A sentence without the verb to be
There is no linking verb "is" in the present tense. "My name is Ivan" is literally "my name Ivan": ismii Iwaan. "The city is big" is al-madiina kabiira. Two words, and the sentence is complete: there is nowhere to add "is" and no need. For example: “اسمي إيوان” — My name is Ivan. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
There is no linking verb "is" in the present tense. "My name is Ivan" is literally "my name Ivan": ismii Iwaan. "The city is big" is al-madiina kabiira. Two words, and the sentence is complete: there is nowhere to add "is" and no need.
Almost every description works so: al-makhqa qariib — "the cafe is close", al-bayt kabiir — "the house is big". A verb appears only when you need tense or action.
The pronouns are short, and "you" marks gender: anta to a man, anti to a woman. "They" has three shapes — for men, for women and for two.
Table
| Who | Pronoun | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| I | أنا | ana |
| you (m.) | أنت | anta |
| you (f.) | أنتِ | anti |
| he | هو | huwa |
| she | هي | hiya |
| we | نحن | nahnu |
| you (pl.) | أنتم | antum |
| they | هم | hum |
By example
- اسمي إيوانисмии иваанMy name is Ivan
- أنا روسيана русийI am Russian
- المدينة كبيرةаль-мадина кябираThe city is big
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
No verb to be in Arabic?
There is no linking verb "is" in the present tense. "My name is Ivan" is literally "my name Ivan": ismii Iwaan. "The city is big" is al-madiina kabiira. Two words, and the sentence is complete: there is nowhere to add "is" and no need.
How to say my name is in Arabic?
There is no linking verb "is" in the present tense. "My name is Ivan" is literally "my name Ivan": ismii Iwaan. "The city is big" is al-madiina kabiira. Two words, and the sentence is complete: there is nowhere to add "is" and no need.
The arabic nominal sentence?
There is no linking verb "is" in the present tense. "My name is Ivan" is literally "my name Ivan": ismii Iwaan. "The city is big" is al-madiina kabiira. Two words, and the sentence is complete: there is nowhere to add "is" and no need.
Arabic subject pronouns list?
The pronouns are short, and "you" marks gender: anta to a man, anti to a woman. "They" has three shapes — for men, for women and for two.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“اسمي إيوان” (исмии иваан) — My name is Ivan. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.