Questions & Answers about الرجل غني.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for "is" or "are" in the present tense. Instead, you just put the subject and its description side by side. Putting the definite noun الرجل (the man) next to the indefinite adjective غني (rich) automatically creates a complete sentence.
Why doesn't غني have ال (al-) at the beginning? Don't adjectives usually match their nouns?
Adjectives only take ال when they act as a direct description inside a phrase, like saying "the rich man" (الرجل الغني). Because we want to make a full sentence meaning "The man is rich", the adjective must be indefinite (without ال). Making the noun definite and the adjective indefinite is the exact formula for this type of sentence.
Why is the "L" sound in ال skipped when pronouncing الرجل?
The Arabic letter Ra (ر) is a sun letter. When attaching ال (al-) to a word starting with a sun letter, you drop the spoken "L" sound and double the sun letter instead. That is why it is pronounced "ar-rajul" and not "al-rajul."
Is this what Arabic calls a "nominal sentence"?
Yes! A nominal sentence is simply a sentence that begins with a noun rather than a verb. Since this sentence starts with the noun الرجل and contains no verbs at all, it is a perfect example of a nominal sentence.
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