Breakdown of القمامة مشكلة كبيرة في المجتمع.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
كبيرkabîr
big
مشكلةmushkila
problem
مجتمعmujtama'
community / society
قمامةqumâma
garbage
Questions & Answers about القمامة مشكلة كبيرة في المجتمع.
Where is the Arabic word for "is" in this sentence?
In Arabic, we usually don't use a word for "is" or "are" in the present tense. You simply put the subject (القمامة, the garbage) next to the information about it (مشكلة كبيرة, a big problem). We call this a "nominal sentence" because it is a complete sentence built with nouns instead of a verb.
Why do both مشكلة (problem) and كبيرة (big) end with the same letter (ة)?
That letter is the taa marbuuta (ة), which usually marks words as feminine. In Arabic, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender. Since the noun مشكلة is feminine, its describing adjective كبيرة must also be made feminine by adding the ة to the end.
Why doesn't مشكلة كبيرة have الـ (the) at the beginning like القمامة does?
Leaving off الـ (the) is exactly how Arabic creates that invisible "is"! القمامة is definite ("the garbage"), but مشكلة كبيرة is indefinite ("a big problem"). If you added الـ to the describing words, it would just turn into an incomplete phrase: "the big garbage problem".
How do I pronounce the الـ (the) at the beginning of القمامة and المجتمع?
You pronounce the "L" sound clearly in both words! The letters right after the الـ—which are ق (qaf) and م (miim)—are both "Moon letters." This means they don't swallow up the "L" sound the way "Sun letters" do. You read them as al-qumāma and al-mujtama'.
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