Diagnosis: Grammar
It seems the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) is having a bit of an identity crisis. In a headline from December 4, 2023, regarding the “New Egyptian Countryside,” we see a fascinating case of Subject-Verb Disagreement and some very local spelling habits.
The headline announces that “The New Egyptian Countryside” has secured cards for farmers, but it uses a feminine verb for a clearly masculine subject.
Arabic text in question
الريف المصرى الجديد تعلن حصول ١٣٠٠ شركة على كارت الفلاح
Arabic text as it should be
الرِّيفُ الْمِصْرِيُّ الْجَدِيدُ يُعْلِنُ حُصُولَ ١٣٠٠ شَرِكَةٍ عَلَى كَارْت الْفَلَّاحِ
Translation: The New Egyptian Countryside announces that 1300 companies have obtained the Farmer Card.
Analysis I: The “Ghost Noun”
The error here is a conflict between the written word and the intended meaning.
- The Subject: The sentence starts with الرِّيفُ (The Countryside). This is a masculine noun.
- The Verb: The verb used is تُعْلِنُ (She announces). This is the feminine form.
- The Conflict: You cannot say “The Countryside… She announces.”
Why did this happen? The entity behind this news is officially called The New Egyptian Countryside Development Company.
شركة تنمية الريف المصرى الجديد
Because the word شَرِكَة (company) is feminine, the writer’s brain was still thinking about “the company”. However, for brevity, they deleted the word “company” from the headline.
The Rule: In strict Arabic grammar, once you delete the governing noun (شَرِكَة), the remaining noun (الرِّيفُ) becomes the new subject. Since الرِّيفُ is masculine, the verb must switch to match it.
- Option A (Full Name): شَرِكَةُ الرِّيفِ… تُعْلِنُ (correct)
- Option B (Shortened): الرِّيفُ… يُعْلِنُ (correct)
- The Mistake: الرِّيفُ… تُعْلِنُ (incorrect mix)
Analysis II: The Case of the Missing Dots
You might have noticed another detail: the word المصرى.
In Standard Arabic, the “Egyptian” relative adjective (Nisba) should be written with two dots under the final letter: الْمِصْرِيّ.
However, in Egypt, it is extremely common – even in official texts – to write the final ي without dots, making it look identical to the ى – the Aleph Maqsura (ألِفٌ مَقْصُورةٌ)
- Standard Rule: ي = “i”-sound (long vowel) or “y” consonant. ى = “a”-sound (Aleph Maqsura).
- Egyptian Practice: They often use ى for both sounds at the end of a word.
While this is “acceptable” in local Egyptian handwriting and informal print, a state-level news agency (SIS) communicating in Modern Standard Arabic should technically stick to the standard الْمِصْرِيّ to distinguish it from words that actually end in an ‘a’ sound.
Source: Internet
URL: https://sis.gov.eg
Time the picture was taken: 2026-01-12
Credit
Picture credit: Screenshot SIS
Added: 01/12/2026
Note: You don’t use diacritics (تشكيل) in everyday Arabic. We use them here to clearly explain the grammar, spelling and meaning of words. To avoid confusion, we generally ignore auxiliary vowels that are necessary for pronunciation to avoid consonant clusters.
Wanna cite this article?
Ammann, P. (2026, March 12). The Ghost of the Company. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/errabic/subject-verb-agreement-arabic-mistake/
Published: March 12, 2026
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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I once saw two side-by-side entries on the announcements page of Al-Ahrām, announcing the appointment of two women to directorships of entities (I can’t remember whether they were companies or government agencies). One was appointed مديرة and the other was appointed مدير . I asked an Egyptian colleague, a professional translator, about the use of masculine gender in the second. He explained that the reference was to the position, not to the appointee.
As for the ى where ي might be expected, I used to think it was a peculiarly Egyptian phenomenon, until I began to see it in mediaeval manuscripts, too. And I seem to recall seeing it recently in a copy of the Qur’ān published in Tripoli, Lebanon.
However, I have also seen in Al-Ahrām hesitation between the correct spelling of the preposition على and the incorrect علي. To tell the truth, I had never noticed it until a student asked me about it. After that, I noticed its frequent occurrence. I don’t recall ever seeing that in mediaeval manuscripts!
One grows accustomed to reading those letters as they should be read, I suppose, mentally inserting the points (or removing them!) as appropriate.
Incidentally, the same phenomenon occurs with the feminine marker ة, which is often written without the points, so, for example, مديره, which looks like it is saying ‘his boss’, but in context would be read ‘[woman] director’.
I had grown so accustomed to writing things that way myself that I had to pointedly (pun intended) remind myself to include the points when writing on the board for students words ending with ي or ة !
An update on the lack of points on ة: I recently saw on a banner at a mosque in Jordan the heading الأذكار بعد الصلاه المفروضه, in which the feminine marker is written without points. I assume that the banner was printed in Jordan, and it certainly would need the approval of وزارة الأوقاف الأردنية before being put on display. Clearly, writing ة without the points is not a solely Egyptian phenomenon.
Very interesting and very well explained. I particularly like the idea of the “ghost noun,” because it makes a subtle grammatical issue immediately understandable. And yes, the two missing dots keep confusing me in Egypt as well — which is why I found that point especially helpful.