Questions & Answers about القراءة مهارة مهمة.
Why does the Arabic sentence use القراءة (the reading) with the definite article when the English just says "Reading"?
In Arabic, abstract concepts or general subjects (like "reading" or "science") need the definite article الـ (al-) when they are the subject of a sentence. Because "reading" is the main subject here, we use the definite noun القراءة instead of just قراءة. This Arabic word is a verbal noun, which often acts like an "-ing" verb in English.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
Arabic doesn't use a word for "is" or "are" in present-tense equations like this one. This is called a nominal sentence (a sentence starting with a noun). The subject is القراءة (Reading) and the predicate is مهارة (a skill). Simply putting them side-by-side gives you "Reading is a skill."
Why do all three words in this sentence end with the letter ة (taa marbuuta)?
It is just a coincidence for the first two words, but a strict grammar rule for the third! القراءة (reading) and مهارة (skill) are naturally feminine nouns, so they both happen to end in ة. However, مهمة (important) is an adjective describing the skill. In Arabic, adjectives must match the noun they describe in gender. Since مهارة is feminine, the adjective takes the feminine ending ة to become مهمة (instead of the masculine مهم).
How do we know it says "an important skill" rather than "the important skill"?
Unlike English, Arabic doesn't have a specific word for "a" or "an". If a noun doesn't have the definite article الـ (al-), it is usually indefinite. Because مهارة and مهمة do not start with الـ, they translate to "an important skill". If the sentence meant "the important skill", both of those words would need الـ at the beginning, like this: المهارة المهمة.
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