Breakdown of الموظفون لا يدخلون هذا المكتب.
موظفmuwazzaf
employee
مكتبmaktab
office
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
لاlâ
not (with present verb)
دخلdakhala
to enter
Questions & Answers about الموظفون لا يدخلون هذا المكتب.
How does لا negate the verb in this sentence? Does it change the verb's spelling?
The word لا (laa) is placed directly before a present tense verb to make it negative. In this sentence, it comes right before يدخلون (they enter) to mean "they do not enter". Importantly, لا doesn't change the verb's ending at all. This is why the verb keeps its normal final ن (nuun) at the end.
Why do both الموظفون (the employees) and يدخلون (they enter) end in ـون (-uun)?
الموظفون is a regular masculine plural noun. Because the subject comes before the verb in this sentence, the verb must fully match it in both number and gender. The ـون on the verb يدخلون is the plural marker for "they".
The English translation says "enter this office", but is there an Arabic word for "into" missing here?
No, it is not missing! In Arabic, the verb for entering attaches directly to the place being entered. You do not need to add a preposition like "into" or "in" (في) after the verb.
Why does the word for office, المكتب, have الـ (the) attached to it if the translation says "this office"?
In Arabic, when you want to say "this [noun]", the noun following "this" (هذا) must have the definite article الـ (the). So, هذا المكتب structurally acts like "this the office." If you dropped the الـ, the phrase هذا مكتب would be a complete sentence meaning "This is an office."
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