Nominal Sentences
Subject + predicate without a verb (أنا طالب = I am a student)
Can form basic sentences describing people, places and things
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
البَيْتُ كَبير
The house is big
الطَّقْسُ جَميل
The weather is beautiful
هِيَ مِن لُبنان
She is from Lebanon
السَّيّارَةُ جَديدَة
The car is new (f)
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
الجملة الاسمية — Nominal Sentence
Arabic has two sentence types. The nominal sentence (جملة اسمية) starts with a noun/pronoun and needs NO verb in present tense:
Structure: مبتدأ (subject) + خبر (predicate)
| Arabic | Literal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| أنا طَبيب | I doctor | I am a doctor |
| البَيْتُ كَبير | the-house big | The house is big |
| الجَوُّ جَميل | the-weather beautiful | The weather is beautiful |
The predicate (خبر) can be a noun, adjective, or prepositional phrase. The subject (مبتدأ) is usually definite (with ال or a pronoun); the predicate is usually indefinite.
Common Error Patterns
Inserted a verb for 'is/am/are' in present-tense nominal sentence
Arabic has NO present-tense copula. Just: subject + predicate.
Subject and predicate disagree in gender
Feminine subject needs feminine predicate: البنت جميلة (not جميل)
البَيْتُ كَبير
The house is big
al-baytu kabīr — definite subject + indefinite predicate = 'is' implied.
الطَّقْسُ جَميل
The weather is beautiful
aṭ-ṭaqsu jamīl — solar letter assimilation (ط) + zero copula.
هِيَ مِن لُبنان
She is from Lebanon
hiya min lubnān — predicate is a prepositional phrase (مِن + noun).
السَّيّارَةُ جَديدَة
The car is new (f)
as-sayyāratu jadīda — feminine subject (ة) requires feminine predicate (ة).
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises