Breakdown of بدأت الحرب العالمية الأولى في عام ألف وتسعمئة وأربعة عشر الميلادي.
الal
the
وwa
and
فيfî
in / about, regarding
عامâmun
year
بدأbada'a
to begin
حربharb
war
أولawwal
first
أربعة عشرarba'ata 'ashara
fourteen
ألفalf
thousand
تسعمئةtis'umi'ah
nine hundred
عالميâlamiyy
global
ميلاديmîlâdî
A.D. (CE)
Questions & Answers about بدأت الحرب العالمية الأولى في عام ألف وتسعمئة وأربعة عشر الميلادي.
Why do the first parts of the year (ألف وتسعمئة) take kasra, but the last part (وأربعة عشر) ends with fatha?
Because of the preposition في, the word عام (year) is in the genitive case. The thousands and hundreds (ألفٍ and تسعمئةٍ) coordinate with it and also take the genitive case with a kasra. However, compound numbers from 11 to 19 (except 12) are fixed and indeclinable; they always end with a fatha on both words (أربعةَ عشرَ), even when they occupy a genitive slot.
How do we determine the gender rule for أربعة عشر in this sentence?
The implied counted noun is عام (year), which is masculine. For compound numbers 13-19, the ones digit takes the opposite gender of the counted noun (giving us the feminine أربعة), while the tens digit matches the noun's gender (giving us the masculine عشر).
Does the adjective الميلادي (CE) modify the number 1914 or the word "year"?
It modifies عام (year). Because عام is made definite by the specific year that follows it, and is in the genitive case after في, the adjective must match it. Therefore, it takes the definite article ال and the genitive case, pronounced formally as الميلاديِّ (al-meelaadiyyi).
Why are the adjectives العالمية and الأولى feminine when الحرب doesn't have a feminine ending?
The word حرب (war) is one of a handful of Arabic nouns that are inherently feminine by convention, despite lacking a taa marboota. Because it is grammatically feminine, all adjectives describing it must also be feminine.
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