Questions & Answers about حقيبتي خضراء وجديدة.
Why is 'green' written as خضراء instead of أخضر?
The word for 'bag' (حقيبة) is feminine, so the adjectives describing it must also be feminine. For colors, the masculine pattern is usually 'af'al' (أخضر, akhdar), but the feminine form changes to the 'fa'laa' pattern, making it خضراء (khadra').
Why does جديدة (new) just get a taa marbuta (ة) at the end, while خضراء (green) changes its whole shape?
Regular adjectives like جديد (new) are made feminine simply by adding the feminine ending taa marbuta (ة) to get جديدة. However, words for colors and physical traits have their own special feminine pattern. They do not use the taa marbuta; instead, they change from the masculine shape to the فعلاء (fa'laa') shape.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for 'is' or 'are' in the present tense. By putting the noun 'my bag' (حقيبتي) right before the adjectives 'green and new' (خضراء وجديدة), it naturally forms a complete sentence meaning 'My bag is green and new.'
حقيبتي (my bag) is a definite noun because of the 'my' ending. Shouldn't the adjectives also be definite?
If the adjectives were definite, it would mean 'my new, green bag' as an incomplete phrase. Because the adjectives خضراء and جديدة are indefinite (they do not have 'al-' at the beginning), they act as the predicate. This contrast between a definite noun and indefinite adjectives is exactly how Arabic creates an 'is' sentence!