Word
هذا المجلد فيه ألف صفحة.
Meaning
This volume has a thousand pages in it.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of هذا المجلد فيه ألف صفحة.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
Questions & Answers about هذا المجلد فيه ألف صفحة.
Why is صفحة singular when the English translation says pages?
This is the special rule for the numbers 100 and 1000. Unlike numbers 3 through 10 which take a plural noun, ألف (a thousand) and مئة (a hundred) must be followed by a singular noun. It also takes the genitive case, so it would be pronounced with a double kasra sound (in) at the end.
Why is the word فيه used here to mean has?
Arabic does not have a direct verb for to have. Instead, containment is expressed using prepositions. The word فيه combines في (in) and the suffix ـه (it). The sentence literally translates to: This volume, in it is a thousand pages.
Why does the suffix on فيه use a masculine pronoun when صفحة is feminine?
The suffix ـه means it and refers back to المجلد (the volume). Because مجلد is a masculine word, the pronoun suffix attached to the preposition must also be masculine, even though the pages inside it are feminine.
Why does المجلد have الـ attached to it?
When you want to say This [noun] in Arabic, the noun must be definite, meaning it needs the prefix الـ. If you left it off and just wrote هذا مجلد, it would form a complete sentence meaning This is a volume instead of acting as the subject This volume.