Questions & Answers about الضيفة تقول إن الطعام لذيذ، ثم تشرب قهوة معنا.
Why is الضيفة feminine, and what does the ـة mean?
الضيفة means the female guest. The ending ـة (called tāʾ marbūṭa) is a very common marker of feminine nouns in Arabic.
- ضيف = guest / male guest
- ضيفة = female guest
Because the sentence is talking about a woman, the feminine form is used.
Why does the verb تقول start with تـ?
In the present tense, Arabic verbs change form depending on the subject. تقول is the form for she says (and in some contexts also you say for a masculine singular subject, but the context here clearly makes it she says).
So:
- تقول = she says
- The subject is الضيفة, which is feminine singular
- Therefore the verb must match that subject
This is an example of subject-verb agreement.
Why is the sentence الضيفة تقول instead of تقول الضيفة?
Both are possible in Arabic, but they feel slightly different in style.
الضيفة تقول = The guest says...
This is a nominal sentence structure, starting with the noun. It can feel a bit more topic-focused, like As for the guest, she says...