Breakdown of ليس عنده امتحان صعب غدا.
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
عند'inda
at / to have
غداghadan
tomorrow
ليسlaysa
to not be
امتحانimtihân
exam
صعبsa'b
difficult
Questions & Answers about ليس عنده امتحان صعب غدا.
Why do we use ليس to say "he does not have" instead of لا?
Even though "he does not have" sounds like an action or verb in English, in Arabic, possession is expressed with a nominal (verbless) sentence. عنده امتحان literally means "at him [is] an exam". Because it is a nominal sentence, we must use ليس to negate it, rather than the verb negator لا.
Why is the word order ليس عنده امتحان (is not at him an exam) instead of putting the exam first?
In Arabic possession sentences, if the thing you have is indefinite (like "an exam" instead of "the exam"), the location or possession word (عنده, "at him") must come before the noun. So the structure literally flows as "Is not / at him / an exam."
How does the adjective صعب (difficult) match امتحان (exam) in this sentence?
Adjectives in Arabic always come after the noun they describe and must match it in gender and definiteness. امتحان is a masculine word and is indefinite (it doesn't start with ال for "the"). Therefore, صعب also has no ال and takes the masculine form.
Why does غدا (tomorrow) have an extra alif and two little dashes at the end?
Those two dashes are called "tanween fatha" and they make an "-an" sound, making the word ghadan. In Arabic, words that act as adverbs telling us when or how something happens (like "tomorrow") very often take this specific ending.
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