Learn Arabic (Modern Standard): الفيلم ممل، فأنام في السينما! - The film is boring, so I sleep in the cinema!

You're right that many hollow verbs change their middle vowel, like how "he visits" becomes يزور (yazūru) and "he sells" becomes يبيع (yabī'u). However, a third group of hollow verbs keeps the long Alif (ا) sound in the present tense! The verb for "to sleep" belongs to this group. From the past tense نام (nāma), the present tense becomes ينام (yanāmu) for "he sleeps" and أنام (anāmu) for "I sleep".

What does the فـ (fa-) at the start of فأنام do here?

The prefix فـ (fa-) translates to "so" or "therefore" in this context. It connects the two halves of the sentence to show a direct result: the film is boring, so I sleep. Just like the Arabic word for "and" (و), the فـ attaches directly to the front of the following word without any spaces.

Why isn't there a word for "is" between الفيلم (the film) and ممل (boring)?

This is a great refresher on basic Arabic sentences! In the present tense, Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" or "are". To say "The film is boring", you simply place the definite subject (الفيلم, the film) right next to the indefinite adjective (ممل, boring). The "is" is naturally understood.

How do we pronounce ممل (boring) without the short vowel marks written?