Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
ثُمَّ عَفَوْنَا عَنكُم
(Then We forgave you)
Root عفو — to pardon, forgive, forgo; surplus, excess · 35 times in the Quran
ثُمَّword 1
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. ثُمَّ is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word that ties statements together; ثُمَّ means 'then', joining with a step in time: after the calf, THEN came the forgiving. L4 · R4
عَفَوْنَاword 2
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. عَفَوْ names an action — pardoning — from the root عفو, to pardon, forgive, forgo. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb describes an action already completed, and who did it is shown by an ending added to the verb. The ending نَا — the 'We' marker — sits on عَفَوْنَا: 'We forgave', already done. L8 · R2
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb has و or ي among its root letters. The root of عَفَوْ is عفو: its final letter is the weak letter و, standing here as the وْ just before the ending. L24 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending نَا on عَفَوْنَا is such a suffix, standing for 'We'. L3 · R7
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — the doer's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The ending نَا is that doer, 'We'; an attached pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
عَنكُمword 3
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. عَن is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little word that relates one thing to another and pulls the naming word after it into the genitive — the after-preposition ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. عَنْ 'from/about' is one of the common prepositions: the pardon was lifted 'from you' — off your shoulders. L4 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word; glued to a particle, it is governed by that particle. The ending كُم on عَنكُم stands for 'you all'. L3 · R6
Allah said, 'Remember My favor on you when I forgave you for worshipping the calf.'
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:52
So far: “Then We forgave you”
مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ
(…after that)
Root بعد — after, distance, remoteness · 235 times in the Quran
مِّنۢword 4
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. مِّنۢ is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little word that relates one thing to another and pulls the naming word after it into the genitive — the after-preposition ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. مِنْ 'from' is one of the common prepositions, here opening the time phrase 'after that'. L4 · R2
بَعْدِword 5
Noun · اسمA word whose final vowel mark changes with its job in the sentence is a noun, a naming word. بَعْدِ names a time relation — 'after' — from the root بعد: after, distance, remoteness. L1 · R5
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the last letter. بَعْدِ carries that kasrah ـِ because مِّنۢ stands before it. L2 · R12
ذَٰلِكَword 6
Demonstrative Pronoun · اسم إشارةA demonstrative pronoun is a pointing word that singles out a specific thing, near or far. ذَٰلِكَ points from afar to 'that' — the taking of the calf; pointing words keep one fixed shape whatever their role. L3 · R8
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains two naming words into an 'of' phrase, and the owner comes second, taking the genitive — the owner's ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. ذَٰلِكَ fills that owner slot after بَعْدِ: 'after OF-that'; a pointing word keeps one fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears — the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
(…so perhaps you would be grateful.)
Root شكر — gave thanks, became grateful · 75 times in the Quran
لَعَلَّكُمْword 7
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعللَعَلَّ — one of the family of particles that sit before a topic-plus-comment sentence, each carrying the doubling shaddah ـّ, seen here on its لَّ — expresses hope or expectation, 'perhaps / so that'; in Allah's speech it typically reveals the purpose behind His act: the pardon was given SO THAT you might be grateful. L15 · R8
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on لَعَلَّكُمْ stands for 'you all' — the ones the hope is spoken over; this particle family pushes its topic into the accusative, the form usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the letter, but a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so the accusative is the role it fills. L3 · R7
تَشْكُرُونَword 8
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَشْكُرُ names an action — giving thanks — from the root شكر: gave thanks, became grateful. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. تَشْكُرُونَ opens with the prefix تَ — the letter for 'you' — always standing before the root letters: a thankfulness hoped for, ongoing. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself shows the mood: kept in the normal mood, dropped after trimming words. تَشْكُرُونَ is the 'you all do' shape with its نَ kept. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on تَشْكُرُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. L3 · R7
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — the doer's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The و in the ending ونَ names the doers of the hoped-for thanking, 'you all'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
So far: “Then We forgave you after that so perhaps you would be grateful.”