Questions & Answers about الكمبيوتر يلي بالشغل كمان جديد.
What does يلي mean here?
يلي is the Levantine relative word meaning that / which / the one that.
In الكمبيوتر يلي بالشغل كمان جديد, it links الكمبيوتر with the description بالشغل:
- الكمبيوتر = the computer
- يلي بالشغل = that is at work / that’s at the workplace
A learner will often see other spellings too, especially اللي. In Levantine, يلي and اللي are both common.
Why is there no word for is in the sentence?
In Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not stated.
So a sentence like:
- الكمبيوتر جديد
means:
- The computer is new
And:
- الكمبيوتر يلي بالشغل كمان جديد
literally works like:
- The computer that at work also new
But naturally it means:
- The computer at work is also new
This is completely normal in Levantine and Arabic generally.
What does بالشغل mean exactly?
بالشغل means at work, at the workplace, or sometimes in the office / on the job, depending on context.
It is made of:
- بـ = in / at
- الـ = the
- شغل = work
So بـ + الشغل becomes بالشغل.
Even though it literally looks like in the work, the natural English meaning is usually at work.
Why is بالشغل written as one word?
Because short prepositions in Arabic attach directly to the following word.
Here:
- بـ
- الشغل → بالشغل
This is very common. You will also see things like:
- بالبيت = at home
- بالمدرسة = at school
- بالسيارة = by car / in the car
So the one-word spelling is normal.
Why is جديد not الجديد?
Because جديد here is a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached to the noun.
Compare:
- الكمبيوتر الجديد = the new computer
- here الجديد is part of the noun phrase
- الكمبيوتر جديد = the computer is new
- here جديد is the predicate
In your sentence, جديد means is new, so it stays indefinite: جديد, not الجديد.
What does كمان mean, and why is it there?
كمان means also, too, or as well.
So:
- كمان جديد = also new / is new too
It tells you that this computer shares the same quality with something mentioned earlier. For example, maybe another computer was already described as new, and now this one is too.
In Levantine, كمان is very common in everyday speech.
Why is جديد at the end of the sentence?
Because Arabic often puts the subject first and the predicate after it.
So the structure is roughly:
- الكمبيوتر = subject
- يلي بالشغل = relative description of the subject
- كمان جديد = predicate
Ending with جديد is natural because that is the main new piece of information: the computer is also new.
Is الكمبيوتر an Arabic word or a borrowed word?
It is a borrowed word, from computer.
Levantine speakers very commonly say كمبيوتر or الكمبيوتر in everyday speech. In more formal Arabic, you may also see حاسوب, but in spoken Levantine كمبيوتر is extremely normal.
In this sentence, it is treated like a regular Arabic noun and takes الـ:
- الكمبيوتر = the computer
Why is the adjective جديد masculine?
Because كمبيوتر is usually treated as a masculine noun in Levantine, so the adjective agrees with it:
- masculine singular: جديد
- feminine singular: جديدة
So:
- الكمبيوتر جديد = the computer is new
If the noun were feminine, you would expect جديدة instead.
Could I also say الكمبيوتر اللي بالشغل كمان جديد?
Yes. That is very common.
Many learners first meet the relative word as اللي, and many native speakers use that form a lot. يلي and اللي are both normal Levantine forms. The difference is mainly dialectal or spelling preference, not meaning.
So these are both fine:
- الكمبيوتر يلي بالشغل كمان جديد
- الكمبيوتر اللي بالشغل كمان جديد
How is الشغل pronounced? Do you pronounce the ل in الـ?
Usually the ل of الـ is not clearly pronounced before ش, because ش is a sun letter.
So الشغل is pronounced more like:
- ash-shughl / ish-shughl / esh-sheghl
depending on dialect and vowel quality
That means بالشغل is pronounced roughly like:
- bish-shughl / b ash-shughl / besh-sheghl
not with a clear l sound from الـ.
This is a pronunciation rule, not a spelling change: it is still written الشغل.
How would this sound in more formal Arabic?
In Modern Standard Arabic, you would usually use a different style, for example:
- الكمبيوتر الذي في العمل جديد أيضًا
- or more formally with a native Arabic word:
- الحاسوب الذي في العمل جديد أيضًا
Main differences:
- Levantine يلي / اللي → MSA الذي
- Levantine بالشغل → MSA often في العمل
- Levantine كمان → MSA أيضًا
So the sentence is clearly colloquial Levantine, not formal written Arabic.
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