Breakdown of يصافح المرشح الواثق المحاور.
Questions & Answers about يصافح المرشح الواثق المحاور.
What is the fully vowelled version of this sentence?
A natural fully vowelled version is:
يُصافِحُ المُرَشَّحُ الواثِقُ المُحاوِرَ.
Breakdown:
- يُصافِحُ = he shakes hands with / is shaking hands with
- المُرَشَّحُ = the candidate
- الواثِقُ = the confident
- المُحاوِرَ = the interviewer
So the structure is:
verb + subject + adjective + object
Why is يصافح translated as shakes hands with, not just shakes?
Because صافح / يصافح is the normal Arabic verb for to shake hands with someone.
In Arabic, this verb usually takes a direct object:
- يصافح المحاور = he shakes hands with the interviewer
English uses with, but Arabic does not need a preposition here.
So:
- English: The candidate shakes hands with the interviewer.
- Arabic: يصافح المرشح المحاور.
This is very common: Arabic and English often package actions differently.
Why does الواثق come after المرشح?
Because in Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.
So:
- المرشح الواثق = the confident candidate
This is the normal order in Arabic:
- noun first
- adjective second
More examples:
- الرجل الطويل = the tall man
- الطالبة الذكية = the smart female student
So الواثق follows المرشح because it is describing it.
Why do both المرشح and الواثق have الـ?
Because Arabic adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in definiteness.
If the noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite.
So:
- المرشح الواثق = the confident candidate
Compare:
- مرشح واثق = a confident candidate
- المرشح الواثق = the confident candidate
This matching is a very important rule in Arabic adjective phrases.
How do we know that الواثق describes المرشح and not المحاور?
In the most natural reading, الواثق describes المرشح because it comes right after it as part of the noun phrase:
- المرشح الواثق = the confident candidate
Then المحاور comes afterward as the object of the verb.
With full case endings, the sentence becomes clearer:
- يُصافِحُ المُرَشَّحُ الواثِقُ المُحاوِرَ
Here:
- المُرَشَّحُ and الواثِقُ are in the nominative, showing they belong together as the subject
- المُحاوِرَ is in the accusative, showing it is the object
Without case endings in normal writing, there can sometimes be temporary ambiguity, but the intended reading is usually understood from word grouping and context.
What case endings are involved here, and why do they matter?
In full MSA grammar:
- يُصافِحُ → verb
- المُرَشَّحُ → subject, so nominative
- الواثِقُ → adjective matching the subject, so also nominative
- المُحاوِرَ → direct object, so accusative
So the endings are:
- ـُ on the subject and its adjective
- ـَ on the object
That gives:
يُصافِحُ المُرَشَّحُ الواثِقُ المُحاوِرَ
These endings help show who is doing the action and who receives it.
Why is the verb singular?
The verb is singular because the subject is singular:
- المرشح = the candidate
So:
- يُصافِحُ = he shakes hands with
If the subject were dual or plural, the verb could change accordingly.
For example:
- يصافح المرشحان المحاور = the two candidates shake hands with the interviewer
- يصافح المرشحون المحاور = the candidates shake hands with the interviewer
In verb-first sentences in Arabic, the verb often stays singular when the subject comes after it, especially in standard grammar.
Could I also say المرشح الواثق يصافح المحاور?
Yes. That is also correct.
Compare the two patterns:
يصافح المرشح الواثق المحاور
= verb firstالمرشح الواثق يصافح المحاور
= subject first
Both can mean the same thing: The confident candidate shakes hands with the interviewer.
The difference is mainly in style and emphasis:
- verb-first is very common in formal Arabic
- subject-first can feel a bit more topic-oriented, like As for the confident candidate, he shakes hands with the interviewer
What kind of verb is يصافح?
It is an imperfect verb from the past tense صافح.
So:
- صافحَ = he shook hands with
- يُصافِحُ = he shakes hands with / is shaking hands with
This verb is from Form III. Form III often has a sense of interaction or involvement with another person.
That fits well here, because handshaking naturally involves another person.
If I wanted to say a confident candidate, how would that change?
You would remove الـ from both the noun and the adjective:
- مرشح واثق = a confident candidate
But:
- المرشح الواثق = the confident candidate
So Arabic keeps the noun and adjective matched:
- indefinite + indefinite
- definite + definite
This is a key pattern to memorize.
Is المحاور really a direct object here, even though English uses with?
Yes. In Arabic, المحاور is the direct object of يصافح.
So grammatically, Arabic treats it like:
- he greets the interviewer with a handshake rather than
- he shakes hands with the interviewer
That is why المحاور appears in the accusative in full vocalization:
- المُحاوِرَ
So even though the English translation contains with, the Arabic grammar uses a direct object.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning ArabicMaster Arabic — from يصافح المرشح الواثق المحاور to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions