Topic 3 of 62

هذا / هذه— Ism Ishaara (Near)

هذا (masculine) and هذه (feminine) point to something near, and must agree in gender with what they refer to. They work two ways: as the مبتدأ of a nominal sentence followed by an indefinite خبر (هذا كتابٌ — "this is a book"), or as a demonstrative adjective placed directly before a definite noun (هذا الكتابُ — "this book"). Either way, both words are مبني — their ending never changes regardless of case.