Breakdown of لن أبيع بثمن بخس، بثمن بخس.
بbi
by, with (attached)
باعbâ'a
to sell
لنlan
will not
ثمنthaman
price
بخسbakhs
paltry
Questions & Answers about لن أبيع بثمن بخس، بثمن بخس.
Why is the preposition بـ included in the second بثمن بخس?
This is an example of verbal emphasis (التوكيد اللفظي). When emphasizing a prepositional phrase in Arabic, you must repeat the entire phrase including the preposition. You cannot just repeat the noun and adjective.
What case endings do the words in the repeated phrase take?
The first بثمن بخس is in the genitive case (مجرور) because of the preposition بـ, so both words end with kasratayn (بثمنٍ بخسٍ). The repeated phrase is an exact grammatical echo, so it takes the exact same genitive case endings.
Is the adjective بخس used with nouns other than price?
While it generally means diminished or unjust, it heavily collocates with words related to price and value (like ثمن or سعر) to mean paltry or undervalued. This specific pairing is a very common fixed expression in Arabic.
Why does the verb أبيع take a fatha ending (abīʿa) here instead of a damma (abīʿu)?
The negating particle لن means will not and always places the following present-tense verb into the subjunctive mood (منصوب). This changes the standard final damma to a fatha.
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