هذه المحكمة كبيرة.

Because المحكمة is a feminine singular noun in Arabic, and the demonstrative this has to match it.

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

So:

• هذا كتاب = this is a book / this book
• هذه المحكمة = this is the court / this court

Even if the thing is not biologically female, many Arabic nouns are grammatically feminine, and محكمة is one of them.

A very common clue is the ending ـة (called taa marbuuTa, ة).

The noun محكمة ends in ـة, which usually marks a noun as feminine in Arabic. So it takes feminine agreement:

• هذه المحكمة
• المحكمة كبيرة

The adjective also becomes feminine: كبيرة rather than كبير.

This ending is one of the most useful things to watch for when learning Arabic gender.

In Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not stated in simple sentences like this.

So:

• هذه المحكمة كبيرة literally looks like this court big
• but it means This court is big

This is completely normal in Arabic. In the present tense, Arabic often leaves out is / am / are.

Compare:

• البيت كبير = The house is big
• المدينة جميلة = The city is beautiful

If you want past or future, then Arabic uses a verb:

• كانت المحكمة كبيرة = The court was big
• ستكون المحكمة كبيرة = The court will be big

Because adjectives in Arabic must agree with the noun they describe in gender and usually also number.

Since المحكمة is feminine singular, the adjective must also be feminine singular:

• masculine: كبير
• feminine: كبيرة

So:

• المحكمة كبيرة = The court is big
• الكتاب كبير = The book is big

This kind of agreement is one of the most important patterns in Arabic.

Because المحكمة is the noun the court, while كبيرة is the predicate adjective big in a sentence meaning is big.

In Arabic, when an adjective directly describes a noun inside a noun phrase, it usually matches the noun in definiteness too:

• المحكمة الكبيرة = the big court

Here both words are definite.

But in your sentence, كبيرة is not part of the noun phrase the big court. It is the predicate of the sentence:

• هذه المحكمة كبيرة = This court is big

So كبيرة stays indefinite.

A useful contrast:

• هذه المحكمة الكبيرة = this big court
• هذه المحكمة كبيرة = this court is big

Yes. هذه المحكمة works together as a noun phrase meaning this court.

You can think of the sentence as:

• هذه المحكمة = this court
• كبيرة = big

So the whole sentence is:

• This court
  • is big

In traditional Arabic grammar, this is a nominal sentence:

• هذه المحكمة is the subject-like part
• كبيرة is the predicate-like part

So yes, هذه المحكمة functions as one unit.

In standard Arabic, when a demonstrative like هذا / هذه comes before a noun, that noun is usually definite, so it normally takes الـ.

That is why you get:

• هذا الكتاب = this book
• هذه المحكمة = this court

Using هذه محكمة would usually not be the standard way to say this court in Modern Standard Arabic.

So for learners, the safe pattern is:

• هذا + ال + masculine noun
• هذه + ال + feminine noun

A common pronunciation in careful Modern Standard Arabic is:

hādhihi al-maḥkamatu kabīratun

In normal everyday reading and speaking, the case endings are often not pronounced, so you will also hear something like:

hādhihi al-maḥkama kabīra

A few pronunciation notes:

• هذه = hādhihi
• الـ in المحكمة is pronounced clearly here because م is a moon letter
• ح in محكمة is a deep h sound, not the ordinary English h
• خ/ح/ع/غ often need extra practice for English speakers, and here ح is one of those important sounds

In fully inflected Arabic, the sentence would typically be:

هَذِهِ الْمَحْكَمَةُ كَبِيرَةٌ

Transliteration:

hādhihi al-maḥkamatu kabīratun

Why these endings?

• المحكمةُ gets ـُ because it is the subject of a nominal sentence
• كبيرةٌ gets ـٌ because it is the predicate and is indefinite

You often will not see or pronounce these endings in ordinary modern texts, but they are important in formal grammar.

They mean different things.

1. هذه المحكمة كبيرة

   • This court is big
   • complete sentence

2. هذه المحكمة الكبيرة

   • this big court
   • noun phrase, not a complete sentence by itself

In the second one, الكبيرة is an adjective directly attached to المحكمة, so it must match in definiteness too:

• المحكمة = definite
• الكبيرة = definite

In the first one, كبيرة is the predicate, so it stays indefinite.

Yes, but the basic learner-friendly order here is very natural:

• هذه المحكمة كبيرة

This starts with this court, then gives information about it: big.

Arabic can sometimes vary word order for style or emphasis, but for a beginner, this sentence is best learned as a standard nominal sentence with:

• subject/topic first
• predicate after it

So the simplest pattern to remember is:

• هذا البيت صغير
• هذه المدرسة جديدة
• هذه المحكمة كبيرة

محكمة usually means court in the legal/judicial sense.

So هذه المحكمة كبيرة most naturally means:

• This court is big

Depending on context, it could refer to:

• the court as an institution
• the courthouse building
• a particular court within a legal system

But in most beginner contexts, just understanding محكمة = court is enough.

It is a demonstrative word, meaning this.

In beginner terms, you can think of it as the Arabic equivalent of this in this court.

Traditional grammar gives demonstratives their own category, but for practical learning, the key point is:

• هذه points to a feminine singular noun
• it comes before the noun in this kind of phrase

So in:

• هذه المحكمة

هذه means this, and the whole phrase means this court.