غرفة الانتظار مثل هذه الغرفة.

The waiting room is like this room.

Breakdown of غرفة الانتظار مثل هذه الغرفة.

• هذه: this
• الغرفة: room
• غرفة الانتظار: waiting room
• مثل: like; similar to

Questions & Answers about غرفة الانتظار مثل هذه الغرفة.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

Because this is a present-tense nominal sentence. In MSA Arabic, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present.

So:

• غرفة الانتظار مثل هذه الغرفة
• literally: the waiting room like this room
• naturally in English: The waiting room is like this room

If you wanted was, Arabic would use a verb such as كان.

What kind of sentence is this grammatically?

It is a nominal sentence.

Its two main parts are:

• غرفة الانتظار = the subject/topic
• مثل هذه الغرفة = the predicate/comment

So the structure is basically:

• The waiting room
  • is like this room

This is one of the most common sentence patterns in Arabic.

How does غرفة الانتظار mean waiting room?

It is an iḍāfa construction, often understood as X of Y.

So:

• غرفة = room
• الانتظار = waiting

Together:

• غرفة الانتظار
• literally: room of waiting
• natural English: waiting room