ما سبب هذا القرار؟

What is the reason for this decision?

Breakdown of ما سبب هذا القرار؟

• هذا: this
• ما: what
• سبب: reason
• القرار: decision

Questions & Answers about ما سبب هذا القرار؟

Why does the sentence start with ما instead of ماذا?

ما is a very common question word meaning what.

In this sentence, ما is used in the pattern:

ما + noun ... ؟
= What is the ... ?

So:

• ما سبب...؟ = What is the reason ... ?

You would usually use ماذا when asking what before a verb, for example:

• ماذا تريد؟ = What do you want?

So here, because سبب is a noun (reason/cause), ما is the natural choice.

What exactly does سبب mean here?

سبب means reason, cause, or grounds.

In this sentence, it is being used as a noun:

• سبب = reason / cause

So ما سبب هذا القرار؟ literally means something like:

• What is the reason for this decision?

A learner should know that سبب is a very common formal word in both Modern Standard Arabic and formal speech.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In Arabic, the present tense of to be is usually not written or spoken as a separate word.