الطفل جائع.

The child is hungry.

Breakdown of الطفل جائع.

• طفل: child
• جائع: hungry

Questions & Answers about الطفل جائع.

Why isn’t there a word for is in الطفل جائع?

In Modern Standard Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not stated.

So instead of saying The child is hungry with a separate word for is, Arabic simply says:

الطفل جائع

This is called a nominal sentence.
If you want the past or future, Arabic does use other words, for example:

• كان الطفل جائعًا = The child was hungry
• سيكون الطفل جائعًا = The child will be hungry

What does الـ in الطفل mean?

الـ is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

So:

• طفل = a child / child
• الطفل = the child

In this sentence, الطفل is definite because it refers to the child.

Why doesn’t جائع also have الـ?