Questions & Answers about المدير قليل الصبر.
Why is there no Arabic word for 'has' in this sentence?
In English we say someone 'has' a trait, but Arabic expresses this using a nominal sentence (a sentence without a verb) linking the subject to a descriptive phrase. Literally, this reads as 'The manager [is] little [of] patience.'
Is قليل الصبر an idafa (possessive construction)?
Yes, it is a special kind of idafa. Instead of showing ownership (like 'the manager's car'), it connects an adjective (قليل, meaning 'little') to a definite noun (الصبر, meaning 'the patience') to specify exactly what the manager has little of. This is a very common pattern for describing personality traits.
If the manager were female, how would this sentence change?
You would make the subject and the adjective feminine, but you leave الصبر (the patience) exactly as it is, because the noun defining the trait doesn't change gender. The sentence would become المديرة قليلة الصبر.
Could I just use a single adjective for 'impatient' instead?
You could say غير صبور (literally 'not patient'), but using قليل followed by a definite noun is extremely natural in Arabic. You will see this 'lacking [noun]' pattern all the time, such as in قليل الأدب (rude, literally 'lacking manners').
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