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Questions & Answers about هو طالب قصير.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a word for 'is' in present tense sentences like this. Instead, simply putting the subject (هو, meaning 'he') next to the indefinite information about him (طالب قصير, meaning 'a short student') creates a complete nominal sentence.
How do we know it means 'a student' instead of 'the student'?
In Arabic, nouns are indefinite (meaning they use 'a' or 'an' in English) by default when they don't have the prefix ال (al-). Since طالب doesn't have ال, it means 'a student'. In fully pronounced Arabic, this indefinite state is marked by an '-un' sound at the end of the word, which is called Tanween.
Why is the word order 'student short' (طالب قصير) instead of 'short student'?
In Arabic, adjectives always come after the noun they describe. So instead of saying 'a short student', you put the noun first and say 'a student short'.
Why is the adjective قصير also indefinite?
Adjectives must copy the definite or indefinite state of the noun they describe. Since طالب is indefinite ('a student' without ال), the adjective قصير must also be indefinite. This matching links them together to form the phrase 'a short student'.