Breakdown of المقالات السياسية طويلة.
الal
the
طويلtawîl
tall / long
سياسيsiyâsiyy
political
مقالmaqâl
article
Questions & Answers about المقالات السياسية طويلة.
Why are the adjectives السياسية and طويلة in the singular feminine form when the subject is plural?
This is because of Arabic's non-human plural rule! المقالات refers to objects (articles), not people. In Arabic, all non-human plurals are treated grammatically as if they are a single female. So, any adjectives or verbs connected to them must take the singular feminine form.
Why does السياسية have the definite article ال at the beginning, but طويلة does not?
السياسية is an adjective describing the subject, so it must match المقالات by taking ال (the). However, طويلة is the predicate, which tells us the news about the subject (they are long). In a basic Arabic sentence, the predicate is usually indefinite, meaning it does not get ال.
Where is the word for are in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a present tense word for is or are. Instead, placing a definite subject like المقالات السياسية (the political articles) next to an indefinite predicate like طويلة (long) automatically creates the meaning of an is/are sentence.
How can I recognize that المقالات is plural just by looking at it?
Look at the ending! The suffix ـات attached to the end is the standard ending for regular feminine plurals in Arabic. The singular form of the word is مقالة.
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