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Questions & Answers about الشرطة ناقشت الجريمة.
Why is ناقشت feminine singular? English the police feels plural.
In Arabic, الشرطة is treated as a singular feminine noun, even though in English police is grammatically plural.
So the verb agrees with it as feminine singular:
- ناقش = he discussed
- ناقشت = she/it discussed
That is why you get الشرطة ناقشت...
This is very normal in both formal Arabic and Levantine-style usage.
Does الشرطة mean the policewoman here?
No. الشرطة means the police as an institution or force.
If you want a policewoman, that is usually شرطية.
So:
- الشرطة = the police
- شرطية = a policewoman
Even though الشرطة is grammatically feminine, it does not mean one female officer.
What exactly does the -ت at the end of ناقشت do?
The -ت is part of the past tense feminine singular verb form.
The base verb is ناقش = to discuss.
In the past tense:
- ناقش = he discussed
- ناقشت = she/it discussed
Since الشرطة is grammatically feminine singular, the verb becomes ناقشت.