Question 1

Since legs come in pairs, shouldn't body parts in this sentence use feminine grammar?

Accepted Answer

While external body parts that come in pairs (like eyes, hands, and legs) are indeed feminine, عظم (bone) is a general internal body part and is strictly masculine. That is why it takes the masculine word for 'this' (هذا) and the masculine adjective طويل.

Question 2

So is الساق (the leg) feminine in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, الساق is feminine because it is a paired external body part. You cannot visibly see its gender in this specific sentence because it just follows the preposition في (in) without any adjectives, but if you wanted to say 'the long leg', it would be الساق الطويلة.

Question 3

What happens to the grammar if we change this to 'These are long bones'?

Accepted Answer

The plural of عظم is عظام. Because non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular in Arabic grammar, both the pointing word and the adjective must change to match. The sentence would become هذه عظام طويلة في الساق.

Question 4

Why doesn't عظم (bone) have the definite article 'al-' (ال) attached to it?

Accepted Answer

Keeping عظم indefinite (without 'al-') is what acts as the 'is a' connection in this translation. If you added 'al-' and wrote هذا العظم طويل, the pointing word attaches directly to the noun, changing the meaning to 'This bone is long' instead of 'This is a long bone'.

هذا عظم طويل في الساق.

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