Thread: Need translation help

Can someone tell me how to properly translate this sentence?

هل كانوا سيكتفون بقتلي إذن؟

I would especially like to know why the "s-" prefix is used on the verb & what the real root of this verb is. Thank you

The second word in the sentence is the verb, it's the third person masculine plural of the verb to be in the past so the verb actually means they were. I know the s prefix is used for the future but are you sure the third word is a verb it could be a noun with the masculine sound plural.

هل كانوا سيكتفون بقتلي إذن؟
Hal Kanoo Sa'yalta'foona bi'Qatlee ith'an?


هل is an article use for asking yes or no questions.
كانوا they were
سيكتفون:
س implies future tense
يكتفون they suffice
بقتلي :
ب is prepositional article
قتلي my killing :
قتل means killing
ي implies property
إذن means so
the meaning can be translated as:
did they will suffice by killing me then?

As I understand it, if you use a form of the verb "Kana" (like Kanoo) with the future tense, it becomes the future perfect or something like that. Is that what is going on here? does it mean something like: "Would that be enough for them to kill me?".

Hi
dbw44,
You are right...
your translation is also correct and to the point but I was trying to translate letterally and to analyze the sentence grammarwise to give a larger image.