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Questions & Answers about أين الممرض الآن؟
The translation specifies "nurse (m)". How do we know this nurse is male, and how would we change it to female?
The word الممرض (the nurse) is in its default masculine form because it does not end with the feminine marker, the Taa' Marboota (ة). To ask about a female nurse, you would simply add the ة to the end of the word, making it الممرضة.
Why is there no Arabic word for "is" in this sentence?
In Arabic, simple present-tense sentences don't use a verb for "to be" (am, is, are). You just put the pieces of information next to each other. Saying "where the nurse now?" by placing أين before the noun is perfectly correct Arabic and automatically means "where IS the nurse now?".
What is the wavy line above the letter Alif in the word الآن (now)?
That symbol is called a Madda (آ). It is a pronunciation shortcut that tells you to make a long, stretched-out "aa" sound, rather than a short, choppy "a". Because of the Madda, الآن is pronounced "al-aan".
Does the word الآن (now) have to go at the end of the sentence?
Placing time words like الآن at the very end of the sentence is the most natural and common word order in Arabic. However, Arabic is quite flexible, so you might sometimes see time words placed at the very beginning of a sentence if the speaker wants to emphasize the time.