This is… Demonstrative Pronoun (Near)
هذا
Your first Arabic sentence. هَذَا (hādhā) means "this" for masculine nouns. Combined with a noun, it forms a complete sentence without any verb the foundation of Arabic nominal sentences.
Key Vocabulary
Grammar: The Nominal Sentence
Arabic does not use the verb "to be" in the present tense. هَذَا كِتَاب is a complete sentence meaning "This is a book." The subject (مُبْتَدَأ) is هَذَا and the predicate (خَبَر) is كِتَاب. Both are in the nominative case (مَرْفُوع).
This zero-copula construction is standard in Arabic do not add a verb. The present-tense meaning is built into the structure itself.
Sample Dialogue
Pronunciation Focus
The letter هَاء (h) is a soft breathy sound from the glottis always pronounced, never silent. The letter ذَال (dh) is an interdental consonant like the "th" in "the." Practice هَذَا in slow syllables: hā-dhā, holding the long ā vowel.
- هَذَا is only for masculine nouns هَذِهِ is used for feminine (Lesson 6).
- Tanwīn (ٌ): the double ḍamma on كِتَابٌ marks an indefinite noun.
- No verb = no tense problem Arabic nominal sentences are present-tense by default.
- The question word مَا means "what" always followed by the demonstrative then the noun.
- Memorise classroom objects immediately: بَاب، كِتَاب، قَلَم، كُرْسِيّ، مَكْتَب.