ما اسم هذا الشارع؟

What is the name of this street?

Breakdown of ما اسم هذا الشارع؟

• هذا: this
• ما: what
• اسم: name
• الشارع: street

Questions & Answers about ما اسم هذا الشارع؟

What does each word in ما اسم هذا الشارع؟ do?

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• ما = what
• اسم = name
• هذا = this
• الشارع = the street

A very literal gloss is:

• What [is] the name of this street?

So the core noun phrase is اسم هذا الشارع = the name of this street.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

Because in Arabic, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense in simple sentences like this.

So Arabic says:

• ما اسم هذا الشارع؟
• literally: What name of this street?

But the meaning is naturally:

• What is the name of this street?

If you were talking about the past or future, Arabic would use a verb such as كان or another form when needed.

Why is it ما and not ماذا?

In this kind of question, ما is the normal choice.

Arabic often uses:

• ما اسم...؟ = What is the name of ...?
• ما معنى...؟ = What is the meaning of ...?