Breakdown of الإيجار في هذه المنطقة مكلف، لكننا وجدنا شقة جيدة.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هذهhâdhihi
this (f)
ناnâ
our / us (object) / we (subject suffix on past verb)
Questions & Answers about الإيجار في هذه المنطقة مكلف، لكننا وجدنا شقة جيدة.
How exactly is لكننا formed?
It is a combination of the conjunction لكنّ (but) and the attached pronoun ـنا (we). When you attach a pronoun starting with the letter noon to لكنّ, you write both noons, resulting in لكننا (but we).
Is the ـنا at the end of وجدنا (we found) the same as the one in لكننا?
Yes, they both represent 'we'. In وجدنا, the ـنا is attached to the past-tense verb root وجد (to find) to show that 'we' did the action. Arabic often states the pronoun twice like this: once attached to لكنّ to introduce the new clause, and again built into the verb itself.
Why doesn't the adjective مكلف (expensive) have a feminine ending to match المنطقة (area)?
Because مكلف is describing الإيجار (the rent), not the area. الإيجار is a masculine word, so its adjective must also be masculine. The phrase في هذه المنطقة (in this area) is just extra information squeezed between the subject and its main description.
Why does المنطقة have 'Al-' (ال) attached to it after هذه?
When you want to say 'this [noun]' in Arabic, the noun must have 'Al-' (ال) attached to it. If you left it off and just said هذه منطقة, it would change the meaning to 'this is an area' instead of 'this area'.