Breakdown of هؤلاء الأولاد شقر.
الal
the
ولدwalad
boy
هؤلاءhâ'ulâ'i
these (human plural)
شقرshuqrun
blonde (pl.)
Questions & Answers about هؤلاء الأولاد شقر.
Why is the word for blonde شقر instead of a regular plural?
Adjectives for colors and physical traits have a special plural pattern in Arabic. Instead of adding a regular plural suffix, they use the pattern فُعْل (fu'l). The singular masculine word for blonde is أشقر (ashqar), and its plural changes the vowels to become شُقْر (shuqr).
Why do we use هؤلاء (these) here instead of هذه?
You might remember the rule that plural nouns take feminine singular pronouns like هذه. However, that rule only applies to non-human plurals (like cars or books). Because الأولاد (boys) are human, they take the true human plural demonstrative هؤلاء.
Why doesn't شقر have ال (al-) at the beginning, matching الأولاد?
In Arabic, if you want to say 'These boys are blonde', the descriptive word must be indefinite (without ال). If you said هؤلاء الأولاد الشقر, it would mean the fragment 'These blonde boys...'. By leaving ال off شقر, it acts as the predicate, completing the sentence with 'are blonde'.
How exactly do you pronounce شقر?
It is pronounced 'shuqr'. Following the فُعْل (fu'l) pattern for plural colors and traits, it has a damma (u sound) on the first letter (ش) and a sukoon (no vowel) on the second letter (ق).
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