الكبريت بالكيس.

The matches are in the bag.

Breakdown of الكبريت بالكيس.

• كيس: bag
• كبريت: the matches

Questions & Answers about الكبريت بالكيس.

What does الكبريت mean here? Does it mean sulfur or matches?

In everyday Levantine, الكبريت usually means matches in a sentence like this.

The original word is related to sulfur, but in normal speech it often refers to match(es) or a matchbox / matches depending on context.

So in الكبريت بالكيس, a learner should usually understand الكبريت as the matches.

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Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Because in Arabic, especially in the present tense, the verb to be is usually not stated.

So:

• الكبريت بالكيس literally looks like: the matches in-the-bag
• but the natural English meaning is: The matches are in the bag.

This is very normal in both Levantine and Standard Arabic.

If you wanted the past, then Arabic would use a verb, for example something like كان for was/were.

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What does بالكيس literally mean?

بالكيس is made of:

• بـ = in / at / with depending on context
• الكيس = the bag / the sack

So بالكيس here means in the bag.

In this sentence, is functioning like .