ضَرَبُوهُthey struck him

Example sentences

• ثُمَّ قَامَ الْقَوْمُ فَضَرَبُوهُ حَتَّى أَضْجَعُوهُ،

  Then the people stood up and beat him until they knocked him down.

  فَضَرَبُوهُ — so they struck him. Three things in one token: a leading fa- 'and so', a plural verb 'they struck', and an attached -hu 'him' as its object. The plural now shows on the verb because here it follows its subject, and the suffix saves a separate object pronoun.

  From: A Stranger Finds the Prophet →

• فَضَرَبُوهُ وَثَارُوا إِلَيْهِ،

  So they struck him and rushed at him.

  فَضَرَبُوهُ — so they struck him. A fa- of consequence ('and so') on a plural past verb 'they struck', with -hu 'him' attached as object. The fa- marks this blow as the direct upshot of what preceded; the -u ending in the verb already names 'they'.

  From: A Stranger Finds the Prophet →