المعذرة، هل هذا كتابك؟

Here المعذرة is a polite expression meaning something like Excuse me, Pardon me, or Sorry.

A few useful points:

• It comes from the root related to excuse and forgiveness.
• In Modern Standard Arabic, it sounds polite and somewhat formal.
• It is often used to get someone’s attention before asking something.

So in this sentence, it functions as a courteous opener before the question.

The الـ is the Arabic definite article, usually meaning the. But in expressions like المعذرة, the whole phrase is often used as a fixed polite formula.

So although الـ normally means the, here it is best understood as part of the set expression rather than translated word-for-word.

هل is a yes/no question particle. It turns the statement that follows into a question.

So:

• هذا كتابك = This is your book
• هل هذا كتابك؟ = Is this your book?

Unlike English, Arabic does not need to change the word order or add a helping verb like is/do/does to make this kind of question. هل does that job.

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense in sentences like this.

So Arabic says:

• هذا كتابك
• literally: this your-book
• natural English: This is your book

This is very normal in Arabic. In the past or future, Arabic may use verbs such as كان and others, but in a simple present-tense sentence like this, no separate is is needed.

Because كتاب is a masculine singular noun, the demonstrative must match it.

• هذا = this for masculine singular
• هذه = this for feminine singular

Since كتاب means book and is masculine, هذا is the correct choice.

كتابك is made of:

• كتاب = book
• ـك = your

So كتابك literally means your book.

This is very important in Arabic: possessive pronouns are often attached directly to the noun as suffixes.

Examples:

• كتابي = my book
• كتابك = your book
• كتابه = his book

Because once a noun has a possessive suffix like ـك (your), it is already definite.

So:

• كتاب = a book / book
• كتابك = your book

In Arabic, you do not add الـ to a noun that already has a possessive suffix. So الكتابك is not correct.

It can be either in normal unvowelled writing.

In fully vowelled Arabic:

• كتابُكَ = your book (to one male)
• كتابُكِ = your book (to one female)

But when short vowels are omitted, both are written the same way: كتابك.

So the written sentence can address either a man or a woman; context tells you which one is meant.

هذا كتابك is the normal way to say This is your book.

It works as a simple identification sentence:

• هذا = this
• كتابك = your book

By contrast, كتابك هذا is a different structure and is more like this book of yours. That form is possible in some contexts, but it is not the neutral way to say This is your book.

So for this sentence, هذا كتابك is the natural choice.

A careful pronunciation would be:

al-maʿdhira, hal hādhā kitābuk?

A few pronunciation notes:

• ذ sounds like the th in this
• هٰذا has a long ā sound: hādhā
• ع in المعذرة has no exact English equivalent; learners often need time to get used to it
• If speaking to a woman, the end of كتابك would be pronounced -ki rather than -ka in fully vowelled Arabic

The question part would be:

هَلْ هٰذَا كِتَابُكَ؟

If speaking to a woman, it would be:

هَلْ هٰذَا كِتَابُكِ؟

In everyday Arabic writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you normally just see:

هل هذا كتابك؟

That is why learners often have to rely on grammar and context rather than spelling alone.