Breakdown of الساعة في المكتب قريبة من الحاسوب.
Questions & Answers about الساعة في المكتب قريبة من الحاسوب.
Why is there no verb meaning “is” in this sentence?
Modern Standard Arabic commonly uses a nominal sentence (جملة اسمية) in the present tense with no explicit “to be” verb.
So الساعة … قريبة literally reads “the clock … near” = “the clock is near …”.
(You would use a verb like كان in the past: كانت الساعة… قريبةً… = “The clock was…”)
What are the subject and predicate here?
- Subject (مبتدأ): الساعة (the clock)
- Predicate (خبر): قريبة من الحاسوب (near the computer)
- في المكتب (in the office) is a prepositional phrase that describes where the clock is, and it sits between subject and predicate.
Why is قريبة feminine?
Because it agrees with الساعة, which is grammatically feminine.
So you use:
- masculine: قريب
- feminine: قريبة
If the subject were masculine (e.g., الكتاب), you’d say الكتاب قريب…
Why is قريبة not definite (no الـ) even though الساعة is definite?
In Arabic nominal sentences, when the subject is definite (like الساعة), the predicate is very often indefinite (like قريبة) to express a description:
الساعة … قريبة = “The clock is (a) near one / is near.”
You can make the predicate definite in some contexts, but it typically changes the nuance (often toward identification or emphasis), and in many simple descriptive sentences you keep the predicate indefinite.
What do في and من mean here, and why are both used?
- في المكتب = in the office (location of the clock)
- قريبة من الحاسوب = close to the computer (relative position)
Arabic commonly uses قريب/قريبة من for “near (to)”, so من is the standard preposition after قريب/قريبة.
Can I also say بالقرب من الحاسوب instead of قريبة من الحاسوب?
Yes. Both are common:
- قريبة من الحاسوب = “(it is) close to the computer”
- بالقرب من الحاسوب = “near the computer” (more like “in the vicinity of”)
They’re very similar in meaning; بالقرب من is a fixed prepositional expression.
Does الساعة mean “clock” or “hour” here?
الساعة can mean both “the clock” and “the hour”, but in this sentence, because it’s described as being near the computer, the natural meaning is “the clock.”
If you meant “the hour,” you’d usually be talking about time, not physical location.
What would the full sentence look like with case endings (iʿrāb)?
With full endings (as in careful MSA): السّاعةُ في المكتبِ قريبةٌ من الحاسوبِ.
- السّاعةُ: subject → nominative -u
- المكتبِ: after في → genitive -i
- قريبةٌ: predicate → nominative -un (tanwīn because it’s indefinite)
- الحاسوبِ: after من → genitive -i
In most modern writing and speech, these endings are usually not shown/pronounced.
Why is the word order الساعة في المكتب قريبة… and not الساعة قريبة… في المكتب?
Both are possible. Arabic often places a location phrase like في المكتب early to set the scene.
- الساعة في المكتب قريبة من الحاسوب: “The clock in the office is close to the computer.”
- الساعة قريبة من الحاسوب في المكتب: also grammatical, but it can sound like “near the computer in the office”, making في المكتب feel attached to the computer instead of the clock, depending on context.
Could I say ساعة المكتب instead of الساعة في المكتب?
You can, but it changes the meaning:
- الساعة في المكتب = “the clock that is located in the office”
- ساعةُ المكتب (iḍāfa) = “the office’s clock” / “the clock of the office”
The iḍāfa version emphasizes ownership/association, not just location.
How is this sentence pronounced (roughly), and does الـ assimilate anywhere?
A careful pronunciation (approx.) is:
as-sāʿa(tu) fī l-maktab(i) qarība(tun) mina l-ḥāsūb(i)
Assimilation: الـ assimilates with “sun letters.”
- In السّاعة, س is a sun letter → as-sāʿa (the l sound disappears into s)
- In المكتب and الحاسوب, م and ح are moon letters → the l is pronounced: al-maktab, al-ḥāsūb
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