دَنَاapproach

Example sentences

• ثم دخل به فقال ﵇ أرسله يا عمر، ادن يا عمير

  Then he brought him in, and the Prophet ﷺ said: Release him, Umar, come closer, Umair.

  ادْنُ — come closer. A command 'come near!' to 'you' (singular).

  From: Early Converts to Islam →

• فدنا، ثم قال أنعموا صباحا،

  So he came closer and said: Good morning,

  فَدَنَا — so he came closer. fa- = 'so, then'; past-tense verb 'drew near', 'he' form.

  From: Early Converts to Islam →

• فدنا المشركون،

  The polytheists approached.

  فَدَنَا — approached. This is fa- (so) on a past-tense verb, 'so he/they drew near', with the subject built in, advancing the narrative. The doer is named next, the verb leading its subject in normal order.

  From: A Handful of Dates and Paradise →

• حَتَّى إِذَا دَنَوْا مِنْهَا وَاسْتَنْشَقُوا رَائِحَتَهَا وَنَظَرُوا إِلَى قُصُورِهَا وَإِلَى مَا أَعَدَّ اللهُ لِأَهْلِهَا فِيهَا،

  until they come close to it, inhale its fragrance, and see its palaces and what Allah has prepared for its inhabitants in it,

  دَنَوْا — they come close. A past-tense verb, 'they drew near', with a plural 'they' subject carried in its ending. The plural lives in the verb itself, no separate pronoun needed.

  From: Turned Away at the Gate →

• فَقُلْتُ أَوْلَى فَلَمَّا دَنَا الصُّبْحُ

  So I said it was preferable, and when morning drew near.

  دَنَا — drew near. This is a past-tense verb, 'drew near', with 'it' built in as the doer, whose named subject comes right after. Arabic's verb-first order is why the subject sits behind it. It is the action the 'when' clause hinges on.

  From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →