Questions & Answers about اللافتة مثلث صغير.
Why is the word for small masculine (صغير) when the subject of the sentence (اللافتة) is feminine?
The adjective صغير is describing the word مثلث (triangle), not اللافتة (the sign). Because مثلث is a masculine noun, its adjective must also be masculine to match it perfectly.
Shouldn't the predicate match the subject in gender? Why isn't it مثلثة?
In Arabic, if the predicate (the part after the implied 'is') is an adjective, it must match the subject's gender. However, if the predicate is a noun like مثلث, it keeps its own inherent gender. Since a triangle is always a masculine word, it doesn't change to feminine just because the sign is feminine.
How do we know this means 'The sign is a small triangle' and not 'The small triangle sign'?
It all comes down to definiteness. اللافتة has ال (the), making it definite. مثلث صغير does not have ال, making it indefinite. When a definite noun is followed by an indefinite noun or phrase, it creates a nominal sentence with an implied 'is' between them. If it were a single phrase like 'the small triangle sign', all the words would need to match in definiteness.
Learn اللافتة مثلث صغير and more in Arabic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free