Breakdown of امشوا على الرصيف يا أولاد، الشارع خطير.
الal
the
على'ala
on / of (evidence of) / to (lie to someone) / for (difficult for someone)
شارعshâri'
street
ولدwalad
boy
مشىmashâ
to walk / to go, to move along (of a vehicle)
ياyâ
O
خطيرkhatîr
dangerous / serious, grave
رصيفraṣîf
sidewalk, pavement
Questions & Answers about امشوا على الرصيف يا أولاد، الشارع خطير.
Why does the command "walk" (امشوا) end with ـوا instead of just the base verb?
امشوا is a command (imperative verb) directed at a group of three or more people. Because the speaker is addressing multiple kids, they must attach the masculine plural suffix ـوا to the base command. If they were speaking to just one boy, the command would be امشِ.
Why is there an extra, unpronounced alif (ا) at the very end of امشوا?
That silent alif is a special spelling rule for Arabic verbs. It is added right after the plural "waw" (و) to show that the "waw" is a grammatical suffix meaning "you all" or "they," rather than just being a normal letter that belongs to the root of the word.
We translate this simply as "kids," but why is the word يا placed before أولاد?
يا is a calling word used to get someone's attention. While in English we can just say "Walk on the sidewalk, kids," Arabic strongly prefers or requires you to use يا right before the person or group you are directly addressing. You can think of it like saying "Hey kids" or "O kids."
In the phrase الشارع خطير (the street is dangerous), where is the Arabic word for "is"?
Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" or "are" in present-tense sentences. You simply put the definite subject (الشارع, the street) and its description (خطير, dangerous) side by side to make a complete sentence. This is called a nominal (noun-based) sentence.
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