Breakdown of مشى المسافرون وسفح الجبل.
الal
the
جبلjabal
mountain
مشىmashâ
to walk / to go, to move along (of a vehicle)
مسافرmusâfir
passenger / traveler
وwa
with, alongside (accompaniment)
سفحsafh
foot (of a mountain)
Questions & Answers about مشى المسافرون وسفح الجبل.
How can I tell that the و in وسفح means 'alongside' and not 'and'?
Context is key! If this were the standard 'and' (واو العطف), the sentence would imply 'The travelers walked, and the foot of the mountain walked too,' which is logically impossible. Because the mountain cannot participate in the action of walking, the و must be the 'waw of accompaniment' (واو المعية), meaning 'alongside' or 'in the company of'.
What case ending does سفح take in this sentence?
It takes the accusative case (منصوب), meaning it is pronounced with a fatha on the end (سفحَ). Any noun that directly follows the waw of accompaniment is called the 'accusative of accompaniment' (المفعول معه) and must always be in the accusative case.
I noticed المسافرون ends in ـون. Could we use المسافرين here instead?
No, because it is the subject of the verb مشى. Regular (sound) masculine plural nouns take the ـون ending in the nominative case. You would use المسافرين only if the travelers were the object of a verb or came after a preposition.
Why doesn't the word for 'foot' (سفح) have the definite article الـ if the English translation says 'the foot'?
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