الكم واسع.

The sleeve is loose.

Breakdown of الكم واسع.

• كم: a sleeve
• واسع: loose; wide

Questions & Answers about الكم واسع.

What kind of sentence is الكم واسع grammatically?

It is a nominal sentence in Arabic, meaning a sentence built without a finite verb in the present tense.

Its two main parts are:

• الكم — the subject of the sentence
• واسع — the predicate describing the subject

In traditional Arabic grammar, these are called:

• مبتدأ for the subject
• خبر for the predicate

So the structure is simply:

• the sleeve
  • wide

which gives the meaning already shown to the learner.

Why is there no word for is?

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense.

So instead of saying:

• the sleeve is wide

Arabic simply says:

• the sleeve wide

This is completely normal in Modern Standard Arabic.

If you wanted a past or future meaning, Arabic would usually use a verb, for example:

• كان الكم واسعًا — the sleeve was wide

So in the present tense, leaving out is is standard.

Why does الكم have الـ but واسع does not?