البنك قريب من المحطة.

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Breakdown of البنك قريب من المحطة.

• ال: the
• محطة: station
• بنك: bank

Questions & Answers about البنك قريب من المحطة.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually omitted.

So البنك قريب من المحطة literally looks like:

the bank near from the station

but it naturally means:

The bank is near the station.

This is completely normal in both Levantine and Standard Arabic. If you wanted was, you would add a verb, for example:

كان البنك قريب من المحطة = The bank was near the station.

What does الـ mean in البنك and المحطة?

الـ is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the in English.

So:

• بنك = a bank / bank
• البنك = the bank
• محطة = a station / station
• المحطة = the station

In this sentence, both nouns are definite, so both take الـ.

Why is قريب written without الـ even though البنك is definite?