Breakdown of الولد الصغير والبنت الصغيرة هنا.
الal
the
هناhunâ
here
وwa
and
صغيرsagheer
small
ولدwalad
boy
بنتbint
girl
Questions & Answers about الولد الصغير والبنت الصغيرة هنا.
Why do both adjectives الصغير and الصغيرة start with ال?
In Arabic, adjectives must match the noun they describe in definiteness. Because الولد (the boy) and البنت (the girl) are definite (they mean "the" boy and "the" girl), their adjectives must also have ال so they mean "the little boy" rather than "a little boy".
Why does the word for "little" change between the boy and the girl?
Adjectives must also match the gender of the noun. الصغير is the masculine form matching الولد. For البنت, we add the feminine ending ة (taa marbuuta) to create the feminine adjective الصغيرة.
Where is the word for "are" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use words like "am", "is", or "are" in the present tense. You just place the subject and the information about it side by side. Saying الولد والبنت هنا literally translates to "The boy and the girl here", which is a complete and correct sentence in Arabic.
Does the ال in الصغير sound the same as the ال in الولد?
No, it sounds different! The و in الولد is a "moon letter", so you pronounce the "l" sound clearly. But the ص in الصغير is a "sun letter". This means the "l" sound disappears and you double the ص sound instead, pronouncing it "as-sagheer".
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