Breakdown of الحساء بارد. مع ذلك، طعمه لذيذ.
الal
the
لذيذlazîz
delicious
باردbâred
cold
هhu
his / him (object) / it (dummy pronoun after لأن)
Questions & Answers about الحساء بارد. مع ذلك، طعمه لذيذ.
The phrase مع ذلك is translated as 'even so', but what do those words literally mean?
Literally, مع means 'with' and ذلك means 'that'. Together, مع ذلك (with that) is a very common way to say 'however', 'nevertheless', or 'even so' in Arabic. It is a great linking phrase to make your sentences sound more natural at this level.
Would ذلك change to the feminine تلك if we were talking about a feminine noun instead of the masculine الحساء (soup)?
No, it would not change. The phrase مع ذلك acts as a fixed connector here. The word ذلك (that) refers to the entire previous situation ('the fact that the soup is cold'), not back to the specific noun 'soup'. Therefore, it stays in the default masculine singular form.
What is the function of the suffix ـه attached to طعم (taste) in the second sentence?
That is the attached pronoun ـه (hu), which means 'his' or 'its'. It attaches to the noun طعم to make طعمه (its taste). It uses the masculine form because it refers back to الحساء (the soup), which is a masculine word in Arabic.
Both parts of this sentence express 'is' (the soup is cold, its taste is delicious), but I don't see a verb for 'is'. How does this work?
Arabic uses 'nominal sentences' (sentences starting with a noun) to express 'is' in the present tense. By simply placing the subject الحساء (the soup) next to the adjective بارد (cold), the 'is' is naturally understood. The same happens in the second half with طعمه (its taste) and لذيذ (delicious).