Breakdown of يا لروعة هذا الاستعراض!
الal
the
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
ياyâ
O
لli
what/how (exclamatory, after the vocative particle)
Questions & Answers about يا لروعة هذا الاستعراض!
Why is there a fatha on the لَـ in يا لروعة instead of a kasra?
This is the Exclamatory Vocative. The prefix لَـ (la) is used with يا to express amazement or shock. It takes a fatha to distinguish it from the regular preposition لِـ (li, meaning "for" or "to").
Does the exclamatory لَـ affect the case of روعة?
Yes. Even though it has a fatha, the exclamatory لَـ acts grammatically like a preposition. This means روعة must be in the genitive case (majrur) and takes a kasra at the end, making it يا لروعةِ (ya la-raw'ati).
Are روعة and هذا forming an Idafa (genitive construct) here?
Exactly! The phrase structurally translates to "the magnificence of this." روعة is the first part (mudhaf), and هذا is the second part (mudhaf ilayhi). Because هذا is a fixed word (indeclinable), its ending doesn't visually change, but it logically occupies a genitive position.
What case ending does الاستعراض take, and why?
It takes a kasra and is read as الاستعراضِ (al-isti'radhi). In Arabic, when a definite noun with الـ (al-) directly follows a demonstrative pronoun like هذا, it acts as a substitute (badal) and copies its grammatical case. Since هذا is in the genitive position here, الاستعراض must also take the genitive case.