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يسكن أحمد في شبه جزيرة كبيرة.

يسكن أحمد في شبه جزيرة كبيرة.yaskunu ahmadu fî shibhi jazîratin kabîratin
Ahmad lives on a large peninsula.
From Lesson 431:The prefix "semi-" or "quasi-" (شِبْه)·Arabic (Modern Standard)

Questions & Answers about يسكن أحمد في شبه جزيرة كبيرة.

How does the word شبه function grammatically in شبه جزيرة?
It forms a mandatory Idafa (genitive construction). شبه literally means "resemblance" or "likeness," so شبه جزيرة translates literally as "a likeness of an island." As the first part of the Idafa, شبه never takes the definite article ال or nunation (tanween).
What case endings do the words in في شبه جزيرة كبيرة take?
The preposition في puts شبه in the genitive case (شِبْهِ). Because it forms an Idafa, the second word جزيرة is also genitive (جزيرةٍ). Finally, the adjective كبيرة follows the case of the noun phrase it modifies, making it genitive as well (كبيرةٍ).
If شبه is grammatically masculine, why is the adjective كبيرة feminine?
Even though شبه is masculine, the compound شبه جزيرة (peninsula) is treated as a single semantic unit. The adjective كبيرة agrees with the feminine core word جزيرة because it is describing the physical peninsula itself, not just the abstract "likeness."
How would I change this sentence to say "Ahmad lives on THE large peninsula"?
You would write يسكن أحمد في شبه الجزيرة الكبيرة. To make an Idafa definite, you add the definite article ال only to the second noun (الجزيرة). The adjective الكبيرة then also takes ال to match the now-definite compound phrase.

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