سواء عرفت صاحب المحفظة أم لم أعرفه، سأبلغ عن المفقودات.

This is a very common pattern in Modern Standard Arabic meaning whether ... or ... / regardless of whether ....

So:

• سواء عرفت صاحب المحفظة أم لم أعرفه = whether I knew the owner of the wallet or not

A useful way to remember it is:

• سواء X أم Y = whether X or Y
• very often, Y is a negative clause, as it is here:
  • عَرَفْتُ = I knew
  • لَمْ أَعْرِفْهُ = I did not know him

This whole opening part sets up the idea of it makes no difference.

In this kind of whether ... or ... construction, Arabic normally uses أم, not أو.

So:

• سواء ... أم ... = whether ... or ...

Here, أم links the two alternatives after سواء.

By contrast, أو usually means ordinary or in choices or alternatives, for example:

• شاي أو قهوة = tea or coffee

So in your sentence, أم is the natural and expected word.

They are different because of the grammar of negation with لم.

• عَرَفْتُ = I knew
• لَمْ أَعْرِفْهُ = I did not know him

After لم, Arabic uses the present tense form of the verb, but with a past negative meaning.

So:

• عرفت = I knew
• لم أعرفه = I did not know him

This may feel strange to an English speaker, but it is completely normal in Arabic.

A very important rule:

• لم + present/jussive = did not ...

So لم أعرفه does not mean I do not know him here. It means I did not know him.

Yes — without vowel marks, عرفت is ambiguous in writing.

It could be:

• عَرَفْتُ = I knew
• عَرَفْتَ = you knew (masculine singular)
• عَرَفْتِ = you knew (feminine singular)

But from the context, the intended meaning is clearly I knew, because the next part says:

• لم أعرفه = I did not know him
• سأبلغ = I will report

So the sentence is understood as:

• سواء عرفتُ صاحبَ المحفظة أم لم أعرفْه، سأبلغ...
• Whether I knew the owner of the wallet or not, I will report...

This is a good reminder that unvocalized Arabic often relies on context.

The ـه is the attached object pronoun meaning him.

So:

• أعرف = I know
• أعرفه = I know him

In this sentence, him refers back to:

• صاحب المحفظة = the owner of the wallet

So:

• لم أعرفه = I did not know him
• literally: I did not know the owner

صاحب المحفظة literally means the owner/possessor of the wallet.

Breakdown:

• صاحب = owner, possessor, person associated with something
• المحفظة = the wallet

So together:

• صاحب المحفظة = the owner of the wallet

This is an iḍāfa construction (genitive/possessive construction), which is very common in Arabic.

In an iḍāfa:

• the first noun is not usually marked with ال
• the second noun can be definite
• the whole phrase becomes definite if the second noun is definite

So because المحفظة is definite (the wallet), the whole phrase means the owner of the wallet, not just an owner of a wallet.

لم is a negation particle used to say did not for past actions.

Its two main effects are:

1. It gives the verb a past negative meaning
2. It puts the following present-tense verb into the jussive mood

So:

• أعرفُ = I know
• لم أعرفْ = I did not know

In fully vocalized Arabic, the final vowel drops:

• أعرفُ → أعرفْ

Then the object pronoun is added:

• لم أعرفْهُ = I did not know him

This is a very important pattern to master in MSA.

Because the verb أبلغ عن means to report something.

So:

• أبلغ عن الشيء = I report the thing
• سأبلغ عن المفقودات = I will report the lost items / lost property

This is just the normal preposition used with this meaning of the verb.

Compare:

• أبلغ الشرطة عن الحادث = I inform the police about the accident
• أبلغ عن الحادث = I report the accident

So in your sentence, عن is not optional; it belongs naturally with the meaning report.

المفقودات means lost items, lost property, or lost-and-found items, depending on context.

It comes from the root idea of being lost / missing.

So:

• مفقود = lost, missing
• مفقودات = lost things / lost property

In this sentence, a natural English translation is:

• I will report the lost property or
• I will report it to lost and found, depending on the broader context

If the sentence is about finding a wallet, المفقودات refers to the category of lost items, not necessarily many different objects in the scene.

The prefix سـ means will or shall in MSA.

So:

• أبلغ = I report / I am reporting
• سأبلغ = I will report

In the sentence:

• سأبلغ عن المفقودات = I will report the lost property

It shows the speaker’s intended future action.

Yes, absolutely. That is one of the best ways to understand it.

• سواء عرفت صاحب المحفظة أم لم أعرفه = whether I knew the owner of the wallet or not = regardless of whether I knew the owner of the wallet

This phrasing often emphasizes that the result or decision in the main clause does not change.

Here, the main idea is:

• Knowing the owner or not knowing the owner does not matter.
• I will report the lost property anyway.

The sentence has two parts:

1. سواء عرفت صاحب المحفظة أم لم أعرفه

   • a concessive/opening clause
   • whether I knew the owner of the wallet or not

2. سأبلغ عن المفقودات

   • the main clause
   • I will report the lost property

So the overall meaning is:

• Whether I knew the owner of the wallet or not, I will report the lost property.

This structure is common in formal Arabic and is very useful for expressing it makes no difference whether X or Y.

This sentence is very natural in Modern Standard Arabic and in formal writing or careful speech.

The pattern سواء ... أم ... is especially common in:

• formal Arabic
• news language
• writing
• speeches
• educated register

In everyday spoken dialects, people might express the same idea with different wording, but an MSA learner should definitely know this pattern because it is standard and very useful.