الموظف جدي.

The employee is serious.

Breakdown of الموظف جدي.

• موظف: employee
• جدي: serious

Questions & Answers about الموظف جدي.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Levantine Arabic, present-tense sentences like this usually do not use a separate verb for is / am / are.

So:

• الموظف جدي = The employee is serious

This is a normal nominal sentence: a subject plus a description.

If you want another tense, then a verb appears:

• الموظف كان جدي = The employee was serious
• الموظف رح يكون جدي = The employee will be serious

So the missing is is not missing at all by Arabic standards; it is just understood.

What does الـ on الموظف mean?

الـ is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the.

So:

• موظف = an employee / employee
• الموظف = the employee

In Levantine pronunciation, الـ is often said as il- or el-, so الموظف is commonly pronounced something like el-mwazzaf.

Also, the ل of الـ is pronounced here because م is a moon letter, not a sun letter.

Why doesn’t جدي also have الـ?