Questions & Answers about هذه سيارتهم.
How do we say "their" in this sentence?
In Arabic, possessive pronouns are attached directly to the end of the noun. Here, the suffix ـهم (-hum) is added to the word for car to mean "their car". This specific suffix is used for a group of men or a mixed group of men and women.
Why does the word for car (سيارة) have a regular ت in the middle of سيارتهم?
The word for car, سيارة, normally ends with the special feminine letter taa marbuuta (ة). Whenever you attach a pronoun suffix to a word ending in ة, that letter "opens up" into a regular ت (taa) so it can connect smoothly to the newly added letters.
Why do we use the feminine word for "this" (هذه) if the owners might be men?
The pointing word هذه (this) must agree with the gender of the object being pointed at, which is the car. Because car is a feminine noun in Arabic, we use the feminine "this", regardless of the gender of the people who own it.
Why isn't there a word for "is" in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for "to be" (am, is, are) in simple present tense sentences. You simply put the subject and the predicate next to each other, so the sentence literally translates as "This their-car", and the "is" is automatically understood.
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