Breakdown of في عطلة نهاية الأسبوع عندي وقت أكثر، ولذلك أقرأ في الشرفة.
و
and
يقرأ
to read
في
on
عند'ind
with/at (in one's possession)
Questions & Answers about في عطلة نهاية الأسبوع عندي وقت أكثر، ولذلك أقرأ في الشرفة.
Why does Arabic use عندي for I have instead of a verb meaning to have?
In Modern Standard Arabic, possession is very often expressed with a prepositional phrase rather than a verb like English have.
So:
عندي وقت أكثر literally means something like at me there is more time.
- عند = at / with
- ـي = my / me
So عندي = I have in this kind of sentence.
This is very common in Arabic:
- عندي كتاب = I have a book
- عندها سيارة = She has a car
Also, in the present tense, Arabic usually does not use a spoken word for is/are in nominal sentences, so عندي وقت أكثر has no verb, but it is still a complete sentence.
Why is there no أنا before أقرأ?
Because the verb itself already tells you the subject.
أقرأ means I read or I am reading. The prefix أ marks first person singular.
So Arabic usually does not need the separate pronoun أنا unless you want emphasis or contrast.
- أقرأ = I read
- أنا أقرأ = I read / I am reading
The version without أنا is the normal, neutral choice.
What exactly does mean?