Breakdown of زرعنا شجيرة صغيرة في الحديقة لأنها جميلة.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
جميلjamîl
beautiful
صغيرsagheer
small
هاhâ
her / her (object) / it (feminine)
ناnâ
our / us (object) / we (subject suffix on past verb)
حديقةhadîqa
garden
زرعzaraa
to plant
لأنli'anna
because
شجيرةshujayra
bush
Questions & Answers about زرعنا شجيرة صغيرة في الحديقة لأنها جميلة.
How is شجيرة formed from شجرة, and why does it end in a taa marbuutah if the diminutive pattern is فُعَيْل?
The base noun شجرة (tree) is feminine and ends in a taa marbuutah. To make it diminutive, we apply the فُعَيْل pattern to the root letters (sh-j-r becomes shujayr) and then reattach the feminine ending. This makes the pattern effectively فُعَيْلة (شُجَيْرَة), meaning small tree or bush.
Isn't saying شجيرة صغيرة redundant since the diminutive already means small?
Technically yes, but this kind of redundancy is very common and natural in Arabic. Adding صغيرة emphasizes the extreme smallness of the bush, or clarifies that it is a small bush since bushes can still vary in size.
What case ending does شجيرة take here, and how does it affect the exact pronunciation?
It takes a fatha-tanween because it is the direct object of the verb زرعنا (we planted). Combined with the diminutive vowels and the case ending, it is pronounced شُجَيْرَةً (shujayratan).
Why does the sentence use لأنها instead of just لأن?
The word لأن (because) is a sister of إن, meaning it requires a noun or attached pronoun immediately after it to act as its subject. Since we are saying because it is beautiful, we must attach the pronoun ها, which refers back to the feminine شجيرة.
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