Word
السنة تبدأ اليوم.
Meaning
The year begins today.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about السنة تبدأ اليوم.
Why is the verb تبدأ and not يبدأ?
Because السنة (the year) is a feminine singular noun in Arabic, and the verb agrees with it in gender.
- السنة = feminine
- تبدأ = she/it begins or it starts for a feminine singular subject
So:
- السنة تبدأ اليوم = The year starts today
If the subject were a masculine noun, you would usually expect يبدأ instead.
Is السنة really feminine? Why?
Yes. سنة is grammatically feminine in Arabic.
One clue is the ending ـة (tāʾ marbūṭa), which very often marks feminine nouns:
- سنة = year
- مدرسة = school
- مدينة = city
So even though year is not feminine in English, Arabic treats سنة as feminine, and the verb must match that.
What is the literal word-for-word order of السنة تبدأ اليوم?
Literally, it is:
- السنة = the year
- تبدأ = begins / starts
- اليوم = today
So the word order is:
- The year begins today
This is very close to normal English word order in this case.