هذا قسم جديد.

Breakdown of هذا قسم جديد.

هذا
this
جديد
new
قسمqism
department

Questions & Answers about هذا قسم جديد.

How do you pronounce هذا قسم جديد?

A careful MSA pronunciation is:

hādhā qismun jadīdun

With full vowel marks, it is:

هَذَا قِسْمٌ جَدِيدٌ

A few pronunciation notes:

  • هذا = hādhā
  • ق is a deep q sound, not an English k
  • جديد = jadīd, with stress usually on the last syllable: ja-DĪD

In normal pausing pronunciation, the final -un endings are often not heard, so you may hear:

hādhā qism jadīd

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not written or said in simple sentences like this.

So هذا قسم جديد literally looks like:

this section new

but it means:

This is a new section.

This is completely normal in Arabic. In the present tense, Arabic often leaves out is / am / are.

What does هذا mean here, and why is it used?

هذا means this for a masculine singular noun.

Since قسم is a masculine singular noun, Arabic uses هذا.

So:

  • هذا = this (masculine singular)
  • هذه = this (feminine singular)

Because قسم is masculine, هذا قسم... is correct.

How do I know that قسم is masculine?

In Arabic, nouns have grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine.

قسم is treated as masculine. That is why it takes:

  • هذا not هذه
  • a masculine adjective: جديد not جديدة

Unlike some Arabic nouns, قسم does not have a typical feminine ending such as ـة, so masculine is the default here.

Why does جديد come after قسم?

In Arabic, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

  • قسم جديد = a new section

This is the normal order:

  • noun + adjective

That is different from English, where we usually say:

  • adjective + noun
  • new section
Why is جديد not written with الـ?

Because قسم here is indefinite, meaning a section, not the section.

In Arabic, adjectives match the noun in definiteness:

  • قسم جديد = a new section
  • القسم الجديد = the new section

So if the noun is indefinite, the adjective is also indefinite. If the noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite.

What are the full grammatical endings in this sentence?

With full case endings, the sentence is:

هَذَا قِسْمٌ جَدِيدٌ

That gives:

  • هذا = no tanwīn here
  • قسمٌ = qismun
  • جديدٌ = jadīdun

Both قسم and جديد are in the nominative here, because this is a simple nominal sentence.

In everyday reading and speech, these endings are often omitted, especially at pause.

What kind of sentence is this grammatically?

This is a nominal sentence in Arabic, meaning a sentence that does not begin with a verb.

Its structure is:

  • هذا = the topic / subject-like element
  • قسم جديد = the predicate / information about it

Traditional grammar may analyze this as a type of جملة اسمية.

The important beginner point is: Arabic can make a complete sentence without a verb, especially in the present tense.

Does قسم only mean section, or can it mean other things too?

قسم can have several related meanings depending on context, such as:

  • section
  • department
  • division

So هذا قسم جديد could mean:

  • This is a new section
  • This is a new department

The exact translation depends on context.

Why isn’t it هذا قسمًا جديدًا?

Because this is not a verb sentence where قسم is an object. It is a nominal sentence.

Here, قسم is part of the predicate of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative:

  • قسمٌ جديدٌ

The form قسمًا جديدًا would be accusative, which would be used in other structures, not this one.

So in this sentence, nominative is correct.

If I wanted to say This is the new section, how would it change?

You would say:

هذا القسم الجديد

Here both the noun and adjective become definite:

  • القسم = the section
  • الجديد = the new

Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun in definiteness, so you cannot say:

  • هذا القسم جديد if you mean this is the new section

That version would more naturally mean:

  • This section is new
How would the sentence change if the noun were feminine?

If the noun were feminine singular, you would usually use هذه instead of هذا, and the adjective would also be feminine.

For example:

  • هذه سيارة جديدة
  • This is a new car

So the pattern is:

  • masculine: هذا قسم جديد
  • feminine: هذه ... جديدة

This shows agreement in Arabic between the demonstrative, the noun’s gender, and the adjective.

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