Breakdown of تمتد الغابة ومجرى الماء.
الal
the
غابةghâba
forest
ماءmaa'
water
وwa
with, alongside (accompaniment)
امتدimtadda
to extend
مجرىmajrâ
stream (channel, course)
Questions & Answers about تمتد الغابة ومجرى الماء.
Why is و translated here as "alongside" rather than its usual meaning of "and"?
This is the 'waw of accompaniment' (واو المعية). If we treated it as a standard "and", the sentence would mean "The forest and the stream extend" (a compound subject). Instead, this structure treats the stream as the Accusative of Accompaniment (المفعول معه), meaning the action of the forest extending happens "along with" or "alongside" the stream.
Since مجرى (stream) is the Accusative of Accompaniment, shouldn't it show an accusative fatha ending?
Yes, it is grammatically in the accusative case (mansub). However, because مجرى ends in an alif maqsurah (ى), it cannot take visible short vowels. The fatha is grammatically assumed but remains hidden.
How do the case endings work in the phrase مجرى الماء?
If both the forest and the stream are extending side by side, why doesn't the verb تمتد take a dual form?
Because we are using the waw of accompaniment, مجرى is grammatically blocked from being part of the subject. The only subject in the sentence is الغابة (the forest). Therefore, the verb تمتد remains singular and feminine to agree strictly with الغابة.
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