هؤلاء الرجال بائعون في السوق.hâ'ulâ'i r-rijâlu bâ'i'ûna fi s-sûq
These men are sellers in the market.
Breakdown of هؤلاء الرجال بائعون في السوق.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
سوقsûq
market
رجلrajul
man
هؤلاءhâ'ulâ'i
these (human plural)
بائعbâ'i'
seller
Questions & Answers about هؤلاء الرجال بائعون في السوق.
Why do we use هؤلاء here instead of هذا or هذه?
هؤلاء means "these" and is used specifically for groups of people. Because الرجال (the men) is plural and human, we must use هؤلاء. For plural non-human objects, you would actually use the feminine singular هذه instead.
Why is there an ال (the) on الرجال if the translation is just "these men"?
In Arabic, when you want to point to a specific noun and say "these [noun]", that noun needs to have ال (the). So هؤلاء الرجال acts as one unit meaning "these men". If you leave off the ال and say هؤلاء رجال, it becomes a complete sentence meaning "These are men."
How do we know where the "are" goes in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" or "are" in the present tense. The "are" naturally falls between the definite subject phrase هؤلاء الرجال (these men) and the indefinite word بائعون (sellers). Because بائعون doesn't have ال (the), it tells us this is the new information being stated.
What does the ون ending on بائعون do?
Adding ون to the end of a masculine word is the regular way to make it plural when talking about people. It changes the singular بائع (a seller) into the plural بائعون (sellers).
Are the "L" sounds in الرجال and السوق pronounced?
No, both words start with "sun letters" (ر and س). This means the "L" sound in the ال prefix is skipped, and you emphasize the first letter of the word instead. When speaking, you pronounce them as "ar-rijāl" and "as-sūq".
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