بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة، يقدم شكوى.

بدلا من means instead of.

So the sentence sets up an alternative:

• بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة = instead of the customer returning the item
• يقدم شكوى = he makes/files a complaint

You may also see it written as بدلًا من with tanwīn on the last letter. That is the fully vocalized spelling.

Here أن introduces a verb clause, so it works like instead of doing... or instead of someone doing...

• أن يعيد = to return / returning

In Arabic, after بدلا من, you can often get:

• بدلا من + أن + verb
• or a verbal noun structure in some contexts

So:

• بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة = instead of the customer returning the item

This is a very common and natural pattern in Modern Standard Arabic.

يعيد comes from the verb أعادَ and means to return something, to give something back, or to send something back.

That is different from the simpler verb عادَ, which usually means to return in the sense of to come back.

So compare:

• عادَ الزبونُ = the customer came back
• أعادَ الزبونُ السلعةَ = the customer returned the item

In your sentence, the customer is returning something, so أعاد / يعيد is the right choice.

Yes. After أن, the following imperfect verb is normally in the subjunctive mood.

So fully vocalized, it would be:

• أن يعيدَ

not:

• أن يعيدُ

In normal unvocalized Arabic writing, this difference usually does not appear, so you just see يعيد.

Because Arabic commonly uses verb–subject–object order.

So this part is structured as:

• يعيد = verb
• الزبون = subject
• السلعة = object

Literally:

• that returns the customer the item

But naturally in English:

• that the customer returns the item

Arabic can also use subject-first order in many cases, but verb-first order is very common and very normal.

Because the subject is understood from the context.

The sentence first mentions الزبون (the customer), and then the next verb يقدم is understood to have the same subject:

• الزبون ... يقدم شكوى
• the customer ... files a complaint

So Arabic does not need to repeat الزبون again unless the speaker wants extra emphasis or clarity.

You could also say:

• بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة، الزبون يقدم شكوى

but that sounds more repetitive.

Yes, literally يقدم شكوى means something like presents/submits a complaint, but in natural English it is usually:

• files a complaint
• makes a complaint
• submits a complaint

The verb here is from قدّم:

• قدّم = to present, submit, offer
• يقدّم = he presents/submits

In normal Arabic spelling without vowels and shadda, it appears as يقدم, but the intended form here is يُقدِّم.

شكوى is indefinite because it means a complaint, not the complaint.

So:

• يقدم شكوى = he files a complaint
• يقدم الشكوى = he submits the complaint

The indefinite form is natural here because it describes the action in a general sense.

السلعة means the item, the product, or the merchandise. It is the direct object of يعيد.

So in:

• يعيد الزبون السلعة

we have:

• يعيد = returns
• الزبون = the customer
• السلعة = the item/product

Because the item is what is being returned, it is the object.

Yes, absolutely. That is probably the most natural English translation.

Even though Arabic says literally:

• Instead of that the customer returns the item, he files a complaint

good English will usually be:

• Instead of returning the item, the customer files a complaint.

So the Arabic structure and the English structure do not match word-for-word, but the meaning does.

Yes, often Arabic can use a verbal noun instead of أن + verb.

For example, a similar idea could be expressed with something like:

• بدلا من إعادةِ الزبونِ السلعةَ...

This is more compact and somewhat more formal or dense in style.

However, بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة is very clear and natural, especially for learners to recognize.

Not strictly. Arabic punctuation is used, but often less rigidly than in English.

So both of these are possible:

• بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة، يقدم شكوى.
• بدلا من أن يعيد الزبون السلعة يقدم شكوى.

The comma simply helps separate the instead of... phrase from the main clause.

Yes, two especially important ones:

1. يعيد after أن is pronounced يُعيدَ

   • the final vowel is fatḥa because of the subjunctive

2. يقدم here is really يُقدِّمُ

   • with a doubled middle consonant because it is from قدّم
   • not the simpler verb يَقدُمُ

So a more fully vocalized version would be:

• بدلًا من أن يُعيدَ الزبونُ السلعةَ، يُقدِّمُ شكوى.

That helps show the grammar more clearly.