الحارس كان قدام المرمى وشاف الطابة.

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Breakdown of الحارس كان قدام المرمى وشاف الطابة.

• قدام: in front of
• كان: to be
• طابة: the ball

Questions & Answers about الحارس كان قدام المرمى وشاف الطابة.

What does each word in الحارس كان قدام المرمى وشاف الطابة mean?

A word-by-word breakdown:

• الحارس = the goalkeeper / the guard
• كان = was
• قدام = in front of
• المرمى = the goal
• و = and
• شاف = saw
• الطابة = the ball

So the sentence structure is very straightforward: The goalkeeper was in front of the goal and saw the ball.

How is this sentence pronounced in Levantine Arabic?

A natural Levantine-style pronunciation would be something like:

el-ḥāres kān qaddām el-marma w shāf eṭ-ṭābe

Notes:

• الحارس → el-ḥāres
• قدام is often pronounced with a strong dd sound: qaddām
• المرمى is commonly said like el-marma
• والطابة becomes w eṭ-ṭābe or just w ṭ-ṭābe in fast speech
• الطابة has article assimilation, so the l of ال is not pronounced before ط

Why is كان used here?