# نشاھد النیل وفیه القوارب الجميلة



## Qureshpor

نشاھد النیلَ وفیه القواربُ الجميلةُ

Should القوارب الجميلة be مرفوع or منصوب?


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## Ghabi

It's مرفوع.


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## Qureshpor

Thank you. Could you please explain why this is so. Does the intervening فیه prevent القوارب الجميلة from being منصوب ?


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## jack_1313

Ghabi, don't you think the intended meaning is "We watch the Nile and, in it, the beautiful boats"?


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## Qureshpor

^ Yes, I understand the intended meaning. In fact, this sentence is in response to a question:

ماذا نشاھد ھناک؟ What will we see there?
نشاھد النیلَ وفیه القواربُ الجميلةُ We shall see the Nile and in it the beautiful boats.

My line of thinking is that "We shall see the Nile (accusative) and (in it) the beautiful boats (accusative).


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## Matat

Both i3raabs are correct.

Option 1)
نشاهد النيلَ وفيه القواربُ الجميلةُ = "We are watching the Nile; on it are the beautiful boats" or "We are watching the Nile while on it are the beautiful boats".

Option 2)
نشاهد النيلَ و(نشاهد) فيه القواربَ الجميلةَ = نشاهد النيلَ وفيه القواربَ الجميلةَ = "We are watching the Nile and we are watching the beautiful boats on it".


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## bearded

Qureshpor said:


> We shall see the Nile


Why do you put it in the future? I feel it is all present tense.


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## Qureshpor

^ Well, based on the fuller context, I believe the future tense best fits the bill.

ماذا نفعل الیوم؟
 !عندی فکرة، نذھب الی شاطیء النیل
 ماذا نشاھد ھناک؟ 
نشاھد النیلَ وفیه القواربُ الجميلةُ


Matat said:


> Both i3raabs are correct.
> 
> Option 1)
> نشاهد النيلَ وفيه القواربُ الجميلةُ = "We are watching the Nile; within it are the beautiful boats" or "We are watching the Nile while in it are the beautiful boats".
> 
> Option 2)
> نشاهد النيلَ و(نشاهد) فيه القواربَ الجميلةَ = نشاهد النيلَ وفيه القواربَ الجميلةَ = "We are watching the Nile and we are watching the beautiful boats in it".


Thank you Mat for the explanation. I was also thinking that option 1) conveyed the "while/with" meaning. Does the presence of فيه prevent an automatic منصوب in the second part of the sentence?


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## bearded

< Fuller context >
Thank you, Qureshpor.  Without that context, I could not understand the reason for the future tense (nor could other repliers: see #6).


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## Qureshpor

^ Yes, I follow your thinking but see #5


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## bearded

As a matter of fact, before seeing your 'fuller context' I was  wondering why your question ('what will we see') was also translated in the future, since in Arabic it has present tense. Now I understand it's a present referring to the future.


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## Ghabi

jack_1313 said:


> Ghabi, don't you think the intended meaning is "We watch the Nile and, in it, the beautiful boats"?


It doesn't sound right. My gut reading was "We're looking at the Nile with beautiful boats [floating] on it".


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## jack_1313

I'd agree with you if القوارب الجميلة were indefinite.


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## Matat

Qureshpor said:


> Does the presence of فيه prevent an automatic منصوب in the second part of the sentence?


I'd phrase this question as: had فيه not been a part of the sentence, would we assume that القوارب must be منصوب?
Yes.


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## elroy

While both readings are theoretically possible, my immediate reading -- and that of most native speakers, I would wager -- was Ghabi's. 

Incidentally, while القوارب الجميلة is grammatically definite, it doesn't necessarily mean "the beautiful boats" here; it could also be "beautiful boats."


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## Qureshpor

Thank you elroy. I follow the logic behind reading "beautiful boats" with generic sense.


Ghabi said:


> It doesn't sound right. My gut reading was "We're looking at the Nile with beautiful boats [floating] on it".


But why present continuous tense while the context points to the future?


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## elroy

Qureshpor said:


> But why present continuous tense while the context points to the future?


 Ghabi says this was his "gut reading," so he probably means this is how he understood the sentence when he first read it -- before we were given the context.


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## Qureshpor

Yes, elroy, this explains it. Thank you.


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