I was going over some sentences in a Arabic CD that I got and I am coming across sentences that I understand the meaning but don't understand why the use ما when they do... what's the best way to translate these sentences and the purpose of the ma, in these sentences.
نادرا ما تلبس الكلاب ملابس، لكن هذا الكلب يرتدي ملابس
"Dogs rarely wear clothes, but this dog is wearing clothes"
غالبا ما يجلس الناس علىهذه.
"Majority of people sit on this"
I just don't understand the use of ما in these sentences... the sentences are asked some what in question form... you have to read the sentence and then pick a picture that best corresponds to the sentence. Is the "ma" acting as a place marker for an unknown person or object? Or is another way to negate a present tense verb? I'm a bit confused. I've never learned to use ما in that way. Thanks for any help! And Lesson 12 was a great addition!
لا ينبغي أن تدخل هذه السيارة الماء أبدا
This was another sentence I didn't fully understand... does "la yanbagee", mean something like "You should not"? So the sentence would translate to: One should never put (enter) this car in water. OR one should not put this car in water ever.
It's hard to learn Arabic without a native speaker in the middle of America!!!

Shukran!
Tomes