هذا الشهر أنا مشغول في العمل.

This month I am busy at work.

Breakdown of هذا الشهر أنا مشغول في العمل.

• هذا: this
• أنا: I
• في: at/in
• العمل: work

Questions & Answers about هذا الشهر أنا مشغول في العمل.

Why is there no word for am in هذا الشهر أنا مشغول في العمل?

In Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually not stated.

So:

• أنا مشغول literally looks like I busy
• but it means I am busy

This is normal in Arabic nominal sentences. If you wanted a past meaning, you would use a form of كان:

• كنت مشغولًا = I was busy

So in the present, Arabic often just puts the subject and the description next to each other.

What does هذا الشهر mean literally, and why is هذا used?

هذا الشهر means this month.

Breakdown:

• هذا = this
• الشهر = the month

Arabic demonstratives like this must agree with the noun in gender and number.
شهر is a masculine singular noun, so هذا is the correct form.

Compare:

• هذا الكتاب = this book (masculine)
• هذه السيارة = this car (feminine)

So هذا الشهر is the normal way to say this month.

Why does الشهر have الـ in ?