Learn Arabic (Modern Standard): لم يبك الممثل الظريف بعد الحادث الأليم. - The witty actor did not cry after the painful accident.

The past-tense negative particle لم forces the following present-tense verb into the jussive mood (majzoom). For verbs like يبكي (to cry) that end in a weak root letter, the jussive is formed by dropping that final letter entirely. Therefore, يبكي becomes يبك.

Since the final letter is dropped, how is the end of يبك pronounced here?

It keeps the short vowel that corresponds to the dropped letter. Since the dropped letter was a ي (yaa), the ك (kaf) takes a kasra. It is pronounced "yabki" with a short "i" sound rather than a long "ee".

Does الظريف just mean "funny" in this context?

Not exactly. While a purely funny or comedic person is مضحك, the word الظريف implies a mix of charming, witty, elegant, and pleasant. A ممثل ظريف is an actor who is endearing and quick-witted, having a light and agreeable presence.

What case endings do الحادث and الأليم take at the end of the sentence?

They both take the genitive case (majroor), ending with a kasra. This happens because the word بعد (after) acts as the first part of an idafa (possessive construction), making the following noun الحادث the second part. The word الأليم is an adjective describing that noun, so it copies its genitive case.