أَيِّO

Example sentences

• الْغَنِيمَةَ ـ أَيِّ قَوْمِ ـ الْغَنِيمَةَ،

  The spoils — O people — the spoils,

  أَيِّ — O. A calling word used to address the group, the 'O...' of direct address, paired with the noun after it. It flags that the next word names who is being shouted at rather than described.

  From: A Companion at Battle →

• عَلَى أَيِّ شَيْءٍ تُوَقِدُونَ

  What are you lighting?

  أَيِّ — which. This is the question word 'which / what', a flexible interrogative that takes its own case from its role and points at the noun after it. It heads the question and, being the first half of a little 'which of...' phrase, leans on the following noun to complete its sense.

  From: The Martyr's Reward →

• وَمِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ يَنْزِعُ الْوَلَدُ إِلَى أَبِيهِ

  And what draws the child to his father?

  أَيِّ — what. A question-determiner 'which/what' in the 'of'-type ending set by the preposition before it, leading into 'thing'. It asks for the specific source and grammatically leans on the noun it modifies next.

  From: What Was Created First →

• وَمِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ يَنْزِعُ إِلَى أَخْوَالِهِ

  And what draws him to his maternal uncles?

  أَيِّ — what. A question-determiner 'which/what' in the 'of'-type ending set by the preposition, leading into 'thing'. It asks for the specific source and leans grammatically on the noun it modifies.

  From: What Was Created First →

• فَإِلَى أَيِّهِمَا كَانَ أَدْنَىٰ فَهُوَ لَهُ

  So whichever of the two he was nearer to, it belonged to him.

  أَيِّهِمَا — which of the two. This is the word 'which(ever)' fused with an attached dual pronoun meaning 'of the two of them', so one word selects between exactly two options. It is governed in the genitive by the preceding 'toward', and the dual suffix is how Arabic marks that the choice is strictly between two parties.

  From: The Joy of Repentance →