Breakdown of هذا هو الدرس الأول.
الal
the
هوhuwa
he / his / him (attached)
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
درسdars
lesson
أولawwal
first
Questions & Answers about هذا هو الدرس الأول.
Why does it say الدرس الأول (the lesson the first) instead of the other way around?
In Arabic, ordinal numbers (like first, second, third) act just like adjectives. They always come after the noun they describe. That is why the order is الدرس الأول.
Why do both words have ال (the) attached to them?
Because ordinal numbers behave like adjectives, they must match the noun exactly. Since the noun الدرس is specific and starts with ال (the), the adjective الأول must also start with ال.
What is the word هو (he/it) doing in the middle of the sentence?
Arabic does not have a direct word for the present tense "is". When you want to say "this is the [noun]", you often insert a pronoun like هو to act as a bridge. Without it, هذا الدرس الأول would just mean "this first lesson", rather than "this IS the first lesson".
If the noun was feminine instead of masculine, would the word for "first" change?
Yes! Everything in this sentence is masculine to match الدرس (the lesson). If the noun were feminine, you would have to use the feminine word for first, which is الأولى.
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