التمثال كبير.

big

Breakdown of التمثال كبير.

• تمثال: the statue

Questions & Answers about التمثال كبير.

How do I pronounce التمثال كبير in Levantine?

A common Levantine-style pronunciation is roughly it-timsaal kbiir.

A few notes:

• الـ is often pronounced more like il-/el- in Levantine.
• Because ت is a sun letter, the l sound of الـ disappears, so التمثال sounds like it-t... rather than al-t...
• كبير is usually pronounced kbiir, with a consonant cluster at the beginning.

You may also hear a more careful pronunciation closer to it-timthaal kbiir.

Why is there no word for is?

In Arabic, present-tense sentences like this usually do not use a separate word for is.

So:

• التمثال كبير = The statue is big

This is called a nominal sentence.

But in the past or future, Arabic does use other words:

• التمثال كان كبير = The statue was big

Why does كبير come after التمثال?

In Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So the basic order is:

• noun + adjective

Example:

• =