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- Problems on holiday: the passive
Problems on holiday: the passive
When something goes wrong, you often don't know who did it: "my bag was stolen". That is the passive.
Holiday problems
ضاعَ جَوازُ سَفَري = My passport got lost. فَقَدْتُ حَقيبَتي = I lost my bag.
تَأَخَّرَ القِطار = The train was late. المُكَيِّفُ لا يَعْمَل = The air conditioning doesn't work.
الغُرْفةُ غَيْرُ نَظيفة = The room isn't clean. أُريدُ أَنْ أَشْتَكِيَ = I want to complain.
مَرْكَزُ الشُّرْطة police station, مَكْتَبُ المَفْقودات lost property office.
تَأَخَّرَ القِطار = The train was late. المُكَيِّفُ لا يَعْمَل = The air conditioning doesn't work.
الغُرْفةُ غَيْرُ نَظيفة = The room isn't clean. أُريدُ أَنْ أَشْتَكِيَ = I want to complain.
مَرْكَزُ الشُّرْطة police station, مَكْتَبُ المَفْقودات lost property office.
The passive
Agreement and reading
With a feminine subject add ت: سُرِقَتْ حَقيبَتي = My bag was stolen. أُلْغِيَتِ الرِّحْلة = The flight was cancelled.
Without vowels, سرق can be active or passive. Ask: is a person doing it? If not, it is passive.
بُنِيَ هذا المَسْجِدُ قَبْلَ مِئَةِ سَنة = This mosque was built a hundred years ago.
Without vowels, سرق can be active or passive. Ask: is a person doing it? If not, it is passive.
بُنِيَ هذا المَسْجِدُ قَبْلَ مِئَةِ سَنة = This mosque was built a hundred years ago.
Translate: My bag was stolen at the station.
- Was stolen: سُرِقَ, with ت because حقيبة is feminine: سُرِقَتْ.
- My bag: حقيبتي (the subject comes after the verb).
- At the station: في المحطة.
Answer: سُرِقَتْ حقيبتي في المحطة.
Past passive: u ... i (سُرِقَ, كُتِبَ). Present passive: u ... a (يُكتَبُ, يُستخدَم). Add ت for a feminine subject: سُرِقَتْ حقيبتي. Problems: ضاع، تأخّر، لا يعمل، أُلغِيَت.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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