Questions & Answers about ذلك المطعم رخيص.
Why do we use ذلك instead of هذا here?
ذلك means 'that' and is used to point at something further away. If the restaurant was right next to us, we would use هذا which means 'this'. Both are used for masculine words.
Why does المطعم have the definite article الـ attached to it?
Putting الـ on a noun right after a pointing word like ذلك links them together into a single phrase: ذلك المطعم means 'that restaurant'. If we left out الـ and just said ذلك مطعم, the sentence would break apart and mean 'That is a restaurant'.
Where is the word 'is' in this Arabic sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a word for 'is' in the present tense. By putting a definite subject (ذلك المطعم meaning 'that restaurant') next to an indefinite adjective (رخيص meaning 'cheap'), the 'is' is automatically understood.
Would I still use ذلك if I was talking about a library (مكتبة) being cheap?
No, because مكتبة ends in the feminine marker ة (taa marbuta). For 'that' with feminine words, you must use تلك instead of the masculine ذلك. You would say تلك المكتبة.
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