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Questions & Answers about الحكومة جديدة.
Why do both words take the nominative case here?
This is a classic nominal sentence (a sentence starting with a noun and no verb). It consists of a subject, الحكومة, and a predicate, جديدة. In Arabic grammar, both the subject and the nominal predicate are always in the nominative case, which is marked by a Damma (a small 'u' vowel sound) on the last letter.
If they are both in the nominative case, why does the first word end in an '-u' sound but the second ends in '-un'?
The difference comes down to whether the word is definite or indefinite. The subject الحكومة is definite because it starts with ال (al-), so it only gets a single Damma (-u). The predicate جديدة is indefinite, so it gets a double Damma or 'tanwiin' (-un) to show the absence of 'al-'.
How do we know this means 'The government is new' and not just 'The new government'?
In Arabic, an adjective must match its noun exactly in definiteness. If it were a phrase meaning 'The new government', both words would need to be definite: الحكومة الجديدة. Because جديدة is indefinite (it lacks ال), it acts as the predicate of the sentence instead of just a descriptive adjective. This mismatch is what gives us the invisible 'is'.
Why does the word for 'new' end with a Taa Marbuuta (ة) here?
In a nominal sentence, the predicate must match the subject in gender. Since the word for government, الحكومة, is grammatically feminine (indicated by the Taa Marbuuta at the end), the word for new, جديد, must also be made feminine by adding a Taa Marbuuta to become جديدة.