Learn Arabic (Modern Standard): هل أنت سوري؟

In Arabic, present tense sentences do not use a word for "to be" (like am, is, or are). You simply place the subject (أنت meaning "you") and the description (سوري meaning "Syrian") right next to each other.

Does the word هل mean "are"?

Not exactly. هل is a special question word used to turn a statement into a "yes or no" question. While it translates to "are" in this specific English sentence, it really just acts as a marker at the start of the sentence that means "Is it true that...?"

How do we know this question is being asked to a man and not a woman?

We can tell by the word سوري (Syrian), which is in the masculine form. If you were asking a woman, you would add the feminine ending (ة) to make it سورية, and the pronoun أنت would be pronounced "anti" instead of "anta".

What does the ي at the end of سوري do?

Adding a ي (pronounced "iyy") to a country or place name turns it into an adjective describing where someone is from. The country is سوريا (Syria), and adding this ي makes it سوري (Syrian).