هل المعرض المؤقت خلف قاعة العرض؟

هل is a particle used to make a yes/no question.

So:

• المعرض المؤقت خلف قاعة العرض = The temporary exhibition is behind the exhibition hall.
• هل المعرض المؤقت خلف قاعة العرض؟ = Is the temporary exhibition behind the exhibition hall?

Unlike English, Arabic does not need do/does for this kind of question. You just add هل at the beginning.

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

So Arabic says literally:

• The temporary exhibition behind the exhibition hall

but the meaning is:

• The temporary exhibition is behind the exhibition hall

This is very normal in Arabic. The missing is is understood automatically.

Because Arabic adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

Here:

• المعرض = the exhibition
• المؤقت = temporary

So:

• المعرض المؤقت = the temporary exhibition

This is the normal order in Arabic:

• noun first
• adjective second

Because the adjective must match the noun in definiteness.

Here, المعرض is definite because it has الـ:

• المعرض = the exhibition

Since المؤقت describes it, the adjective must also be definite:

• المؤقت = the temporary

So together:

• المعرض المؤقت = the temporary exhibition

If the noun were indefinite, the adjective would also be indefinite:

• معرض مؤقت = a temporary exhibition

There are two big clues:

1. Position
   المؤقت comes directly after المعرض, so it naturally describes it.

2. Agreement
   المعرض is masculine singular, and المؤقت is also masculine singular.
   But قاعة is feminine, so if the adjective described قاعة, you would expect a feminine form such as المؤقتة.

So المؤقت clearly goes with المعرض.

خلف means behind.

In grammar terms, it is often treated as an adverb of place or a preposition-like word. For a learner, the important point is:

• خلف + noun = behind + noun

So:

• خلف قاعة العرض = behind the exhibition hall

You can learn it much like a preposition:

• أمام = in front of
• خلف = behind
• فوق = above
• تحت = under

This is an iḍāfa construction, often called a possessive construction or noun-noun construction.

• قاعة = hall
• العرض = the display / the exhibition / the showing

Together:

• قاعة العرض = the exhibition hall / the display hall

In an iḍāfa:

• the first noun usually does not take الـ
• the second noun can be definite
• the whole phrase can still be definite

So قاعة العرض is definite even though قاعة itself does not have الـ.

Because in an iḍāfa, the definiteness of the whole phrase depends on the second noun.

Here:

• العرض is definite because it has الـ
• therefore قاعة العرض becomes definite as a whole

So:

• قاعة عرض could mean an exhibition hall
• قاعة العرض means the exhibition hall

This is a very common Arabic pattern.

This is a nominal sentence.

It can be divided like this:

• هل = question particle
• المعرض المؤقت = the subject/topic
• خلف قاعة العرض = the predicate/complement telling where it is

So the structure is basically:

• Is + [subject] + [location]?

More literally:

• Is the temporary exhibition behind the exhibition hall?

Yes, Arabic can sometimes change the order for emphasis or style.

The most neutral version is:

• هل المعرض المؤقت خلف قاعة العرض؟

You may also see other orders in some contexts, but for learners, this sentence is the clearest and most standard pattern:

• هل + subject + location?

So this is a very good model to copy when making similar questions.

A careful pronunciation would be approximately:

• hal al-maʿraḍ al-muʾaqqat khalf qāʿat al-ʿarḍ?

A few pronunciation notes:

• ع in معرض and قاعة is a consonant that does not exist in English.
• ؤ in المؤقت represents a hamza sound, so there is a small break: mu-ʾaq-qat
• خ in خلف is like the ch in Scottish loch or German Bach

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away, but it helps to notice these sounds early.