Understanding Arabic Nominal Sentences: Mubtada and Khabar

The Nominal Sentence (اَلْجُمْلَةُ الاِسْمِيَّةُ)

Building Sentences Without Verbs

A Nominal Sentence is a sentence that starts with a noun or pronoun. It consists of two fundamental parts: the Subject (Mubtada) and the Predicate (Khabar). Together, they form a complete thought equivalent to an English "is" sentence.

1. Mubtada (مُبْتَدَأ)

The "Starter" or Subject. It is what the sentence is about.
Rule: It is usually Definite (has Al- or is a proper name).

2. Khabar (خَبَر)

The "News" or Predicate. It tells us something about the subject.
Rule: It is usually Indefinite (no Al-).

The Golden Rules of Agreement

For a Nominal Sentence to be correct, the Khabar must match the Mubtada in:

• Gender: If the subject is feminine, the predicate must be feminine.
• Number: If the subject is singular, the predicate must be singular.
• Case: Both usually end with a Dhamma (ـُ / ـٌ).

Examples

Arabic Sentence	Analysis (Subject + Predicate)	English Meaning
اَلْوَلَدُ صَغِيرٌ	Definite + Indefinite	The boy is small.
اَلْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةٌ	Feminine Subject + Fem. Predicate	The girl is small.
اَلْبَابُ مَفْتُوحٌ	Masculine + Masculine	The door is open.

Practice: How would you say "The teacher (masculine) is new"?
Hint: Teacher = Mudarris, New = Jadīd.
Answer: اَلْمُدَرِّسُ جَدِيدٌ (Al-mudarrisu jadīdun).