Breakdown of لم يكن الأب يبدي رعاية لعائلته.
الal
the
أبabun
father
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
عائلة'â'ilah
family
لli
for, to (attached)
كانkâna
to be
لمlam
did not
أبدىabdâ
to express
رعايةri'âya
care (sponsorship, protection)
Questions & Answers about لم يكن الأب يبدي رعاية لعائلته.
Why do we use the structure لم يكن ... يبدي instead of simply لم يبدِ?
لم يبدِ means "he did not show" as a simple past action. To create the past continuous meaning "was not showing", Arabic uses كان followed by a present tense verb. We then negate the كان part with لم (making it jussive: لم يكن), while the main verb يبدي stays in the present indicative.
The verb رعى (to care for) takes a direct object. Why does its verbal noun رعاية take the preposition لـ here instead of taking عائلته as a direct object?
While a verbal noun (masdar) can govern a direct object in the accusative (as seen in this lesson), it often sounds heavy if the masdar is indefinite with tanwin. By keeping رعايةً indefinite and using لـ (for) to introduce the recipient, the sentence avoids a clunky structure while seamlessly expressing the same meaning.
Why didn't the author just use an Idafa construction, like رعاية عائلته?
If they used the Idafa رعاية عائلته, it could be ambiguous. In an Idafa, the noun attached to the verbal noun is often its logical subject, so it might mistakenly be read as "his family's care" (where the family is doing the caring). Using رعاية لعائلته makes it perfectly clear that the family is the recipient of the care.
Why does the verb يبدي keep its final long ـي? Doesn't لم force the verb into the jussive (majazum) state and cut off the weak letter?
The negative particle لم only affects the verb immediately following it. Here, it puts يكن into the jussive state. The second verb in the past continuous structure (يبدي) is not grammatically affected by لم, so it remains in the indicative (marfu') mood and keeps its final long vowel.
What is the root and form of يبدي?
It is the present tense of the Form IV verb أبدى (to show, reveal), which comes from the root ب-د-و (related to appearing or seeming). Because it is a Form IV verb, it takes a damma on the prefix pronoun, making it يُبدي (yubdī).
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