شريط القياس على الطاولة.

The tape measure is on the table.

Breakdown of شريط القياس على الطاولة.

• على: on
• الطاولة: table
• شريط قياس: tape measure

Questions & Answers about شريط القياس على الطاولة.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

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

So شريط القياس على الطاولة literally looks like:

• tape measure
• on the table

But in natural English, that becomes The tape measure is on the table.

This is a very normal Arabic pattern called a nominal sentence: a noun or noun phrase followed by information about it.

Is شريط القياس على الطاولة a full sentence or just a phrase?

It can be understood as a full sentence.

The structure is:

• شريط القياس = the tape measure
• على الطاولة = on the table

So the second part tells you where the first part is, which makes it a complete statement.

Grammatically, this is a nominal sentence with:

• مبتدأ (topic/subject): شريط القياس
• خبر (predicate): على الطاولة

What does شريط القياس mean grammatically?

شريط القياس is an iḍāfa construction, often called a genitive construction or noun-noun construction.

Literally, it is:

• = strip / tape