Breakdown of حللت المهندستان كلتاهما المؤشرات.
الal
the
مهندسmuhandis
engineer
كلتاهماkiltâhumâ
both of them
حللhallala
to analyze
مؤشرmu'ashshir
indicator
Questions & Answers about حللت المهندستان كلتاهما المؤشرات.
Why is the verb حللت in the singular form when the subject, المهندستان, is dual?
In Arabic, when the verb comes before the subject, it always remains in the singular form. It only agrees with the subject in gender (feminine), which is why it uses حللت instead of the dual form حللتا.
How does the word كلتاهما (both) work in this sentence?
It functions as an emphasizer (tawkīd). It is made of two parts: كلتا, which is the feminine nominative form for 'both', and the attached pronoun هما meaning 'they two'. It comes after the noun it emphasizes to stress that absolutely both engineers did the action.
Would كلتاهما change if the engineers were the object of the sentence instead of the subject?
Yes. Because it emphasizes the noun, it must match its grammatical case. Here, المهندستان is the subject (nominative), so we use the nominative dual form كلتاهما. If it were in the accusative or genitive case, it would change to كلتيهما.
What short vowel goes on the final letter of المؤشرات (the indicators), and why?
It takes a kasra. It is the direct object of the sentence, which puts it in the accusative case. However, because it is a regular sound feminine plural noun ending in ـات, it is an exception to the general rule and takes a kasra instead of a fatha.
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