Questions & Answers about عندي ألم في هذا السن.
What does عندي literally mean?
Literally, عندي means at me or with me. In Arabic, that is a very common way to express I have in the present tense.
So:
- عندي ألم = I have pain
- more literally = There is pain with me
Arabic often uses this kind of structure instead of a separate verb meaning to have.
Why is there no separate verb for have here?
In standard Arabic, there is no everyday present-tense verb used exactly like English have in sentences like this. Instead, possession is often expressed with words like:
- عند = at / with
- لدى = with / in the possession of
So عندي ألم is the normal Arabic way to say I have pain.
Where is the word for I in this sentence?
It is built into عندي.
The -ي at the end means me / my. So عندي already tells you that the sentence is about me.
That is why Arabic does not need أنا here. You can say أنا عندي ألم for emphasis, but عندي ألم is already complete and natural.