الاحتيال والسرقة مشكلة كبيرة.

Because Arabic often uses a nominal sentence in the present tense, with no written or spoken copula.

So:

• الاحتيال والسرقة = the subject
• مشكلة كبيرة = the predicate

Arabic simply puts them next to each other to mean Fraud and theft are a big problem.

If you wanted a past or future meaning, then Arabic would use a verb such as كان or رح يكون depending on the variety.

Here الـ means the.

Arabic often uses the definite article with abstract nouns when talking about things in a general category, especially in more formal language. So الاحتيال and السرقة mean something like:

• fraud
• theft

in a general, category-level sense.

In English, we often leave abstract nouns bare, but Arabic commonly makes them definite in sentences like this.

This is a very natural question, because English learners expect the predicate to match the subject as plural.

In this sentence, مشكلة كبيرة is singular because Arabic is treating fraud and theft together as one combined issue. In English we do this too:

• Fraud and theft are a big problem.

Even though the subject is plural, a big problem is singular because we are thinking of them as one broader social problem.

Arabic can also say:

• الاحتيال والسرقة مشكلتان كبيرتان

That would mean something more like Fraud and theft are two big problems, emphasizing them as separate problems.

So the singular here is not a mistake; it reflects the idea.

Because مشكلة is a feminine noun.

In Arabic, adjectives agree with the noun they describe. Since the sentence says:

• مشكلة كبيرة = a big problem

the adjective must be feminine too:

• مشكلة = feminine
• كبيرة = feminine form of big

So كبيرة is not agreeing with الاحتيال والسرقة here; it is agreeing with مشكلة.

و simply means and.

Arabic usually attaches it مباشرة to the following word, so instead of writing it separately, you get:

• و + السرقة = والسرقة

This is very common. The same happens with other words too:

• والبيت = and the house
• والولد = and the boy

So think of و as a very common attached conjunction.

In السرقة, the س is a sun letter, so the ل of الـ is not fully pronounced. It assimilates to the س.

So:

• السرقة is pronounced roughly es-sir'a or is-sir'a, depending on accent
• والسرقة becomes roughly wes-sir'a or wis-sir'a

Not wal-sariqa in normal pronunciation.

This is one of the most important pronunciation patterns in Arabic.

It is very close to Standard Arabic in wording, but it is also understandable in Levantine.

The main reason it sounds somewhat formal is the word الاحتيال. In everyday Levantine conversation, many speakers would be more likely to use a more colloquial word such as:

• النصب = scamming / fraud

So a more everyday Levantine-style version might be:

• النصب والسرقة مشكلة كبيرة

Still, the original sentence is perfectly understandable and not strange.

A rough Levantine-style pronunciation could be:

• el-iḥtiyāl wes-sir'a mishkle kbīre
• or il-iḥtiyāl wis-sir'a moshkle kbīre

Pronunciation varies by region and speaker, but a few common Levantine features are:

• مشكلة often sounds like mishkle or moshkle
• كبيرة often sounds like kbīre
• the final ـة is usually pronounced -e in pause
• السرقة becomes es-sir'a / is-sir'a because of sun-letter assimilation

That ending is called taa marbuuTa.

It very often marks feminine words, which is why:

• سرقة is feminine
• مشكلة is feminine
• كبيرة is the feminine form of the adjective

In Levantine pronunciation, this ending is usually heard as -e at the end of a phrase:

• sir'a
• mishkle
• kbīre

But in linked speech or in more formal reading, it can sound more like -at in some contexts.

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

• الاحتيال والسرقة مشكلة كبيرة
  = fraud and theft are one big problem / one major issue

• الاحتيال والسرقة مشاكل كبيرة
  = fraud and theft are big problems

The first treats them as a combined phenomenon. The second sounds more plural and general.

Both are possible, but the original sentence is especially natural when talking about them together as one social issue.

Because Arabic does not need one in this kind of sentence.

English often wants a clear structure like:

• Fraud and theft are a big problem

But Arabic can simply say:

• الاحتيال والسرقة مشكلة كبيرة

The relationship is understood from word order and context. There is no need to insert a separate word meaning they.

Adding a pronoun here would usually sound unnecessary.

Yes, but the original order is the most straightforward.

The basic structure here is:

• الاحتيال والسرقة = topic / subject
• مشكلة كبيرة = comment / predicate

This is the most neutral way to say it.

You could sometimes rearrange Arabic sentences for style or emphasis, but for a learner, the original order is the safest and most natural pattern to use.

Yes — it shows several very common Arabic patterns all at once:

1. Nominal sentence with no present-tense verb
2. Definite abstract nouns with الـ
3. Attached conjunction و
4. Sun-letter pronunciation in السرقة
5. Feminine noun + feminine adjective in مشكلة كبيرة
6. A singular predicate used for a compound subject treated as one issue

So even though the sentence is short, it is a great example of how Arabic structure can differ from English in several important ways at once.