A sentence without a verb
In the present tense Arabic has no verb "to be". Two words are enough for a full sentence: a subject (الْمُبْتَدَأُ, al-mubtadaʾ) and a predicate (الْخَبَرُ, al-khabar). Both are in the nominative case (ending in -u or -un).
| Subject | Predicate | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الْبَيْتُ | كَبِيرٌ. | The house is big. |
| أَنَا | طَالِبٌ. | I am a student. |
| مُحَمَّدٌ | مُهَنْدِسٌ. | Muhammad is an engineer. |
| الْجَوُّ | حَارٌّ. | The weather is hot. |
| الْكِتَابُ | عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ. | The book is on the table. |
| الْمُعَلِّمَةُ | فِي الصَّفِّ. | The teacher is in the classroom. |
The predicate can be an adjective, a noun, or a place phrase. An adjective predicate agrees with the subject in gender and number:
- الْبِنْتُ طَوِيلَةٌ. — The girl is tall.
- الطُّلَّابُ مُجْتَهِدُونَ. — The students are hardworking.
Sentence or phrase? Definiteness decides
The usual pattern is definite subject + indefinite predicate. If the adjective also takes ال, it no longer says something about the noun; it describes it, and you have a phrase, not a sentence.
| Arabic | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ | sentence | The house is big. |
| الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ | phrase | the big house |
| بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ | phrase | a big house |
| الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ جَمِيلٌ | sentence | The big house is beautiful. |
When both parts are definite, Arabic puts a pronoun between them so the sentence is not read as a phrase: مُحَمَّدٌ هُوَ الْمُدِيرُ. (Muhammad is the manager.) This is the only place where a pronoun seems to act like "is".
Indefinite subjects: put the place first
A sentence does not normally start with an indefinite noun. To say "there is a ... in/on ...", put the place phrase first:
- فِي الْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. — There is a man in the house.
- عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ كِتَابٌ. — There is a book on the table.
Compare الرَّجُلُ فِي الْبَيْتِ. (The man is in the house.), where the subject is definite and comes first.
Past and future
The verbless sentence is present only. For "was" and "will be" you need the verb كَانَ, taught in its own lesson: كَانَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا. (The house was big.)
Watch out as an English speaker
- Do not look for a word for "is". ✗ الْبَيْتُ يَكُونُ كَبِيرٌ. / ✗ الْبَيْتُ هُوَ كَبِيرٌ. / ✓ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.
- An ال on the adjective changes the meaning. ✗ الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ. for "The house is big" (it means "the big house") / ✓ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.
- English starts with "a man"; Arabic starts with the place. ✗ رَجُلٌ فِي الْبَيْتِ. / ✓ فِي الْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
Example dialogue
أَيْنَ أَحْمَدُ؟ — Where is Ahmad?
أَحْمَدُ فِي الْمَكْتَبِ. — Ahmad is in the office.
هَلِ الْمَكْتَبُ بَعِيدٌ؟ — Is the office far?
لَا، الْمَكْتَبُ قَرِيبٌ. — No, the office is close.
وَالْجَوُّ جَمِيلٌ الْيَوْمَ. — And the weather is nice today.