Breakdown of هل دخلك الشهري جيد؟
الal
the
هلhal
is / are (question marker)
كka
your / you (object)
جيدjayyid
good / well
Questions & Answers about هل دخلك الشهري جيد؟
Why does الشهري (monthly) have the definite article الـ when the word it describes, دخلك (your income), does not?
In Arabic, adding a possessive pronoun suffix like ـك (your) makes the noun دخل (income) grammatically definite. Because the noun is definite, any adjective describing it—in this case, الشهري—must also be definite to match. That is why it takes the prefix الـ.
Why doesn't جيد (good) also take the definite article الـ to match the rest of the phrase?
This is a nominal sentence (a sentence without a verb). The subject is the full definite phrase دخلك الشهري (your monthly income). The word جيد is the predicate, which tells us the actual news about the subject. In Arabic, predicates are usually indefinite, which is why جيد lacks الـ. If you added الـ, the phrase would just mean 'your good monthly income' and would be an incomplete sentence.
The word for income, دَخْل (dakhl), looks exactly like the root for 'to enter'. Is this intentional?
Yes! Both words share the root د-خ-ل (d-kh-l), which relates to the concept of entering or going in. In Arabic, دَخْل literally represents the money or resources that 'enter' your possession, which makes it a very logical term for 'income'.
How exactly is the adjective الشهري constructed from the noun for month (شهر)?