Breakdown of ثالثا، الطعام في القرية طازج.
الal
the
فيfî
in / about, regarding
طعامta'âm
food
طازجtâzij
fresh
قريةqarya
village
ثالثاthâlithan
third(ly)
Questions & Answers about ثالثا، الطعام في القرية طازج.
Why does ثالثا end with an "alif" here instead of just being ثالث?
That "alif" carries a tanween fatha (an "an" sound at the end of the word), which turns the ordinal number ثالث (third) into the adverb ثالثا (thirdly). You will see this pattern often when making a list of points, like أولا (firstly) and ثانيا (secondly).
The subject الطعام and the adjective طازج are separated by في القرية. How do we know it means "the food is fresh" and not "the fresh food"?
You can tell by the lack of the definite article الـ on طازج. For it to mean "the fresh food," both words would need to match and be definite: الطعام الطازج. Because طازج is indefinite, it acts as the predicate (the "is" part of the sentence), even when a phrase like في القرية sits between them.
Does the phrase في القرية (in the village) have to go in the middle of the sentence?
No, Arabic word order in this type of sentence is quite flexible. You could absolutely say الطعام طازج في القرية (The food is fresh in the village). Placing the location in the middle just slightly emphasizes that it is specifically the food in the village that is fresh.
Can I use طازج to talk about "fresh air" or "fresh water"?
No, طازج is specifically used for food, meaning it was recently made, baked, or harvested. If you want to talk about "fresh air," you use هواء نقي (pure/clean air), and for "fresh water" (as opposed to salt water), you use ماء عذب (sweet/pleasant water).
Learn ثالثا، الطعام في القرية طازج 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