Breakdown of فضلنا مطعما راقيا فيه بضعة أطباق.
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مطعمmat'am
restaurant
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
فضلfaddala
to prefer
طبقtabaq
plate (for eating) / dish (of food)
بضعةbid'atun
a few, several (for masculine nouns)
راقيrâqî
upscale
Questions & Answers about فضلنا مطعما راقيا فيه بضعة أطباق.
Why does the word for 'upscale' (راقيا) have a visible 'yaa' (ي) when the dictionary form is often written without one?
The base indefinite form of this active participle is راقٍ (rāqin). It comes from a defective root, meaning it ends in a weak letter. In the nominative and genitive cases, the final ي drops out. However, because it is describing the direct object مطعما (a restaurant) and must match its accusative case, the ي returns and takes the fatha ending, becoming راقيا.
How does فيه بضعة أطباق (literally 'in it several dishes') act grammatically here?
In Arabic, an entire clause can act as an adjective modifying an indefinite noun. Here, the nominal sentence فيه بضعة أطباق directly modifies the indefinite noun مطعما (a restaurant). In English, we translate this descriptive clause smoothly as a phrase like 'with several dishes'.
Why does the word for 'several' (بضعة) have a feminine ending when the word for 'dishes' (أطباق) is masculine?
The word بضعة (meaning 'several' or 'a few') follows the exact same grammar rules as the numbers 3 through 10. This means it requires reverse gender agreement with the noun it counts. Because the singular of أطباق is طبق (masculine), بضعة must take the feminine ة ending.
What grammatical case is بضعة in, given that the phrase is describing an accusative noun?
It is in the nominative case and takes a damma (بضعةُ). Even though the whole clause modifies the accusative مطعما, the phrase فيه بضعة أطباق is its own independent nominal sentence. Within this mini-sentence, فيه is the predicate ('in it are') and بضعة is the delayed subject, which must always be nominative.
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