Breakdown of قلما نتعمد أن نسيء إلى أصدقائنا.
صديقsadîq
friend
ناnâ
our / us (object) / we (subject suffix on past verb)
أنan
to (with verbs)
قلماqallamâ
rarely (followed by a verb)
تعمدta'ammada
to do intentionally
أساء إلىasâ'a ilâ
to offend
Questions & Answers about قلما نتعمد أن نسيء إلى أصدقائنا.
How does قلما work in this sentence, and why does a verb come immediately after it?
قلما acts as a single particle meaning rarely or seldom. It is built from the past tense verb قل (to be little) and the particle ما. This ما prevents it from acting like a normal verb and allows it to introduce a verbal clause. That is why it is immediately followed by the present tense verb نتعمد.
Why is the hamza in أصدقائنا written on a seat (ئ) instead of on the line (ء)?
The spelling of a middle hamza before a pronoun suffix changes based on its grammatical case. Here, the word follows the preposition إلى, putting it in the genitive case. Because it takes a kasra vowel (aṣdiqā'inā), the hamza sits on a seat (ئ). If it were the subject, it would be أصدقاؤنا, and if it were a direct object, it would be أصدقاءنا.
Why is the preposition إلى used here? The English translation just says "offend our friends".
In Arabic, the Form IV verb أساء literally means to act badly or to do evil. To specify who is on the receiving end of this bad action, you must use the preposition إلى (toward). So, نسيء إلى translates naturally into English as "we offend" or "we wrong".
What grammatical mood is the verb نسيء in, and what triggers it?
It is in the subjunctive mood (mansub) and takes a fatha on its final letter. This happens because it directly follows the subordinating conjunction أن (to), which always forces the following present tense verb into the subjunctive.
Learn قلما نتعمد أن نسيء إلى أصدقائنا and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free