الكتاب بعده على الطاولة.

book

Breakdown of الكتاب بعده على الطاولة.

• ال: the
• طاولة: table
• على: on

Questions & Answers about الكتاب بعده على الطاولة.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Levantine Arabic, as in Arabic generally, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So:

• الكتاب على الطاولة = The book is on the table
• الكتاب بعده على الطاولة = The book is still on the table

There is no separate present-tense is. Arabic simply puts the subject and the description/location next to each other.

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What does بعده mean here?

Here, بعده means still.

So the sentence means:

• الكتاب بعده على الطاولة = The book is still on the table

Literally, it may feel like something closer to:

• The book, it’s still on the table

In Levantine, بعد plus a pronoun is a very common way to say still.

Examples:

• أنا بعدني هون = I’m still here
• هي بعدها نايمة = She’s still sleeping
• الكتاب بعده على الطاولة = The book is still on the table

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Why does بعد have ـه attached to it?

The ـه refers back to الكتاب because is .