قبل العشاء أشتري السمك من السوق مع أمي.

Arabic often puts a time expression first to set the scene: Before dinner, ...

So قبل العشاء أشتري السمك... is very natural.

You could also say:

أشتري السمك من السوق مع أمي قبل العشاء

That is also correct, but it gives a slightly different flow. Starting with قبل العشاء emphasizes the time right away.

قبل means before.

In grammar, it is often treated as a noun of time / adverbial expression that forms an iḍāfa construction with the word after it.

So:

• قبل العشاء = before dinner
• more literally: the before of dinner

In full vowel endings, this would be:

قَبْلَ العَشَاءِ

Here, العشاء is in the genitive because it comes after قبل in this construction.

العشاء means dinner or the evening meal.

Using الـ here is normal because meals and familiar time points are often treated as definite in Arabic. So قبل العشاء is a natural way to say before dinner.

Arabic often uses the definite article in places where English may or may not use the.

أشتري means I buy.

It is the present/imperfect form of the verb اشترى = to buy.

The prefix أ- marks first person singular, so:

• أشتري = I buy
• يشتري = he buys
• تشتري = you buy / she buys
• نشتري = we buy

So the subject I is already built into the verb.

Because Arabic verbs already show the subject.

In أشتري, the prefix أ- tells you the subject is I.

So Arabic does not need a separate pronoun here. You could add أنا for emphasis:

أنا أشتري السمك من السوق مع أمي

But normally it is unnecessary.

The Arabic present/imperfect can cover several meanings depending on context.

So أشتري can mean:

• I buy
• I am buying
• sometimes I will buy

In this sentence, the context might suggest a habit or a planned action before dinner.

If you want to make the future very explicit, you could say:

• سأشتري = I will buy
• سوف أشتري = I will buy

السمك means the fish.

It is the direct object of أشتري.

Arabic often uses the definite article in places where English might say either the fish or simply fish, depending on context. So this could refer to:

• specific fish already understood in the situation, or
• fish as the item being bought for the meal

In full vowel endings, as a direct object, it would be:

السَّمَكَ

They are both prepositions:

• من = from
• مع = with

So:

• من السوق = from the market
• مع أمي = with my mother

A useful rule: after a preposition, the following noun is normally in the genitive.

So in full form:

• من السوقِ
• مع أمي

أم means mother.

When you add -ي, it means my:

• أم = mother
• أمي = my mother

So مع أمي means with my mother.

This -ي is a possessive suffix. Arabic often expresses possession by attaching pronoun suffixes directly to nouns.

Yes. Arabic word order is flexible.

For example, you could also say:

قبل العشاء أشتري السمك مع أمي من السوق

or

أشتري السمك من السوق مع أمي قبل العشاء

These are still grammatical, though the emphasis and rhythm change a bit.

The original version is perfectly natural.

Because ordinary Arabic writing usually leaves them out.

So learners often see:

قبل العشاء أشتري السمك من السوق مع أمي

But a fully vowelled version would be:

قَبْلَ العَشَاءِ أَشْتَرِي السَّمَكَ مِنَ السُّوقِ مَعَ أُمِّي

These vowels help show pronunciation and grammar, but native texts normally omit them except in places like:

• the Qur'an
• children's books
• dictionaries
• language-learning materials

In both words, الـ is written, but the ل is not fully pronounced because س is a sun letter.

So:

• السمك is pronounced roughly as-samak
• السوق is pronounced roughly as-sūq

But in العشاء, the letter ع is a moon letter, so the ل is pronounced:

• العشاء = al-ʿashāʾ

So the spelling keeps الـ, but the pronunciation changes depending on the next letter.

A simple way to break it down is:

• قبل العشاء = time expression
• أشتري = verb
• السمك = direct object
• من السوق = prepositional phrase (from the market)
• مع أمي = prepositional phrase (with my mother)

So the structure is roughly:

Time + Verb + Object + Prepositional phrases

This is a very common and useful pattern in Arabic.