Questions & Answers about سافرت الأخوات الثلاث إلى مصر.
Why is the verb سافرت singular when the subject (the sisters) is plural?
In standard Arabic sentence structure, when the verb comes before the subject, it always stays in the singular form. Since الأخوات is feminine, we use the feminine singular verb سافرت. If the noun came first, it would take the plural conjugation: الأخوات سافرن.
Why is the number الثلاث placed after the noun here?
Because the phrase is definite ("the three sisters"). When a numbered phrase is definite, the noun comes first and the number acts as an adjective following it, with both taking the definite article ال. If it were indefinite ("three sisters"), the number would come first in an idafa (possessive) structure: ثلاث أخوات.
Why doesn't the number الثلاث have a taa marbuta to match the feminine noun?
Numbers 3 to 10 in Arabic use "reverse agreement" with the gender of the noun. You must look at the singular form of the noun, which is أخت (sister). Because the singular noun is feminine, the number takes the opposite masculine form الثلاث (without the taa marbuta).
If we read this sentence aloud with case endings, what vowel does مصر take?