Breakdown of يعمل الموظف في المكتب.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
موظفmuwazzaf
employee
مكتبmaktab
office
عمل'amila
to work
Questions & Answers about يعمل الموظف في المكتب.
Why does the sentence start with يعمل (works) instead of الموظف (the employee)?
In Arabic, sentences usually start with the verb. This is called a verbal sentence. So instead of the English word order 'The employee works', the Arabic word order is literally 'Works the employee'.
How does the verb يعمل show who is doing the action?
The prefix يـ (ya-) at the beginning of the verb tells us it is in the present tense and refers to a masculine 'he'. If the employee were female (الموظفة), the verb would start with تـ (ta-), making it تعمل.
Is there a connection between المكتب (the office) and the word for book, كتاب?
Yes! They both share the root letters ك-ت-ب (k-t-b), which have to do with writing. Adding a مـ (ma-) sound at the beginning often turns a root into a place. So مكتب literally means 'a place of writing', which translates to a desk or an office.
Why do we pronounce the 'L' sound in the words الموظف and المكتب?
Both words start with the letter م (meem) right after the definite article ال (al-). Meem is a 'moon letter', which means the 'L' sound is pronounced clearly. If they started with a 'sun letter', the 'L' would be silent.
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