Breakdown of سأل مراسل الوكالة عما حدث أمس.
الal
the
سألsa'ala
to ask
أمسams
yesterday
حدثhadatha
to happen
مراسلmurâsil
correspondent
وكالةwikâla
agency
عماammâ
about what
Questions & Answers about سأل مراسل الوكالة عما حدث أمس.
How exactly is عما formed in this sentence?
عما is a fusion of the preposition عن (about) and the relative pronoun ما (what). When عن meets ما, the letter nun assimilates into the mim, resulting in عَمَّا (written with a shadda on the mim). Here, it translates perfectly to "about what" or "about that which."
Could the correspondent have used عمن instead of عما?
Not in this context, because حدث (happened) refers to an event. ما is used for non-human things or events ("what"). If the correspondent were asking about a specific person (e.g., "asked about who left"), you would use عن + مَن = عَمَّن (about who/whom).
Why is there no definite article (الـ) on مراسل even though we translate it as 'the correspondent'?
مراسل is the first part of an Idafa (possessive construction) with الوكالة (the agency). As a reminder, the first word in an Idafa never takes the definite article الـ or nunation (tanwiin), but it is still considered definite because the second word is definite. Together, مراسل الوكالة means "the correspondent of the agency."
Why does أمس end with a kasra (أمسِ) if there is no preposition before it?
Learn سأل مراسل الوكالة عما حدث أمس and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free