العلف بالكيس.

The animal feed is in the bag.

Breakdown of العلف بالكيس.

• كيس: bag
• علف: the animal feed; pet food

Questions & Answers about العلف بالكيس.

How do I pronounce العلف بالكيس in Levantine?

A common Levantine-style pronunciation is il-ʿalaf bil-kīs or el-ʿalaf bel-kīs, depending on the region.

A few notes:

• ع in العلف is the letter ʿayn, which does not have a direct English equivalent.
• الكيس is usually pronounced something like il-kīs / el-kīs, but after بـ it becomes bil-kīs / bel-kīs.
• In fast speech, the initial vowel of الـ can be very light.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Because in Levantine, as in Arabic generally, the verb to be is usually not said in the present tense.

So a sentence like:

• العلف بالكيس

naturally means:

• The feed is in the bag

This is called a nominal sentence. Arabic often says the idea directly without adding a separate present-tense is.

If you wanted past or future, then a verb would usually appear.

What does بـ mean in بالكيس?

Here, بـ is a preposition. In Levantine, it often covers meanings like:

• in
• at
• inside
• sometimes or , depending on context