Breakdown of تم اعتماد هذا الطراز في عام ألف وتسعمئة وتسعة وتسعين.
الal
the
وwa
and
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
عامâmun
year
تسعةtis'a
nine
تسعونtis'ûna
ninety
ألفalf
thousand
تسعمئةtis'umi'ah
nine hundred
طرازtirâz
model
تمtamma
to take place / to be completed (happen, be carried out)
اعتمادi'timâd
approval / adoption (formal sanction, reliance, accreditation)
Questions & Answers about تم اعتماد هذا الطراز في عام ألف وتسعمئة وتسعة وتسعين.
How does the passive work in this sentence since there isn't a traditional passive verb?
Instead of using the internal passive verb form (like اُعْتُمِدَ), Modern Standard Arabic often uses the periphrastic passive. This is built using the verb تم (to be completed) followed by the verbal noun (masdar). Here, اعتماد (approval) is the nominative subject of تم, literally meaning "the approval of this model was completed," which translates to "this model was approved."
What case is the word الطراز (model) in, and why?
It is in the genitive case (الطرازِ, aT-Tiraazi). The verbal noun اعتمادُ forms an idaafa (possession structure) with the demonstrative هذا, putting هذا in the genitive "mudhaf ilayh" position. Since الطراز directly follows the demonstrative and has a definite article, it acts as a matching apposition (badal) and copies its genitive case.
Why do we use تسعة (tis'a) with the feminine ending here instead of the masculine تسع?
The number refers back to the word عام (year), which is a masculine noun. In Arabic, numbers from 3 to 9 show reverse gender agreement with the noun they count. Because عام is masculine, the number 9 takes the feminine form تسعة.
Why is the last word تسعين (tis'iin) and not تسعون (tis'uun)?
The entire year phrase follows the word عام (year) in an idaafa structure, meaning the numbers are in the genitive case. Since the first number ألف is genitive, all the following numbers connected by و (and) must also take the genitive case. For tens like 90, the genitive ending is ـين (-iin).
Could I use the verb جرى instead of تم in this sentence?
Yes, جرى (to occur/take place) functions similarly to تم for creating this modern passive structure. Saying جرى اعتماد هذا الطراز would also mean "this model was approved," though تم is slightly more common in formal or bureaucratic contexts like official approvals.
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