اللمبة تبع الغرفة ما بتشتغل، ومشان هيك ما في ضو.

The room’s light bulb is not working, and that is why there is no light.

Breakdown of اللمبة تبع الغرفة ما بتشتغل، ومشان هيك ما في ضو.

• ال: the
• في: to exist
• و: and
• غرفة: room

Questions & Answers about اللمبة تبع الغرفة ما بتشتغل، ومشان هيك ما في ضو.

Why is the verb بتشتغل feminine?

Because اللمبة is a grammatically feminine noun in Arabic.

In Levantine present tense:

• بيشتغل = he/it works for a masculine subject
• بتشتغل = she/it works for a feminine subject

So even though a lamp is an object, Arabic still treats it as feminine and the verb agrees with it.

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What does تبع mean here?

تبع is a very common colloquial way to show possession, meaning something like:

• of
• belonging to
• associated with

So اللمبة تبع الغرفة means the lamp of the room or the room’s lamp.

This is very natural in spoken Levantine. It is especially common in everyday conversation.

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Could I also say لمبة الغرفة instead of اللمبة تبع الغرفة?

Yes. Both are possible.

• لمبة الغرفة = an iḍāfa construction, more compact
• اللمبة تبع الغرفة = a very common spoken-style possessive

In conversation, تبع is often preferred because it feels easy and flexible. But لمبة الغرفة is also perfectly understandable and natural.

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