Questions & Answers about العربي لغة مهمة بالشغل.
Why is there no word for is in this sentence?
Because Arabic usually leaves out is / am / are in the present tense.
So العربي لغة مهمة بالشغل literally looks like:
Arabic — an important language at work
but it naturally means:
Arabic is an important language at work / for work
If you wanted was, will be, and so on, Arabic would use a verb.
Why is it العربي and not العربية?
In Levantine, languages are often referred to colloquially with the masculine form:
- عربي = Arabic
- إنجليزي = English
- فرنسي = French
So العربي here means Arabic as a language.
العربية is also possible, but it sounds more formal and closer to Modern Standard Arabic. A standard/formal version would more likely use العربية.
Why is العربي masculine if لغة is feminine?