Breakdown of أحب أوراق القيقب عندما تتغير ألوانها.
الal
the
هاhâ
her / her (object) / it (feminine)
لونlawn
color
أحبuhibbu
to love
عندما'indamâ
when (not in questions)
تغيرtaghayyara
to change (intransitive)
ورقةwaraqah
leaf (of a plant)
قيقبqayqab
maple
Questions & Answers about أحب أوراق القيقب عندما تتغير ألوانها.
Since this lesson is about Form XI verbs for colors, why isn't a Form XI verb used here?
Form XI verbs are used to describe becoming a specific intense color, such as احمرّ (to turn red). Since this sentence talks about colors changing in a general sense, it uses the Form V verb تتغير (to change) followed by the noun ألوان (colors). If you wanted to say the leaves turn a specific color like red, you would use a Form XI verb instead.
Why does the verb تتغير take a feminine singular form when it refers to plural colors?
In Arabic grammar, non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular. The noun ألوان (colors) is the plural of لون (color) and refers to inanimate objects. Therefore, its verb must be the feminine singular تتغير.
What does the attached pronoun in ألوانها refer back to, and why is it feminine singular?
The suffix ها means 'their' in this context. It refers back to أوراق (leaves). Because أوراق is a non-human plural, it follows the same agreement rule and takes the feminine singular pronoun ها.
Why doesn't أوراق have the definite article ال if we are talking about specific maple leaves?
The phrase أوراق القيقب is an Idafa (possessive) construction meaning 'the leaves of the maple'. In an Idafa, the first word (أوراق) never takes the definite article, but the entire phrase is definite because the second word (القيقب) is definite.
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