يقرأ القاضي القانون.

Because verb–subject–object order is very common in Modern Standard Arabic.

So:

• يقرأ = reads
• القاضي = the judge
• القانون = the law

Literally, the structure is:

• reads the judge the law

But in natural English, we translate it as The judge reads the law.

Arabic can also use subject–verb–object order:

• القاضي يقرأ القانون

That also means The judge reads the law, but the word order can slightly change the style or emphasis.

There are two main clues:

1. Word order

   • In this sentence, the usual Arabic pattern is:
     • verb + subject + object
   • So after the verb يقرأ, the next noun is normally the doer of the action: القاضي.

2. Case endings in fully vowelled Arabic

   • Full form:
     • يَقْرَأُ القَاضِي القَانُونَ
   • القاضي is the subject.
   • القانونَ ends with fatḥa and is the object.

In everyday unvowelled writing, you often rely mostly on grammar and context, but in fully vocalized Arabic the endings make the roles clearer.

Because it is the direct object, and direct objects in Arabic are usually in the accusative case.

So:

• القانونُ = nominative
• القانونَ = accusative
• القانونِ = genitive

In this sentence, the law is what is being read, so it is the object:

• يقرأ القاضي القانونَ

That final -a sound is the normal accusative ending for a singular noun.

This is a very common learner question.

القاضي is a type of noun called a defective noun. It ends in ي / ى-like long ī sound in pronunciation, and its case marking works a little differently from many regular nouns.

For القاضي:

• nominative: القاضي
• genitive: القاضي
• accusative: القاضيَ in full vocalization

So in the nominative and genitive, the form often looks the same in normal spelling.

That means even though القاضي is the subject here, you do not see an obvious -u sound the way you would with a regular noun like:

• الولدُ = the boy

Instead, the noun keeps the -ī ending:

• القاضي = the judge

It is pronounced approximately:

• yaqraʾu

A rough breakdown:

• ya- = يَ
• qra = قْرَ
• ʾu = final hamza with u

The important thing for English speakers is the hamza in يقرأ. That little break is a real consonant sound, like a catch in the throat.

So it is not smoothly yaqra only; it is more like:

• yaq-ra-ʾu

The root is ق ر أ, which is related to reading.

The dictionary form is the past tense verb:

• قرأ = he read

From that verb, the present tense form here is:

• يقرأ = he reads / he is reading

In this sentence, since the subject is القاضي (the judge), the verb is in the 3rd person masculine singular form.

Because the subject القاضي is singular:

• القاضي = the judge = one male judge

So the verb is also singular:

• يقرأ = he reads

If the subject were dual or plural, the verb form could change accordingly. For example:

• يقرأ القاضي = the judge reads
• يقرأ القاضيان = the two judges read
• يقرأ القضاة = the judges read in common VSO structure, the verb may still stay singular in form before a plural subject

This is one of the important grammar patterns in Arabic.

Because both nouns are definite:

• القاضي = the judge
• القانون = the law

The prefix الـ is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to English the.

Without الـ, you would get something more like:

• قاضٍ = a judge
• قانونٌ = a law

So the sentence specifically refers to the judge and the law, not just any judge or any law.

No. In both words, الـ keeps its l sound.

That is because ق is a moon letter, not a sun letter.

So you pronounce:

• al-qāḍī
• al-qānūn

Compare that with a sun-letter word like الشمس, where the l sound is not pronounced separately.

Here, however, you do pronounce the l:

• القاضي = al-qāḍī
• القانون = al-qānūn

Yes. In many contexts, the Arabic present tense can mean either:

• The judge reads the law or
• The judge is reading the law

Arabic does not always make the same simple present vs. present progressive distinction that English does.

So يقرأ القاضي القانون can express either a general present or an ongoing present, depending on context.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are grammatical:

• يقرأ القاضي القانون
• القاضي يقرأ القانون

The first is a common verbal sentence pattern:

• verb + subject + object

The second is often treated as a nominal sentence followed by a predicate:

• subject + verb + object

Both can mean The judge reads the law. The difference is mainly one of sentence structure and sometimes emphasis or style, not basic meaning.