Questions & Answers about كان المسرح فارغا لأن العرض كان فظيعا.
Why do both فارغا and فظيعا end with an alif?
They are both functioning as the predicate (the 'news' or information) of the verb كان (to be). كان always puts its predicate into the accusative case. Because these words are indefinite, they take the accusative tanwīn fatḥ (-an suffix), which requires adding a silent alif at the end in writing (فارغاً and فظيعاً).
What case ending should be pronounced on العرض (the show)?
It takes the accusative case, so it is pronounced العرضَ (al-ʿarḍa) with a fatḥa at the end. This is because لأن (li-ʾanna) contains أنّ (that), and أنّ always forces its subject—the noun immediately following it—into the accusative case.
If I wanted to drop 'the show' and just say 'because it was terrible', could I just say لأن كان فظيعا?
No, لأن (li-ʾanna) must always be followed by a noun or an attached pronoun, never directly by a verb like كان. To say 'because it was terrible', you must attach the 'it' pronoun suffix to the conjunction, making it لأنه كان فظيعا (li-ʾannahu kāna faẓīʿan).
Besides 'show', what are other common meanings of the word عرض?
At this level, you will frequently see عرض used to mean an 'offer' (such as a job offer or a discount at a store) or a 'presentation'. It comes from a root meaning to display or present something.