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Learn Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard): هذه وكالة كبيرة. - This is a large agency.

Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard)
/Planning a monthly household budget
/هذه وكالة كبيرة.

هذه وكالة كبيرة.

Word

هذه وكالة كبيرة.

Meaning

This is a large agency.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard)

Lesson

Planning a monthly household budget

Breakdown of هذه وكالة كبيرة.

وكالةwikâlah

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Questions & Answers about هذه وكالة كبيرة.

Why is هذه used here instead of هذا?

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.

How do I know that وكالة is feminine?

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.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

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.

Why does كبيرة come after وكالة?

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.

Why is it كبيرة and not كبير?

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

Why is وكالة indefinite even though the sentence starts with هذه?

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.

So is هذه وكالة كبيرة a sentence or just a phrase?

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

Why is there no ال on وكالة or كبيرة?

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

Do adjectives in Arabic also have to match definiteness?

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

How would this sentence look with full vowels?

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

How is هذه pronounced?

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

How is وكالة pronounced?

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.

Can I say هذه وكالة كبيرة to mean This agency is big?

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.

What is the basic grammar pattern of this sentence?

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:

the whole sentence
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

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