هذه وكالة كبيرة.

هذه is the feminine singular form of this in Modern Standard Arabic.

The noun وكالة is feminine, so the demonstrative has to match it:

• هذا = this (masculine)
• هذه = this (feminine)

Because وكالة is feminine, Arabic uses هذه وكالة كبيرة.

A very common clue is the ة at the end of وكالة. That ending, called taa marbuuTa, often marks a feminine noun.

The main clue is the ending ة.

In Arabic, many nouns ending in ة are feminine, including:

• وكالة = agency
• سيارة = car
• مدرسة = school

So when you see وكالة, you should expect feminine agreement with words connected to it, such as:

• هذه instead of هذا
• كبيرة instead of كبير

Not every feminine noun ends in ة, and not every word ending in ة behaves the same way in all situations, but this is a very strong and useful pattern.

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

So:

• هذه وكالة كبيرة literally looks like this agency big
• but it means This is a big agency

This is called a nominal sentence. Arabic often leaves out is / am / are in the present tense.

Compare:

• هذه وكالة كبيرة = This is a big agency.
• الوكالة كبيرة = The agency is big.

But in the past or future, Arabic does use words equivalent to was or will be, such as كان.

Because adjectives normally come after the noun in Arabic.

So:

• وكالة كبيرة = a big agency

This is the normal order:

• noun + adjective

Compare:

• بيت كبير = a big house
• سيارة جديدة = a new car
• وكالة كبيرة = a big agency

This is different from English, where the adjective usually comes before the noun.

Because the adjective must agree with the noun it describes.

Since وكالة is:

• singular
• feminine
• indefinite

the adjective must also be:

• singular
• feminine
• indefinite

So:

• كبير = big (masculine singular)
• كبيرة = big (feminine singular)

That is why Arabic says:

• وكالة كبيرة

not:

• وكالة كبير

Arabic adjectives usually agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• definiteness
• case

This is a very common question.

In هذه وكالة كبيرة, هذه is not making وكالة definite in the same way English this does inside a noun phrase. Instead, the whole expression is functioning as a sentence:

• هذه = this
• وكالة كبيرة = a big agency

So the meaning is:

• This is a big agency

Here, وكالة is the predicate of the sentence, and it stays indefinite.

If you wanted to say this big agency as a single noun phrase, you would normally say:

• هذه الوكالة الكبيرة

So compare:

• هذه وكالة كبيرة = This is a big agency.
• هذه الوكالة الكبيرة = This big agency.

That distinction is very important.

It is normally understood as a full sentence:

• هذه وكالة كبيرة = This is a big agency.

It is not usually read as the phrase this big agency. For that phrase, Arabic would usually use definiteness on the noun and adjective:

• هذه الوكالة الكبيرة = this big agency

A useful shortcut:

• demonstrative + indefinite noun often gives a sentence meaning like this is ...
• demonstrative + definite noun + definite adjective gives a noun phrase like this big agency

Because the sentence is talking about a big agency, not the big agency.

In Arabic:

• ال makes a noun or adjective definite

So:

• وكالة كبيرة = a big agency
• الوكالة الكبيرة = the big agency

Since this sentence means This is a big agency, both the noun and the adjective are indefinite.

If you add ال, the meaning changes:

• هذه الوكالة الكبيرة = this big agency

Yes. This is one of the most important adjective rules in Arabic.

If the noun is indefinite, the adjective is also indefinite:

• وكالة كبيرة = a big agency

If the noun is definite, the adjective must also be definite:

• الوكالة الكبيرة = the big agency

So Arabic does not say:

• الوكالة كبيرة if you mean the big agency

Because الوكالة كبيرة actually means:

• The agency is big

That is a sentence, not a noun phrase.

This is a very useful contrast:

• الوكالة الكبيرة = the big agency
• الوكالة كبيرة = the agency is big

With full case endings and vowel marks, it would usually be written:

هٰذِهِ وَكَالَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ

This shows:

• هٰذِهِ = this (feminine)
• وَكَالَةٌ = an agency
• كَبِيرَةٌ = big

The -ٌ ending on وكالةٌ and كبيرةٌ marks indefiniteness in formal fully vocalized Arabic.

In normal everyday Arabic writing, these short vowel endings are usually omitted, so you typically see:

هذه وكالة كبيرة

In Modern Standard Arabic, هذه is usually pronounced roughly as haadhihi.

A learner-friendly breakdown is:

• ها = haa
• ذِ = dhi
• هِ = hi

So: haadhihi

Some important notes:

• The letter ذ sounds like the th in this
• In careful MSA, the final هِ is pronounced
• In pause or less formal reading, pronunciation may be simplified a bit depending on the speaker

وكالة is usually pronounced wakaalah in pause, or more fully wakaalatun with case endings in formal reading.

A simple breakdown:

• و = wa
• كا = kaa
• لة = lah / latun depending on context

So you can think of it as:

• wakaalah in normal pause
• wakaalatun in fully inflected formal pronunciation

The final ة is the special feminine ending. On its own in pause, it sounds like -ah. When grammatical endings are pronounced, it behaves like -at before the ending.

Not usually. هذه وكالة كبيرة is normally understood as:

• This is a big agency

If you want to say:

• This agency is big

you would normally say:

• هذه الوكالة كبيرة

Here is the contrast:

• هذه وكالة كبيرة = This is a big agency.
• هذه الوكالة كبيرة = This agency is big.

The presence or absence of ال changes the structure and meaning a lot.

A simple way to analyze it is:

• هذه = subject-like element: this
• وكالة كبيرة = predicate: a big agency

So the pattern is:

• demonstrative + noun phrase

and the meaning comes out as:

• This is a big agency

Inside the predicate:

• وكالة is the noun
• كبيرة is the adjective describing it

So you are really seeing two layers:

1. the whole sentence
2. the noun + adjective combination inside it

That makes this sentence a very useful beginner example, because it shows:

• a demonstrative
• a nominal sentence
• adjective agreement
• noun-adjective word order