Question 1

Why does الثاني keep the letter yaa at the end here, when similar words sometimes drop it?

Accepted Answer

الثاني belongs to a category of words called defective nouns (Ism Manqus) because its root ends in a weak letter. These words keep their final yaa when they have the definite article ال, just like in this sentence. If it were indefinite, the yaa would be dropped and replaced with a double kasra, becoming ثانٍ.

Question 2

How does the grammar show that سهل means 'is easy' rather than 'the easy first question'?

Accepted Answer

In Arabic nominal sentences, the subject is usually definite and the predicate is indefinite. Here, السؤال الأول is definite, but سهل is indefinite (it lacks ال). This break in definiteness tells you it is the predicate. If it were an adjective modifying the noun, it would have to match in definiteness: السؤال الأول السهل.

Question 3

Is it grammatically required to drop the word for 'question' in the second half of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

No, it is not strictly required, but it is highly preferred for natural style. Just like in English, Arabic commonly omits the noun in parallel structures when the context is already established. Saying والسؤال الثاني صعب is grammatically correct but sounds unnecessarily repetitive compared to simply using والثاني.

Question 4

If the subject were a feminine noun like المشكلة (the problem), how would the ordinal numbers change?

Accepted Answer

The word for 'second' follows regular adjective rules, so you just add a taa marbuta to get الثانية. However, the word for 'first' is irregular. The feminine form of الأول is الأولى. The sentence would become: المشكلة الأولى سهلة، والثانية صعبة.

السؤال الأول سهل، والثاني صعب.

Breakdown of السؤال الأول سهل، والثاني صعب.

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