
to ask
نسيnasiya
to forget
ناسnâsun
people
خريطةkharîta
map
Questions & Answers about انس الخريطة، واسأل الناس.
Why is the command "forget" written as انس instead of انسى?
The verb نسي (to forget) ends in a weak letter. When forming the imperative (command) for a singular male, Arabic drops this final weak letter. Therefore, the command becomes انس (insa), ending with a short "a" sound (fatha) rather than the written letter ى.
How do you pronounce "and ask" (واسأل)?
It is pronounced was'al. The command اسأل (ask) begins with a connecting alif (hamzat wasl). When you attach the prefix و (and), you drop the initial vowel sound of the alif and flow straight from the "wa" into the "s" sound.
How do we pronounce the end of واسأل when it connects to الناس?
You add a short "i" sound, pronouncing the phrase as was'ali n-naas. The word اسأل usually ends with a vowelless consonant (sukun), and the first pronounced letter of الناس is also vowelless. To fix this "meeting of two silent letters," Arabic adds a helping vowel (a kasra) to the end of the verb to connect the words smoothly.
Why isn't there a hamza (ء) written on the first letter of انس or اسأل?
Both of these are command forms (imperatives) of basic Form I verbs. In Arabic, Form I commands always start with a connecting alif (hamzat wasl). This means the alif is written without a hamza symbol (ء). You only pronounce its vowel if you start the phrase with that word, as you do with انس (insa).
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