Question 1

Why does the word for seventh (السابع) have "al-" (the) at the beginning if the English translation just says "seventh"?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic, ordinal numbers (like first, second, seventh) behave exactly like adjectives. A major rule for adjectives is that they must match the noun they describe. Because the word for "office" here is definite, "seventh" must also be made definite by adding الـ (al-) to the beginning to match it.

Question 2

How did we get the word للمكتب (to the office) and why are there two "laam" letters?

Accepted Answer

This word is a combination of the preposition لـ (to/for) and the noun المكتب (the office). When لـ attaches to a word that starts with الـ (the), the first letter of "the" (the tall "alif") gets dropped in both writing and pronunciation. So instead of "li-al-maktab", they merge into للمكتب (lil-maktab).

Question 3

Where is the word for "I" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The "I" is built directly into the verb! The suffix ـت (-tu) at the end of أرسلت (arsaltu) is what indicates "I" did the action in the past tense. You do not need to add the separate word for "I" (أنا) unless you want to add extra emphasis.

Question 4

I noticed أرسلت (I sent) and رسالة (message) sound similar. Is that on purpose?

Accepted Answer

Yes, that is a great catch! Both words are built from the same three-letter root (ر-س-ل), which relates to sending or delivering. Arabic frequently builds verbs and their related nouns using the exact same core root letters.

أرسلت رسالة للمكتب السابع.

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