Questions & Answers about عائلتهم صغيرة.
How do we say 'their' in this sentence?
We use the attached ending ـهم (-hum). You attach it directly to the end of the noun to mean 'their' for a group of males or a mixed group of males and females. So, 'family' plus 'their' becomes عائلتهم (their family).
The word for family is usually عائلة with a round ة (taa marbuuta) at the end. Why does it look different here?
When you add an attached pronoun like ـهم to a word ending in a taa marbuuta (ة), the round letter 'opens up' and becomes a regular ت (taa). That is why عائلة (family) changes its spelling to become عائلتهم (their family).
The pronoun ـهم (their) usually refers to a masculine or mixed group. Why does the word for 'small' (صغيرة) have a feminine ending?
Adjectives describe the thing being owned, not the owners. Since the word for family (عائلة) is a feminine noun, the adjective 'small' (صغيرة) must also be feminine to match it, regardless of whose family it is!
Where is the word for 'is' in the Arabic sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in simple present-tense sentences like this. You just put the subject and the describing word together: 'their family small' (عائلتهم صغيرة), and the 'is' is naturally understood.
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