Questions & Answers about أومئ إلى القبة الضخمة.
The English translation says "was gestured to," but what is the actual subject of the Arabic verb أومئ?
Because the active verb أومأ (to gesture) is intransitive (it does not take a direct object), it forms an impersonal passive. The verb أومئ is conjugated in the default third-person masculine singular, and the entire prepositional phrase إلى القبة الضخمة (to the huge dome) stands in as the "proxy subject" for the passive verb.
Does القبة take a nominative case ending since it belongs to the subject of the passive verb?
No, it remains in the genitive case (القبةِ, al-qubbati) because it directly follows the preposition إلى. Even though the prepositional phrase as a whole fills the grammatical role of the subject, the preposition itself still forces the noun right after it into the genitive case.
Why does the verb أومئ end with a hamza on a ya' (ئ) instead of an alif (أ)?
The spelling of a word-final hamza depends on the short vowel right before it. In the active voice, the verb is أومأ (awma'a) with a fatha on the mim, so the hamza sits on an alif. In the passive voice, the vowel pattern changes to أومئ (oumi'a) with a kasra on the mim. Because a kasra immediately precedes it, the hamza must sit on a ya'.
What form is this verb, and what is its active equivalent?
It is a Form IV verb. The active past tense is أومأ and the present is يومئ. It is most commonly used with the preposition إلى to mean "to point to," "to gesture toward," or "to nod at."