Nominal sentences — no verb 'to be'
A nominal sentence starts with a noun or pronoun and simply places a description after it. Arabic has no present-tense 'to be': البيت كبير = 'the house (is) big'. The subject is the topic; the rest is the comment.
| Sentence | Transliteration | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| الطقس جميل | aṭ-ṭaqs jamīl | the weather is nice | noun + adjective |
| المعلم هنا | al-muʿallim hunā | the teacher is here | noun + place word |
| أنا طالب | anā ṭālib | I am a student | pronoun + noun — masc. |
| هي طالبة | hiya ṭāliba | she is a student | fem. noun ending -a |
| الفندق قريب | al-funduq qarīb | the hotel is near | — |
Nothing between subject and comment — that's the normal, correct form.
Verbal sentences — verb first
A verbal sentence classically starts with the verb, then the doer: ذهب الطالب إلى المدرسة 'went the student to school' = the student went to school. Modern everyday MSA writing also tolerates subject-first order, but verb-first is the canonical pattern you'll meet in formal text and news.
| Sentence | Transliteration | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ذهب الطالب إلى المدرسة | dhahaba ṭ-ṭālib ilā l-madrasa | the student went to school | verb → subject → destination |
| كتب الولد رسالة | kataba l-walad risāla | the boy wrote a letter | verb → subject → object |
| قرأت البنت الكتاب | qaraʾat al-bint al-kitāb | the girl read the book | -t ending marks 'she' |
Listen for the -t on the verb: ذهبَ 'he went' vs ذهبَتْ 'she went'. Sentence transliterations in this grammar table show the connected formal reading (labelled exception); elsewhere the course uses pause form.
Agreement — the beginner's version
Arabic agreement is rich, but two rules cover most beginner sentences: (1) an adjective agrees with its noun in gender and definiteness — البيت الكبير 'the big house', بيت كبير 'a big house'; (2) verb-endings change for gender — he/she forms differ only in a final -t in the past tense.
| Pattern | Arabic | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| definite + adjective | الكتاب الجديد | al-kitāb al-jadīd | the new book |
| indefinite + adjective | كتاب جديد | kitāb jadīd | a new book |
| he went | ذهب | dhahaba | — |
| she went | ذهبت | dhahabat | — |
Verb rows here show full citation forms intentionally (labelled exception) to contrast the -t gender ending; phrase tables use pause form.
Build your own sentences
| Frame | Fill in | Example | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| الـ + noun + adjective | topic + description | المدينة جميلة | al-madīna jamīla — the city is beautiful |
| pronoun + noun | who + what | أنا مهندس | anā muhandis — I am an engineer (m.) |
| verb + subject | action + doer | وصل الطبيب | waṣala ṭ-ṭabīb — the doctor arrived |
Mini practice
Q1. البيت كبير literally means:
- the house was big
- the house big — 'is' is understood
- a big house
- the big house (as a noun phrase)
Answer: the house big — 'is' is understood
Q2. A nominal sentence starts with:
- a verb
- a noun or pronoun
- a preposition
- an adjective
Answer: a noun or pronoun
Q3. ذهبت الطالبة — the -t on the verb tells you:
- the subject is plural
- the subject is feminine
- the verb is future
- the sentence is a question
Answer: the subject is feminine
Q4. كتاب جديد (no ال) means:
- the new book
- a new book
- the book is new
- new books
Answer: a new book
Q5. Present-tense 'to be' in MSA is:
- يكون in all cases
- simply not expressed
- هو
- في
Answer: simply not expressed
