Breakdown of لاحظ الباحث أن سبع العينة طلاب.
الal
the
طالبtâlib
student
أنanna
that (conjunction)
باحثbâhith
researcher
لاحظlâhadha
to notice
عينةayyina
sample
سبعsub'
one seventh
Questions & Answers about لاحظ الباحث أن سبع العينة طلاب.
How do we form the word for "a seventh" (سبع) from the number seven?
Fractions from one-fifth to one-tenth follow the pattern فُعْل (fu'l). The root for seven is س-ب-ع (s-b-'), so "a seventh" becomes سُبْع (sub'). Its plural, if you wanted to say "three sevenths" for example, follows the أفعال (af'aal) pattern, becoming أسباع (asbaa').
What case ending does سبع take in this sentence, and why?
It takes a fatha, making it accusative (mansub), so it is pronounced سُبْعَ (sub'a). This happens because it is the subject of أن (anna, meaning "that"). Just like إن (inna), أن forces its subject into the accusative case.
How does Arabic express "of" in the phrase سبع العينة ("a seventh of the sample")?
It uses an iDaafa (construct state). The fraction سُبْع acts as the first part (mudhaf) and never takes "al-", while the noun being divided, العينة, acts as the second part (mudhaf ilayhi) and takes the genitive case (majrur). Fractions are very commonly placed into an iDaafa to show what is being divided.
Why is the predicate طلاب (students) plural when سبع (a seventh) is grammatically singular?
While the word سُبْع itself is singular in form, "a seventh of the sample" represents a group of people in meaning. When a fraction or quantifier refers to a human plural context, Arabic often allows the predicate to agree with the plural meaning rather than the strict singular grammar of the fraction word.
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