Breakdown of قال الأستاذ إن غلاء المعيشة صعب جدا.
الal
the
أستاذustâdh
professor / teacher
جداjiddan
very
صعبsa'b
difficult
قالqâla
to say
إنinna
indeed / truly / that (after قال)
معيشةmaîsha
livelihood (living, way of life)
غلاءghalâ'
high cost
Questions & Answers about قال الأستاذ إن غلاء المعيشة صعب جدا.
Why is it إن (inna) here instead of أنّ (anna) to mean that?
In Arabic, after the verb قال (to say) and its variations, you must always use إنّ (inna) to introduce the statement. For almost all other verbs, you would use أنّ (anna).
The word المعيشة is feminine, so why is the adjective صعب (difficult) masculine?
The adjective is describing غلاء (the high cost), not المعيشة (the living). Since غلاء is masculine, the adjective صعب must also be masculine. In an Idafa (genitive construct) like غلاء المعيشة, an adjective agrees with the specific noun it modifies.
Is the word غلاء (high cost) related to the Arabic word for expensive?
Yes! It comes from the exact same root as the common adjective غالي (expensive). The word غلاء is the noun form, literally meaning expensiveness.
If I were reading this with full case endings, what ending would غلاء take?
It would take a fatha, making it غلاءَ (ghalaa'a). This is because it is the noun immediately following إنّ (inna), which always forces the subject of its clause into the accusative case (mansub).
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