هذا مكتب خاص.

this

Breakdown of هذا مكتب خاص.

• المكتب: office
• خاص: private; special

Questions & Answers about هذا مكتب خاص.

How is هذا مكتب خاص pronounced?

In careful Modern Standard Arabic, it is pronounced:

hādhā maktabun khāṣṣun

A few notes:

• هذا = hādhā = this
• مكتب = maktab
• خاص = khāṣṣ

Pronunciation tips:

• kh is like the sound in German Bach or Scottish loch
• ṣ is an emphatic s
• the doubled ṣṣ in خاصّ means that sound is held a little longer

In everyday speech or in unvocalized reading, learners often say it more simply as hādhā maktab khāṣṣ.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Because Arabic usually does not use a present-tense verb to be in sentences like this.

So:

• هذا مكتب خاص literally looks like this office private
• but the natural English meaning is This is a private office

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

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

• كان هذا مكتبًا خاصًّا = This was a private office

Why is it and not ?