Breakdown of أراد أن يكون مسعاه مكسبا عظيما للمجتمع.
الal
the
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
لli
for, to (attached)
مجتمعmujtama'
community / society
أرادarâda
to want
أنan
to (with verbs)
كانkâna
to be
عظيمazhîm
great
مسعىmas'â
endeavor
مكسبmaksab
gain
Questions & Answers about أراد أن يكون مسعاه مكسبا عظيما للمجتمع.
Both مسعى and مكسب start with a mim. Are they both examples of the mim-prefix verbal noun (masdar mimi)?
Yes! A masdar mimi is a verbal noun starting with an extra mim that carries the same meaning as the regular verbal noun (masdar). مكسب (from كسب, to earn or gain) means "a gain." مسعى (from سعى, to strive or endeavor) means "an endeavor" or "an effort."
Why does the spelling of مسعى change to have a regular tall alif in مسعاه?
The base word مسعى ends in an alif maqsura (ى) because its root ends in a weak letter. When you attach a pronoun suffix like ـه (his) to a word ending in alif maqsura, the letter stands up into a regular tall alif (ا) so it can connect visually and phonetically, becoming مسعاه (his endeavor).
Why is مكسبا in the accusative case (mansub) with an alif at the end?
It is the predicate (khabar) of the verb يكون (to be). The verb كان and its present tense يكون keep their subject in the nominative case (here, مسعاه) but put their predicate in the accusative case. Since مكسبا is the predicate ("a gain"), it takes the accusative marker.
The word للمجتمع means "for the society". Why does it look like it's missing an alif?
It is formed by combining the preposition لـ (for/to) with the noun المجتمع (the society). When a word starts with the definite article الـ and you attach the preposition لـ, the alif of the definite article is dropped entirely in writing, making it للمجتمع instead of the incorrect spelling لالمجتمع. This is a common spelling trap!
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