Questions & Answers about هذا كتاب جديد.
Where is the word "is" in this sentence?
In Arabic, there is no word for "is" or "are" in the present tense. You just put the subject (هذا meaning "this") and the information about it (كتاب جديد meaning "a new book") right next to each other.
Why does the sentence literally read as "this book new"?
In Arabic, adjectives always come right after the noun they describe. Because of this rule, "a new book" is written as كتاب جديد (literally "book new").
Is there an Arabic word for "a" in "a new book"?
No, Arabic doesn't have words for "a" or "an" (indefinite articles). If a noun like كتاب does not have the "the" prefix (ال), it is naturally understood as "a book".
Why do we use هذا (this) instead of هذه (this)?
هذا is the masculine word for "this". It is used here because the noun it points to, كتاب (book), is a masculine word. If we were pointing to a feminine word, we would use هذه.
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