Lower Intermediate - Unstable weather

Thanks Mohamed and Ehab, for this lovely lesson, actually, I am having this kind of conversation with my customers all the time. And we are trying to trade in hot versus lousy weather, but somehow it never works... ;-)
Salaam
Na7la

The correlative construction in the final sentence can be rendered in various ways in English:

(1) Sometimes it rains, sometimes it shines.
(2) One minute it’s raining, the next the sun is out.
(3) It’s a mix of rain and sunshine.

A certain number of variations are possible. Thus, for instance, the order of the clauses can be inverted in (1): “Sometimes it shines, sometimes it rains”. In (2) “the sun is out” can be replaced by “the sun is shining”; and in (3) the order of the nouns can be inverted: “a mix of sunshine and rain”.

There are, however, a certain number of constraints that have to be observed. It’s impossible to substitute “hour” for “minute” in (2), and it’s equally impossible to replace “the next” by “and another minute”.

It remains to add that similar constructions are possible in other languages. Thus, for instance, (3) corresponds to “c’est un mélange de soleil et de pluie” in French and “ein Mix aus Sonne und Regen” in German.

Salaam everyone again,
I was always wondering when to use ( اليل) and when it is ( اليلة). One explanation could be that the latter is used basically in a more poetic context. But for "Arabian Nights" I heard used both ( الف ليلة و ليلة) and ( الف ليلة و ليل). Or maybe it does not matter when to use the female or masculine form?

To describe the weather here in the South of Germany, it would be as easy as just to copy the last sentence... Okok, will tackle the challenge and be more creative than just copying ;-)

Looking forward to the world's weather forecasts in Arabic, so get busy with this challenge folks; see you around!!
Na7la

Woow, bad mistakes in the first line.... of course it must be ( الليل) and ( الليلة).
Sorry Kiteer... :red:

Dear na7la,

You'll find the answer to your question in the podcast entitled "Read the book". In "Unstable weather" the collective noun has been used because Ehab and Mohamed are referring to nights in general.

I've already discussed the distinction between unit nouns and collective nouns elsewhere. See my comments on "Cooking program" and "What kind of sandwich?"

The problems associated with unit nouns and collective nouns resurface in the podcast about fruit juice. Nouns denoting various kinds of fruit generally have two forms. One is masculine, and the other is feminine (not "female"!).

Desmond,
thanks for the enlightenment on where I can find answers to my questions.
And thanks also for correcting my English. These mistakes happen, you know, to non-native speakers. But we are here to learn the Arabic language, so don't forget, so many of us are not at your level of knowledge.
Take care, see you soon
na7la

I'm pleased to have been able to help you, na7la, but I must point out that I'm not an expert on Arabic grammar. I've never taken a course in Arabic. I'm just an observant beginner.

It's quite easy to avoid making mistakes when writing a foreign language. You just have to look up everything in dictionaries, glossaries and grammar books; then you have to run Google searches to make sure that all your word combinations can be found in texts written by competent native speakers.

hey lady bee..löl......im a native speaker of cockney, and I make more mistakes than most in English , when I was nine , i was blessed with a teacher who told me to just write and not worry, any fool can spell......it was later shown to be true when spell checkers came into our lives..not the brightest of brains, but spell well..lol forgive my little iiii`s..or is it small? or non -capital.....or ...löl...

Hey Berry, thanks for your wonderful encouragement, much appreciated ;-)
Any Arabic weather report available yet from your whereabouts??? Salaam min Na7la :)

These lessons are not only enlightening - they are uplifting. Thank you - all of you.

في مدينتي, عندنا كذلك الجو غير مستقر ابدآ... ساعة مطر, و ساعة رياح, و ساعة رياح شديد

In my city we also have totally unstable weather...rainy for an hour, windy for another hour, then storm winds for another!