الرجال هنا.

here

Breakdown of الرجال هنا.

• الرجال: men

Questions & Answers about الرجال هنا.

Why is there no word for are in this sentence?

Because Arabic usually leaves out the present-tense verb to be in simple statements.

So where English says The men are here, Arabic simply says الرجال هنا.

This is very normal in Modern Standard Arabic:

• الرجل هنا = The man is here
• الرجال هنا = The men are here

If you want a past or future meaning, Arabic does use other words:

• كان الرجال هنا = The men were here

Is الرجال just the plural of رجل?

Yes. الرجال means the men, and its singular is رجل meaning man.

A useful point is that this is not a regular sound plural. It is a broken plural, which means the inside of the word changes rather than simply adding an ending.

• رجل = man
• رجال = men
• الرجال = the men

Broken plurals are extremely common in Arabic, so this pattern is something learners get used to over time.

Why does الرجال start with الـ?

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