Breakdown of هل ثمن القميص رخيص في هذا المتجر؟
Questions & Answers about هل ثمن القميص رخيص في هذا المتجر؟
What does هل do in this sentence?
هل turns the sentence into a yes/no question.
So هل ثمن القميص رخيص…؟ means “Is the price of the shirt cheap…?” (expecting an answer like نعم / لا).
Why is there no verb meaning “is” (like to be)?
In Modern Standard Arabic, the present tense “to be” is usually not written.
This is a nominal sentence:
- ثمن القميص = the subject (what we’re talking about)
- رخيص = the predicate (what we say about it)
What is the grammatical structure of ثمن القميص?
It’s an iḍāfa (construct phrase) meaning “the price of the shirt.”
- ثمنُ = “price (of …)” (the first noun in iḍāfa)
- القميصِ = “the shirt” (the second noun, in genitive)
Why doesn’t ثمن have الـ even though the meaning is “the price”?
In an iḍāfa, the first noun typically does not take الـ. Its definiteness comes from the second noun.
Because القميص is definite (has الـ), ثمن القميص as a whole is understood as definite: “the price of the shirt.”
Why is رخيص masculine and not feminine (رخيصة)?
The adjective agrees with the noun it describes: here it describes ثمن (price), not القميص (shirt).
- ثمن is masculine singular, so the adjective is رخيص (masc. sg.).
If you asked about the shirt itself, you could say: هل القميص رخيص؟ (still masculine because قميص is masculine).
Should رخيص be definite (الرخيص) since ثمن القميص is definite?
Normally, in this kind of nominal sentence, the predicate adjective is indefinite:
- ثمن القميص رخيصٌ = “The price of the shirt is cheap.”
Making it definite (الرخيص) would usually change the feel toward something like identification/emphasis and is not the normal choice here.
How would this sentence sound with full case endings (iʿrāb)?
A fully vowelled reading is commonly:
هل ثمنُ القميصِ رخيصٌ في هذا المتجرِ؟
- ثمنُ (subject, often ḍamma)
- القميصِ (second term of iḍāfa, genitive / kasra)
- رخيصٌ (predicate, often tanwīn ḍamm)
- المتجرِ (after في, genitive)
What’s a good transliteration/pronunciation guide?
One reasonable transliteration is:
hal thamanu l-qamīṣi rakhīṣ(un) fī hādhā l-matjar(i)?
Notes:
- th in thaman is like English thin.
- kh in rakhīṣ is a throaty sound (not English k).
- The (un)/(i) endings are often not pronounced in everyday speech, but they’re part of formal MSA.
Why is it في هذا المتجر and not something like “this store” without في?
في means “in” and introduces a location phrase: “in this store.”
Without في, هذا المتجر would be a noun phrase (“this store”) and would need a different structure to attach it to the sentence.
Why is it هذا and not هذه?
هذا is the demonstrative for masculine singular nouns.
متجر (store/shop) is masculine, so: هذا المتجر.
If the noun were feminine (e.g., هذه السيارة = “this car”), you’d use هذه.
Is ثمن the only word for “price”? What about سعر?
Both exist and are common:
- ثمن often means “price/cost” and can sound slightly more formal/classical.
- سعر is also very common for “price” (especially in everyday contexts).
You could also ask: هل سعر القميص رخيص في هذا المتجر؟ (same overall idea).
How could I answer this question naturally in Arabic?
Common yes/no answers (MSA-leaning) include:
- نعم، ثمنه رخيص. = “Yes, its price is cheap.”
- لا، ثمنه ليس رخيصًا. = “No, its price is not cheap.”
- لا، ثمنه غالٍ. = “No, its price is expensive.”
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