الوكالة في المدينة.

The agency is in the city.

Breakdown of الوكالة في المدينة.

• في: in
• المدينة: city
• وكالة: agency

Questions & Answers about الوكالة في المدينة.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

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

So الوكالة في المدينة literally looks like the agency in the city, but it means the agency is in the city.

This is called a nominal sentence in Arabic. The meaning of is is understood automatically.

If you wanted a past tense, Arabic would use a verb, for example كانت الوكالة في المدينة = The agency was in the city.

What does الـ mean in الوكالة and المدينة?

الـ is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

So:

• وكالة = an agency / agency
• الوكالة = the agency
• مدينة = a city / city
• المدينة = the city

In this sentence, both nouns are definite:

• الوكالة = the agency
• المدينة = the city

What does في mean here?