# because



## Antonio3662918

مرحبا، أنا لا أعرف كيف أستعمل الكلمة 'لأنَ...' في العربية 
Hi, I don't get the Arabic structure to say "because." 

I saw in my book that you use " li'anna " plus the one of the pronoun suffixes.  So is it correct in Arabic to say:

نفهمك لأننا نتكلم عربي

(I'm trying to say 'We understand you because we speak Arabic.)

Would you mind providing the different forms of this word with the different pronouns? Does the word 'because' always need to be followed by these suffixes? Would you mind providing example sentences using the different forms of " li'anna "? Are there any other ways to say because in MSA?

Thank you.


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## cherine

Antonio3662918 said:


> مرحبا، أنا لا أعرف كيف أستعمل الكلمة 'لأنَ...' في العربية
> Hi, I don't get the Arabic structure to say "because."
> 
> I saw in my book that you use " li'anna " plus the one of the pronoun suffixes. So is it correct in Arabic to say:
> 
> نفهمك لأننا نتكلم عربي
> 
> (I'm trying to say 'We understand you because we speak Arabic.)
> 
> Would you mind providing the different forms of this word with the different pronouns? Does the word 'because' always need to be followed by these suffixes? Would you mind providing example sentences using the different forms of " li'anna "? Are there any other ways to say because in MSA?
> 
> Thank you.


أهلاً أنطونيو  
The Arabic word for because is indeed li2anna. We can express the same meaning with a structure like بسبب (bisabab), but li2anna is the most common.

The structure li2annahu is li2anna+pronoun. To learn it, you simply need to learn the pronoun : الضمائر المتصلة :
li2ann*i* = becaue *I*...
li2anna*ka* = becaue *you (sing. masculine)*...
li2anna*ki* = becaue *you (sing. masculine)*...
li2anna*kuma* = because *you two*...
li2anna*kum* = because *you (plural masculine)*...
li2anna*kunna* = because *you (plural feminine)*...
li2anna*hu* = because *he*...
li2anna*ha* = becaue *she*...
li2anna*huma* = because *they two (the two of them, masc.&fem.)*...
li2anna*na* = becaue *we*...
li2anna*hum* = because *they (masculine)*...
li2anna*hunna* = because *they (feminine)*...

Man! I never realized we had so many pronouns!   


By the way, your other thread about innahu, innaha uses the same patterns.


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## Antonio3662918

شكرا. هل يجب أن أستعمل الضمائر المتصلة مع الكلمة (بسبب) كيف أستعمل تلك الكلمة؟

Are the pronouns used with the other form of 'because'? What if I don't want to speak about a pronoun after the word because? What if I want to say, 

"We are going to Egypt, because there's pyramids there."

Would i still use a pronoun? Which one? How could I say this phrase using li2anna and bisabab?


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## linguist786

Antonio3662918 said:


> شكرا. هل يجب أن أستعمل الضمائر المتصلة مع الكلمة (بسبب) كيف أستعمل تلك الكلمة؟
> 
> Are the pronouns used with the other form of 'because'?


Yes, بسببكم ,بسببك, etc. 


> What if I don't want to speak about a pronoun after the word because?


Then don't - it's not incumbent.



> What if I want to say,
> 
> "We are going to Egypt, because there's pyramids there."
> 
> Would i still use a pronoun? Which one? How could I say this phrase using li2anna and bisabab?


This is my attempt at a translation:

نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر لأن توجد هرم هناك

or using "bisabab":

نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر بسبب تواجد الهرم هناك

(Correct me if I'm wrong, natives!)


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## cherine

linguist786 said:


> This is my attempt at a translation:
> نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر لأن توجد هرم هناك
> or using "bisabab":
> نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر بسبب تواجد الهرم هناك


It's hard to say Li2anna tuujad (there's another thread where we discussed that, but I don't remember it now).
We'd say: نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر لأن الأهرامات توجد هناك .
or : لأن الأهرامات هناك .
(li2anna, is preferably -if not a must- followed by nouns not verbs).
Your second sentence is correct.   You can also say:
بسبب وجود الأهرامات
or simply: بسبب الأهرامات and it would be understood that you mean "wujuud".



Antonio3662918 said:


> شكرا. هل يجب أن أستعمل الضمائر المتصلة مع الكلمة (بسبب) كيف أستعمل تلك الكلمة؟


It's not a must. Like li2anna, it can be followed either by a pronoun or by a noun (like Linguist's second sentence).


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## linguist786

cherine said:


> It's hard to say Li2anna tuujad (there's another thread where we discussed that, but I don't remember it now).
> We'd say: نحن ذاهبون إلى مصر لأن الأهرامات توجد هناك .


Thanks!

Your sentence even sounds better - does it literally mean "[...] because pyramids are found there"?


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## cherine

Thanks Mohammed 



linguist786 said:


> does it literally mean "[...] because pyramids are found there"?


Yes. Or "exist" there. Sometime يوجد/توجد have the meaning of "exist", or "are".


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## Whodunit

If you want to use a sentence after "li2anna" that doesn't include a pronoun, you either have to add one or put the noun in the accusative. The verb should be in the perfect or imperfect tense.

I like you because you are nice.
.أحبك لأنك لطيفة (u7ibbuki li2annaki laTiifatun)

I like this woman because she is nice.
.أود هذه الإمرأة لأنها لطيفة (awaddu hadhili 'l-2imra2ata li2annahaa laTiifatun)

We are going to Egypt, because there are pyramids there.
.س)نذهب إلى مصر لأن توجد أهرام هناك) ([sa]nadhhabu ilaa miSri li2anna tuujadu ahraamun hunaak)

We want to travel to Germany, because the men and women are very nice there.
نريد أن نسافر إلى ألمانيا لأن الرجال والنساء لطيفون جدا هناك (nuriidu an nusaafira ila almaniiya li2anna 'r-rijaal*a* w-an-nisaa2*a* laTiifuun jiddan hunaak)

I hope this helps.


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## cherine

You're right 
Just allow me few corrections :


Whodunit said:


> I like this woman because she is nice.
> .أود هذه الإمرأة لأنها لطيفة (awaddu hadhihi 'l-2imra2ata li2annahaa laTiifatun)


The word imra2a has a hamzat waSl : امرأة and I'd personally say: هذه المرأة not الامرأة.


> We are going to Egypt, because there are pyramids there.
> .س)نذهب إلى مصر لأن توجد أهرام هناك) ([sa]nadhhabu ilaa miSra li2anna tuujadu ahraamun hunaak)


MiSr is a mamnuu3 min aS-Sarf, so you never say miSri.
And, as I said before, following li2anna by a verb sounds a bit heavy. So you'd better say:
لأن الأهرام توجد هناك li2anna 'l-ahraama tuujadu hunaaka.
or : لأنه توجد هناك أهرام li2annahu tuujadu hunaka ahraamun.


> We want to travel to Germany, because the men and women are very nice there.
> نريد أن نسافر إلى ألمانيا لأن الرجال والنساء لطيفون جدا هناك (nuriidu an nusaafira ila almaniiya li2anna 'r-rijaal*a* w-an-nisaa2*a* laTiifuun jiddan hunaak)


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## linguist786

cherine said:


> Thanks Mohammed
> 
> 
> Yes. Or "exist" there. Sometime يوجد/توجد have the meaning of "exist", or "are".


Thanks to _you_.

This has made me think about the word وجود, which we also use in Urdu. We use it to mean "existence" or the "coming about" of something. (which is the same in Arabic).

Is there any difference between تواجد (which I haven't heard in Urdu) and وجود? (even a slight one?)
موجود is also used in Urdu (& Hindi) - as are many asmaa2u 'l-faa3il.

Note about "woman" - in the indefinite form, it's امرأة (imra2atun) and in the definite form المرأة (al-mar2atu). The plural of course is النساء (an-nisaa2). This is probably the most irregular noun you'll come across . But if you remember this much, you'll be safe. Remember that when "woman" (sing.) is used as a muDaaf, then "imra2atu" will be used - like in the Qur'aan قالت امرأة العزيز (qaalati 'mra2atu 'l-3aziizi)


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## SofiaB

على شأن and ع شأن are used in colloquial, can we use them in classical Arabic?


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## elroy

SofiaB said:


> على شأن and ع شأن are used in colloquial, can we use them in classical Arabic?


 No - and it's شان (not شأن) in colloquial.


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## SofiaB

Thanks for your reply.


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## Whodunit

Skukran 3alaa taS7ii7aatiki, yaa Cherine. 

What has made me think the past whole day (yeah I know, one could do better things  ) is the case of the adjective after li2anna that refers to the noun in the maf3uul:

Taking my sentence "awaddu hadhihi 'l-2imra2ata li2annahaa laTiifatun," I thought it might be better to say "laTiifatan," doesn't it? Or what about such a sentence: 

"nuriidu an nusaafira ila almaniya li2anna 'r-rijaal*a* _'l-kibaar*a*/'l-kibaar*u*_ w-an-nisaa2*a* _'l-qiSaar*a*/'l-qiSaar*u*_ laTiif*ii*n jiddan hunaak"

From your corrections, I take that my first thought does not apply, because you encouraged "laTiifuun" and din't change it into "laTiifiin," but what if the adjective and the respective noun are juxtaposed (li2anna 'r-rijaala 'l-kibaar...)?


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## linguist786

Whodunit said:


> Skukran 3alaa taS7ii7aatiki, yaa Cherine.
> 
> What has made me think the past whole day (yeah I know, one could do better things  ) is the case of the adjective after li2anna that refers to the noun in the maf3uul:
> 
> Taking my sentence "awaddu hadhihi 'l-2imra2ata li2annahaa laTiifatun," I thought it might be better to say "laTiifatan," mightn't it? Or what about such a sentence:
> 
> "nuriidu an nusaafira ila almaniya li2anna 'r-rijaala _*'l-kabiira/'l-kabiiru*_ w-an-nisaa2a _*'l-qaSiira/'l-qaSiiru*_ laTiifiin jiddan hunaak"
> 
> From your corrections, I take that my first thought does not apply, because you encouraged "laTiifuun" and din't change it into "laTiifiin," but what if the adjective and the respective noun are juxtaposed (li2anna 'r-rijaala 'l-kabiir...)?


Whodunit, may I just indicate that if a noun is ذو الروح ("living", if you like) and is used in the plural form, then the adjective must also agree and be in the plural form.

It is only when a noun is غير ذو الروح (non-living) that the singular form of the adjective is used (even when it's in the plural)

Hence we don't say الرجال الكبير* (*ar-rijaalu 'l-kabiiru) but الرجال الكبار (ar-rijaalu 'l-kibaaru)
Same with النساء - not النساء الكبيرة* (*an-nisaa2u l'-kabiiratu) but النساء الكبار (an-nisaa2u 'l-kibaaru)

I'll leave the case discussion to cherine.


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## Whodunit

Oh, my Gosh! You're so right. I'll have to fix it in my post.


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## linguist786

Macht nichts, wir sind alle Lernende 

If the adjective and noun are juxtaposed, they must always be in the same case and have the same endings, no matter what.

_ar-rijaalu 'l-kibaaru_ (never _kibaara_ or _kibaari_)

If the noun is مرفوع/منصوب/مجرور, the adjective is also always مرفوع/منصوب/مجرور respectively.


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## cherine

Whodunit said:


> Skukran 3alaa taS7ii7aatiki, yaa Cherine.


3afwan ya Daniel 


> What has made me think the past whole day (yeah I know, one could do better things  ) is the case of the *adjective* after li2anna that refers to the noun in the maf3uul manSuub


- I think you meant manSuub, because if it's a maf3uul it can't be a na3t (or Sifa صفة) in the same time 
- I highlighted the word adjective because we need to be clear about it :
When we say : Innaha laTiifa إنها لطيفة, there's no adjectives from the grammatical point of view. I'll parse this short sentence to show what I mean:
inna: 7arf
ha : Damiir, ism inna
laTiifatun : khabar inna
If we take away inna from this sentence, it will be: hiya laTiifatun هي لطيفة which is a mubtada2 (hiya) and khabar (laTiifatun). 
In both sentences (with and without inna) , the word laTiifa is not an adjective. Yes it describes the girl as nice, it's an adjective "in meaning" (if I can say it that way), but not grammatically; it's just the khabar of the mubtada2 خبر المبتدأ (when the sentence doesn't have inna), or khabar inna خبر إن when inna is added.



> Taking my sentence "awaddu hadhihi 'l-2imra2ata l'-mar2ata li2annahaa laTiifatun," I thought it might be better to say "laTiifatan," doesn't it?


Please don't forget about المرأة 
In this sentence, we just can't say laTiifatan because there's no agent telling us to go for the naSb النصب ; it has to be marfuu3 مرفوع .


> Or what about such a sentence:
> "nuriidu an nusaafira ila almaniya li2anna 'r-rijaal*a* _'l-kibaar*a*/'l-kibaar*u*_ w-an-nisaa2*a* _'l-qiSaar*a*/'l-qiSaar*u*_ laTiif*ii*n jiddan hunaak"


li2anna 'r-rijaala 'l-kibaara w-an-nisaa2a 'l-qisaara luTaafun.
In this sentence, rijaala is ism inna اسم إن so it is manSub. kibaara is the adjective, so it followed the word it "qualifies", and becomes manSuub too.
an-nisaa2a is معطوف على الرجال (sorry, I don't know what's that in English), so it follows the same grammatical case of ar-rijaala. And its adjective "qisaar" follows it, so it too become manSuub qisaar*a*.
luTaaf*un* لطاف is khabar inna خبر إن so it should be marfuu3.

I'm sorry about all the grammatical terminology in Arabic, I hope I din't complicate things for you. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. 


linguist786 said:


> [...] if a noun is ذو الروح ("living", if you like) [...] when a noun is غير ذو الروح (non-living) [...]


Mohammed, we usually refer to animate as العاقل and inanimate as غير العاقل . Your terms are new to me.


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## linguist786

cherine said:


> Mohammed, we usually refer to animate as العاقل and inanimate as غير العاقل . Your terms are new to me.


I see. But can you see where it comes from?

ذو الروح (dhawir-ruuH) - "having a soul"

I remember I asked you in another thread where I couldn't quite remember the name and you didn't know what I was talking about. Now I remembered. 

Thanks for the other terms 

edit - I'm thinking now that the two terms might refer to slightly different things. I'll make sure I found out!


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## Whodunit

As always, thank you very much for your highly interesting and enlightening reply.  Let me try to translate your Arabic terminology into English, just in case you need to explain it to people who are not familiar with the Arabic names for them. 



cherine said:


> - I think you meant manSuub accusative case/subjunctive mood, because if it's a maf3uul object (ism al-maf3uul = past participle) it can't be a na3t (or Sifa صفة) attribute/adjetive in the same time


 
Yes, I meant manSuub. Sorry about the confusion. Would you mind telling me the difference in meaning between a na3t and a Sifa?



> - I highlighted the word adjective because we need to be clear about it :


 
I think I meant "attribute" rather than "adjective." An attribute is just a word or phrase to define a noun (a relative clause or a genitive can be an attribute as well) whereas an adjective is a lexicval category modifying a noun or pronoun. It's hard to explain the difference briefly.



> When we say : Innaha laTiifa إنها لطيفة, there's no adjectives from the grammatical point of view. I'll parse this short sentence to show what I mean:
> inna: 7arf here: particle (or maybe conjunction)
> ha : Damiir, ism inna personal pronoun/noun after inna
> laTiifatun : khabar inna predicate of inna
> If we take away inna from this sentence, it will be: hiya laTiifatun هي لطيفة which is a mubtada2 (hiya) subject (of a nominal clause) and khabar (laTiifatun) predicate.
> In both sentences (with and without inna) , the word laTiifa is not an adjective. Yes it describes the girl as nice, it's an adjective "in meaning" (if I can say it that way), but not grammatically; it's just the khabar of the mubtada2 خبر المبتدأ (when the sentence doesn't have inna) predicate to the subject, or khabar inna خبر إن when inna is added.


 
Well, believe it or not, I've understood your explanation well. 



> Please don't forget about المرأة


 
Oh my Gosh, usually I don't make the same mistake twice. 



> In this sentence, we just can't say laTiifatan because there's no agent telling us to go for the naSb النصب accusative case/subjunctive mood; it has to be marfuu3 مرفوع nominative case/indicative mood.


 
Well, I just thought the agend was "ar-rijaala," because "luTaafun" refers back to it.



> In this sentence, rijaala is ism inna اسم إن (pro)noun after inna so it is manSub in the accusative case/subjunctive mood. kibaara is the adjective, so it followed the word it "qualifies", and becomes manSuub too.
> an-nisaa2a is معطوف على الرجال (sorry, I don't know what's that in English) in the same case as ar-rijaala (I'm afraid there's no good grammatical word for mu3tuuf, but I understand it; they're in the same case because of the coordinating conjunction), so it follows the same grammatical case of ar-rijaala. And its adjective "qisaar" follows it, so it too become manSuub qisaar*a*.
> luTaaf*un* لطاف is khabar inna خبر إن so it should be marfuu3.


 
I guess I understand it. 



> I'm sorry about all the grammatical terminology in Arabic, I hope I din't complicate things for you. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


 
The opnly question I have is regarding your job as a moderator: Would you mind listing all terms of Arabic grammar and we'd like to find appropriate translations for them? I know there's already a webpage on this, but it would be good to have an own sticky concerning this topic. 



> Mohammed, we usually refer to animate as العاقل and inanimate as غير العاقل . Your terms are new to me.


 
I'm not sure whether these can be used on grammatical purpose, but aren't the words for "animate" and "inanimate" حي and جامد (jaamid), respectively?


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## clevermizo

> Well, I just thought the agend was "ar-rijaala," because "luTaafun" refers back to it.



To my understanding, in a statement such as:

إنّ الرَجُلَ لَطيفٌ

The word rajul- is manSuub because 2inna casts it into naSb - however, laTiif- is marfuu3 because it is in the predicate of the subordinate clause.

In the case of إنّ  and its sisters, the subject of the following subordinate clause is in naSb, while its predicate is marfuu3.  In the fragment,

"...because the old man is nice...", 

"the old man" is the subject of the clause following "because" and "nice" is its predicate. Thus in Arabic, "the old man" would be cast into naSb because of how li2anna works, and nice would be marfuu3 due to the above mechanics of syntax:

لأنّ الرجلَ الكبيرَ لطيفٌ
li2anna r-rajula l-kabiira laTiifun.


It is indeed true that laTiif- refers back to rajul-, however it is syntactically in the predicate here, and thus it is marfuu3.

That is _not_ to say that all adjectives in predicates are marfuu3, and when following kaan they are manSuub as well (kaan ar-rajulu laTiifan). But here, there is no verb to cast the adjective into naSb, and so it remains marfuu3 as per morphosyntactic rules of jumal ismiyyah.

I'm a new poster and not a native speaker of arabic, so I might be totally wrong.


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