Breakdown of الرجل الذكي في المكتب.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
مكتبmaktab
office
رجلrajul
man
ذكيzakî
smart
Questions & Answers about الرجل الذكي في المكتب.
Why does the word for smart (الذكي) have the prefix for 'the' attached to it?
In Arabic, an adjective must match the noun it describes in definiteness. Because the noun الرجل (the man) is definite (it has the الـ prefix), the adjective الذكي must also be definite. The phrase literally translates as 'the man the smart'.
How does the adjective الذكي show masculine agreement here?
It agrees with the masculine noun الرجل by not having a feminine ending. If the noun were feminine, we would add the feminine marker (taa marbuutah) to the end of the adjective, making it الذكية.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in present-tense sentences. The 'is' is naturally implied simply by putting the subject (الرجل الذكي) and the location phrase (في المكتب) together.
Why is the 'L' sound skipped when pronouncing الرجل but pronounced in المكتب?
The letter raa (ر) in الرجل is a 'sun letter', meaning it swallows the 'L' sound of the الـ prefix, making it sound like 'ar-rajul'. The meem (م) in المكتب is a 'moon letter', so the 'L' is pronounced normally ('al-maktab'). The same sun letter rule applies to الذكي ('adh-dhakiyy').
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