لدي سؤال عن هذا البرنامج.

Questions & Answers about لدي سؤال عن هذا البرنامج.

Why does Arabic use لدي here instead of a verb meaning have?

In Modern Standard Arabic, possession is often expressed without a direct verb equivalent to English to have.

  • لدي literally means something like with me / in my possession
  • So لدي سؤال is literally close to There is a question with me
  • In natural English, that becomes I have a question

This is a very common Arabic pattern.

Related forms:

  • لديه = he has
  • لديها = she has
  • لدينا = we have
How is لدي built?

لدي is made of:

  • لدى = a word meaning with / in the possession of
  • ـي = the suffix pronoun my / me

So:

  • لدى + ي = لدي = with me / I have

In fully marked writing, you may also see لديَّ, where the ending is written more precisely.

Why is there no separate word for I in the sentence?

Because the ـي at the end of لدي already tells you the speaker is me / my.

Arabic often packs pronouns into suffixes, so a separate أنا is not necessary.

You could say:

  • أنا لدي سؤال

but this is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis, such as I have a question.

What is the difference between لدي and عندي? Can I say عندي سؤال instead?

Yes, عندي سؤال is also correct and very common.

A rough distinction is:

  • لدي = more formal, often seen in writing or formal speech
  • عندي = very common in both speech and writing, often more everyday

So both can mean:

  • I have a question

In MSA, لدي سؤال عن هذا البرنامج sounds natural and slightly formal.

Why is سؤال indefinite and not السؤال?

Because the sentence is introducing a question, not the question.

  • سؤال = a question
  • السؤال = the question

So:

  • لدي سؤال = I have a question
  • لدي السؤال would mean I have the question, which is a different idea

In Arabic, an indefinite noun often appears when you are mentioning something for the first time or referring to one unspecified item.

Why is عن used here?

عن is the preposition commonly used for about / concerning.

So:

  • عن هذا البرنامج = about this program

This is the normal way to say a question about something in Arabic.

Other examples:

  • سؤال عن اللغة العربية = a question about the Arabic language
  • كتاب عن التاريخ = a book about history
Why is it هذا البرنامج and not البرنامج هذا?

In Modern Standard Arabic, the normal pattern for this + noun is:

  • هذا + noun with ال
  • هذا البرنامج = this program

So the demonstrative usually comes before the noun.

The structure is different from English in one important way:

  • English: this program
  • Arabic: this the-program

That is completely normal in Arabic.

Why does البرنامج have الـ even though هذا already means this?

Because in Arabic, when a demonstrative like هذا modifies a noun, the noun is usually definite, so it takes الـ.

That means:

  • هذا البرنامج = correct
  • هذا برنامج = usually not the standard form for this program

So Arabic normally says:

  • هذا الكتاب = this book
  • هذه السيارة = this car
  • هذا البرنامج = this program

This is one of the places where Arabic and English grammar work differently.

Why is هذا used and not هذه?

Because البرنامج is a masculine noun in Arabic.

So you use:

  • هذا with masculine singular nouns
  • هذه with feminine singular nouns

Examples:

  • هذا البرنامج = this program
  • هذه السيارة = this car

Even if an object is not biologically male or female, Arabic nouns still have grammatical gender.

How do I pronounce سؤال?

سؤال is pronounced approximately su-ʾaal.

A few important points:

  • The س gives s
  • The u sound comes first: su
  • The ء is a hamza, a brief catch in the throat
  • Then aal

So it is not a smooth suwal. The hamza breaks it up:

  • سؤال = su-ʾāl

That hamza is important in careful pronunciation.

What are the case endings in this sentence if it is fully vocalized?

A fully vocalized version would typically be:

لديَّ سؤالٌ عن هذا البرنامجِ

Here is why:

  • لديَّ = fixed expression with the attached pronoun
  • سؤالٌ = nominative, because it functions as the main noun being asserted
  • عن = preposition
  • البرنامجِ = genitive because it comes after عن

In everyday unvocalized Arabic, these endings are usually not written, but they are part of the grammar of formal Arabic.

What kind of sentence is this grammatically?

It is essentially a nominal sentence with a phrase of possession at the beginning.

A simplified way to understand it is:

  • لدي = a fronted phrase meaning with me / I have
  • سؤال = the thing possessed
  • عن هذا البرنامج = a phrase describing that question

So the sentence is not built around a normal verb meaning have. Instead, Arabic uses a possession structure plus a noun.

That is very typical of MSA.

Could the word order be changed?

Some parts can move, but the original order is the most natural.

Standard:

  • لدي سؤال عن هذا البرنامج

Possible with emphasis:

  • عن هذا البرنامج لدي سؤال

This sounds more marked, like:

  • About this program, I have a question

So for a learner, the original sentence is the best neutral model to use.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
Your avatar
What's the best way to learn Arabic grammar?
Arabic grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Arabic

Master Arabic — from لدي سؤال عن هذا البرنامج to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • AI tutor to answer your grammar questions