Breakdown of هل فندقه كبير؟
هلhal
is / are (question marker)
كبيرkabîr
big
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
فندقfunduq
hotel
Questions & Answers about هل فندقه كبير؟
Where is the word for "his" in this sentence?
In Arabic, possessive pronouns like "my", "your", and "his" attach directly to the end of the noun. Here, the word for hotel is فندق. To say "his hotel", we add the suffix ـه to the end, making it فندقه.
Does the word هل mean "is" in this sentence?
Not exactly! The word هل is a special marker used at the beginning of a sentence to turn it into a yes/no question. Arabic doesn't actually use a word for "is" or "are" in present-tense sentences like this. Without هل, the statement فندقه كبير simply means "His hotel is big."
Does the adjective كبير (big) need to match the owner or the hotel?
It matches the hotel! In Arabic, adjectives agree with the noun they describe. Because the word for hotel (فندق) is a masculine noun, the adjective كبير stays in its basic masculine form. The gender of the owner (his) doesn't change the adjective used for the hotel.
How would I change this to ask if "her" hotel is big?
You would just change the attached pronoun at the end of the noun. Instead of the masculine suffix ـه (his), you would attach the feminine suffix ـها (her) to the hotel. The sentence would become: هل فندقها كبير؟