Breakdown of عند الطالب مشكلة كبيرة.
الal
the
كبيرkabîr
big
طالبtâlib
student
عند'inda
at / to have
مشكلةmushkila
problem
Questions & Answers about عند الطالب مشكلة كبيرة.
Why do we use عند to say "has" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't have a direct verb for "to have". Instead, it uses prepositions like عند (which literally means "at" or "with") to show possession of objects or abstract concepts. So, عند الطالب literally translates to "at the student [is]...", which is how you say "the student has".
Why does the sentence start with عند الطالب instead of putting "the student" first?
Notice that مشكلة (a problem) is indefinite—it doesn't have "the" (ال) attached. In Arabic, when the subject you are talking about (the problem) is indefinite, the prepositional phrase showing possession (عند الطالب) must jump to the front of the sentence. It reads like: "At the student [is] a big problem."
Why do both مشكلة and كبيرة end with the same letter (ة)?
The word مشكلة (problem) is a feminine noun, which is marked by the taa marbuta (ة) at the end. Because كبيرة (big) is an adjective describing the problem, it must match the noun's gender. We add the taa marbuta to the default male adjective كبير to make it feminine.
Why don't we hear the "l" (ل) sound when pronouncing الطالب?
The Arabic letter ط is a "sun letter." When a word starts with a sun letter, the "l" sound in the word for "the" (ال) is skipped, and you double the sound of the sun letter instead. So, you pronounce it "at-taalib" rather than "al-taalib".
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