Questions & Answers about ما هذه؟ هذه حقيبة.
Why do we use هذه for 'this' instead of هذا?
Because the word for bag, حقيبة, is feminine. You can tell it is feminine because it ends with the letter taa marbuuTa (ة). Since the object is feminine, we must use the feminine demonstrative pronoun هذه instead of the masculine هذا.
Why does the question start with ما instead of ماذا for 'what'?
In Arabic, ما is used to ask 'what' when you are asking about a noun or a pronoun, such as 'What is this?' or 'What is your name?'. You use ماذا when asking about an action (a verb), like 'What are you doing?'. Since هذه is a pronoun, ما is the correct choice here.
I do not see a word for 'is'. How does the sentence say 'This is a bag'?
Arabic does not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in the present tense. You simply place the subject and its description next to each other. Saying هذه حقيبة means 'This [is a] bag'.
Is there a word for 'a' in حقيبة?
No, Arabic does not have words for 'a' or 'an' (indefinite articles). When you see a standard noun written without the word for 'the' (ال), it already includes the meaning of 'a' or 'an'. So حقيبة means 'a bag' all by itself.
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