هذا المجلس كبير.

It is a very common Arabic sentence pattern:

• هذا = this
• المجلس = the council / the assembly / the sitting room (depending on context)
• كبير = big / large

So the structure is:

• demonstrative
  • noun
    • description/predicate

In traditional Arabic grammar, هذا المجلس is the subject part, and كبير is the predicate.

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

So:

• هذا المجلس كبير = This council is big

There is no separate word for is in the present tense.

But in other tenses, Arabic does use a verb:

• كان هذا المجلس كبيرًا = This council was big

So the missing is is completely normal in Arabic.

In Arabic, words that describe nouns usually come after the noun, not before it.

So Arabic says something like:

• the council big

However, in this sentence, كبير is not just an adjective inside a noun phrase; it is the predicate of the sentence: The council is big.

Compare:

• المجلس الكبير = the big council
  Here الكبير is an adjective directly modifying the noun.

• المجلس كبير = the council is big
  Here كبير is the predicate.

So the same describing word can appear after the noun in both cases, but the grammar is different.

Because كبير here is a predicate, not an attributive adjective.

In Arabic:

• If an adjective directly modifies a noun, it usually matches it in definiteness:

  • المجلس الكبير = the big council

• If the word is the predicate in a sentence, it is usually indefinite:

  • المجلس كبير = the council is big

So كبير does not take الـ here, because it is saying something about the council rather than forming one unit with it.

هذا is the demonstrative this for a singular masculine noun.

That means it must match the noun it points to:

• هذا المجلس = this council
  because المجلس is singular masculine

If the noun were feminine, you would use:

• هذه = this (for singular feminine)

So agreement matters in Arabic much more visibly than in English.

You can say هذا by itself if the noun is understood from context, just like English this.

But when you want to say this council, Arabic commonly uses:

• هذا المجلس

So هذا points to the noun, and المجلس tells you what the thing is.

This is very normal and natural in Arabic.

In standard written Arabic, the normal order is:

• هذا المجلس

Putting هذا after the noun is generally not the standard MSA way to say this council.

So for Modern Standard Arabic, you should learn:

• هذا المجلس = this council

not:

• المجلس هذا for standard formal usage

(Some spoken dialects may allow different patterns, but that is a separate issue.)

Fully vowelled, it would usually be:

• هٰذَا الْمَجْلِسُ كَبِيرٌ

A simpler typed version is:

• هذا المجلسُ كبيرٌ

The endings show the grammar:

• المجلسُ = subject, nominative
• كبيرٌ = predicate, nominative

In everyday writing, these short vowel endings are usually omitted, so you normally see:

• هذا المجلس كبير

It is pronounced approximately:

• al-maj-lis

A more careful transliteration is:

• al-majlis

A few pronunciation notes:

• ال here is pronounced al-
• م = m
• ج in MSA is usually like English j in judge
• لِ sounds like li
• The stress is usually on the first syllable of majlis

So: al-MAJ-lis

No. In المجلس, the ل in الـ is pronounced clearly:

• al-majlis

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

So unlike words where الـ assimilates, here it stays fully pronounced.

For example:

• الشمس is pronounced ash-shams
• but المجلس is pronounced al-majlis

المجلس comes from a root related to sitting.

Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• council
• assembly
• session
• sitting room / reception room

So the exact English translation depends on the situation. The grammar of the sentence stays the same either way.

It has a wider range of meanings than just physical size. كبير can mean:

• big
• large
• great
• important
• senior / older in some contexts

In هذا المجلس كبير, the most likely meaning is simply big/large, but context could sometimes suggest something more like important.

You would say:

• هذا المجلس الكبير

Here الكبير is an adjective directly modifying المجلس, so it becomes definite to match the noun.

Compare carefully:

• هذا المجلس كبير = This council is big
• هذا المجلس الكبير = This big council

That distinction is very important in Arabic.

It is a nominal sentence.

Arabic sentences are often divided into:

• verbal sentences: start with a verb
• nominal sentences: start with a noun-like element

Since this sentence starts with هذا المجلس, not a verb, it is a nominal sentence.

This type is extremely common for simple statements like:

• البيت جميل = The house is beautiful
• الولد طويل = The boy is tall
• هذا المجلس كبير = This council is big

Usually, no in normal speech.

In careful recitation or very formal reading, you may hear:

• هٰذا المَجلِسُ كَبِيرٌ

But in most ordinary situations, speakers pause or speak without full case endings, and it will sound more like:

• hādhā al-majlis kabīr

So as a learner of MSA, it is good to know the endings, but also good to know that they are often not fully pronounced in everyday use.