الظل هنا.

The shade is here.

Breakdown of الظل هنا.

• هنا: here
• ظل: shade

Questions & Answers about الظل هنا.

Why is there no word for is in الظل هنا?

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not stated in the present tense.

So:

• الظل هنا literally looks like the shade here
• but it means The shade is here

This is a very common Arabic sentence pattern, called a nominal sentence.

If you wanted the past tense, Arabic would use a verb, for example:

• كان الظل هنا = The shade was here

How do I pronounce الظل?

It is pronounced roughly aẓ-ẓill.

A few important points:

• The written ال is the definite article the
• But the letter ظ is a sun letter, so the l sound of ال is assimilated
• That means you do not pronounce it as al-zill
• Instead, you say something like aẓ-ẓill

So:

• Written: الظل
• Pronounced: aẓ-ẓill

Also, ظ is an emphatic consonant, somewhat like a heavy or dark z sound.

What does ال in الظل mean?