يجلس الشاهد بين العروس والعريس.

Because Arabic often uses verb–subject–object/complement order, especially in formal written Arabic.

So:

• يجلس الشاهد... = literally Sits the witness...
• Natural English translation: The witness sits...

Arabic could also say:

• الشاهد يجلس بين العروس والعريس

That is also correct, but it gives the sentence a slightly different flow or emphasis. In Modern Standard Arabic, starting with the verb is very common.

يجلس is the present/imperfect form of the verb جلس (to sit).

So يجلس can mean things like:

• he sits
• he is sitting
• he sits down (depending on context)
• sometimes even a habitual sense like he sits

In this sentence, it simply means he sits / is sitting.

Both can be correct. The Arabic imperfect tense often covers both:

• simple present: he sits
• present progressive: he is sitting

Arabic does not always force the same distinction English does. The exact meaning depends on context.

So without extra context, يجلس الشاهد could be understood as either:

• The witness sits
• The witness is sitting

الشاهد means the witness.

It comes from the root related to witnessing or testifying. In different contexts, شاهد can mean:

• witness
• observer
• sometimes even evidence or proof in certain uses

But in this sentence, the natural meaning is the witness.

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

So:

• شاهد = a witness / witness
• الشاهد = the witness

Since the meaning given is specific—the witness—Arabic uses الـ.

بين means between.

It is used as a preposition, so the words after it are in the genitive case.

In this sentence:

• بين العروس والعريس
• = between the bride and the groom

A very common pattern is:

• بين X و Y = between X and Y

So this sentence follows a very useful structure for learners.

Because the sentence refers to a specific bride and a specific groom.

So:

• العروس = the bride
• العريس = the groom

Arabic often matches English here. If English says the bride and the groom, Arabic normally uses الـ on both nouns.

و means and.

So:

• العروس والعريس
• = the bride and the groom

This is the standard Arabic way to join two nouns, just like English uses and.

Yes. If the sentence were fully vocalized, it would be:

يَجلِسُ الشّاهِدُ بَينَ العَروسِ وَالعَريسِ

The case endings are:

• الشاهدُ → nominative, because it is the subject
• العروسِ → genitive, because it comes after the preposition بين
• العريسِ → also genitive, for the same reason

In normal everyday Arabic writing, these short vowel endings are usually omitted, so learners often do not see them written.

Because it is the subject of the sentence.

In Arabic, the subject does not have to come first. Even when it comes after the verb, it still takes the nominative case.

So in:

• يجلس الشاهد

the verb is first, but الشاهد is still the one doing the action, so it is the subject and takes nominative case.

This is a very good question because الـ is not pronounced the same way with every letter.

In this sentence:

• الشاهد → pronounced ash-shāhid, not al-shāhid
  • because ش is a sun letter, so the l of الـ assimilates
• العروس → pronounced al-ʿarūs
  • because ع is a moon letter, so the l is pronounced
• العريس → pronounced al-ʿarīs
  • same reason: ع is a moon letter

So the three words are pronounced differently at the start:

• ash-shāhid
• al-ʿarūs
• al-ʿarīs

They are the pair:

• العروس = the bride
• العريس = the groom

A learner may notice that they sound somewhat similar, but they are different words:

• عروس refers to the bride
• عريس refers to the groom

Both are very common words in wedding-related contexts.

Yes.

You can say:

• يجلس الشاهد بين العروس والعريس
• الشاهد يجلس بين العروس والعريس

Both are grammatical.

A simple way to think about the difference:

• verb first is very common in formal Arabic
• subject first can feel a bit more like The witness is the one who sits...

The meaning stays basically the same here.

Yes.

الشاهد is a singular masculine noun, so the verb is also singular masculine:

• يجلس = he sits / is sitting

If the subject were dual or plural, the verb form could change depending on word order and sentence structure.

In this sentence, everything matches a singular masculine subject.

Usually بين expresses a relationship involving two sides or positions, so it is very often followed by two nouns:

• بين العروس والعريس = between the bride and the groom

But in broader usage, بين can also be used with plural groups or more abstract ideas, such as:

• بين الناس = among the people
• بين الحقيقة والخيال = between reality and imagination

So it does not always have to be exactly two concrete things, but the pattern بين X و Y is extremely common.

This is one of the big challenges for learners of Arabic.

Usually, you figure it out from:

• sentence structure
• your knowledge of grammar
• meaning and context

In this sentence, even without vowel marks, an experienced reader knows:

• يجلس is the verb
• الشاهد is the subject
• بين is a preposition
• العروس and العريس come after a preposition, so they are genitive

So although the written form is:

يجلس الشاهد بين العروس والعريس

the grammar underneath is understood as:

يَجلِسُ الشّاهِدُ بَينَ العَروسِ وَالعَريسِ