Breakdown of المزودان كلاهما ممتازان.
ممتازmumtâz
excellent
كلاهماkilâhumâ
both of them
مزودmuzawwid
provider
Questions & Answers about المزودان كلاهما ممتازان.
Why do we use كلاهما here instead of كليهما or كلتاهما?
كلاهما is emphasizing the subject المزودان (the two providers). Because المزودان is masculine, we use the masculine base كلا (instead of the feminine كلتا). Because المزودان is in the nominative case (indicated by the -ان ending), the quantifier must also be in the nominative case, which is كلاهما (instead of the accusative/genitive كليهما).
Is كلاهما a core part of the sentence structure?
No, it acts as an optional emphasizing word (known as tawkeed). The core sentence is simply المزودان ممتازان (The two providers are excellent). Adding كلاهما after the definite noun just stresses that the statement applies to 'both of them'. If you remove it, the sentence remains grammatically complete.
Could we change the word order and start the sentence with 'both'?
You cannot simply move كلاهما to the front. To start the sentence with 'both', you must use the base word كلا followed by a definite noun in the genitive case. That structure would be كلا المزودين (Both of the providers).
If we used the كلا المزودين structure instead, would the predicate ممتازان stay the same?
If you start with كلا المزودين, the predicate is usually singular: كلا المزودين ممتاز (literally: 'Both of the providers is excellent'). This is because كلا acts grammatically as a singular word. The structure in our example sentence (المزودان كلاهما ممتازان) is often preferred to keep the dual focus throughout.
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