Word
هذا القماش الأزرق جميل جدا.
Meaning
This blue fabric is very beautiful.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about هذا القماش الأزرق جميل جدا.
Where is the word 'is' in this sentence, and how do we know where it goes?
Arabic does not use a word for 'is' in the present tense. Instead, the 'is' happens where the definite part of the sentence meets the indefinite part. هذا القماش الأزرق (This blue fabric) is the definite subject. The word جميل (beautiful) is indefinite because it lacks the ال (al-) prefix. The break between the definite subject and the indefinite word creates the 'is': This blue fabric [is] beautiful.
Why does القماش (the fabric) have the prefix ال (al-) after هذا (this)?
When a demonstrative like هذا (this) is followed by a definite noun, they link together to mean 'this specific thing.' So, هذا القماش means 'this fabric.' If we dropped the ال and wrote هذا قماش, the meaning changes completely to the sentence 'This is a fabric.'
Why does the adjective الأزرق (blue) also have the ال prefix?
In Arabic, adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because القماش (the fabric) is definite and has ال, the adjective describing it must also have ال. This groups them tightly together as 'the blue fabric' (القماش الأزرق).
This sentence is a great answer to a 'Which?' question. How would we ask 'Which fabric?' using the interrogative particle أيّ from this lesson?