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Questions & Answers about هذه صحف جديدة.
Why does the sentence use هذه (this/feminine singular) to mean 'these'?
In Arabic, plurals of non-human objects (like newspapers) are treated grammatically as feminine singular. Because صحف (newspapers) is a non-human plural, we use هذه instead of the human plural هؤلاء (these).
Why is the adjective جديدة (new) in its singular feminine form?
This is the same rule in action! Adjectives that describe non-human plurals must also be in the feminine singular form. So, instead of a plural adjective, we use the feminine singular جديدة.
How do we know صحف (newspapers) is plural if it doesn't have a plural ending?
صحف is a 'broken plural' of the word صحيفة (newspaper). Unlike regular plurals that just add a suffix at the end, broken plurals change the internal spelling of the word. You just have to memorize them as you learn new vocabulary.
Where is the word for 'are' in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a present tense 'to be' verb (am/is/are). You simply put the subject (هذه, meaning 'these') and the predicate (صحف جديدة, meaning 'new newspapers') together. The 'are' is automatically understood.