Questions & Answers about هذه سيارة حمراء.
Why is "red" حمراء instead of أحمر?
Colors in Arabic have special forms for masculine and feminine. Because سيارة (car) is feminine, we use the feminine pattern فعلاء (fa'laa'), giving us حمراء (hamraa'). If the noun were masculine, we would use the masculine pattern أفعل (af'al), making it أحمر (ahmar).
Why does the adjective come after the noun?
In English we say "red car", but in Arabic, adjectives always follow the noun they describe. You introduce the item first (سيارة), and then you describe what kind of item it is (حمراء).
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" (the present tense of "to be"). You simply put the "this" (هذه) and the "red car" (سيارة حمراء) right next to each other to make a complete sentence.
Why isn't there an "al-" (ال) on the word "red"?
Adjectives must match their nouns in being definite (having "the") or indefinite. Because we are saying "a red car" and not "the red car", the noun سيارة is indefinite (no ال). Therefore, the adjective حمراء must also be indefinite and not use ال.
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