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Questions & Answers about أنا مريض.
Where is the word for "am" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use "to be" verbs like "am," "is," or "are" in the present tense. To say "I am sick," you simply put the pronoun أنا (I) right next to the describing word مريض (sick).
Does the pronoun أنا change depending on whether a man or a woman is speaking?
No, أنا means "I" for both men and women. Unlike the words for "you" and "he/she", the word for "I" does not change based on gender.
If أنا doesn't change for gender, how would a woman say "I am sick"?
While the pronoun stays the same, the describing word must match the speaker's gender. A woman would add the feminine ending to the adjective, making it أنا مريضة. Since مريض has no feminine ending in this sentence, we know a man is speaking.
I see a tall letter alif at the end of أنا. Do I stretch out the final "a" sound?
Even though it is spelled with an alif (which usually makes a long "aa" sound), the final "a" in أنا is actually pronounced as a quick, short vowel in spoken Arabic.