Breakdown of لنبدأ الاجتماع الآن.
الal
the
الآنal-ân
now
اجتماعijtimâ'
meeting
بدأbada'a
to begin
لli
let … (command particle with a jussive verb)
Questions & Answers about لنبدأ الاجتماع الآن.
Why does لنبدأ mean "Let's begin" instead of "for us to begin"?
The prefix لـ here is the "lam of command" (lam al-amr). When attached to a present tense verb, it creates a command or suggestion, usually translated as "let us" or "let him". It also forces the verb into the jussive state (majzoom), which is why the verb loses its final "u" (damma) vowel.
If لنبدأ drops its final vowel because it is a command, how do you pronounce the transition into الاجتماع?
In Arabic, you cannot have two vowelless letters right next to each other. Because لنبدأ ends with a vowelless hamza and الاجتماع starts with a vowelless "L" sound (since the first "A" is a connecting alif), we add a temporary short "i" (kasra) to the hamza to connect the words. It is pronounced "linabda'i l-ijtimaa'".
What is the root and pattern of the word الاجتماع (the meeting)?
It comes from the root ج م ع (j-m-') which relates to gathering and collecting. الاجتماع is the verbal noun (masdar) of the Form VIII verb اجتمع (to gather or meet together).
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