How does idaafa work with more than two nouns?

If we want to have a idaafa like "the woman's husband's book" (=the book of the husband of the woman):

Well, we can form as long as string of nouns as we like, all in the 'of' order, with only the last noun having the definite article ال:

Arabic: كتاب زوج المرأة Literal: book - husband - the woman Translation: The book of the husband of the woman / the woman's husband's book

If we want two nouns to be possessed by the same thing, like 'the doors and windows of the house':

We can't translate this word-for-word, as that wouldn't give us a relationship between the doors and the house.

Therefore, to do this in Arabic, you need a construction like "the doors of the house and its windows". So:

Arabic: ابواب البيت ونوافده Literal: doors the house and his windows Translation: the doors of the house and its windows

I find the easiest way to remember this is to have a phrase like "the doors of the house and its windows", and apply the logic of it to the phrase you want to translate.

Answered by Emily L. Arabic tutor

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