Questions & Answers about الطعام الفرنسي لذيذ.
Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?
In Arabic, sentences that simply describe someone or something don't use a present tense verb for "to be" (like "is" or "are"). Instead, you just place the subject (الطعام الفرنسي) right next to the description (لذيذ). Arabic speakers hear the "is" naturally between the two parts!
Why does the sentence say "the food the French" (الطعام الفرنسي) instead of "the French food"?
In Arabic, adjectives must come after the noun they describe. Also, if the noun has الـ (the), the adjective describing it must have الـ too. So, "the French food" translates literally as "the food the French".
Why do "food" and "French" have "al-" (the), but "delicious" doesn't?
This is a very important trick in Arabic! The lack of الـ on لذيذ (delicious) tells you that you've reached the end of the subject and hit the description. The jump from a definite subject (الطعام الفرنسي) to an indefinite adjective (لذيذ) is exactly what creates the invisible "is". If you added "al-" and said الطعام الفرنسي اللذيذ, it would just mean "the delicious French food" without being a complete sentence.
When speaking, why don't I hear the "l" sound in الطعام?
The letter ط (taa) is a "sun letter." When the prefix الـ (al-) is attached to a word starting with a sun letter, the "l" sound is skipped and you pronounce the sun letter twice instead. So, you say "at-ta'am" rather than "al-ta'am".