Questions & Answers about عندي ألم في الأسنان، ولذلك أذهب إلى الصيدلية الآن.
Why does Arabic use عندي to mean I have? Where is the verb to have?
Arabic does not usually use a separate verb like English have in sentences like this.
- عندي literally means at me or with me.
- It is made of:
- عند = at / with / in the possession of
- ي = my / me
So:
- عندي ألم = I have pain
- literally: At me is pain
This is a very common Arabic way to express possession or a condition:
- عندي كتاب = I have a book
- عندي مشكلة = I have a problem
Why is it ألم and not something like ألمٌ in the sentence?
In normal Arabic writing, short vowel endings are usually not written.
So the word appears as:
- ألم
But in fully vocalized Classical/MSA grammar, it would often be:
- أَلَمٌ
That final -un is the nominative ending for an indefinite noun when it functions as the main noun in this kind of sentence.
In everyday printed Arabic, those case endings are usually omitted, so learners normally see just:
- عندي ألم