Breakdown of هذا قرار غير رسمي.
هذاhâdhâ
this (m)
قرارqarâr
decision
رسميrasmi
official
غيرghayr
not, un- (before an adjective); other than
Questions & Answers about هذا قرار غير رسمي.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
Arabic does not use a word for "is" in the present tense. By placing the pronoun هذا (this) before the indefinite noun قرار (a decision), it automatically forms a complete sentence meaning "This is a decision."
Why is غير used here instead of ليس or لا?
Different negative words have different jobs in Arabic. While لا is used before verbs and ليس is used to negate whole sentences, غير is used directly before an adjective or noun to mean "non-" or "un-". It turns رسمي (official) into غير رسمي (unofficial).
Why does the Arabic literally say "decision un-official"?
In English, we say "unofficial decision," putting the adjective first. In Arabic, adjectives almost always follow the noun they describe. So, the noun قرار (decision) comes first, followed by the phrase that describes it: غير رسمي (unofficial).
What is the purpose of the ي at the end of رسمي?
This ending is called a Nisba suffix. It is a very common way to turn a noun into an adjective in Arabic. The base word is related to رسم (formality or rule), and adding the "iyy" sound at the end creates the adjective رسمي (official or formal).
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