Questions & Answers about مرحبا، أنا طالب جديد.
Why is there no word for "am" in this sentence?
In Arabic, there is no direct translation for the present tense verb "to be" (like "am", "is", or "are"). To say "I am a student", you just put the pronoun and the noun right next to each other: أنا طالب (I [am a] student).
Why does the word جديد (new) come after طالب (student)?
In English, we say "new student", putting the describing word (adjective) first. In Arabic, adjectives always come after the noun they describe. So, the word order is literally "student new".
How would I change this sentence if I am a female student?
You need to make both the noun and the adjective feminine by adding a taa marbuta (the letter ة) to the end of each word. The sentence would become مرحبا، أنا طالبة جديدة.
Why does مرحبا end with an alif (ا) but is pronounced "marhaban"?
That "an" sound is a special grammar marker called tanween. When a word ends with the "an" version of tanween, written Arabic usually requires adding a silent alif (ا) to the end of the word to "hold" that sound, which is why it is spelled with an ا but pronounced "marhaban".
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