Breakdown of سقطت الدكتاتورية بسبب أنانية القائد.
الal
the
سقطsaqata
to fall (drop)
بسببbisababi
because of
قائدqâ'id
commander / leader / driver (of a vehicle)
Questions & Answers about سقطت الدكتاتورية بسبب أنانية القائد.
How is the abstract noun الدكتاتورية (dictatorship) formed here, considering the base is a foreign word?
The artificial verbal noun suffix ـيَّة is highly versatile and can be attached to foreign loanwords just as easily as native Arabic roots. Here, it is added directly to the noun دكتاتور (dictator) to create the abstract system of الدكتاتورية (dictatorship).
What unusual base word is used to create the artificial verbal noun أنانية (selfishness)?
It is formed directly from the first-person pronoun أنا (I). By adding the ـيَّة suffix, Arabic creates the abstract concept of "I-ness" or egoism, meaning selfishness. This demonstrates how flexible the artificial verbal noun structure is for creating psychological concepts.
Since both artificial verbal nouns in this sentence end in ـيَّة, how do they affect verb agreement?
The suffix ـيَّة ends with a taa marbuuTa (ـة), which makes these abstract concepts grammatically feminine singletons. This is why the verb at the beginning of the sentence is سقطت (she/it fell), taking the feminine marker ـت to agree with its subject الدكتاتورية.
Why doesn't أنانية have the definite article الـ, even though the English translation says "the selfishness"?