كان الطابع الصغير في صندوق قرب الباب.

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Breakdown of كان الطابع الصغير في صندوق قرب الباب.

• في: in
• قرب: near
• يكون: to be

Questions & Answers about كان الطابع الصغير في صندوق قرب الباب.

What does كان do in this sentence?

كان is the past-tense form of to be here, so it makes the sentence refer to the past: was.

This sentence is based on a nominal sentence: الطابع الصغير في صندوق قرب الباب = The small stamp is in a box near the door

When you add كان, it becomes: كان الطابع الصغير في صندوق قرب الباب = The small stamp was in a box near the door

A useful point for learners: in the present tense, Arabic usually does not use a word for is/are in simple sentences like this, but in the past tense it does use كان.

Why is الصغير after الطابع instead of before it?

In Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• الطابع الصغير = the small stamp
• not الصغير الطابع

This is the normal noun + adjective order in Arabic.

Why do both الطابع and الصغير have الـ?

Because Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in definiteness as well as gender, number, and case.

So:

• الطابع الصغير = the small stamp
• طابع صغير = a small stamp

This is very important, because: