يجب على المستأجر أن يوقع عقد الإيجار.

(subordinating particle)

Breakdown of يجب على المستأجر أن يوقع عقد الإيجار.

• على: on
• يجب: must
• عقد إيجار: rental agreement

Questions & Answers about يجب على المستأجر أن يوقع عقد الإيجار.

What does يجب mean here, and is it the Arabic equivalent of must?

Yes. يجب means it is necessary, it is obligatory, or in many contexts simply must.

In this sentence, Arabic is using a very common pattern:

يجب على + person + أن + verb

So the structure is roughly:

It is necessary for the tenant to sign the lease contract.

Unlike English, Arabic often expresses must with an impersonal idea like it is necessary.

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Why is على used after يجب?

After يجب, Arabic often uses على to show who the obligation is on.

So:

• يجب على المستأجر = it is obligatory for the tenant
• literally: it is obligatory upon the tenant

This is a very standard pattern in Modern Standard Arabic.

You will also see it with pronouns:

• يجب عليّ = I must
• يجب عليك = you must
• يجب علينا = we must

So in your sentence, على المستأجر tells you that the tenant is the person who has to do the action.

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Why is there أن before يوقع?