Breakdown of هل هذا حاسوب؟ نعم، والحاسوب في المكتب.
الal
the
هلhal
is / are (question marker)
نعمna'am
yes
وwa
and
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مكتبmaktab
office
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
حاسوبhâsûb
computer
Questions & Answers about هل هذا حاسوب؟ نعم، والحاسوب في المكتب.
Why do we use هذا (this) instead of هذه in the first part of the sentence?
The word for computer, حاسوب, is a masculine noun. Because of this, you must use the masculine word for 'this', which is هذا. If the noun were feminine, you would use هذه.
How does the sentence say 'Is this a computer?' when there is no word for 'is'?
In Arabic, you do not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in present tense sentences. You simply place the subject and what you are saying about it side by side. So, هذا حاسوب literally translates to 'this a computer', which means 'this is a computer'.
What does the word هل do at the beginning of the sentence?
هل is a special question word used to turn a statement into a 'yes or no' question. In English, you swap the word order to ask a question ('This is' becomes 'Is this?'). In Arabic, you just put هل at the beginning of the sentence without changing the word order.
Why is there no space between 'and' and 'the computer' in والحاسوب?
The Arabic word for 'and' is just a single letter, و (wa). In Arabic writing, single-letter words like this are always attached directly to the beginning of the next word, like a prefix.
Does المكتب always mean 'the office'?
It can actually mean 'the office' or 'the desk' depending on the context. Both translations would make sense here, though 'in the office' is a very common way to talk about where a desktop computer is located.
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