الفيلم ممتاز.

In Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually omitted in simple statements.

So الفيلم ممتاز literally looks like the film excellent, but it means The film is excellent.

Arabic does use a verb for was / will be, for example:

• كان الفيلم ممتازًا = The film was excellent
• سيكون الفيلم ممتازًا = The film will be excellent

ال is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

So:

• فيلم = a film / film
• الفيلم = the film

In Arabic, ال is attached directly to the noun, not written as a separate word.

A good simple pronunciation is:

al-fīlm mumtāz

A more careful full MSA pronunciation with case endings is:

al-fīlmu mumtāzun

A few helpful notes:

• فيلم has a long ī sound: fīlm
• ممتاز has a long ā sound: mumtāz
• In normal pause at the end of a sentence, the final short vowels are usually not pronounced, so learners often hear al-fīlm mumtāz

Because these mean different things.

• الفيلم ممتاز = The film is excellent
• الفيلم الممتاز = the excellent film

In الفيلم ممتاز, ممتاز is the predicate of the sentence, not just an adjective attached to the noun.

In الفيلم الممتاز, الممتاز is a regular adjective describing الفيلم, so it must match it in definiteness.

Because ممتاز is not functioning here as a definite adjective inside a noun phrase. It is the second part of a nominal sentence.

Arabic often builds sentences like this:

• definite noun/topic first: الفيلم
• predicate second: ممتاز

So the pattern is:

المبتدأ + الخبر
subject/topic + predicate

The predicate is usually indefinite, so ممتاز does not take ال here.

This is a very important difference:

• فيلم ممتاز = an excellent film / excellent film
  This is a noun phrase, not a full sentence.
• الفيلم ممتاز = The film is excellent
  This is a complete sentence.

So adding ال to فيلم changes it from a general phrase to a specific subject: the film.

With full endings, the sentence is:

الفيلمُ ممتازٌ

Why?

• الفيلمُ is the subject/topic of the nominal sentence, so it is in the nominative
• ممتازٌ is the predicate, and it is also nominative

In everyday reading, writing, and speech, these endings are often omitted, so you usually just see:

الفيلم ممتاز

Yes. Predicates like ممتاز usually agree with the subject.

Examples:

• القصة ممتازة = The story is excellent
  Feminine singular → ممتازة
• الممثلون ممتازون = The actors are excellent
  Masculine sound plural → ممتازون
• الممثلات ممتازات = The actresses are excellent
  Feminine plural → ممتازات

A useful MSA note:

• With many non-human plurals, Arabic often uses feminine singular agreement:
  • الأفلام ممتازة = The films are excellent

No. In normal MSA, الفيلم ممتاز is the correct basic sentence.

English needs is, but Arabic usually does not use a present-tense copula in this kind of sentence.

So:

• natural: الفيلم ممتاز
• not the normal beginner form: الفيلم هو ممتاز

You may sometimes see a pronoun used for emphasis or special structure, but as a learner, the safest pattern is simply:

noun + predicate
الفيلم ممتاز