Breakdown of الجائزة التي فاز بها الممثل كبيرة.
كبيرkabîr
big
هاhâ
her / her (object) / it (feminine)
بbi
by, with (attached)
فازfâza
to win
جائزةjâ'iza
prize
التيallatî
the one who / which (f)
ممثلmumaththil
actor
Questions & Answers about الجائزة التي فاز بها الممثل كبيرة.
Why do we use التي instead of الذي here?
التي is the feminine relative pronoun for 'that' or 'which'. It must match the gender of the noun it describes. Since الجائزة (the prize) ends in a taa marbuuta (ة) and is feminine, we use التي. If we were talking about a masculine noun, we would use الذي.
Why is بها in this sentence? The English translation doesn't say 'with it'.
This happens for two reasons. First, the Arabic verb for 'to win' is فاز بـ (literally 'he won with'). Second, Arabic relative clauses usually need a pronoun that points back to the noun being described. Because 'the prize' is feminine, we use the feminine pronoun ها attached to the preposition ب, making بها. Literally, the sentence says: 'The prize that the actor won with it is large.'
Why does the verb فاز come before الممثل (the actor)?
Arabic often puts the verb before the subject doing the action. Inside the descriptive clause 'that the actor won', the verb فاز (won) naturally comes first, followed by the subject الممثل (the actor).
How do we know كبيرة (large) means 'is large' rather than just 'the large prize'?
Two clues tell us كبيرة is the predicate (the news) of the sentence. First, Arabic doesn't use a word for 'is' in the present tense. Second, كبيرة doesn't have ال (the) at the beginning. If it were just an adjective attached to the noun, it would match الجائزة and be الجائزة الكبيرة. Because it lacks ال, it gives us the complete thought: 'The prize... is large.'
Learn الجائزة التي فاز بها الممثل كبيرة and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free