We will go over these cases in this chapter.
19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”:
-يَفْعَلُ
+
يَفْعَلُ
yafɛalu
“he does”
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. +
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a -a-mark ◌َ, thus:
-يَفْعَلَ
+a-mark ◌َ, thus:
يَفْعَلَ
yafɛala
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
-For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the +
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb:
-يَفْعَلَانِ
+
يَفْعَلَانِ
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
becomes, for the a-state:
-يَفْعَلَا
+
يَفْعَلَا
yafɛalā
Here is the complete table of the a-state @@ -761,80 +761,80 @@
19.2 Forming the a-state incomple
he
invisible
-يَفْعَلُ
-يَفْعَلَ
+يَفْعَلُ
+يَفْعَلَ
she
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلَ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلَ
you1m
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلَ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلَ
you1f
-ي
-تَفْعَلِينَ
-تَفْعَلِي
+ي
+تَفْعَلِينَ
+تَفْعَلِي
I
invisible
-أَفْعَلُ
-أَفْعَلَ
+أَفْعَلُ
+أَفْعَلَ
they2m
-ا
-يَفْعَلَانِ
-يَفْعَلَا
+ا
+يَفْعَلَانِ
+يَفْعَلَا
they2f
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
you2
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
they3m
-و
-يَفْعَلُونَ
-يَفْعَلُوا
+و
+يَفْعَلُونَ
+يَفْعَلُوا
they3f
-نَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
you3m
-و
-تَفْعَلُونَ
-تَفْعَلُوا
+و
+تَفْعَلُونَ
+تَفْعَلُوا
you3f
-نَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
we
invisible
-نَفْعَلُ
-نَفْعَلَ
+نَفْعَلُ
+نَفْعَلَ
@@ -842,13 +842,13 @@ 19.2 Forming the a-state incomple
- The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants:
-- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f)
-- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f)
+- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f)
+- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f)
-- The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
+
- The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
-- يَفْعَلُوا (they3m)
-- تَفْعَلُوا (you3m)
+- يَفْعَلُوا (they3m)
+- تَفْعَلُوا (you3m)
- The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants:
-
-
- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) -
- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) +
- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) +
- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f)
- - The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: +
- The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
-
-
- يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) -
- تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) +
- يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) +
- تَفْعَلُوا (you3m)
-
19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following +
19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from -أَنْ +أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it.
-
19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example,
-أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ.
+
19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example,
+أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ.
ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ.
“The student hoped that he succeed.”
لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. -لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. +
لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. +لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example,
-أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ.
+
أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ.
ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal.
“The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.”
Other than this لَا, -أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it.
+Other than this لَا, +أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it.
-
19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
In grammatical theory, -أَنْ +أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, -أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the -أَنْ clause -(أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) -is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. +أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the +أَنْ clause +(أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) +is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to
-أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ.
+
أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ.
ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ.
“The student hoped [for] success.”
This grammatical equivalence of the -أَنْ clause +أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the -أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. +أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the -أَنْ clause -is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ:
+أَنْ clause +is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ:
We show other examples below where the -أَنْ clause +أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions.
As the subject:
19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of
-
19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. +
19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the -أَنْ clause +أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. -So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning:
-رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ.
+So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning:
رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ.
“The boy desired that he eat.”
-
19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example:
-قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي.
+
19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example:
+قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي.
“I killed the serpent lest it kill me.”
أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example:
-بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ.
+
أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example:
+بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ.
“That you have returned has reached me.”
-
19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways.
-The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun.
-There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2.
-There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??.
+19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways.
+The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun.
+There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2.
+There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??.
-
19.4 After لِ li
+19.4 After لِ li
-
19.4.1 The لِ of purpose
-The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example:
-أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ.
+
19.4.1 The لِ of purpose
+The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example:
+أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ.
“He ate so that he be sated.”
When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. -لِ is then attached to the verb. +
When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. +لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning:
-أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ.
+
أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ.
“He ate so that he be sated.”
But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example,
-شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ.
+
But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example,
+شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ.
“He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.”
By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or
-قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ.
+
By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence:
+قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or
+قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ.
“He read the book so that he know its meaning.”
Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ.
+
Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus:
+قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ.
“He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.”
-
19.4.2 The لِ of denial
-There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter).
+19.4.2 The لِ of denial
+There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter).
-
19.5 After کَيْ kay
-کَيْ kay -is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. +
19.5 After کَيْ kay
+کَيْ kay +is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. -The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. -But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example:
-أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ.
+The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional.
+But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example:
أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ.
“He ate in order that he be sated.”
لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example:
-شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ.
+
لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example:
+شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ.
“He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.”
The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example:
-أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ.
+
The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example:
+أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ.
“He ate in order that he be sated.”
With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed.
+With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed.
Example:
-شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ.
+
شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ.
“He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.”
By the way, -کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by +کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ.
“He read the book in order that he know its meaning.”
Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ.
+
Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus:
+قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ.
“He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.”
-
7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as c
@@ -1436,32 +1436,32 @@ A.3 Why so complicated?
-
19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit.
Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun.
-
19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun
+19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun
Consider the following sentence:
-أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا.
+
أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا.
“I ate the fish until its head.”
حَتَّىٰ “until”, +
حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, -رَأْس +رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.)
Consider now a variant of this sentence:
-أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا.
+
أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا.
“I ate the fish, even its head.”
رَأْس, -here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. +
رَأْس, +here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle -حَتَّىٰ “even”, -here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and” functions. For example, -أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. -“I ate the fish and its head.”
+حَتَّىٰ “even”, +here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and”. +(أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. +“I ate the fish and its head.”)Consider now yet another variant of this sentence:
-أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا].
+
أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا].
“I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].”
Now -رَأْس -is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. -حَتَّىٰ, +رَأْس +is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. +حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun.
-
7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectiv
@@ -908,41 +908,41 @@
19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb
+19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb
Just as -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it.
-
19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb
+19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb
When the verb following -حَتَّىٰ -is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. +حَتَّىٰ +signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios:
-
-
When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example,
-قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ.
+When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example,
+قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ.
-
“I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.”يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ.
+يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ.
-
“He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.”غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ.
+غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ.
-
“He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.”It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality.
-Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا.
-Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. +
It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality.
+Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا.
+Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, -حَتَّىٰ, -here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to:
-قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ.
-يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ.
-غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ.
-When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. +حَتَّىٰ, +here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to:
+قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ.
+يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ.
+غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ.
+When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example,
-أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ.
+أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ.
-
“I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.”وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ.
+وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ.
-
“The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.”Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state.
+
Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state.
Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example:
-يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ.
+
يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ.
“He eats to the point of being full.”
and/or
“He eats to the purpose that he be full.”
Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended.
-
@@ -733,28 +733,28 @@ 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb
+19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb
If -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. -(It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) -In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example:
-أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ.
+(It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.)
The verb following +حَتَّىٰ +in this case +may even be a completed-action verb. For example:
+أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ.
“I ate the food until I became full.”
When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following -حَتَّىٰ +حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example,
-أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ.
+
أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ.
“I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.”
غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ.
+
غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ.
“He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.”
غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ.
+
غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ.
“He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.”
Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb.
In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object.
7.4 Adjectival nouns in English7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability
Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns.
-The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”.
-Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun.
+The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”.
+Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that +صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun.
Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. +صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun -صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”.
+صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun +صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”.Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun.
As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun -غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah.
-Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example:
+غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. +Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example:
-
-
- ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. -
- مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” +
- ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. +
- مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”
This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like -مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), +مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like -ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), +ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??.
7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns
@@ -768,39 +768,39 @@7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectiv
-کَبِير kabīr
+کَبِير kabīr
a big one
-صَغِير ṣag͡hīr
+صَغِير ṣag͡hīr
a small one
-طَيِّب ṭayyib
+طَيِّب ṭayyib
a good one
-قَدِيم qadīm
+قَدِيم qadīm
an old one
-جَدِيد jadīd
+جَدِيد jadīd
a new one
-طَوِيل ṭawīl
+طَوِيل ṭawīl
a long/tall one
-وَاسِع wāsiɛ
+وَاسِع wāsiɛ
a wide one
-عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy
+عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy
an Arab
-مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr
+مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr
a famous one
@@ -822,32 +822,32 @@ 7.6 The describer and the describ
-->
Note the following:
-
-
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. -
- Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. -
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. -
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. +
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. +
- Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. +
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. +
- The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well.
- The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house”
Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.”
Here is the sentence in Arabic:
-أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ.
+
أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ.
ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah.
“The little girl took a new book from the good mother.”
This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually:
-
-
ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ
-
ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu
“the little girl”In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite).
-کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا
+In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite).
+کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا
-
kitāban jadīdan
“a new book”In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite).
-ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ
+In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite).
+ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ
-
ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati
“the good mother”In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite).
-Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker.
+
In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite).
+Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker.
Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example:
-
-
- the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. +
- the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons.
If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example:
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ.
+
ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ.
ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib.
“The girl is a good person.”
See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah.
+See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah.
7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence
@@ -876,29 +876,29 @@7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun< "The house is a small one." = "The house is small." -->
In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” -is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end.
-When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen.
+صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” +is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. +When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen.
Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such.
Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject:
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة.
+
ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة.
ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah
“The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.”
In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun -صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” +
In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun +صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence.
7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun
Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.”
-The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. -And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ
+
The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. +And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get:
+ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ
ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu
The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5.
The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ.
+
ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ.
ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu.
“The old tree is the big one.”
7.8 Adjectival nouns used without
We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun?
The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say:
-شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا.
+
شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا.
s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā.
“The little one drank some milk.”
The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently.
Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context.
-حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا.
+
حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا.
ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā.
“The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.”
So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”.
+So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”.
7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns
Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”.
+صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”.The opposite of -صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” -is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage:
-قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ.
+صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one”
+is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage:
قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ.
qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma.
“The elder arrived and admonished the boy.”
When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. -For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence:
-ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ.
+For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence:
ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ.
ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah.
“Fasting is a good deed.”
The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. -And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. +
The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. +And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”.
What if we have the sentence:
-ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ.
+
ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ.
ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah.
The feminine gender of the subject -ٱَلصَّدَقَة. +ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information -حَسَنَة ḥasanah. +حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean:
“Charity is good.”
Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean:
@@ -952,35 +952,35 @@7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as c
7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase
Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example,
-هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ.
+
هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ.
huwa rajulun muɛallim.
“He is a teacherm man.”
= “He is a man who is a teacherm.”
7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun
-In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ.
+
In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”:
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ.
ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun
“The building is big and tall and wide.”
In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ.
ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr.
“The man is a famous Arab writer.”
7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee
Consider the phrase:
-کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ
+
کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ
kitābun mina -lmaktabati
“a book from the library”
If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences:
-قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ.
+
قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ.
qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati.
AND
-قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا.
+قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا.
qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran.
“a small book from the library”
The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too.
diff --git a/docs/annexation.html b/docs/annexation.html
index 13f1d972..5238e1f8 100644
--- a/docs/annexation.html
+++ b/docs/annexation.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -699,7 +699,7 @@ 12.2 Forming the annexationThe annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation.
The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation.
-The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام.
+
The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام.
You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun.
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ.
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ.
“The boy’s book is heavy.”
(The annexe noun is in the u-state.)
-أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
+
أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
“The girl took the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the a-state.)
-کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
“The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the i-state.)
12.4 Definiteness of the annexation
Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
“the boy’s book”
-The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”.
+
The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”.
Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”.
-The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ.
+The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ.
Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation.
Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun.
-Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite.
+Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite.
The entire annexation is definite.
Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite.
-کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ
+
کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ
“a boy’s book”
-In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”.
-The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ.
+
In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”.
+The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ.
Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun.
-Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite.
+Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite.
The entire annexation is indefinite.
We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important.
Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations.
-لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
“The child wore a man’s shirt.”
-أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
+
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
“The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.”
-جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
“The man sat in a tree’s shade.”
12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of”
So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples:
-بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
+
بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
“a man’s house”
-بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the man’s house”
Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example:
-بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
+
بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
“a/the house of a man”
-بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“a/the house of the man”
Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples:
-لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
“The child wore a/the shirt of a man.”
-أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
+
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
“The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.”
-جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
“The man sat in the shade of a tree.”
-فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
+
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
“The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.”
It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic.
As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun.
If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well.
And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well.
The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section.
-If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ.
+
If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ.
“The boy went to a house of the man.”
-فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
+
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
“The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.”
12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations
-There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples:
-حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ.
+
There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples:
+حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ.
“The animals of the forest are wild.”
-قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ
+
قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ
“The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.”
-فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ.
+
فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ.
“In the cupboard are teachers’f pens.
Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10
@@ -862,86 +862,86 @@ 12.6 Describers in an annexation<
12.6.1 Describing the base noun
Consider the following expression:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
“the girl’s book”
Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”.
-Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”.
+Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”.
Here is how we will express this in Arabic:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ
“the small girl’s book”
-In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee
-ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”
+
In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee
+ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”
and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural).
Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get:
-کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ
+
کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ
“a small girl’s book”
Here are some more examples:
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The girl played in the garden of the big house.”
-قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
“The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.”
-جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ.
“The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.”
12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun
Consider, again, the same annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
“the girl’s book”
-Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun.
+
Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun.
However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ
“the girl’s small book”
Note how the describer
-ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender.
-Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness.
-The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”.
+ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender.
+Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness.
+The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”.
We’ve already learned this rule in
section 12.4
above.
-Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get:
-کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ
+
Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get:
+کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ
“a girl’s small book”
This time
the describer
-صَغِيرٌ
-is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ.
+صَغِيرٌ
+is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ.
This is because
-the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite.
+the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite.
Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The boy went to the big/old man’s house.”
or
“The boy went to the man’s big house.”
-How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل?
-The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state.
+How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل?
+The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state.
The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended.
If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings.
Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
“The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.”
-In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house.
+In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house.
If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The boy went to the big/old man’s house.”
-In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ .
+
In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ .
“The boy went to the big house of the man.”
Here are some more examples:
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ.
“The girl played with the boy’s red ball.”
-(Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.)
-سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ.
+(Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.)
+سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ.
“The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.”
-(Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة)
-حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ.
+(Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة)
+حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ.
“The boy carried the heavy school-bag.”
(literally: the heavy bag of the school).
-کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ.
“The man wrote on the white page of a book.”
-(Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.)
+(Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.)
The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations:
-- مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \(a_1\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \(b_1\) is بَابِ.
-- بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \(a_2\) is بَابِ and its base noun \(b_2\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+- مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \(a_1\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \(b_1\) is بَابِ.
+- بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \(a_2\) is بَابِ and its base noun \(b_2\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ.
-The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation
-مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”.
+
The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation
+مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”.
At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation
-بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”.
-Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite.
+بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”.
+Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite.
And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite.
-مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ
+
مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ
“a house’s door’s key”
All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with
section 12.7.2
-if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example:
-مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ
+if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example:
+مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ
“from the well of the desert of a land”
@@ -1040,10 +1040,10 @@ 12.9 Pronouns as base nounsConsider the expression:
“his book”
This expression is very similar to the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
“the boy’s book”
-The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get:
+کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far:
@@ -1051,54 +1051,54 @@ 12.9 Pronouns as base nounsThe base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent.
Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences:
-کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ.
+
کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ.
“His book is heavy”
-قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ.
“The man read his book.”
-کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ.
“The teacherm wrote in his book.”
-If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example:
-ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ.
+
If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example:
+ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ.
“They went to their school.”
Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns:
-دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ.
+
دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ.
“You1,m entered your1,m house.”
-أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا.
+
أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا.
“They2,f ate their2 food.”
-قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ
+
قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ
“I have arrived to your3,m city.”
-هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا.
+
هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا.
“He is the ʾImām of our mosque.”
-If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”.
-لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ.
+
If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”.
+لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ.
“They3,f played in their3,f gardens.”
-If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”:
-کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ.
+
If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”:
+کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ.
“The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.”
For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun:
-- ي -ī
-- يَ -ya
+- ي -ī
+- يَ -ya
-The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي
+
The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example:
+قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي
“I read my book.”
-أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة.
+
أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة.
“My pens are short.”
If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then
-(ي -ī) is disallowed and only
-(يَ -ya) shall be used.
-Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”:
-أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ.
+(ي -ī) is disallowed and only
+(يَ -ya) shall be used.
+Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”:
+أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ.
“My gifts pleased them.”
12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
-The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه.
+
The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه.
We would like add a describer to this expression.
-Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite.
+Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite.
Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too.
Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers.
Even in English you may say:
@@ -1106,12 +1106,12 @@ 12.9.1 Describers with annexation
but you can’t say:
\(\times\) “The good he went.”
So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example:
-کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
+
کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
“his red book”
Here are some more examples:
-کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
+
کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
“I wrote with my black pen.”
-حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
+
حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
“The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.”
(literally: the village’s boys.)
@@ -1126,65 +1126,65 @@ 12.10 Duals and ūn soun
12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns
As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by:
-- ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals
-- ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals
+- ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals
+- ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals
Here are some examples:
-لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ.
+
لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ.
“The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.”
-أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ.
+
أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ.
“The tall boys’2 sister is little.”
-هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ.
+
هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ.
“She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.”
12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns
-When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example:
-بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example:
+بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the man’s houses2”
not
-\(\times\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ
-Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus:
+\(\times\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus:
bayta -rrajuli
not
\(\times\) baytā -rrajuli
-If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+
If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example:
+قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul
“I read the man’s books2.”
Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals:
-مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ.
+
مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ.
muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām.
“The boy’s teachers3 are noble.”
-(Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”)
-لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ.
+(Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”)
+لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ.
laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim.
“The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.”
12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns
-Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples:
-مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ.
+
Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples:
+مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ.
“Our teachers3,m are good.”
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا
“The girl played with her friends2,f.”
-بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ.
+
بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ.
“My houses2 are big.”
-(Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.)
-قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ
-(Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.)
+(Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.)
+قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ
+(Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.)
There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below:
Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun
-When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get:
-مُعَلِّمِيَّ
-We don’t say \(\times\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples:
-مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ.
+
When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get:
+مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+We don’t say \(\times\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples:
+مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ.
“My teachers3,m are noble.”
(u-state)
-سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+
سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
“I asked my teachers3,m.”
(a-state)
-أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+
أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
“I took a book from my teachers3,m.”
(i-state)
@@ -1192,10 +1192,10 @@ Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pr
Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun
When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying
-نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا
+
نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا
“I looked at their2 heads2.”
it is in fact, more common, to say
-نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا
+
نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا
“I looked at their2 heads3.”
Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered.
-So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below:
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ.
+
So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below:
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ.
“The houses are big.”
-سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ.
-سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ.
-سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ.
+
سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ.
+سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ.
+سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ.
“They3,m lived in ssmall houses.”
-سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ.
+
سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ.
“The houses fell.”
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ.
+
ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ.
“The houses, they fell.”
-هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
-هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
+
هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
+هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
“They are houses for the poor.”
Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples:
-هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ.
-هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ.
-هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ.
+
هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ.
+هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ.
+هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ.
“They are wild bulls.”
-ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
-ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+
ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
“The catsm, they drank the milk.”
-ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
-ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+
ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
“The catsf, they drank the milk.”
-ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة.
-ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ.
-ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ.
+
ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة.
+ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ.
+ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ.
“The ships are tall.”
-فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ.
-فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ.
+
فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ.
+فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ.
“In the box are wonderful things.”
-(Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.)
+(Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.)
By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number.
For example, if you say:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ.
+
ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ.
“The righteous acts are the good ones.”
-then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”.
-If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
+
then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”.
+If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural:
+ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
“The acts are the good deeds.”
-The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
+
The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid:
+ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
“The acts are the good deeds.”
Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality.
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ.
“The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.”
In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning):
-\(\times\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ.
+\(\times\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ.
It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example,
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ.
+
ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ.
“The house is big.”
not
-\(\times\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة.
-أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+\(\times\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة.
+أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions2 ate the gazelle.”
not
-\(\times\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+\(\times\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular
In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So,
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
is generally preferred over
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below.
@@ -2489,11 +2489,11 @@ 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plura
whereas
the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude.
So if we say,
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less).
And if, instead, we said:
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
then this would indicate that there were many lions.
This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way:
@@ -2503,13 +2503,13 @@ 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plura
11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion
Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example:
-شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
+
شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
“The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.”
If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went.
So we might prefer to say, instead:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
diff --git a/docs/calling-out.html b/docs/calling-out.html
index 67eaf65f..3754c927 100644
--- a/docs/calling-out.html
+++ b/docs/calling-out.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -684,52 +684,52 @@
15 Calling out
15.1 Introduction
-When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
+
When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.”
-There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
+There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
15.2 Calling out to specific persons
15.2.1 Using single word personal names
-When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
-If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
+
When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
+If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zayd.”
15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns
The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu.
“Peace be upon you, O you boy.”
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu.
“Peace be upon you, O you girl.”
In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule:
-يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
+
يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun.
“O you men, a matter has occurred.”
-Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
+Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
Similarly,
-يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
+
يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal.
“O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.”
15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns
-When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
-يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
+
When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
+يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba
“O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].”
-أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
+
أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību.
“I am ill, O you the Doctor.”
-If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
-أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
+
If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
+أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi.
“O you the teacherf, this is my book.”
@@ -737,38 +737,38 @@ 15.2.3 Using single word definite
15.2.4 Using multiple words
The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example:
-عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
+
عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
ɛabdu -llāhi
“Ɛabd Allāh”
أَبُو بَکْرٍ
+
أَبُو بَکْرٍ
ʾabū bakrin
“Abū Bakr”
صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
+
صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
ṣalāḥu -ddīni
“Salāḥ ad-Dīn”
In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples:
-مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
+
مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi.
“I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.”
-يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
+
يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun
“O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.”
-يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
+
يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu.
“O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.”
If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
+
يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu.
“O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.”
-يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka.
“O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.”
-يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
+
يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun.
“O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.”
When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَبانا
+
يَا أَبانا
yā ʾabānā
“O our father”
@@ -777,63 +777,63 @@ 15.2.4 Using multiple words15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say,
-يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
+
يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you.
If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say:
-يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
+
يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state.
-يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ.
+
يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ.
yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun.
“O [any] players of games, time is precious.”
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying,
-يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
+
15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying,
+يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“O Zayd, your question is excellent.”
it is permissible to say:
-زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
+
زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“Zayd, your question is excellent.”
-Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation.
-This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example,
-رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ.
+
Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation.
+This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example,
+رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ.
rabbanā laka -lḥamdu.
“Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.”
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
-When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible,
-يَا قَوْمِي
+
15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible,
+يَا قَوْمِي
yā qawmī
“O my people”
it is more common to say:
-يَا قَوْمِ
+
يَا قَوْمِ
yā qawmi
“O my people”
-This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”.
+This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”.
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
-When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say:
-يَا أَللَّـٰهُ
+
When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say:
+يَا أَللَّـٰهُ
yā ʾallāhu
“O Allāh”
-Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ.
-However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word:
-ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ
+
Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ.
+However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word:
+ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ
ʾallāhumma
“O Allāh”
Examples:
-ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
+
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu.
“O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.”
-ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ.
+
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari.
“O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.”
diff --git a/docs/completed-action-verbs.html b/docs/completed-action-verbs.html
index 0eb40736..8506b1d1 100644
--- a/docs/completed-action-verbs.html
+++ b/docs/completed-action-verbs.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -690,11 +690,11 @@ 6.1 Introduction6.2 Arabic word roots
We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots.
Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters.
-Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns.
-So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl.
-The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl.
-Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots.
-Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only.
+Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns.
+So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl.
+The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl.
+Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots.
+Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only.
6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb
@@ -709,71 +709,71 @@ 6.3 The form 1 completed-action v
-«فعل»
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+«فعل»
+فَعَلَ faɛala
“did”
-«ذهب»
-ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba
+«ذهب»
+ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba
“went”
-«کتب»
-کَتَبَ kataba
+«کتب»
+کَتَبَ kataba
“wrote”
-«قرء»
-قَرَأَ qaraʾa
+«قرء»
+قَرَأَ qaraʾa
“read”
-«جلس»
-جَلَسَ jalasa
+«جلس»
+جَلَسَ jalasa
“sat”
-«سءل»
-سَأَلَ saʾala
+«سءل»
+سَأَلَ saʾala
“questioned”
-«سکت»
-سَکَتَ sakata
+«سکت»
+سَکَتَ sakata
“became quiet”
-«جعل»
-جَعَلَ jaɛala
+«جعل»
+جَعَلَ jaɛala
“made”
-«علم»
-عَلِمَ ɛalima
+«علم»
+عَلِمَ ɛalima
“knew”
-«عمل»
-عَمِلَ ɛamila
+«عمل»
+عَمِلَ ɛamila
“worked”
-«کبر»
-کَبُرَ kabura
+«کبر»
+کَبُرَ kabura
“grew”
-
Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”.
-Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ.
+Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”.
+Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ.
A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common.
Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is:
-- حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated”
-- حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed”
+- حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated”
+- حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed”
-You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written.
+
You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written.
In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward.
@@ -785,10 +785,10 @@ 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer
Consider the sentence:
“The boy went.”
In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar:
+ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar:
In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order.
In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example:
-ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ.
+
ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ.
d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq.
“A man went to the market.”
-In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite.
+In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite.
6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun
Now consider the sentence:
“A girl went.”
In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say:
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyah.
“A girl went.”
-Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity.
-If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples:
-جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ.
+
Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity.
+If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples:
+جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ.
jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi.
“A catf sat on the chair.”
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt.
“The childf played in the house.”
-
سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ.
+
سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ.
saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah.
“The mother questioned the girl.”
-Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee.
+Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee.
6.5.2 Multiple direct doees
Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example,
-جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا.
+
جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا.
jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā.
“Allāh made the man a Muslim.”
-In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state.
+In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state.
6.5.3 Indirect doees
Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say:
“The man looked at the moon.”
In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar.
“The man looked at the moon.”
-In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee.
-Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it.
+In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee.
+Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it.
It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri.
“The man looked into the matter.”
It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi.
“The man viewed what was written in the book.”
A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee.
Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example,
-سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr.
“The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.”
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state.
-أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state.
-The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”.
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state.
+أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state.
+The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”.
It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example,
-غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ.
+
غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ.
g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi.
“Allāh forgave the Muslim.”
-The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li.
+The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li.
6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic:
-- Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc.
-- Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc.
+- Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc.
+- Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc.
Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying:
“The man went.”
@@ -929,15 +929,15 @@ 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
Masc. addressee (“you1,m”)
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
Fem. addressee (“you1,f”)
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
Speaker (“I”)
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
@@ -945,21 +945,21 @@ 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”)
The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba -rrajul.
“The man went.”
-When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
-ذَهَبَ.
+
When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
+ذَهَبَ.
d͡hahab.
“[He] went.”
-As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
+As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible.
For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence:
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā.
“The girl read a book.”
we get:
-قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾat kitābā.
“[She] read a book.”
@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@ 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants
It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb.
-Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
+Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singu
Addressee “you1,m”
-تَ -ta
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+تَ -ta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Addressee “you1,f”
-تِ -ti
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+تِ -ti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker “I”
-تُ -tu
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+تُ -tu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
-Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
+Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders.
Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns:
-کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
+
کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
katabta kitābā.
“Youm wrote a book.”
-ذَهَبْتُ
+
ذَهَبْتُ
d͡hahabt.
“I went.”
The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended.
-Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
-قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
+قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
qaraʾti -lkitāb.
“Youf read the book.”
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
qaraʾati -lkitāb.
“She read the book.”
6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun
-If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
-«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
+If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
+«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get:
-سَکَتُّ
+
سَکَتُّ
sakattu
“I became quiet”
-سَکَتَّ
+
سَکَتَّ
sakatta
“You1,m became quiet”
-سَکَتِّ
+
سَکَتِّ
sakatti
“You1,f became quiet”
Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO.
@@ -1053,64 +1053,64 @@ 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “you1,m”
+کَ -ka “you1,m”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “you1,f”
+کِ -ki “you1,f”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
Here are some notes regarding their usage:
Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example:
-سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
saʾalahu -lg͡hulām.
“The boy asked him.”
If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتُکِ.
+
سَأَلْتُکِ.
saʾaltuk.
“I asked youf.”
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
-سَأَلَهَا.
+
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
+سَأَلَهَا.
saʾalahā.
“He asked her.”
-سَأَلَتْکَ.
+
سَأَلَتْکَ.
saʾalatk.
“She asked youm.”
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
-سَأَلْتِهِ.
+
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
+سَأَلْتِهِ.
saʾaltih
“Youf asked him.”
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
-سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
+
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
+سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
saʾalanī rajul.
“A man asked me.”
-سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalaniya -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
-If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتَنِي.
+
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
+سَأَلْتَنِي.
saʾaltanī
“Youm asked me.”
-By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
+
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
-Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
-This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
-سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
+This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
+سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalani -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
@@ -1135,23 +1135,23 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer
-«دخل»
-دَخَلَ dak͡hala
+«دخل»
+دَخَلَ dak͡hala
“entered”
-«خرج»
-خَرَجَ k͡haraja
+«خرج»
+خَرَجَ k͡haraja
“exited”
-«ءکل»
-أَکَلَ ʾakala
+«ءکل»
+أَکَلَ ʾakala
“ate”
-«شرب»
-شَرِبَ s͡hariba
+«شرب»
+شَرِبَ s͡hariba
“drank”
@@ -1161,20 +1161,20 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doerThe doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs:
“entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”.
When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say:
-دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
-Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
-فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
+فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
-Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
-The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
+
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
+The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba.
“The man wrote the book.”
There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example,
if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
kataba -lkitāba rajul.
“A man wrote the book.”
The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead:
-کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba rajuluni -lkitāb.
“A man wrote the book.”
-Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
-So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
-کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
+So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
+کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
katabahu -rrajulu.
“The man wrote it.”
This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it.
Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah.
“The boy went to the school.”
-Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
+
Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā.
“The boy went to it.”
-While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
-ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
+ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went to it.”
-This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
+
This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills.
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
+مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.” or,
“The man has not gone.”
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
-The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
-قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
+قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man has already gone.” or,
“The man did go.”
@@ -1266,7 +1266,7 @@ 6.11 The particle
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter
-We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
+We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
@@ -1277,35 +1277,35 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
Absent person (masc.) “him”
-إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
+إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
Absent person (fem.) “her”
-إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
+إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.”
-إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
+إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.”
-إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
+إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me”
-إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
+إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
-Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
+Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons:
If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example,
-ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
+
ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu.
“She hit me and him.”
If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example,
-إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
+
إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
ʾiyyāya ḍarabat.
“She hit me.”
@@ -1314,7 +1314,7 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
6.13 TODO
- Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework.
-- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
+- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
diff --git a/docs/duals.html b/docs/duals.html
index fc994ca9..cd23d370 100644
--- a/docs/duals.html
+++ b/docs/duals.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -691,8 +691,8 @@ 9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
-The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
-For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
+The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
+For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
+Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
Here are examples of duals in sentences:
u-state:
-ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ.
ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah.
“The books2 are in the bag.”
a-state:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ.
qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn.
“The boy read two books.”
i-state:
-غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ.
+
غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ.
g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn.
“The mother became angry at the girls2.”
-### Nouns ending in ة
-If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”:
+If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”:
Example:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ.
+
ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ.
ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah.
“The trees2 are in the garden.”
-If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get:
+If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get:
-- u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni
-- a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni
+- u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni
+- a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni
-There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
+There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
-9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء
-If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual.
+
9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء
+If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual.
Examples:
@@ -812,23 +812,23 @@ 9.2.1 Nouns ending with
-«صحر»
-صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”
-صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni
-صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni
+«صحر»
+صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”
+صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni
+صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni
-«حمر»
-حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”
-حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni
-حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni
+«حمر»
+حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”
+حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni
+حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni
-There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root.
+
There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root.
Example:
-- «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال
+- «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال
We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
-9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples:
+9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples:
9.2.2 Nouns ending with
-«غضب»
-غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”
-غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni
-غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni
+«غضب»
+غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”
+غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni
+غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni
-«ذکر»
-ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance”
-ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni
-ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni
+«ذکر»
+ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance”
+ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni
+ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni
-Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root.
+
Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root.
Example:
-- «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل
+- «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل
We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
@@ -888,14 +888,14 @@ 9.2.2 Nouns ending with
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example:
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah.
“I went to the old city.”
To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples:
-ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt.
“The good mothers2 are in the house.”
-قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ.
qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn.
“The boy read two old heavy books.”
-ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ.
ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān.
“The big books2 are heavy.”
Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example,
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ.
ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān.
“The men2 are teachersm,2.”
Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example,
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ 9.4 Duals in subject-information
[EalbinAEAni madrasatan]{.trn}
"The two buildings are a school"
-->
-
ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ.
+
ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ.
ʾalwisādatāni sarīr.
“The two cushions are a bed.”
In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender.
@@ -958,23 +958,23 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُوَ huwa “he”
+هُوَ huwa “he”
Fem. absentee
-هِيَ hiya “she”
+هِيَ hiya “she”
Masc. addressee
-أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1”
+أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1”
+أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1”
Speaker
-أَنَا ʾana “I”
+أَنَا ʾana “I”
@@ -989,11 +989,11 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا humā “they2”
+هُمَا humā “they2”
Addressee
-أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
+أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1004,16 +1004,16 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronounsNote that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders.
Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples of their use:
-هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
huma -rrajulān.
“They2 are the men2.”
-هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
+
هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni.
“They2 are noble teachersf.”
-قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
+
قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī.
“The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’”
-In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
+In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
9.6 Attached dual pronouns
@@ -1028,23 +1028,23 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “youm,1”
+کَ -ka “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “youf,1”
+کِ -ki “youf,1”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
@@ -1059,11 +1059,11 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا -humā “them2”
+هُمَا -humā “them2”
Addressee
-کُمَا -kumā “you2”
+کُمَا -kumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1074,21 +1074,21 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
@@ -1151,31 +1151,31 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Fem. absentee
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Masc. addressee
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Fem. addressee
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
@@ -1198,15 +1198,15 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
+ بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
+ بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
+ بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
+ شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
ay
u
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
+ شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
+ شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
ay
i
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
+ شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
+ شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
+ مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
+ مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
+ مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
+ سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
ū
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
+ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
aw
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
+ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
+ سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
+ سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
+ سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
+ ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
+ ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
+ مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
i
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
+ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
i
u
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
+ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
@@ -1362,17 +1362,17 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixesجُزْءَانِ
juzʾāni
+
جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni
- عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni
+ عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni
- عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni
+ عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni
- بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu
+ بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu
- بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu
+ بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu
- بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi
+ بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi
-(انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.)
-Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix.
+(انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.)
+Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix.
A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah
-Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word:
+Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word:
-If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا.
Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples:
If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا.
Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples:
-- مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ
-- مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ
-- جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ
-- شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ
-- سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ
+- مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ
+- مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ
+- جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ
+- شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ
+- سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ
A.2.4 Variants
There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write:
-- مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول
-- أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة
-- مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة
+- مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول
+- أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة
+- مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة
-However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة.
-A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write:
+However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة.
+A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write:
-- رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس.
-- رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس.
+- رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس.
+- رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس.
7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase
Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example,
-هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ.
+
هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ.
huwa rajulun muɛallim.
“He is a teacherm man.”
= “He is a man who is a teacherm.”
7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun
-In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ.
+
In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”:
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ.
ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun
“The building is big and tall and wide.”
In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ.
ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr.
“The man is a famous Arab writer.”
7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee
Consider the phrase:
-کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ
+
کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ
kitābun mina -lmaktabati
“a book from the library”
If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences:
-قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ.
+
قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ.
qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati.
AND
-قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا.
+قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا.
qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran.
“a small book from the library”
The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too.
diff --git a/docs/annexation.html b/docs/annexation.html index 13f1d972..5238e1f8 100644 --- a/docs/annexation.html +++ b/docs/annexation.html @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
12.2 Forming the annexationThe annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation.
The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation.
-The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام.
+
The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام.
You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun.
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ.
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ.
“The boy’s book is heavy.”
(The annexe noun is in the u-state.)
-أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
+
أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
“The girl took the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the a-state.)
-کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ.
“The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the i-state.)
+
“The boy’s book is heavy.”
(The annexe noun is in the u-state.)
+
“The girl took the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the a-state.)
+
“The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.”
(The annexe noun is in the i-state.)
12.4 Definiteness of the annexation
Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
“the boy’s book”
The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. +
The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. -The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. +The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. -Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. +Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite.
Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite.
-کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ
+
کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ
“a boy’s book”
In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. -The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. +
In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. +The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. -Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. +Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite.
We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important.
Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations.
-لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
“The child wore a man’s shirt.”
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
+
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
“The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.”
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
“The man sat in a tree’s shade.”
12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of”
So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples:
-بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
+
بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
“a man’s house”
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the man’s house”
Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example:
-بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
+
بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ
“a/the house of a man”
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“a/the house of the man”
Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples:
-لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ.
“The child wore a/the shirt of a man.”
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
+
أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا.
“The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.”
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ.
“The man sat in the shade of a tree.”
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
+
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
“The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.”
It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic.
As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well.
The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section.
-If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ.
+
If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ.
“The boy went to a house of the man.”
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
+
فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ.
“The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.”
12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations
-There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples:
-حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ.
+
There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples:
+حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ.
“The animals of the forest are wild.”
قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ
+
قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ
“The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.”
فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ.
+
فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ.
“In the cupboard are teachers’f pens.
Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10
12.6.1 Describing the base noun
Consider the following expression:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
“the girl’s book”
Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. -Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. +Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ
“the small girl’s book”
In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee -ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” +
In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee +ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural).
Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get:
-کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ
+
کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ
“a small girl’s book”
Here are some more examples:
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The girl played in the garden of the big house.”
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
“The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.”
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ.
“The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.”
12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun
Consider, again, the same annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ
“the girl’s book”
Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. +
Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ
“the girl’s small book”
Note how the describer -ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. -Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. -The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. +ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. +Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. +The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above.
-Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get:
-کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ
+
Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get:
+کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ
“a girl’s small book”
This time the describer -صَغِيرٌ -is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. +صَغِيرٌ +is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because -the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite.
+the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite.Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The boy went to the big/old man’s house.”
or
“The boy went to the man’s big house.”
How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? -The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state.
+How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? +The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state.
The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings.
Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ.
“The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.”
In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house.
+In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house.
If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ.
“The boy went to the big/old man’s house.”
In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ .
+
In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ .
“The boy went to the big house of the man.”
Here are some more examples:
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ.
“The girl played with the boy’s red ball.”
-(Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.)
سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ.
+(Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.)
سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ.
“The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.”
-(Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة)
حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ.
+(Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة)
حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ.
“The boy carried the heavy school-bag.”
(literally: the heavy bag of the school).
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ.
“The man wrote on the white page of a book.”
-(Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.)
The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations:
-
-
- مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \(a_1\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \(b_1\) is بَابِ. -
- بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \(a_2\) is بَابِ and its base noun \(b_2\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. +
- مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \(a_1\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \(b_1\) is بَابِ. +
- بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \(a_2\) is بَابِ and its base noun \(b_2\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ.
The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation -مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. +
The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation +مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation -بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”.
-Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite.
+بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. +Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite.
And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite.
-مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ
+
مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ
“a house’s door’s key”
All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 -if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example:
-مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ
+if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example:
مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ
“from the well of the desert of a land”
@@ -1040,10 +1040,10 @@ 12.9 Pronouns as base nounsConsider the expression:
12.9 Pronouns as base nounsConsider the expression:
“his book”
This expression is very similar to the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ
“the boy’s book”
-The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get:
+کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far:
@@ -1051,54 +1051,54 @@ 12.9 Pronouns as base nounsThe base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent.
Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences:
-کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ.
+
کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ.
“His book is heavy”
-قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ.
“The man read his book.”
-کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ.
“The teacherm wrote in his book.”
-If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example:
-ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ.
+
If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example:
+ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ.
“They went to their school.”
Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns:
-دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ.
+
دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ.
“You1,m entered your1,m house.”
-أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا.
+
أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا.
“They2,f ate their2 food.”
-قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ
+
قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ
“I have arrived to your3,m city.”
-هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا.
+
هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا.
“He is the ʾImām of our mosque.”
-If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”.
-لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ.
+
If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”.
+لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ.
“They3,f played in their3,f gardens.”
-If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”:
-کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ.
+
If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”:
+کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ.
“The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.”
For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun:
-- ي -ī
-- يَ -ya
+- ي -ī
+- يَ -ya
-The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي
+
The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example:
+قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي
“I read my book.”
-أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة.
+
أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة.
“My pens are short.”
If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then
-(ي -ī) is disallowed and only
-(يَ -ya) shall be used.
-Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”:
-أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ.
+(ي -ī) is disallowed and only
+(يَ -ya) shall be used.
+Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”:
+أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ.
“My gifts pleased them.”
12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
-The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه.
+
The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه.
We would like add a describer to this expression.
-Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite.
+Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite.
Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too.
Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers.
Even in English you may say:
@@ -1106,12 +1106,12 @@ 12.9.1 Describers with annexation
but you can’t say:
\(\times\) “The good he went.”
So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example:
-کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
+
کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
“his red book”
Here are some more examples:
-کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
+
کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
“I wrote with my black pen.”
-حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
+
حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
“The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.”
(literally: the village’s boys.)
@@ -1126,65 +1126,65 @@ 12.10 Duals and ūn soun
12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns
As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by:
-- ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals
-- ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals
+- ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals
+- ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals
Here are some examples:
-لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ.
+
لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ.
“The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.”
-أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ.
+
أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ.
“The tall boys’2 sister is little.”
-هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ.
+
هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ.
“She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.”
+
“the boy’s book”
+
“his book”
12.9 Pronouns as base nounsThe base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent.
+
“His book is heavy”
+
“The man read his book.”
+
“The teacherm wrote in his book.”
+
“They went to their school.”
+
“You1,m entered your1,m house.”
+
“They2,f ate their2 food.”
+
“I have arrived to your3,m city.”
+
“He is the ʾImām of our mosque.”
+
“They3,f played in their3,f gardens.”
+
“The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.”
+
“I read my book.”
+
“My pens are short.”
+(ي -ī) is disallowed and only +(يَ -ya) shall be used. +Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”:
“My gifts pleased them.”
12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. +
The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. -Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. +Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too.
Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say:
@@ -1106,12 +1106,12 @@12.9.1 Describers with annexation
but you can’t say:
\(\times\) “The good he went.”
So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example:
-کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
+
کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ
“his red book”
Here are some more examples:
-کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
+
کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ
“I wrote with my black pen.”
حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
+
حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
“The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.”
(literally: the village’s boys.)
12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns
+
“The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.”
+
“The tall boys’2 sister is little.”
+
“She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.”
12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns
-When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example:
-بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example:
+بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the man’s houses2”
not
-\(\times\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ
Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus:
+\(\times\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ +Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus:
bayta -rrajuli
not
\(\times\) baytā -rrajuli
If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+
If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example:
+قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul
“I read the man’s books2.”
Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals:
-مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ.
+
مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ.
muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām.
“The boy’s teachers3 are noble.”
-(Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”)
لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ.
+(Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”)
لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ.
laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim.
“The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.”
12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns
-Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples:
-مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ.
+
Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples:
+مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ.
“Our teachers3,m are good.”
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا
“The girl played with her friends2,f.”
بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ.
+
بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ.
“My houses2 are big.”
-(Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.)
قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ
-(Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.)
قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ
+(Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.)
There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below:
Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun
-When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get:
-مُعَلِّمِيَّ
-We don’t say \(\times\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples:
-مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ.
+
When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get:
+مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+We don’t say \(\times\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples:
+مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ.
“My teachers3,m are noble.”
(u-state)
سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+
سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
“I asked my teachers3,m.”
(a-state)
أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
+
أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ
“I took a book from my teachers3,m.”
(i-state)
Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pr
Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun
When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying
-نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا +
نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.”
it is in fact, more common, to say
-نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا +
نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.”
Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered.
-So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below:
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ.
+
So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below:
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ.
“The houses are big.”
سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ.
-سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ.
-سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ.
+
سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ.
+سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ.
+سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ.
“They3,m lived in ssmall houses.”
سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ.
+
سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ.
“The houses fell.”
ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ.
-ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ.
+
ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ.
+ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ.
“The houses, they fell.”
هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
-هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
+
هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
+هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ.
“They are houses for the poor.”
Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples:
-هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ.
-هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ.
-هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ.
+
هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ.
+هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ.
+هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ.
“They are wild bulls.”
ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
-ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+
ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
“The catsm, they drank the milk.”
ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
-ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+
ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
+ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ.
“The catsf, they drank the milk.”
ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة.
-ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ.
-ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ.
+
ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة.
+ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ.
+ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ.
“The ships are tall.”
فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ.
-فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ.
+
فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ.
+فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ.
“In the box are wonderful things.”
-(Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.)
By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number.
For example, if you say:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ.
+
ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ.
“The righteous acts are the good ones.”
then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”.
-If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
+
then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”.
+If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural:
+ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
“The acts are the good deeds.”
The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid:
-ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
+
The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid:
+ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ.
“The acts are the good deeds.”
Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality.
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ.
“The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.”
In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning):
-\(\times\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ.
+\(\times\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ.
It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example,
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ.
+
ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ.
“The house is big.”
not
-\(\times\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة.
أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+\(\times\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة.
أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions2 ate the gazelle.”
not
-\(\times\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular
In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So,
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
is generally preferred over
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below.
@@ -2489,11 +2489,11 @@ 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plura
diff --git a/docs/calling-out.html b/docs/calling-out.html
index 67eaf65f..3754c927 100644
--- a/docs/calling-out.html
+++ b/docs/calling-out.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plura whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude.
So if we say,
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less).
And if, instead, we said:
-ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
+
ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ.
“The lions, they ate the gazelle.”
then this would indicate that there were many lions.
This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way:
@@ -2503,13 +2503,13 @@11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plura
11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion
Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example:
-شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
+
شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
“The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.”
If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went.
So we might prefer to say, instead:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion
Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example:
-شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
+
شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ.
“The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.”
If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ.
then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went.
So we might prefer to say, instead:
-ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
+ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ.
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
15 Calling out
15.1 Introduction
-When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
+
When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.”
-There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
+There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
15.2 Calling out to specific persons
15.2.1 Using single word personal names
-When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
-If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
+
When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
+If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zayd.”
15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns
The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu.
“Peace be upon you, O you boy.”
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu.
“Peace be upon you, O you girl.”
In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule:
-يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
+
يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun.
“O you men, a matter has occurred.”
-Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
+Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
Similarly,
-يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
+
يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal.
“O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.”
15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns
-When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
-يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
+
When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
+يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba
“O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].”
-أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
+
أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību.
“I am ill, O you the Doctor.”
-If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
-أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
+
If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
+أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi.
“O you the teacherf, this is my book.”
@@ -737,38 +737,38 @@ 15.2.3 Using single word definite
15.2.4 Using multiple words
The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example:
-عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
+
عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
ɛabdu -llāhi
“Ɛabd Allāh”
أَبُو بَکْرٍ
+
أَبُو بَکْرٍ
ʾabū bakrin
“Abū Bakr”
صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
+
صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
ṣalāḥu -ddīni
“Salāḥ ad-Dīn”
In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples:
-مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
+
مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi.
“I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.”
-يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
+
يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun
“O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.”
-يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
+
يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu.
“O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.”
If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
+
يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu.
“O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.”
-يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka.
“O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.”
-يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
+
يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun.
“O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.”
When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَبانا
+
يَا أَبانا
yā ʾabānā
“O our father”
@@ -777,63 +777,63 @@ 15.2.4 Using multiple words15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
15.1 Introduction
-When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
+
When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example,
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.”
There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
+There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections.
15.2 Calling out to specific persons
15.2.1 Using single word personal names
-When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
-If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
+
When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state.
+If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes:
+ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu.
“Peace be upon you, O Zayd.”
15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns
The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples:
-ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu.
“Peace be upon you, O you boy.”
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
+
ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ.
ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu.
“Peace be upon you, O you girl.”
In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule:
-يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
+
يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ.
yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun.
“O you men, a matter has occurred.”
Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
+Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons.
Similarly,
-يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
+
يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ.
yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal.
“O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.”
15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns
-When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
-يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
+
When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples:
+يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ.
yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba
“O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].”
أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
+
أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ.
ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību.
“I am ill, O you the Doctor.”
If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
-أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
+
If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example:
+أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي.
ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi.
“O you the teacherf, this is my book.”
15.2.3 Using single word definite
15.2.4 Using multiple words
The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example:
-
-
عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
+عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ
ɛabdu -llāhi
“Ɛabd Allāh”
-أَبُو بَکْرٍ
+أَبُو بَکْرٍ
ʾabū bakrin
“Abū Bakr”
-صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
+صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ
ṣalāḥu -ddīni
“Salāḥ ad-Dīn”
In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples:
-مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
+
مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi.
“I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.”
يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
+
يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ.
yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun
“O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.”
يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
+
يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ.
yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu.
“O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.”
If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
+
يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ.
yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu.
“O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.”
يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka.
“O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.”
يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
+
يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ.
yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun.
“O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.”
When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples:
-يَا أَبانا
+
يَا أَبانا
yā ʾabānā
“O our father”
All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say,
-يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
+
يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you.
If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say:
-يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
+
يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ.
yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun.
“O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.”
If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state.
-يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ.
+
يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ.
yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun.
“O [any] players of games, time is precious.”
-
15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying,
-يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
+
15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying,
+يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“O Zayd, your question is excellent.”
it is permissible to say:
-زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
+
زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ.
zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun.
“Zayd, your question is excellent.”
Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation.
-This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example,
-رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ.
+
Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation.
+This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example,
+رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ.
rabbanā laka -lḥamdu.
“Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.”
-
15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
-When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible,
-يَا قَوْمِي
+
15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible,
+يَا قَوْمِي
yā qawmī
“O my people”
it is more common to say:
-يَا قَوْمِ
+
يَا قَوْمِ
yā qawmi
“O my people”
This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”.
+This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”.
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
-When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say:
-يَا أَللَّـٰهُ
+
When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say:
+يَا أَللَّـٰهُ
yā ʾallāhu
“O Allāh”
Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ.
-However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word:
-ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ
+
Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ.
+However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word:
+ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ
ʾallāhumma
“O Allāh”
Examples:
-ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
+
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu.
“O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.”
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ.
+
ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ.
ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari.
“O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
6.1 Introduction6.2 Arabic word roots
We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters.
-Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns.
-So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. -The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl.
-Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots.
-Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only.
+Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns.
+So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. +The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl.
+Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots.
+Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only.
6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb
@@ -709,71 +709,71 @@6.3 The form 1 completed-action v
-«فعل»
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+«فعل»
+فَعَلَ faɛala
“did”
-«ذهب»
-ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba
+«ذهب»
+ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba
“went”
-«کتب»
-کَتَبَ kataba
+«کتب»
+کَتَبَ kataba
“wrote”
-«قرء»
-قَرَأَ qaraʾa
+«قرء»
+قَرَأَ qaraʾa
“read”
-«جلس»
-جَلَسَ jalasa
+«جلس»
+جَلَسَ jalasa
“sat”
-«سءل»
-سَأَلَ saʾala
+«سءل»
+سَأَلَ saʾala
“questioned”
-«سکت»
-سَکَتَ sakata
+«سکت»
+سَکَتَ sakata
“became quiet”
-«جعل»
-جَعَلَ jaɛala
+«جعل»
+جَعَلَ jaɛala
“made”
-«علم»
-عَلِمَ ɛalima
+«علم»
+عَلِمَ ɛalima
“knew”
-«عمل»
-عَمِلَ ɛamila
+«عمل»
+عَمِلَ ɛamila
“worked”
-«کبر»
-کَبُرَ kabura
+«کبر»
+کَبُرَ kabura
“grew”
-
Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”.
-Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ.
+Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”.
+Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ.
A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common.
Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is:
-
-
- حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” -
- حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” +
- حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” +
- حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed”
You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. +
You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward.
@@ -785,10 +785,10 @@
6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer
Consider the sentence:
“The boy went.”
In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām.
“The boy went.”
ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar:
+ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar:
In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order.
In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example:
-ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ.
+
ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ.
d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq.
“A man went to the market.”
In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite.
+In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite.
6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun
Now consider the sentence:
“A girl went.”
In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say:
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyah.
“A girl went.”
Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity.
-If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples:
-جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ.
+
Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity.
+If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples:
+جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ.
jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi.
“A catf sat on the chair.”
لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt.
“The childf played in the house.”
-
سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ.
+
سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ.
saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah.
“The mother questioned the girl.”
Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee.
+Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee.
6.5.2 Multiple direct doees
Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example,
-جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا.
+
جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا.
jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā.
“Allāh made the man a Muslim.”
In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state.
+In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state.
6.5.3 Indirect doees
Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say:
“The man looked at the moon.”
In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar.
“The man looked at the moon.”
In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee.
-Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it.
+In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee.
+Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it.
It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri.
“The man looked into the matter.”
It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say:
-نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ.
naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi.
“The man viewed what was written in the book.”
A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee.
Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example,
-سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr.
“The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.”
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. -أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. -The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”.
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. +أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. +The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”.
It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example,
-غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ.
+
غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ.
g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi.
“Allāh forgave the Muslim.”
The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li.
+The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li.
6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic:
-
-
- Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. -
- Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. +
- Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. +
- Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc.
Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying:
“The man went.”
@@ -929,15 +929,15 @@6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
Masc. addressee (“you1,m”)
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
Fem. addressee (“you1,f”)
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
Speaker (“I”)
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
@@ -945,21 +945,21 @@ 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns
6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”)
The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba -rrajul.
“The man went.”
-When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
-ذَهَبَ.
+
When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
+ذَهَبَ.
d͡hahab.
“[He] went.”
-As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
+As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible.
For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence:
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā.
“The girl read a book.”
we get:
-قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾat kitābā.
“[She] read a book.”
@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@ 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants
It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb.
-Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
+Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singu
Addressee “you1,m”
-تَ -ta
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+تَ -ta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Addressee “you1,f”
-تِ -ti
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+تِ -ti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker “I”
-تُ -tu
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+تُ -tu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
-Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
+Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders.
Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns:
-کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
+
کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
katabta kitābā.
“Youm wrote a book.”
-ذَهَبْتُ
+
ذَهَبْتُ
d͡hahabt.
“I went.”
The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended.
-Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
-قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
+قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
qaraʾti -lkitāb.
“Youf read the book.”
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
qaraʾati -lkitāb.
“She read the book.”
6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun
-If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
-«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
+If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
+«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get:
-سَکَتُّ
+
سَکَتُّ
sakattu
“I became quiet”
-سَکَتَّ
+
سَکَتَّ
sakatta
“You1,m became quiet”
-سَکَتِّ
+
سَکَتِّ
sakatti
“You1,f became quiet”
Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO.
@@ -1053,64 +1053,64 @@ 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “you1,m”
+کَ -ka “you1,m”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “you1,f”
+کِ -ki “you1,f”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
Here are some notes regarding their usage:
Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example:
-سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
saʾalahu -lg͡hulām.
“The boy asked him.”
If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتُکِ.
+
سَأَلْتُکِ.
saʾaltuk.
“I asked youf.”
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
-سَأَلَهَا.
+
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
+سَأَلَهَا.
saʾalahā.
“He asked her.”
-سَأَلَتْکَ.
+
سَأَلَتْکَ.
saʾalatk.
“She asked youm.”
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
-سَأَلْتِهِ.
+
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
+سَأَلْتِهِ.
saʾaltih
“Youf asked him.”
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
-سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
+
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
+سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
saʾalanī rajul.
“A man asked me.”
-سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalaniya -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
-If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتَنِي.
+
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
+سَأَلْتَنِي.
saʾaltanī
“Youm asked me.”
-By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
+
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
-Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
-This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
-سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
+This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
+سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalani -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
@@ -1135,23 +1135,23 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer
-«دخل»
-دَخَلَ dak͡hala
+«دخل»
+دَخَلَ dak͡hala
“entered”
-«خرج»
-خَرَجَ k͡haraja
+«خرج»
+خَرَجَ k͡haraja
“exited”
-«ءکل»
-أَکَلَ ʾakala
+«ءکل»
+أَکَلَ ʾakala
“ate”
-«شرب»
-شَرِبَ s͡hariba
+«شرب»
+شَرِبَ s͡hariba
“drank”
@@ -1161,20 +1161,20 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doerThe doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs:
“entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”.
When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say:
-دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
-Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
-فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
+فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
-Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
-The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
+
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
+The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba.
“The man wrote the book.”
There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example,
if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
kataba -lkitāba rajul.
“A man wrote the book.”
The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead:
-کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba rajuluni -lkitāb.
“A man wrote the book.”
-Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
-So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
-کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
+So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
+کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
katabahu -rrajulu.
“The man wrote it.”
This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it.
Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah.
“The boy went to the school.”
-Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
+
Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā.
“The boy went to it.”
-While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
-ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
+ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went to it.”
-This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
+
This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills.
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
+مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.” or,
“The man has not gone.”
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
-The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
-قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
+قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man has already gone.” or,
“The man did go.”
@@ -1266,7 +1266,7 @@ 6.11 The particle
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter
-We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
+We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
@@ -1277,35 +1277,35 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
Absent person (masc.) “him”
-إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
+إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
Absent person (fem.) “her”
-إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
+إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.”
-إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
+إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.”
-إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
+إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me”
-إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
+إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
-Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
+Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons:
If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example,
-ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
+
ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu.
“She hit me and him.”
If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example,
-إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
+
إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
ʾiyyāya ḍarabat.
“She hit me.”
@@ -1314,7 +1314,7 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
6.13 TODO
- Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework.
-- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
+- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
diff --git a/docs/duals.html b/docs/duals.html
index fc994ca9..cd23d370 100644
--- a/docs/duals.html
+++ b/docs/duals.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -691,8 +691,8 @@ 9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
-The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
-For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
+The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
+For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”)
The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba -rrajul.
“The man went.”
When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
-ذَهَبَ.
+
When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get:
+ذَهَبَ.
d͡hahab.
“[He] went.”
As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
+As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun.
The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence:
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā.
“The girl read a book.”
we get:
-قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
+
قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا.
qaraʾat kitābā.
“[She] read a book.”
@@ -973,7 +973,7 @@ 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible
6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants
It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb.
-Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
+Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singu
Addressee “you1,m”
-تَ -ta
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+تَ -ta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Addressee “you1,f”
-تِ -ti
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+تِ -ti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker “I”
-تُ -tu
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+تُ -tu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
-Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
+Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders.
Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns:
-کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
+
کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
katabta kitābā.
“Youm wrote a book.”
-ذَهَبْتُ
+
ذَهَبْتُ
d͡hahabt.
“I went.”
The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended.
-Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
-قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
+قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
qaraʾti -lkitāb.
“Youf read the book.”
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
qaraʾati -lkitāb.
“She read the book.”
6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun
-If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
-«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
+If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
+«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get:
-سَکَتُّ
+
سَکَتُّ
sakattu
“I became quiet”
-سَکَتَّ
+
سَکَتَّ
sakatta
“You1,m became quiet”
-سَکَتِّ
+
سَکَتِّ
sakatti
“You1,f became quiet”
Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO.
@@ -1053,64 +1053,64 @@ 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “you1,m”
+کَ -ka “you1,m”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “you1,f”
+کِ -ki “you1,f”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
Here are some notes regarding their usage:
Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example:
-سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
saʾalahu -lg͡hulām.
“The boy asked him.”
If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتُکِ.
+
سَأَلْتُکِ.
saʾaltuk.
“I asked youf.”
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
-سَأَلَهَا.
+
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
+سَأَلَهَا.
saʾalahā.
“He asked her.”
-سَأَلَتْکَ.
+
سَأَلَتْکَ.
saʾalatk.
“She asked youm.”
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
-سَأَلْتِهِ.
+
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
+سَأَلْتِهِ.
saʾaltih
“Youf asked him.”
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
-سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
+
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
+سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
saʾalanī rajul.
“A man asked me.”
-سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalaniya -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
-If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتَنِي.
+
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
+سَأَلْتَنِي.
saʾaltanī
“Youm asked me.”
-By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
+
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
-Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
-This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
-سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
+This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
+سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalani -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
@@ -1135,23 +1135,23 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer
-«دخل»
-دَخَلَ dak͡hala
+«دخل»
+دَخَلَ dak͡hala
“entered”
-«خرج»
-خَرَجَ k͡haraja
+«خرج»
+خَرَجَ k͡haraja
“exited”
-«ءکل»
-أَکَلَ ʾakala
+«ءکل»
+أَکَلَ ʾakala
“ate”
-«شرب»
-شَرِبَ s͡hariba
+«شرب»
+شَرِبَ s͡hariba
“drank”
@@ -1161,20 +1161,20 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doerThe doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs:
“entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”.
When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say:
-دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
-Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
-فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
+فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
-Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
-The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
+
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
+The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba.
“The man wrote the book.”
There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example,
if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
kataba -lkitāba rajul.
“A man wrote the book.”
The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead:
-کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba rajuluni -lkitāb.
“A man wrote the book.”
-Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
-So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
-کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
+So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
+کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
katabahu -rrajulu.
“The man wrote it.”
This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it.
Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah.
“The boy went to the school.”
-Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
+
Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā.
“The boy went to it.”
-While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
-ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
+ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went to it.”
-This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
+
This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills.
6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants
It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb.
-Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
+Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs.
| Addressee “you1,m” | -تَ -ta | -فَعَلْتَ faɛalta | +تَ -ta | +فَعَلْتَ faɛalta |
| Addressee “you1,f” | -تِ -ti | -فَعَلْتِ faɛalti | +تِ -ti | +فَعَلْتِ faɛalti |
| Speaker “I” | -تُ -tu | -فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu | +تُ -tu | +فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu |
Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
+Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ.
Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders.
Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns:
-کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
+
کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا.
katabta kitābā.
“Youm wrote a book.”
ذَهَبْتُ
+
ذَهَبْتُ
d͡hahabt.
“I went.”
The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended.
-Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
-قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences:
+قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
qaraʾti -lkitāb.
“Youf read the book.”
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ.
qaraʾati -lkitāb.
“She read the book.”
6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun
-If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
-«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
+If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb:
+«سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet”
When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get:
-سَکَتُّ
+
سَکَتُّ
sakattu
“I became quiet”
سَکَتَّ
+
سَکَتَّ
sakatta
“You1,m became quiet”
سَکَتِّ
+
سَکَتِّ
sakatti
“You1,f became quiet”
Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO.
@@ -1053,64 +1053,64 @@6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “you1,m”
+کَ -ka “you1,m”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “you1,f”
+کِ -ki “you1,f”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
Here are some notes regarding their usage:
Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example:
-سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
saʾalahu -lg͡hulām.
“The boy asked him.”
If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتُکِ.
+
سَأَلْتُکِ.
saʾaltuk.
“I asked youf.”
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
-سَأَلَهَا.
+
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
+سَأَلَهَا.
saʾalahā.
“He asked her.”
-سَأَلَتْکَ.
+
سَأَلَتْکَ.
saʾalatk.
“She asked youm.”
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
-سَأَلْتِهِ.
+
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
+سَأَلْتِهِ.
saʾaltih
“Youf asked him.”
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
-سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
+
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
+سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
saʾalanī rajul.
“A man asked me.”
-سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalaniya -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
-If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتَنِي.
+
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
+سَأَلْتَنِي.
saʾaltanī
“Youm asked me.”
-By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
+
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
-Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
-This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
-سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
+This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
+سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalani -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
@@ -1135,23 +1135,23 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer
-«دخل»
-دَخَلَ dak͡hala
+«دخل»
+دَخَلَ dak͡hala
“entered”
-«خرج»
-خَرَجَ k͡haraja
+«خرج»
+خَرَجَ k͡haraja
“exited”
-«ءکل»
-أَکَلَ ʾakala
+«ءکل»
+أَکَلَ ʾakala
“ate”
-«شرب»
-شَرِبَ s͡hariba
+«شرب»
+شَرِبَ s͡hariba
“drank”
@@ -1161,20 +1161,20 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doerThe doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs:
“entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”.
When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say:
-دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
-Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
-فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
+فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
-Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
-The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
+
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
+The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example:
-سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
saʾalahu -lg͡hulām.
“The boy asked him.”
If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتُکِ.
+
سَأَلْتُکِ.
saʾaltuk.
“I asked youf.”
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
-سَأَلَهَا.
+
If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example:
+سَأَلَهَا.
saʾalahā.
“He asked her.”
سَأَلَتْکَ.
+
سَأَلَتْکَ.
saʾalatk.
“She asked youm.”
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
-سَأَلْتِهِ.
+
If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example,
+سَأَلْتِهِ.
saʾaltih
“Youf asked him.”
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
-سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
+
An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example:
+سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.
saʾalanī rajul.
“A man asked me.”
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalaniya -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
-سَأَلْتَنِي.
+
If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example,
+سَأَلْتَنِي.
saʾaltanī
“Youm asked me.”
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī +
By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī
-Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
-This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
-سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.).
+This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example,
+سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalani -rrajul.
“The man asked me.”
6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer
-«دخل»
-دَخَلَ dak͡hala
+«دخل»
+دَخَلَ dak͡hala
“entered”
-«خرج»
-خَرَجَ k͡haraja
+«خرج»
+خَرَجَ k͡haraja
“exited”
-«ءکل»
-أَکَلَ ʾakala
+«ءکل»
+أَکَلَ ʾakala
“ate”
-«شرب»
-شَرِبَ s͡hariba
+«شرب»
+شَرِبَ s͡hariba
“drank”
@@ -1161,20 +1161,20 @@ 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doerThe doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs:
“entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”.
When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say:
-دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
-Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
-فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose
+فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
-Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
-The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
+
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”.
+The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
+
دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ.
dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt.
“I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.”
Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose -فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
+Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose +فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events.
Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun:
“The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.”
Here is our translation:
-دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
+
دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ.
dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat.
“The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.”
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun -ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. -The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. +
Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun +ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. +The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer.
-The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
+The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say:
“The man wrote a book.”
So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words.
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba.
“The man wrote the book.”
There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example,
-کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
+
کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ.
kataba -lkitāba rajul.
“A man wrote the book.”
The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead:
-کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
+
کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ.
kataba rajuluni -lkitāb.
“A man wrote the book.”
Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
-So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
-کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”.
+So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun:
+کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
katabahu -rrajulu.
“The man wrote it.”
This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it.
Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah.
“The boy went to the school.”
Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
+
Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā.
“The boy went to it.”
While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
-ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus:
+ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went to it.”
This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. +
This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it.
This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills.
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example:
+مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.” or,
“The man has not gone.”
-6.11 The particle
diff --git a/docs/duals.html b/docs/duals.html
index fc994ca9..cd23d370 100644
--- a/docs/duals.html
+++ b/docs/duals.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
-The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
-قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured.
+قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man has already gone.” or,
“The man did go.”
6.11 The particle
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter
-We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
+We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns:
@@ -1277,35 +1277,35 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
Absent person (masc.) “him”
-إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
+إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
Absent person (fem.) “her”
-إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
+إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.”
-إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
+إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.”
-إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
+إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me”
-إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
+إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
-Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
+Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā.
But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons:
If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example,
-ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
+
ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu.
“She hit me and him.”
If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example,
-إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
+
إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
ʾiyyāya ḍarabat.
“She hit me.”
@@ -1314,7 +1314,7 @@ 6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
6.13 TODO
- Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework.
-- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
+- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
6.12 Separating doee pronouns fro
Absent person (masc.) “him”
-إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
+إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu
Absent person (fem.) “her”
-إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
+إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā
Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.”
-إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
+إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka
Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.”
-إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
+إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki
Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me”
-إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
+إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya
If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example,
-ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
+
ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ.
ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu.
“She hit me and him.”
If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example,
-إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
+
إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ.
ʾiyyāya ḍarabat.
“She hit me.”
6.13 TODO
- Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. -
- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه +
- جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
-The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
-For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
+The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way.
+For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get:
Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
+Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
Here are examples of duals in sentences:
u-state:
-ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ.
+ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ.
ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah.
“The books2 are in the bag.”a-state:
-قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ.
+قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ.
qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn.
“The boy read two books.”i-state:
-غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ.
+غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ.
g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn.
“The mother became angry at the girls2.” -### Nouns ending in ة
+### Nouns ending in ة
If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”:
+If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”:
Example:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ.
+
ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ.
ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah.
“The trees2 are in the garden.”
If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get:
+If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get:
-
-
- u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni -
- a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni +
- u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni +
- a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni
There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
+There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
-
-
9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء
-If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. +
9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء
+If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples:
| «صحر» | -صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” | -صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni | -صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni | +«صحر» | +صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” | +صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni | +صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni |
| «حمر» | -حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” | -حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni | -حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni | +«حمر» | +حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” | +حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni | +حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni |
There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. +
There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example:
-
-
- «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال +
- «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال
We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
-
-
@@ -888,14 +888,14 @@ 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples:
+9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples:
| «غضب» | -غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” | -غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni | -غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni | +«غضب» | +غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” | +غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni | +غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni |
| «ذکر» | -ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” | -ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni | -ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni | +«ذکر» | +ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” | +ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni | +ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni |
Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. +
Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example:
-
-
- «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل +
- «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل
We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
9.2.2 Nouns ending with
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example:
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah.
“I went to the old city.”
To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples:
-ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt.
“The good mothers2 are in the house.”
-قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ.
+
قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ.
qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn.
“The boy read two old heavy books.”
-ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ.
ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān.
“The big books2 are heavy.”
Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example,
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ.
ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān.
“The men2 are teachersm,2.”
Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example,
@@ -940,7 +940,7 @@ 9.4 Duals in subject-information
[EalbinAEAni madrasatan]{.trn}
"The two buildings are a school"
-->
-
ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ.
+
ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ.
ʾalwisādatāni sarīr.
“The two cushions are a bed.”
In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender.
@@ -958,23 +958,23 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُوَ huwa “he”
+هُوَ huwa “he”
Fem. absentee
-هِيَ hiya “she”
+هِيَ hiya “she”
Masc. addressee
-أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1”
+أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1”
+أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1”
Speaker
-أَنَا ʾana “I”
+أَنَا ʾana “I”
@@ -989,11 +989,11 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا humā “they2”
+هُمَا humā “they2”
Addressee
-أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
+أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1004,16 +1004,16 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronounsNote that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders.
Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples of their use:
-هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
huma -rrajulān.
“They2 are the men2.”
-هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
+
هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni.
“They2 are noble teachersf.”
-قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
+
قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī.
“The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’”
-In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
+In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
9.6 Attached dual pronouns
@@ -1028,23 +1028,23 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “youm,1”
+کَ -ka “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “youf,1”
+کِ -ki “youf,1”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
@@ -1059,11 +1059,11 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا -humā “them2”
+هُمَا -humā “them2”
Addressee
-کُمَا -kumā “you2”
+کُمَا -kumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1074,21 +1074,21 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
@@ -1151,31 +1151,31 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Fem. absentee
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Masc. addressee
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Fem. addressee
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
@@ -1198,15 +1198,15 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
+ بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
+ بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
+ بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
+ شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
ay
u
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
+ شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
+ شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
ay
i
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
+ شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
+ شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
+ مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
+ مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
+ مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
+ سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
ū
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
+ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
aw
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
+ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
+ سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
+ سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
+ سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
+ ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
+ ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
+ مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
i
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
+ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
i
u
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
+ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
@@ -1362,17 +1362,17 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixesجُزْءَانِ
juzʾāni
+
+
d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah.
“I went to the old city.”
+
ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt.
“The good mothers2 are in the house.”
+
qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn.
“The boy read two old heavy books.”
+
ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān.
“The big books2 are heavy.”
+
ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān.
“The men2 are teachersm,2.”
+
ʾalwisādatāni sarīr.
“The two cushions are a bed.”
9.5 Detached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا humā “they2”
+هُمَا humā “they2”
Addressee
-أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
+أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1004,16 +1004,16 @@ 9.5 Detached dual pronounsNote that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders.
Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples of their use:
-هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
huma -rrajulān.
“They2 are the men2.”
-هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
+
هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni.
“They2 are noble teachersf.”
-قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
+
قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī.
“The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’”
-In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
+In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
9.6 Attached dual pronouns
@@ -1028,23 +1028,23 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “youm,1”
+کَ -ka “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “youf,1”
+کِ -ki “youf,1”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
@@ -1059,11 +1059,11 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا -humā “them2”
+هُمَا -humā “them2”
Addressee
-کُمَا -kumā “you2”
+کُمَا -kumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1074,21 +1074,21 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
@@ -1151,31 +1151,31 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Fem. absentee
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Masc. addressee
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Fem. addressee
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
@@ -1198,15 +1198,15 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
+ بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
+ بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
+ بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
+ شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu
ay
u
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
+ شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
+ شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi
ay
i
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
+ شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
+ شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
+ مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
+ مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
+ مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi
ī
i
ī
-ء
+ء
- سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
+ سُوئِهِ sūʾihi
ū
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
+ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi
aw
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
+ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
+ سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu
ū
u
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
+ سُوءَهُ sūʾahu
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
+ سُوءَانِ sūʾāni
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
+ ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
+ ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
+ مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna
i
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
+ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna
i
u
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
+ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
@@ -1362,17 +1362,17 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixesجُزْءَانِ
9.5 Detached dual pronounsNote that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders.
Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples of their use:
-هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ.
huma -rrajulān.
“They2 are the men2.”
-هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
+
هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ.
humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni.
“They2 are noble teachersf.”
-قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
+
قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي.
qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī.
“The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’”
-In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
+In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”.
9.6 Attached dual pronouns
@@ -1028,23 +1028,23 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “youm,1”
+کَ -ka “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “youf,1”
+کِ -ki “youf,1”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
@@ -1059,11 +1059,11 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا -humā “them2”
+هُمَا -humā “them2”
Addressee
-کُمَا -kumā “you2”
+کُمَا -kumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1074,21 +1074,21 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
@@ -1151,31 +1151,31 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Fem. absentee
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Masc. addressee
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Fem. addressee
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
@@ -1198,15 +1198,15 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
+
huma -rrajulān.
“They2 are the men2.”
+
humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni.
“They2 are noble teachersf.”
+
qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī.
“The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’”
9.6 Attached dual pronouns
@@ -1028,23 +1028,23 @@9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Masc. absentee
-هُ -hu “him”
+هُ -hu “him”
Fem. absentee
-هَا -hā “her”
+هَا -hā “her”
Masc. addressee
-کَ -ka “youm,1”
+کَ -ka “youm,1”
Fem. addressee
-کِ -ki “youf,1”
+کِ -ki “youf,1”
Speaker
-ي “me”
+ي “me”
@@ -1059,11 +1059,11 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronouns
Absentee
-هُمَا -humā “them2”
+هُمَا -humā “them2”
Addressee
-کُمَا -kumā “you2”
+کُمَا -kumā “you2”
Speaker
@@ -1074,21 +1074,21 @@ 9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
@@ -1151,31 +1151,31 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Fem. absentee
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Masc. addressee
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Fem. addressee
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Speaker
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
@@ -1198,15 +1198,15 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
9.6 Attached dual pronounsNote the following points about them:
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
-- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
-- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
+- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2”
+- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2”
+- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
-- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
+- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2”
+- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case.
The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
+The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā.
Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
-
-
- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” -
- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” -
- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” +
- بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” +
- فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” +
- إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2”
The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
+The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns:
-
-
- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” -
- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” +
- لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” +
- لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2”
As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
+As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example:
-
-
- ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+ - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu.
“The man went toward you2.”
9.6.1 Dual doee pronounsسَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمَا.
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
-سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
+
سَأَلَتْکُمَا.
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
@@ -1113,18 +1113,18 @@ 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns9.7 Verbs with dual doers
saʾalahuma -rrajulu.
“The man asked them2.”
+
saʾaltukumā
“I asked you2.”
+
saʾalatkumā.
“She asked you2.”
9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Masc. absentee
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Absentee
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker
@@ -1218,39 +1218,39 @@ 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
+
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did”
Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
-سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
-سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
diff --git a/docs/hamzarules.html b/docs/hamzarules.html
index a0840b45..f1af5907 100644
--- a/docs/hamzarules.html
+++ b/docs/hamzarules.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -686,18 +686,18 @@ A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
-- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
-- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
-- Unseated: ء
+- Seated on an alif: أ or إ
+- Seated on an wāw: ؤ
+- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ
+- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah
-ئ
-ـئ
-ـئـ
-ئـ
+ئ
+ـئ
+ـئـ
+ئـ
-Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
@@ -737,14 +737,14 @@ A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
-- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
+- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana.
+- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
@@ -757,42 +757,42 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
1.
ī/ay
-ء
+ء
2.
i
-ئ
+ئ
3.
ū/aw
-ء
+ء
4.
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
5.
ā
-ء
+ء
6.
a
-أ
+أ
7.
-◌ْ
-ء
+◌ْ
+ء
-Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
@@ -813,235 +813,235 @@ A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
- هَيْءَة hayʾah
+ هَيْءَة hayʾah
ay
a
ay
-ء
+ء
- خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+ خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
ī
a
ī
-ء
+ء
- اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
+ اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās
ī
a
ī
-ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
+ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.)
- تَوْءَم tawʾam
+ تَوْءَم tawʾam
aw
a
aw
-ء
+ء
- سَائِل sāʾil
+ سَائِل sāʾil
ā
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
ā
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
+ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
+ قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt
ā
a
ā
-ء
+ء
- نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
+ نُوآنٌ nūʾānun
ū
a
ū
-ء
+ء
- مَسْؤُول masʾūl
-◌ْ
+ مَسْؤُول masʾūl
+◌ْ
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
-◌ْ
+ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs
+◌ْ
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- مِرْآة mirʾāh
-◌ْ
+ مِرْآة mirʾāh
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
-◌ْ
+ ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān
+◌ْ
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
-◌ْ
+ مَسْأَلَة masʾalah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
-◌ْ
+ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah
+◌ْ
a
a
-أ
+أ
- بِئْسَ biʾsa
+ بِئْسَ biʾsa
i
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤْل suʾl
+ سُؤْل suʾl
u
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- کَأْس kaʾs
+ کَأْس kaʾs
a
-◌ْ
+◌ْ
a
-أ
+أ
- سُئِلَ suʾila
+ سُئِلَ suʾila
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- يَئِسَ yaʾisa
+ يَئِسَ yaʾisa
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رَئِيس raʾīs
+ رَئِيس raʾīs
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سُؤَال suʾāl
+ سُؤَال suʾāl
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- رُؤُوس ruʾūs
+ رُؤُوس ruʾūs
u
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- لُؤَيّ luʾayy
+ لُؤَيّ luʾayy
u
a
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
+ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- سَأَلَ saʾala
+ سَأَلَ saʾala
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- رَأَىٰ raʾā
+ رَأَىٰ raʾā
a
a
a
-أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
+أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.)
- رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
+ رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa
a
a
a
-أ
+أ
- يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
+ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu
a
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
+ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa
u
i
i
-ئ
+ئ
- تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
+ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul
a
u
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- سَءَّال saʾʾāl
+ سَءَّال saʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
- لَءَّال laʾʾāl
+ لَءَّال laʾʾāl
a
a
a
-ء (Using sub-rule.)
+ء (Using sub-rule.)
@@ -1065,76 +1065,76 @@ A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
- آخِرَة
-الْ
-الْآخِرَة
+ آخِرَة
+الْ
+الْآخِرَة
@@ -1195,165 +1195,165 @@ A.2.2.2 Suffixes
- بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
+ بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna
ī
u
ī
-ء
+ء
9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer<
Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns:
The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders.
-However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” +
However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns:
-سَأَلْتُمَانَا
+
سَأَلْتُمَانَا
saʾaltumānā
“You2 asked us”
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
+
سَأَلَتَاکُمَا
saʾalatākumā
“Theyf,2 asked you2”
سَأَلَاهُمَا
+
سَأَلَاهُمَا
saʾalāhumā
“Theym,2 asked them2”
9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers:
-ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“They2 went to a house.”
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin.
“The men2 went to a house.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ.
ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin.
“The men2, they2 went to a house.”
= “The men2 went to a house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا.
ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā.
“The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.”
= “The men2 ate and drank and went.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
A Rules for writing hamzahA.1 Seats of hamzah
Hamzah is written in four different ways:
-
-
- Seated on an alif: أ or إ -
- Seated on an wāw: ؤ -
- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ -
- Unseated: ء +
- Seated on an alif: أ or إ +
- Seated on an wāw: ؤ +
- Seated on an yāʾ: ئ +
- Unseated: ء
Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods:
-
-
When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
-As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
-When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
-When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
-When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
+When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة.
+As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ.
+When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt.
+When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ.
+When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions:
-@@ -709,14 +709,14 @@ A.1 Seats of hamzah -
ئ -ـئ -ـئـ -ئـ +ئ +ـئ +ـئـ +ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
+
Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ.
So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah.
A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffix
A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word
When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then:
-
-
- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. -
- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. +
- If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. +
- If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha.
A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word
The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word.
-Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
+Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below:
| 1. | ī/ay | -ء | +ء | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. | i | -ئ | +ئ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. | ū/aw | -ء | +ء | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4. | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5. | ā | -ء | +ء | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6. | a | -أ | +أ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7. | -◌ْ | -ء | +◌ْ | +ء |
Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
-Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
+Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah.
+Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ.
Examples:
| هَيْءَة hayʾah | +هَيْءَة hayʾah | ay | a | ay | -ء | +ء | |
| خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah | +خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah | ī | a | ī | -ء | +ء | |
| اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās | +اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās | ī | a | ī | -ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) | +ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) | |
| تَوْءَم tawʾam | +تَوْءَم tawʾam | aw | a | aw | -ء | +ء | |
| سَائِل sāʾil | +سَائِل sāʾil | ā | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul | +تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul | ā | u | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |
| تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala | +تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala | ā | a | ā | -ء | +ء | |
| قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt | +قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt | ā | a | ā | -ء | +ء | |
| نُوآنٌ nūʾānun | +نُوآنٌ nūʾānun | ū | a | ū | -ء | +ء | |
| مَسْؤُول masʾūl | -◌ْ | +مَسْؤُول masʾūl | +◌ْ | u | u | -ؤ | +ؤ |
| تَرْئِيس tarʾīs | -◌ْ | +تَرْئِيس tarʾīs | +◌ْ | i | i | -ئ | +ئ |
| مِرْآة mirʾāh | -◌ْ | +مِرْآة mirʾāh | +◌ْ | a | a | -ء (Using sub-rule.) | +ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān | -◌ْ | +ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān | +◌ْ | a | a | -ء (Using sub-rule.) | +ء (Using sub-rule.) |
| مَسْأَلَة masʾalah | -◌ْ | +مَسْأَلَة masʾalah | +◌ْ | a | a | -أ | +أ |
| الْمَرْأَة almarʾah | -◌ْ | +الْمَرْأَة almarʾah | +◌ْ | a | a | -أ | +أ |
| بِئْسَ biʾsa | +بِئْسَ biʾsa | i | -◌ْ | +◌ْ | i | -ئ | +ئ |
| سُؤْل suʾl | +سُؤْل suʾl | u | -◌ْ | +◌ْ | u | -ؤ | +ؤ |
| کَأْس kaʾs | +کَأْس kaʾs | a | -◌ْ | +◌ْ | a | -أ | +أ |
| سُئِلَ suʾila | +سُئِلَ suʾila | u | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| يَئِسَ yaʾisa | +يَئِسَ yaʾisa | a | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| رَئِيس raʾīs | +رَئِيس raʾīs | a | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| سُؤَال suʾāl | +سُؤَال suʾāl | u | a | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |
| رُؤُوس ruʾūs | +رُؤُوس ruʾūs | u | u | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |
| لُؤَيّ luʾayy | +لُؤَيّ luʾayy | u | a | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |
| شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān | +شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān | a | a | a | -ء (Using sub-rule.) | +ء (Using sub-rule.) | |
| سَأَلَ saʾala | +سَأَلَ saʾala | a | a | a | -أ | +أ | |
| رَأَىٰ raʾā | +رَأَىٰ raʾā | a | a | a | -أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) | +أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) | |
| رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa | +رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa | a | a | a | -أ | +أ | |
| يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu | +يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu | a | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa | +رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa | u | i | i | -ئ | +ئ | |
| تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul | +تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul | a | u | u | -ؤ | +ؤ | |
| سَءَّال saʾʾāl | +سَءَّال saʾʾāl | a | a | a | -ء (Using sub-rule.) | +ء (Using sub-rule.) | |
| لَءَّال laʾʾāl | +لَءَّال laʾʾāl | a | a | a | -ء (Using sub-rule.) | +ء (Using sub-rule.) |
A.2.1.3 At the end of the word
- دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
+ دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu
ā
-ء
+ء
- سُوءُ sūʾu
+ سُوءُ sūʾu
ū
-ء
+ء
- جِيءَ jīʾa
+ جِيءَ jīʾa
ī
-ء
+ء
- ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
+ ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa
aw
-ء
+ء
- شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
+ شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa
ay
-ء
+ء
- بُطْءُ buṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ بُطْءُ buṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ عِبْءُ ɛibʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
-◌ْ
-ء
+ شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu
+◌ْ
+ء
- يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
+ يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
+ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu
i
-ئ
+ئ
- بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
+ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa
u
-ؤ
+ؤ
- يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
+ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu
a
-أ
+أ
- مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
+ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi
a
-إ
+إ
The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark.
-In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
-Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
-But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
+In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu.
+Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah.
+But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled.
@@ -1159,14 +1159,14 @@ A.2.2.1 Prefixes
-
A.2.2.1 Prefixes
- أُسْتَاذِ
-لِ
-لِأُسْتَاذِ
+ أُسْتَاذِ
+لِ
+لِأُسْتَاذِ
+
+
+
+
(انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) -Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix.
+(انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) +Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix.
A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah
-Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word:
+Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word:
-
-
If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا.
-Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples:
+If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا.
+Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples:
-
-
- مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ -
- مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ -
- جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ -
- شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ -
- سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ +
- مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ +
- مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ +
- جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ +
- شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ +
- سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ
A.2.4 Variants
There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write:
-
-
- مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول -
- أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة -
- مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة +
- مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول +
- أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة +
- مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة
However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة.
-A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write:
+However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة.
+A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write:
-
-
- رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. -
- رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. +
- رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. +
- رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس.
A.3 Why so complicated?
-هَيْءَة hayʾah
-هَيَّة hayyah
+هَيْءَة hayʾah
+هَيَّة hayyah
-خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
-خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah
+خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah
+خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah
-تَوْءَم tawʾam
-تَوَّم tawwam
+تَوْءَم tawʾam
+تَوَّم tawwam
-تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
-تَسَاوُل tasāwul
+تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul
+تَسَاوُل tasāwul
-بِئْسَ biʾsa
-بِيسَ bīsa
+بِئْسَ biʾsa
+بِيسَ bīsa
-سُؤْل suʾl
-سُول sūl
+سُؤْل suʾl
+سُول sūl
-کَأْس kaʾs
-کَاس kās
+کَأْس kaʾs
+کَاس kās
@@ -1469,16 +1469,16 @@ A.3 Why so complicated?ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah.
+So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah.
A.4 Typographical limitations
Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters -(ـءـ), +(ـءـ), as in -خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. -In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: -خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah.
+خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. +In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: +خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah.Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are
- Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) @@ -1490,14 +1490,14 @@
Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is:
-u+0640 arabic tatweel
+
-u+0654 arabic hamza aboveHamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is:
+u+0640 arabic tatweel
+u+0654 arabic hamza aboveThis is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly.
-Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation.
+Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation.
A.4 Typographical limitations
-
Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like
-لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا.
+لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا.
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
Learn Standard Arabic
A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises
-v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea
+v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025
Preface
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md index c7ce5f52..8fb12771 100644 --- a/docs/index.md +++ b/docs/index.md @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ title: "Learn Standard Arabic" subtitle: "A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises" author: "Author Names" -date: "v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea" +date: "v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025" documentclass: book geometry: # A4 2 pages per sheet draft @@ -9747,9 +9747,9 @@ Consider now a variant of this sentence: here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb [أَكَلَ]{.ar} "ate". The particle [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} "even", -here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as [وَ]{.ar} "and" functions. For example, -[أَكَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَكَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا.]{.ar} -"I ate the fish and its head." +here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as [وَ]{.ar} "and". +([أَكَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَكَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا.]{.ar} +"I ate the fish and its head.") Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: @@ -9782,10 +9782,10 @@ so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. When the verb following [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} -is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. +signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: -1. When [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example, +1. When [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example, [قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ.]{.ar} "I read the [#qurEAn]{.trn2} to the point of finishing it." @@ -9796,14 +9796,14 @@ This is done in the following two scenarios: [غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِكَ نَفْسَهُ.]{.ar} "He became angry to the point of not controlling himself." - It is noteworthy that the use of [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar}, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn't actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality. + It is noteworthy that the use of [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar}, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn't actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that [لَا]{.ar} is not attached to [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} in [حَتَّىٰ لَا]{.ar}. Also, similar to the case of [كَيْ]{.ar}, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) [أَنْ]{.ar} which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar}, - here, can be considered synonymous to [إِلَىٰ أَنْ]{.ar} "to [the point] that". So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to: + here, can be considered synonymous to [إِلَىٰ أَنْ]{.ar} "to [the point] that". So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to: [قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ.]{.ar} @@ -9837,7 +9837,11 @@ If [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit [أَنْ]{.ar} is not assumed with [حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} in this case.) -In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example: + +The verb following +[حَتَّىٰ]{.ar} +in this case +may even be a completed-action verb. For example: [أَكَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ.]{.ar} "I ate the food until I became full." diff --git a/docs/introduction.html b/docs/introduction.html index 75c3d489..81960ecf 100644 --- a/docs/introduction.html +++ b/docs/introduction.html @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
13.2 The five nouns
-13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam
+13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam
The first three nouns that we will talk about are:
-- أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو»)
-- أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو»)
-- حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو»)
+- أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو»)
+- أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو»)
+- حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو»)
-The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below.
-Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples:
-لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ.
+
The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below.
+Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples:
+لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ.
liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr
“The girl has an old father and a young brother.”
-ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ.
+
ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ.
ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu.
“The boy beat a brother of his.”
-ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ.
+
ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ.
ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h.
“The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.”
-Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples:
-هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ.
+
Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples:
+هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ.
huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah
“He is the girl’s brother.”
-سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr.
“I asked my friend’s father about a matter.”
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul.
“I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.”
When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example,
-أَبُوهُ
+
أَبُوهُ
ʾabūhu
“his father” (u-state).
-أَخَانَا
+
أَخَانَا
ʾak͡hānā
“our brother” (a-state).
-However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel:
+However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel:
-أَخِي
+
أَخِي
ʾak͡hī
“my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
-أَبِي
+
أَبِي
ʾabī
“my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
-حَمِي
+
حَمِي
ḥamī
“my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
Here are some more examples in sentences:
-أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ.
+
أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ.
ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr.
“His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.”
-سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا.
+
سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا.
saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā.
“I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.”
-شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي.
+
شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي.
s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī.
“My brother thanked my father.”
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn.
“I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.”
-The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation
-◌ٌ,
-◌ً, and
-◌ٍ, when indefinite.
+
The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation
+◌ٌ,
+◌ً, and
+◌ٍ, when indefinite.
. Examples:
-بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ.
+
بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ.
baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr.
“The brother’s house is big.”
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h.
“I went to a brother’s house.”
-When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces.
-In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء.
+
When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces.
+In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء.
The following table shows their duals and plurals.
+
liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr
“The girl has an old father and a young brother.”
+
ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu.
“The boy beat a brother of his.”
+
ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h.
“The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.”
+
huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah
“He is the girl’s brother.”
+
saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr.
“I asked my friend’s father about a matter.”
+
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul.
“I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.”
+
ʾabūhu
“his father” (u-state).
+
ʾak͡hānā
“our brother” (a-state).
+
ʾak͡hī
“my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
+
ʾabī
“my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
+
ḥamī
“my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state).
+
ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr.
“His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.”
+
saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā.
“I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.”
+
s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī.
“My brother thanked my father.”
+
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn.
“I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.”
+
baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr.
“The brother’s house is big.”
+
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h.
“I went to a brother’s house.”
| أَب ʾab | -أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni | -أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni | -آبَاء ʾābāʾ | +أَب ʾab | +أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni | +أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni | +آبَاء ʾābāʾ |
| أَخ ʾak͡h | -أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni | -أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni | -إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān | +أَخ ʾak͡h | +أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni | +أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni | +إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān |
| حَم ḥam | -حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni | -حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni | -أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ | +حَم ḥam | +حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni | +حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni | +أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ |
One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ.
+
One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ.
d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi.
“The brothers2 went to the mosque.”
سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ
+
سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ
saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin.
“I asked my brothers2 about a matter.”
شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ
+
شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ
s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi.
“I thanked his parents.”
-
-
13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt
-The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”.
-So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below:
+13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt
+The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”.
+So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below:
| u-state | -ذُو d͡hū | -ذَوَا d͡hawā | -ذَوُو d͡hawū | +ذُو d͡hū | +ذَوَا d͡hawā | +ذَوُو d͡hawū |
| a-state | -ذَا d͡hā | -ذَوَيْ d͡haway | -ذَوِي d͡hawī | +ذَا d͡hā | +ذَوَيْ d͡haway | +ذَوِي d͡hawī |
| i-state | -ذِي d͡hī | +ذِي d͡hī | same as a-state | same as a-state |
The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ.
+
The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples:
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ.
ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl.
“The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.”
The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below:
+The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below:
| u-state | -ذَاتُ d͡hātu | -ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā | -ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu | +ذَاتُ d͡hātu | +ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā | +ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu |
| a-state | -ذَاتَ d͡hāta | -ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay | -ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti | +ذَاتَ d͡hāta | +ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay | +ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti |
| i-state | -ذَاتِ d͡hāti | +ذَاتِ d͡hāti | same as a-state | same as a-state |
Examples:
-هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ.
+
هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ.
hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin.
“This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.”
As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples:
+As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples:
-
13.2.3 فَم fam
-The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”.
-In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior.
-عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ.
+
13.2.3 فَم fam
+The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”.
+In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior.
+عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ.
ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān
“On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.”
It is a base noun in an annexation regularly:
-نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ.
+
نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ.
naṭaqa lisānu -lfam.
“The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].”
It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly
-فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ.
+
فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ.
fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni.
“The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.”
Let’s now see its irregular behavior.
-When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns.
+When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns.
-The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is -أَفْواه ʾafwāh.
-Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it.
+The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is +أَفْواه ʾafwāh.
+Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it.
13.3 Other irregular nouns
There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below.
-
@@ -1021,20 +1021,20 @@
-
13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-أُولُو ʾulū -(first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) +
13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+أُولُو ʾulū +(first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to -ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. +ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun.
Here is its form in the different states:
| أُولُو ʾulū | -أُولِي ʾulī | +أُولُو ʾulū | +أُولِي ʾulī |
Example:
-لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ.
+
لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ.
liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq.
“The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.”
The feminine counterpart of -أُولُو ʾulū +أُولُو ʾulū is -أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. -The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و.
+أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. +The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و.| أُولَاتُ ʾulātu | -أُولَاتِ ʾulāti | +أُولَاتُ ʾulātu | +أُولَاتِ ʾulāti |
لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ.
+
لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ.
liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn.
“The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.”
-
13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
The noun -أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” +أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants:
-
-
- أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt -
- أُمَّات ʾummāt +
- أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt +
- أُمَّات ʾummāt
The first variant -أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt +أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example:
-أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ.
+
أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ.
ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt.
“The boys’ mothers are good.”
-13.3.3
13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
The noun -سَنَة sanah “a year” +سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from @@ -1097,10 +1097,10 @@
13.3.3
-سَنَة sanah
-سَنَوَات sanawāt
-سِنُونَ sinūna
-سِنِينَ sinīna
+سَنَة sanah
+سَنَوَات sanawāt
+سِنُونَ sinūna
+سِنِينَ sinīna
@@ -1108,29 +1108,29 @@ 13.3.3
Here are some examples:
-
13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”.
+13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”.
-
13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” -forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”.
-Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural.
+13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” +forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”.
+Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural.
-13.3.6
13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
The noun -ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». +ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts:
-
-
- ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah -
- بِنْت bint +
- ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah +
- بِنْت bint
which mean “a daughter”.
-ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” +
ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural.
-Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”.
+Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”.
In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly:
@@ -1149,22 +1149,22 @@13.3.6
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
-بَنُونَ banūna
-بَنِينَ banīna
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
+بَنُونَ banūna
+بَنِينَ banīna
The feminine
-ٱِبْنَة
+ٱِبْنَة
and
-بِنْت
+بِنْت
“a daughter”
form the irregular āt sound plural
بَنَات banāt “daughters”.
Note that
-بَنَات banāt
-is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state.
+بَنَات banāt
+is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state.
Here are some examples using these nouns:
-
13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-نَاس nās +
13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+نَاس nās and -أُنَاس ʾunās -are from the root «أنس». +أُنَاس ʾunās +are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”.
When indefinite, only -أُنَاس ʾunās +أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and -نَاس nās +نَاس nās tends to be unused.
When definite, only -ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās +ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and -ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās +ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused.
Here are some examples using these nouns:
-
@@ -1265,18 +1265,18 @@
diff --git a/docs/nouns-of-superiority.html b/docs/nouns-of-superiority.html
index 09223b4d..8728aa4e 100644
--- a/docs/nouns-of-superiority.html
+++ b/docs/nouns-of-superiority.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -704,138 +704,138 @@ 24.1 Introduction
-
13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
The nouns -ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and -ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” +ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and +ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular.
Firstly, -ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” +ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of -رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”.
-ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”.
+رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. +ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”.
Secondly, -ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. -نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required.
-ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals -نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former -(نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used.
-Like شَفَة s͡hafah -it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural.
-Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. -When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean:
+ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. +نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. +ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals +نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former +(نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used.
+Like شَفَة s͡hafah +it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural.
+Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. +When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean:
| State | -Definite of ٱِمْرَأ | -Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة | +Definite of ٱِمْرَأ | +Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| u-state | -ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu | -ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu | +ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu | +ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu |
| a-state | -ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa | -ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata | +ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa | +ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata |
| i-state | -ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi | -ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati | +ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi | +ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati |
The masculine noun -ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ +ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. -When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر.
+When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر.It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used.
This table shows what we mean:
| u-state | -ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun | -ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun | +ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun | +ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun |
| a-state | -ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan | -ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan | +ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan | +ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan |
| i-state | -ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin | -ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin | +ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin | +ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin |
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
24.1 Introduction
-«کبر»
-کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big”
-أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger”
+«کبر»
+کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big”
+أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger”
-«صغر»
-صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small”
-أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller”
+«صغر»
+صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small”
+أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller”
-«حسن»
-حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good”
-أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better”
+«حسن»
+حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good”
+أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better”
-«سوء»
-سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad”
-أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse”
+«سوء»
+سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad”
+أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse”
-«قدم»
-قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old”
-أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older”
+«قدم»
+قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old”
+أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older”
-«جد»
-جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new”
-أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”
+«جد»
+جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new”
+أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”
-«سهل»
-سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy”
-أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier”
+«سهل»
+سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy”
+أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier”
-«صعب»
-صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult”
-أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult”
+«صعب»
+صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult”
+أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult”
-«طول»
-طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long”
-أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer”
+«طول»
+طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long”
+أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer”
-«قصر»
-قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short”
-أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter”
+«قصر»
+قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short”
+أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter”
-«ثقل»
-ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy”
-أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier”
+«ثقل»
+ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy”
+أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier”
-«خف»
-خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light”
-أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter”
+«خف»
+خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light”
+أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter”
-«وسع»
-وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide”
-أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider”
+«وسع»
+وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide”
+أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider”
-«ضيق»
-ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow”
-أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower”
+«ضيق»
+ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow”
+أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower”
-«سرع»
-سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast”
-أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster”
+«سرع»
+سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast”
+أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster”
-«بطء»
-بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow”
-أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower”
+«بطء»
+بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow”
+أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower”
-«قوي»
-قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong”
-أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”
+«قوي»
+قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong”
+أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”
-«ضعف»
-ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak”
-أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker”
+«ضعف»
+ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak”
+أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker”
-«کثر»
-کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many”
-أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more”
+«کثر»
+کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many”
+أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more”
-«قل»
-قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less”
-أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser”
+«قل»
+قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less”
+أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser”
Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority:
-
-
- Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». +
- Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل».
- Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. -
- If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. -
- If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. +
- If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. +
- If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”.
You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all.
+You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all.
24.2 Comparing two nouns
Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence:
-ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ.
+
ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ.
ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati.
“The boy is taller than the girl.”
Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”.
-If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine:
-ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”.
+If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine:
+ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu.
“The girl is taller than the boy.”
Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples:
-ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ.
+
ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ.
ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum.
“The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..”
ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ.
+
ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ.
ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi.
“The books are heavier than the pens.”
24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun
The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example,
-ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ.
+
ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ.
ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu.
“The books are heavier.”
24.3 Conveying the meaning of the
24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains
The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example:
-هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati.
“He is the fastest boy in the school.”
-An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite.
+An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite.
The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples:
-هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
+
هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin.
“She is the tallest woman.”
-هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni.
“They are tallest (two) men.”
-هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
+
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin.
“They are the tallest women.”
@@ -865,17 +865,17 @@ 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chain
24.3.2 With definite noun-chains
The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples:
-هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
+
هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli.
“He is the tallest of the men.”
-هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi.
“They (two) are the tallest of the women.”
24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms
-So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above.
+So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above.
However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below:
@@ -893,23 +893,23 @@ 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural f
sing.
-أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu
-فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā
+أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu
+فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā
dual
-أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni
-فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni
+أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni
+فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni
sound plur.
-أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna
-فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun
+أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna
+فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun
broken plur.
-أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu
-فُعَلٌ fuɛalun
+أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu
+فُعَلٌ fuɛalun
@@ -919,32 +919,32 @@ 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural f
a describer.
We will give some examples below:
-هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ.
+
هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ.
huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu.
“He is the tallest man.”
-هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ.
+
هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ.
hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā.
“She is the tallest woman.”
-هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ.
huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni.
“Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.”
-هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ.
huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni.
“Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ.
hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru.
“These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru.
“These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].”
24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings
If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example:
-ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ.
+
ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ.
ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā.
“The big books are the heaviest.”
Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example,
-قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
+
قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru.
“I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.”
A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say:
“The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.”
-Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ.
+
Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as:
+ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ.
ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin.
-The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”.
-The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”.
+The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”.
+The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”.
24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains
We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were:
-هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
+
هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin.
“She is the tallest woman.”
-هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni.
“They are tallest (two) men.”
-هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
+
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin.
“They are the tallest women.”
Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence:
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin.
“This is the biggest house.”
-If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus:
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus:
+هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati.
This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.”
In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings:
-هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ.
+
هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ.
hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru.
“This is the biggest house of the city.”
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati.
“This is the biggest house in the city.”
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati.
“This is the biggest of the houses of the city.”
24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than”
-To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”.
-Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun.
-In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively.
-These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples:
+To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”.
+Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun.
+In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively.
+These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples:
24.8 The word “other”
-The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below.
+The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below.
Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead.
-Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing.
-We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below.
-جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ.
+
Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead.
+Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing.
+We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below.
+جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ.
jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru.
“Zayd and another man came.”
-ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ.
d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā.
“Zaynab went to the other school.”
-قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ.
+
قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ.
qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni.
“I read this book and two other books.”
-ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ.
d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna
“Other men went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ.
d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti.
“Zaynab went with the other women.”
With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ.
+
قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ.
qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā.
“I read this book and other books.”
-However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples:
-هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ.
+
However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples:
+هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ.
hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun.
“This book is light and the others are heavy.”
-قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ.
+
قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ.
qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara.
“He read this book and and he read others.”
diff --git a/docs/nouns.html b/docs/nouns.html
index fd951f87..67b7e672 100644
--- a/docs/nouns.html
+++ b/docs/nouns.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -697,51 +697,51 @@ 3.1 Introduction
-رَجُل
+رَجُل
rajul
man
-کِتَاب
+کِتَاب
kitāb
book
-بَيْت
+بَيْت
bayt
house
-شَجَرَة
+شَجَرَة
s͡hajarah
tree
-صَبْر
+صَبْر
ṣabr
patience
-وَقْت
+وَقْت
waqt
time
-طَعَام
+طَعَام
ṭaɛām
food
-ٱِبْن
+ٱِبْن
ʾibn
son
Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter.
-When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore,
-شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat.
-Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ.
+When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore,
+شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat.
+Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ.
3.2 Definiteness
@@ -752,20 +752,20 @@ 3.2 Definiteness
3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic
The definite article in Arabic is
-ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”.
+ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”.
In order to make a noun definite, we attach
-ٱَلْ ʾal
+ٱَلْ ʾal
to its beginning.
-For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb.
-ٱَلْ ʾal
-begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark.
+For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb.
+ٱَلْ ʾal
+begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark.
3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters
-The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
-The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
-The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
-The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
-The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
+The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
+The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
+The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
+The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
+The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters:
@@ -780,24 +780,24 @@ 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon lett
-رَجُل rajul “man”
-ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man”
+رَجُل rajul “man”
+ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man”
-تَاجِر tājir “trader”
-ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader”
+تَاجِر tājir “trader”
+ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader”
-لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy”
-ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy”
+لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy”
+ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy”
-3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
-If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
-ٱَلِٱبْن
+
3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
+If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
+ٱَلِٱبْن
ʾali-bn
“the son”
@@ -805,8 +805,8 @@ 3.2.1.2 The definite article
3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic
Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article
-ٱَلْ ʾal.
-For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
+ٱَلْ ʾal.
+For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
@@ -827,26 +827,26 @@ 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness
However, there are times when English uses a plural without a definite or indefinite article, and a general meaning is intended. For example, "Books contain knowledge." In this case, in Arabic we will use the definite noun [ٱَلْكُتُب]{.ar} [Ealkutub]{.trn} "the books".
-->
As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article
-ٱَلْ ʾal
+ٱَلْ ʾal
to make common nouns definite.
So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use
-ٱَلْ ʾal
+ٱَلْ ʾal
when the noun is definite.
Examples:
- “This man gave that boy some food.”
-- man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul
-- boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām
-- water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām
+- man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul
+- boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām
+- water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām
- “Time is valuable.”
-- time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt
+- time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt
- “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.”
-- time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt
+- time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt
@@ -865,12 +865,12 @@ 3.3 State
-the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun.
-the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun.
-the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun.
+the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun.
+the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun.
+the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun.
When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated.
-Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states:
+Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states:
3.4 Grammatical genderکِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine.
+As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine.
We shall discuss this in more detail below.
3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings.
@@ -1011,62 +1011,62 @@ 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
masc.
son
-ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
+ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
fem.
daughter
-طِفْل ṭifl
+طِفْل ṭifl
masc.
child
-طِفْلَة ṭiflah
+طِفْلَة ṭiflah
fem.
(female) child
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān
masc.
human being
-إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
+إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
fem.
(female) human being
-حُرّ ḥurr
+حُرّ ḥurr
masc.
free man
-حُرَّة ḥurrah
+حُرَّة ḥurrah
fem.
free woman
-کَلْب kalb
+کَلْب kalb
masc.
(male) dog
-کَلْبَة kalbah
+کَلْبَة kalbah
fem.
(female) dog
-هِرّ hirr
+هِرّ hirr
masc.
(male) cat
-هِرَّة hirrah
+هِرَّة hirrah
fem.
(female) cat
@@ -1076,77 +1076,77 @@ 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
–
-مُعَلِّم muɛallim
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim
masc.
(male) teacher
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
fem.
(female) teacher
-طَالِب ṭālib
+طَالِب ṭālib
masc.
(male) student
-طَالِبَة ṭālibah
+طَالِبَة ṭālibah
fem.
(female) student
-صَاحِب ṣāḥib
+صَاحِب ṣāḥib
masc.
(male) companion
-صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
+صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
fem.
(female) companion
-صَدِيق ṣadīq
+صَدِيق ṣadīq
masc.
(male) friend
-صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
+صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
fem.
(female) friend
-
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example,
-طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is
-طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
-As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
-Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark.
+
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example,
+طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is
+طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
+As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
+Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark.
Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc.
The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on.
-This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
+This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example,
-کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said.
-And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal.
-Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.
+کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said.
+And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal.
+Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.
This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example,
-طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”.
-As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
+طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”.
+As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
On the other hand,
-ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and
-ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter”
+ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and
+ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter”
are only ever used for their respective gender. So
-ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”.
-And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”.
+ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”.
+And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”.
There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard.
As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example,
-مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.
@@ -1295,85 +1295,85 @@ 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanim
-کِتَاب kitāb
+کِتَاب kitāb
masc.
book
-بَيْت bayt
+بَيْت bayt
masc.
house
-قَلَم qalam
+قَلَم qalam
masc.
pen
-طَعَام ṭaɛām
+طَعَام ṭaɛām
masc.
food
-مَاء māʾ
+مَاء māʾ
masc.
water
-مَدْرَسَة madrasah
+مَدْرَسَة madrasah
fem.
school
-مَدِينَة madīnah
+مَدِينَة madīnah
fem.
city
-غُرْفَة g͡hurfah
+غُرْفَة g͡hurfah
fem.
room
-شَجَرَة s͡hajarah
+شَجَرَة s͡hajarah
fem.
tree
-شَمْس s͡hams
+شَمْس s͡hams
fem.
sun
-قَمَر qamar
+قَمَر qamar
masc.
moon
-عِلْم ɛilm
+عِلْم ɛilm
masc.
knowledge
-قُوَّة quwwah
+قُوَّة quwwah
fem.
strength
-حَيَاة ḥayāh
+حَيَاة ḥayāh
fem.
life
-مَوْت mawt
+مَوْت mawt
masc.
death
-
24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains
The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example:
-هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati.
“He is the fastest boy in the school.”
An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite.
+An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite.
The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples:
-هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
+
هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin.
“She is the tallest woman.”
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni.
“They are tallest (two) men.”
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
+
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin.
“They are the tallest women.”
24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chain
24.3.2 With definite noun-chains
The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples:
-هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
+
هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli.
“He is the tallest of the men.”
-هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi.
“They (two) are the tallest of the women.”
24.3.2 With definite noun-chains
The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples:
-هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
+
هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ.
huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli.
“He is the tallest of the men.”
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ
humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi.
“They (two) are the tallest of the women.”
24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms
-So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above.
+So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above.
However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below:
| sing. | -أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu | -فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā | +أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu | +فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā |
| dual | -أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni | -فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni | +أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni | +فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni |
| sound plur. | -أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna | -فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun | +أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna | +فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun |
| broken plur. | -أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu | -فُعَلٌ fuɛalun | +أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu | +فُعَلٌ fuɛalun |
24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural f
We will give some examples below:
-هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ.
+
هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ.
huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu.
“He is the tallest man.”
هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ.
+
هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ.
hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā.
“She is the tallest woman.”
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ.
huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni.
“Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.”
هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ.
+
هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ.
huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni.
“Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.”
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ.
hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru.
“These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].”
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru.
“These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].”
24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings
If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example:
-ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ.
+
ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ.
ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā.
“The big books are the heaviest.”
Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example,
-قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
+
قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ.
qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru.
“I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.”
A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say:
“The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.”
-Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as:
-ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ.
+
Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as:
+ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ.
ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin.
The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. -The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”.
+The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. +The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”.
24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains
We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were:
-هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
+
هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ.
hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin.
“She is the tallest woman.”
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
+
هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ.
humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni.
“They are tallest (two) men.”
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
+
هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ.
hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin.
“They are the tallest women.”
Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence:
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin.
“This is the biggest house.”
If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus:
-هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus:
+هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati.
This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.”
In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings:
-هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ.
+
هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ.
hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru.
“This is the biggest house of the city.”
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati.
“This is the biggest house in the city.”
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
+
هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ.
hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati.
“This is the biggest of the houses of the city.”
24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than”
-To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”.
-Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun.
-In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively.
-These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples:
+To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”.
+Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun.
+In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively.
+These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples:
24.8 The word “other”
-The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below.
+The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below.
Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead.
-Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing.
-We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below.
-جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ.
+
Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead.
+Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing.
+We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below.
+جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ.
jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru.
“Zayd and another man came.”
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ.
d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā.
“Zaynab went to the other school.”
قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ.
+
قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ.
qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni.
“I read this book and two other books.”
ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ.
d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna
“Other men went.”
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ.
d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti.
“Zaynab went with the other women.”
With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example:
-قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ.
+
قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ.
qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā.
“I read this book and other books.”
However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples:
-هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ.
+
However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples:
+هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ.
hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun.
“This book is light and the others are heavy.”
قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ.
+
قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ.
qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara.
“He read this book and and he read others.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
3.1 Introduction
-رَجُل
+رَجُل
rajul
man
-کِتَاب
+کِتَاب
kitāb
book
-بَيْت
+بَيْت
bayt
house
-شَجَرَة
+شَجَرَة
s͡hajarah
tree
-صَبْر
+صَبْر
ṣabr
patience
-وَقْت
+وَقْت
waqt
time
-طَعَام
+طَعَام
ṭaɛām
food
-ٱِبْن
+ٱِبْن
ʾibn
son
Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter.
-When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, -شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat.
-Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ.
+When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, +شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat.
+Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ.
3.2 Definiteness
@@ -752,20 +752,20 @@3.2 Definiteness
3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic
The definite article in Arabic is
-ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”.
+ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”.
In order to make a noun definite, we attach
-ٱَلْ ʾal
+ٱَلْ ʾal
to its beginning.
-For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb.
-ٱَلْ ʾal
-begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark.
+For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb.
+ٱَلْ ʾal
+begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark.
3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters
-The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
-The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
-The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
-The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
-The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
+The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
+The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
+The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
+The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
+The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters:
@@ -780,24 +780,24 @@ 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon lett
-رَجُل rajul “man”
-ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man”
+رَجُل rajul “man”
+ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man”
-تَاجِر tājir “trader”
-ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader”
+تَاجِر tājir “trader”
+ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader”
-لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy”
-ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy”
+لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy”
+ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy”
-3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
-If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
-ٱَلِٱبْن
+
3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
+If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
+ٱَلِٱبْن
ʾali-bn
“the son”
@@ -805,8 +805,8 @@ 3.2.1.2 The definite article
3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic
Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article
-ٱَلْ ʾal.
-For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
+ٱَلْ ʾal.
+For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters
-The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
-The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
-The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
-The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
+The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled.
+The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”.
+The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
+The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي.
The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters.
Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters:
| رَجُل rajul “man” | -ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” | +رَجُل rajul “man” | +ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” |
| تَاجِر tājir “trader” | -ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” | +تَاجِر tājir “trader” | +ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” |
| لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” | -ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” | +لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” | +ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” |
3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
-If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
-ٱَلِٱبْن
+
3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah
+If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example:
+ٱَلِٱبْن
ʾali-bn
“the son”
3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic
Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article -ٱَلْ ʾal. -For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
+ٱَلْ ʾal. +For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”.
@@ -827,26 +827,26 @@
@@ -865,12 +865,12 @@ 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness However, there are times when English uses a plural without a definite or indefinite article, and a general meaning is intended. For example, "Books contain knowledge." In this case, in Arabic we will use the definite noun [ٱَلْكُتُب]{.ar} [Ealkutub]{.trn} "the books". -->
As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article -ٱَلْ ʾal +ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use -ٱَلْ ʾal +ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite.
Examples:
- “This man gave that boy some food.”
-
-
- man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul -
- boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām -
- water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām +
- man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul +
- boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām +
- water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām
- “Time is valuable.”
-
-
- time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt +
- time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt
- “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.”
-
-
- time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt +
- time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt
3.3 State
-the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun.
-the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun.
-the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun.
+the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun.
+the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun.
+the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun.
When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated.
-Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states:
+Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states:
3.4 Grammatical genderکِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine.
+As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine.
We shall discuss this in more detail below.
3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings.
@@ -1011,62 +1011,62 @@ 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
masc.
son
-ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
+ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
fem.
daughter
-طِفْل ṭifl
+طِفْل ṭifl
masc.
child
-طِفْلَة ṭiflah
+طِفْلَة ṭiflah
fem.
(female) child
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān
masc.
human being
-إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
+إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
fem.
(female) human being
-حُرّ ḥurr
+حُرّ ḥurr
masc.
free man
-حُرَّة ḥurrah
+حُرَّة ḥurrah
fem.
free woman
-کَلْب kalb
+کَلْب kalb
masc.
(male) dog
-کَلْبَة kalbah
+کَلْبَة kalbah
fem.
(female) dog
-هِرّ hirr
+هِرّ hirr
masc.
(male) cat
-هِرَّة hirrah
+هِرَّة hirrah
fem.
(female) cat
@@ -1076,77 +1076,77 @@ 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
–
-مُعَلِّم muɛallim
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim
masc.
(male) teacher
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
fem.
(female) teacher
-طَالِب ṭālib
+طَالِب ṭālib
masc.
(male) student
-طَالِبَة ṭālibah
+طَالِبَة ṭālibah
fem.
(female) student
-صَاحِب ṣāḥib
+صَاحِب ṣāḥib
masc.
(male) companion
-صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
+صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
fem.
(female) companion
-صَدِيق ṣadīq
+صَدِيق ṣadīq
masc.
(male) friend
-صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
+صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
fem.
(female) friend
-
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example,
-طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is
-طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
-As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
-Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark.
+
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example,
+طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is
+طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
+As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
+Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark.
Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc.
The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on.
-This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
+This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example,
-کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said.
-And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal.
-Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.
+کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said.
+And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal.
+Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.
This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example,
-طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”.
-As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
+طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”.
+As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
On the other hand,
-ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and
-ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter”
+ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and
+ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter”
are only ever used for their respective gender. So
-ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”.
-And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”.
+ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”.
+And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”.
There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard.
As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example,
-مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.
3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings.
@@ -1011,62 +1011,62 @@3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
masc.
son
-ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
+ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah
fem.
daughter
-طِفْل ṭifl
+طِفْل ṭifl
masc.
child
-طِفْلَة ṭiflah
+طِفْلَة ṭiflah
fem.
(female) child
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān
masc.
human being
-إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
+إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah
fem.
(female) human being
-حُرّ ḥurr
+حُرّ ḥurr
masc.
free man
-حُرَّة ḥurrah
+حُرَّة ḥurrah
fem.
free woman
-کَلْب kalb
+کَلْب kalb
masc.
(male) dog
-کَلْبَة kalbah
+کَلْبَة kalbah
fem.
(female) dog
-هِرّ hirr
+هِرّ hirr
masc.
(male) cat
-هِرَّة hirrah
+هِرَّة hirrah
fem.
(female) cat
@@ -1076,77 +1076,77 @@ 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male a
–
-مُعَلِّم muɛallim
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim
masc.
(male) teacher
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah
fem.
(female) teacher
-طَالِب ṭālib
+طَالِب ṭālib
masc.
(male) student
-طَالِبَة ṭālibah
+طَالِبَة ṭālibah
fem.
(female) student
-صَاحِب ṣāḥib
+صَاحِب ṣāḥib
masc.
(male) companion
-صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
+صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah
fem.
(female) companion
-صَدِيق ṣadīq
+صَدِيق ṣadīq
masc.
(male) friend
-صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
+صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah
fem.
(female) friend
-
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, -طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is -طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
-As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
-Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. +
In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, +طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is +طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.).
+As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills.
+Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark.
Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on.
-This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
+This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence.
Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, -کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. -And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. -Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.
+کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. +And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. +Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat.This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, -طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”.
-As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word -إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
+طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. +As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word +إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender.
On the other hand, -ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and -ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” +ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and +ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So -ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. -And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. +ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. +And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”.
There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard.
As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, -مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And -مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.
+مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And +مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”.In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. +
In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: -شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. +شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them.
There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples:
| رَهِينَة rahīnah | +رَهِينَة rahīnah | fem. | pledge |
| عُضْو ɛuḍw | +عُضْو ɛuḍw | masc. | member |
رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage.
+رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage.
Similarly, -عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization.
+عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization.Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons.
3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender
-We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were:
+We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were:
-
-
- أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” -
- نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” -
- شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” +
- أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” +
- نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” +
- شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun”
There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples:
+There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples:
-
-
- يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) -
- عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” -
- أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” -
- قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” -
- رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) -
- إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” -
- إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” -
- سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” -
- رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” +
- يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) +
- عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” +
- أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” +
- قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” +
- رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) +
- إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” +
- إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” +
- سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” +
- رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee”
There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine.
-
-
- مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” -
- مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” +
- مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” +
- مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow”
There are other such exceptions as well.
-Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples:
+Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples:
-
-
- رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” -
- أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” -
- بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” -
- لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” +
- رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” +
- أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” +
- بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” +
- لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard”
Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are:
+Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are:
-
-
- خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” -
- عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” -
- دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” +
- خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” +
- عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” +
- دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher”
There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are:
-
-
- سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” -
- طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” +
- سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” +
- طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path”
A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).)
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic
sing. masc.
all
-هَـٰذَا
+هَـٰذَا
this onem
-ذَ ٰلِکَ
+ذَ ٰلِکَ
that onem
sing. fem.
all
-هَـٰذِهِ
+هَـٰذِهِ
this onef
-تِلْکَ
+تِلْکَ
that onef
dual masc.
u
-هَـٰذَانِ
+هَـٰذَانِ
these ones2,m
-ذَ ٰنِکَ
+ذَ ٰنِکَ
those ones2,m
dual masc.
a,i
-هَـٰذَيْنِ
+هَـٰذَيْنِ
these ones2,m
-ذَيْنِکَ
+ذَيْنِکَ
those ones2,m
dual fem.
u
-هَاتَانِ
+هَاتَانِ
these ones2,f
-تَانِکَ
+تَانِکَ
those ones2,f
dual fem.
a,i
-هَاتَيْنِ
+هَاتَيْنِ
these ones2,f
-تَيْنِکَ
+تَيْنِکَ
those ones2,f
plural
all
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ
+هَـٰؤُلَاءِ
these ones3
-أُولَـٰئِکَ
+أُولَـٰئِکَ
those ones3
Note the following:
-
-
Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا.
-All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک.
-The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū.
+Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا.
+All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک.
+The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū.
Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state.
-The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states).
+The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders.
The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states).
16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns
-The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ.
+The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ.
Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase.
Both these facts will prove useful in the next section.
@@ -820,17 +820,17 @@16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of
sing. fem.
all
-هَـٰذِهِ
+هَـٰذِهِ
this onef
-تِلْکَ
+تِلْکَ
that onef
plural
all
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ
+هَـٰؤُلَاءِ
these ones3
-أُولَـٰئِکَ
+أُولَـٰئِکَ
those ones3
@@ -846,65 +846,65 @@ 16.5 The pointing noun phraseWe will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns.
16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun
-We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above.
+
We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above.
In section 16.5.2
-below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
-16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ
+16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ
Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from
section 16.3
above that pointing nouns are definite.
So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too.
Example:
-In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
-The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
-As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed.
+
In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
+The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
+As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed.
The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement.
Example:
In the above example, the
-pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ
+pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ
is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
The
-pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ
+pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ
is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common.
-Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ:
-هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ.
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ.
+
Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ:
+هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ.
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ.
“This noble man is an imām.”
16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun
-Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example:
+Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example:
-زَيْد
+زَيْد
Zayd
-ٱَلْحَارِث
+ٱَلْحَارِث
al-Ḥārit͡h
-2زَيْنَب
+2زَيْنَب
Zaynab
-قُرَيْش
+قُرَيْش
Qurays͡h
Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase.
-If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted.
+If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted.
Example:
-زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ.
+
زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ.
“This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.”
-قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ.
+
قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ.
“These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.”
-If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted.
-هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث
-ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا
+
If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted.
+هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث
+ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا
“this al-Ḥārit͡h”
@@ -927,62 +927,62 @@ 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation<
In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic.
Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
and
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
+
کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
“the book of Zayd”
Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite.
Indefinite annexations like
-کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book”
+کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book”
cannot be used in pointing noun phrases.
-16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ
-We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ
+We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like:
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun
We would like to express the phrase:
“the book of this man”
-In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus:
+کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“the book of this man”
Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”.
However, the first phrase
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
+کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
is preferred, consistent with what we learned in
section 16.5.1.1, above.
The second phrase
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا,
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا,
although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning.
(In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in
section 16.5.2.1.2, below.)
Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ.
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ.
+
کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ.
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ.
“The book of this man is new.”
Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail.
Consider the first pointing noun phrase:
As you can see the pointing noun
-هَـٰذَا has taken the place of
-ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation.
+هَـٰذَا has taken the place of
+ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation.
In addition to being the base noun,
-هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is
-ٱَلرَّجُل.
+هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is
+ٱَلرَّجُل.
The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the book of this-one: the man”
The more natural translation is:
“the book of this man”
Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase:
-ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation.
+
ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation.
In addition to being the base noun,
-ٱَلرَّجُل
+ٱَلرَّجُل
is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun
-هَـٰذَا.
+هَـٰذَا.
The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the book of the this-one man”
The more natural translation is:
@@ -991,13 +991,13 @@ 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base n
16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun
Consider, again, the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
We have already discussed how to point to the base noun
-ٱَلرَّجُل
+ٱَلرَّجُل
in a pointing noun phrase.
Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun
-کِتَاب
+کِتَاب
in a pointing noun phrase.
In other words, we would like to express the meaning:
“this book of the man”
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@ 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe
The first two options are incorrect, and the third option is correct. We will explain why below.
-->
The way to express this in Arabic is
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man”
But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning
“the book of this man”?
@@ -1020,74 +1020,74 @@ 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe
But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man”
In order to express
“the book of this man”
-we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.
Let’s analyze the expression
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man”
in detail:
-کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee.
+
کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee.
Its describer is the pointing noun
-هَـٰذَا.
+هَـٰذَا.
The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the this-one book of the man”
The more natural translation is:
“this book of the man”
Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
“This book of the man is green.”
Ambiguity of this phrase
A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man” (usual)
“the book of this man” (rare)
-The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun
-کِتَابُ
+
The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun
+کِتَابُ
or the base noun
-ٱلرَّجُلِ
+ٱلرَّجُلِ
only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine.
If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples:
-کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
+
کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
“these books2 of the man”
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the men2”
-کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the woman”
-کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
“the book of this woman”
Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns:
-16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
+16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of al-Zubayr”
We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of this al-Zubayr”
-کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of al-Zubayr” (usual)
“the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare)
-16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ
-Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss:
+16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ
+Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss:
-- Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ
+- Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ
- Pronouns
-16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ
+16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ
-We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ.
+
We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ.
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
+
کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
“the book of Zayd”
-Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus:
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا
+Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus:
+کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا
In theory, this supports two meanings:
- “this book of Zayd”
@@ -1104,23 +1104,23 @@ 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a pro
16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun
We have learned, in
section 4.4.4,
-that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ.
+that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ.
We have also learned, in
section 12.9,
that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation.
Example:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
-Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ.
-So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase,
+
Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ.
+So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase,
then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus:
-کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
-The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer?
+کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
+The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer?
We have also learned, in
section 12.9.1
that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase.
-So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is:
-کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
+
So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is:
+کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
“this book of his”
Here are some more examples:
@@ -1133,67 +1133,67 @@ 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjectsBesides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example:
The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples:
-هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ.
“These are girls2.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.
“Those are teachers.”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ.
“These are pens.”
-تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ.
+
تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ.
“Those are houses.”
-هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ.
+
هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ.
“These are small ones2.”
The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below):
-ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ.
+
ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ.
“That is the commander of the believers.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ..
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ..
“Those-ones ate3,f the food.”
-هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ.
+
هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ.
“This is a man’s garment.”
-هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ.
+
هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ.
“These are his books.”
-هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ..
+
هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ..
“These are big houses2.”
-If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner:
+If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner:
While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in
section 4.5,
we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus:
-هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
“This is the man.”
Here are some more examples:
-هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ.
+
هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ.
“These are the girls2.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
“Those are the teachers.”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ.
“These are the pens.”
-تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ.
+
تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ.
“Those are the houses.”
-هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ.
+
هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ.
“These are the small ones2.”
16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject
When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example:
-بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
+
بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
“The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.”
Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch:
-ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
+
ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
“That is a good tiding.”
The information
-بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject
-ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine.
+بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject
+ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine.
This is because
-ذَ ٰلِکَ
-is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.
+ذَ ٰلِکَ
+is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.
16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech
Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples:
-أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
+
أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
“I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.”
-شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
+
شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
“The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.”
diff --git a/docs/prepositions.html b/docs/prepositions.html
index af9f655e..ba338a43 100644
--- a/docs/prepositions.html
+++ b/docs/prepositions.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -685,16 +685,16 @@ 5 Prepositions
5.1 Introduction
Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”.
-In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”:
-فِي بَيْتٍ
+
In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”:
+فِي بَيْتٍ
fī baytin
“in a house”
-Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت.
+Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت.
Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions.
5.2 True prepositions
-True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state).
+True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state).
Here is a list of the more common true prepositions:
There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills.
+There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions:
-مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ
maɛa -lg͡hulāmi
“with the boy”
-عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ
ɛinda -lbayti
“at the house”
-لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ
+
لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ
lada -lbābi
“at the door”
-بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
+
بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
bayna -nnāsi
“among the people”
+◌ِي -ī
+◌ِيَ -iya
-Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples:
+Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples:
-- لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me”
-- بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me”
-- مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me”
-- عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me”
+- لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me”
+- بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me”
+- مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me”
+- عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me”
-Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below:
-For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words.
-Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun.
-In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels.
+Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below:
For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words.
+Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun.
+In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels.
So we get:
-- يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me”
-- يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me”
-- يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me”
-- يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”.
+- يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me”
+- يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me”
+- يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me”
+- يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”.
The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say:
+The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say:
-- \(\times\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.”
+- \(\times\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.”
Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example,
+The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example,
-- بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you”
+- بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you”
5.5 Translating prepositions
5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions
We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example:
-فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
fi -lbayti
“in the house”
-
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”
This is a phrase and not a complete sentence.
-Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state.
+Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state.
Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example,
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti
(i) “The man is in the house.”
(ii) “The man in the house”
@@ -1103,7 +1103,7 @@ 5.6 Sentences and phrases with pr
[EaTTarIqu Eila -lmadInati TawIlun]{.trn}
"The way to the city is long."
-->
-
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ.
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim.
“The man in the house is a teacherm.”
@@ -1111,14 +1111,14 @@ 5.6 Sentences and phrases with pr
5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject
We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject.
We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example,
-رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”
Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject):
“A man is in the house.”
In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it:
-فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
+
فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
fi -lbayti rajul.
“In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.”
In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”:
@@ -1132,10 +1132,10 @@ 5.8 Prepositions with multiple no
A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun:
“The boy went to the school and to the house.”
In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples:
-إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school to and the house”
-إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ
+
إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school and the house”
Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state.
@@ -1145,10 +1145,10 @@ 5.8 Prepositions with multiple no
“to him and me”
“to him and to me”
In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples:
-إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ
ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi
“to me and to the boy”
-إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ
+
إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ
ʾilayya waʾilayhi
“to me and to him”
@@ -1160,41 +1160,41 @@ 5.9 To have somethingلِ li “for”
-عِنْدَ ɛinda “at”
-لَدَىٰ ladā “at”
-مَعَ maɛa “together with”
+لِ li “for”
+عِنْدَ ɛinda “at”
+لَدَىٰ ladā “at”
+مَعَ maɛa “together with”
Here are some examples:
-لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ.
+
لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ.
li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab.
“The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”)
-عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
“The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”)
-مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ.
+
مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ.
maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah.
“The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”)
Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”:
-لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
-لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
+لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
li -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc.
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere.
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
lada -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now.
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
-مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
+مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
maɛa -rrajuli kitāb.
means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him.
-There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used.
+There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used.
16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun
-We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. +
We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 -below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ.
-
16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ
+16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ
Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example:
In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
-The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
-As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. +
In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
+The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
+As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed.
The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement.
Example:
In the above example, the -pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ +pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
The -pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ +pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual.
As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common.
-Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ:
-هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ.
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ.
+
Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ:
+هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ.
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ.
“This noble man is an imām.”
16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun
-Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example:
+Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example:
| زَيْد | +زَيْد | Zayd | -ٱَلْحَارِث | +ٱَلْحَارِث | al-Ḥārit͡h |
| 2زَيْنَب | +2زَيْنَب | Zaynab | -قُرَيْش | +قُرَيْش | Qurays͡h |
Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. -If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. +If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example:
-زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ.
+
زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ.
“This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.”
قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ.
+
قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ.
“These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.”
If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted.
-هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث
-ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا
+
If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted.
+هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث
+ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا
“this al-Ḥārit͡h”
16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation<
In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
and
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
+
کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
“the book of Zayd”
Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite.
Indefinite annexations like -کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” +کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases.
-
16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base n
◌ِي -ī
+◌ِيَ -iya
-5.5 Translating prepositions
@@ -1111,14 +1111,14 @@ 5.6 Sentences and phrases with pr
5.8 Prepositions with multiple no
“to him and me”
@@ -1160,41 +1160,41 @@ 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ
-We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ
+We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like:
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun
We would like to express the phrase:
“the book of this man”
-In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus:
+کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“the book of this man”
Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase -کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ +کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above.
The second phrase -کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, +کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.)
Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ.
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ.
+
کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ.
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ.
“The book of this man is new.”
Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail.
Consider the first pointing noun phrase:
As you can see the pointing noun -هَـٰذَا has taken the place of -ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. +هَـٰذَا has taken the place of +ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, -هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is -ٱَلرَّجُل. +هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is +ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the book of this-one: the man”
The more natural translation is:
“the book of this man”
Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase:
ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. +
ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, -ٱَلرَّجُل +ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun -هَـٰذَا. +هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the book of the this-one man”
The more natural translation is:
@@ -991,13 +991,13 @@16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base n
16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun
Consider, again, the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
We have already discussed how to point to the base noun
-ٱَلرَّجُل
+ٱَلرَّجُل
in a pointing noun phrase.
Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun
-کِتَاب
+کِتَاب
in a pointing noun phrase.
In other words, we would like to express the meaning:
“this book of the man”
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@ 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe
The first two options are incorrect, and the third option is correct. We will explain why below.
-->
The way to express this in Arabic is
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man”
But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning
“the book of this man”?
@@ -1020,74 +1020,74 @@ 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe
But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man”
In order to express
“the book of this man”
-we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.
Let’s analyze the expression
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man”
in detail:
-کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee.
+
کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee.
Its describer is the pointing noun
-هَـٰذَا.
+هَـٰذَا.
The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the this-one book of the man”
The more natural translation is:
“this book of the man”
Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
“This book of the man is green.”
Ambiguity of this phrase
A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man” (usual)
“the book of this man” (rare)
-The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun
-کِتَابُ
+
The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun
+کِتَابُ
or the base noun
-ٱلرَّجُلِ
+ٱلرَّجُلِ
only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine.
If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples:
-کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
+
کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
“these books2 of the man”
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the men2”
-کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the woman”
-کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
“the book of this woman”
Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns:
-16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
+16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of al-Zubayr”
We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of this al-Zubayr”
-کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of al-Zubayr” (usual)
“the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare)
16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun
Consider, again, the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ
“the book of the man”
We have already discussed how to point to the base noun -ٱَلرَّجُل +ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun -کِتَاب +کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase.
In other words, we would like to express the meaning:
“this book of the man”
@@ -1012,7 +1012,7 @@16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe The first two options are incorrect, and the third option is correct. We will explain why below. -->
The way to express this in Arabic is
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man”
But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”?
@@ -1020,74 +1020,74 @@16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe
But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man”
In order to express “the book of this man” -we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.
+we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ.Let’s analyze the expression -کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا +کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail:
کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. +
کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun -هَـٰذَا. +هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is:
“the this-one book of the man”
The more natural translation is:
“this book of the man”
Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر.
“This book of the man is green.”
Ambiguity of this phrase
A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression:
-کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the man” (usual)
“the book of this man” (rare)
The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun -کِتَابُ +
The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun +کِتَابُ or the base noun -ٱلرَّجُلِ +ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples:
-کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
+
کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ
“these books2 of the man”
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the men2”
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of the woman”
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ
“the book of this woman”
Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns:
16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
+16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ
Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of al-Zubayr”
We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get:
-کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
+
کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ
“the book of this al-Zubayr”
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
+
کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا
“this book of al-Zubayr” (usual)
“the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare)
-
diff --git a/docs/prepositions.html b/docs/prepositions.html
index af9f655e..ba338a43 100644
--- a/docs/prepositions.html
+++ b/docs/prepositions.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -685,16 +685,16 @@ 5 Prepositions
16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ
-Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss:
+16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ
+Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss:
-
-
- Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ +
- Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ
- Pronouns
-
16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ
+16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ
-We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. +
We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation:
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
+
کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ
“the book of Zayd”
Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus:
-کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا
+Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus:
+کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا
In theory, this supports two meanings:
- “this book of Zayd” @@ -1104,23 +1104,23 @@
16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a pro
16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun
We have learned, in section 4.4.4, -that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ.
+that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ.We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example:
-کِتَابُهُ
+
کِتَابُهُ
“his book”
Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. -So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, +
Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. +So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus:
-کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
-The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer?
+کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
+The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer?
We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase.
-So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is:
-کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
+
So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is:
+کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا
“this book of his”
Here are some more examples:
@@ -1133,67 +1133,67 @@16.6 Pointing nouns as subjectsBesides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example:
The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples:
-هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ.
“These are girls2.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.
“Those are teachers.”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ.
“These are pens.”
-تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ.
+
تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ.
“Those are houses.”
-هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ.
+
هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ.
“These are small ones2.”
The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below):
-ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ.
+
ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ.
“That is the commander of the believers.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ..
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ..
“Those-ones ate3,f the food.”
-هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ.
+
هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ.
“This is a man’s garment.”
-هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ.
+
هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ.
“These are his books.”
-هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ..
+
هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ..
“These are big houses2.”
-If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner:
+If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner:
While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in
section 4.5,
we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus:
-هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
“This is the man.”
Here are some more examples:
-هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ.
+
هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ.
“These are the girls2.”
-أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
“Those are the teachers.”
-هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ.
+
هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ.
“These are the pens.”
-تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ.
+
تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ.
“Those are the houses.”
-هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ.
+
هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ.
“These are the small ones2.”
16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject
When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example:
-بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
+
بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
“The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.”
Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch:
-ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
+
ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
“That is a good tiding.”
The information
-بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject
-ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine.
+بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject
+ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine.
This is because
-ذَ ٰلِکَ
-is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.
+ذَ ٰلِکَ
+is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.
+
“These are girls2.”
+
“Those are teachers.”
+
“These are pens.”
+
“Those are houses.”
+
“These are small ones2.”
+
“That is the commander of the believers.”
+
“Those-ones ate3,f the food.”
+
“This is a man’s garment.”
+
“These are his books.”
+
“These are big houses2.”
+
“This is the man.”
+
“These are the girls2.”
+
“Those are the teachers.”
+
“These are the pens.”
+
“Those are the houses.”
+
“These are the small ones2.”
16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject
When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example:
-بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
+
بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ.
“The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.”
Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch:
-ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
+
ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ
“That is a good tiding.”
The information -بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject -ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. +بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject +ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because -ذَ ٰلِکَ -is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.
+ذَ ٰلِکَ +is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun.16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech
Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples:
-أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
+
أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
“I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.”
شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
+
شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ.
“The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
5 Prepositions
5.1 Introduction
Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”.
-In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”:
-فِي بَيْتٍ
+
In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”:
+فِي بَيْتٍ
fī baytin
“in a house”
-Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت.
+Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت.
Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions.
+
fī baytin
“in a house”
5.2 True prepositions
-True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state).
+True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state).
Here is a list of the more common true prepositions:
There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills.
+There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills.
Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions:
-مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ
maɛa -lg͡hulāmi
“with the boy”
عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ
ɛinda -lbayti
“at the house”
لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ
+
لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ
lada -lbābi
“at the door”
بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
+
بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
bayna -nnāsi
“among the people”
Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples:
+Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples:
-
-
- لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” -
- بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” -
- مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” -
- عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” +
- لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” +
- بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” +
- مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” +
- عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me”
Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below:
-For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words.
-Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun.
-In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels.
+Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below:
For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words.
+Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun.
+In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels.
So we get:
-
-
- يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” -
- يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” -
- يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” -
- يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. +
- يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” +
- يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” +
- يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” +
- يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”.
The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say:
+The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say:
-
-
- \(\times\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” +
- \(\times\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.”
Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills.
The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example,
+The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example,
-
-
- بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” +
- بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you”
5.5 Translating prepositions
5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions
We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example:
-فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
fi -lbayti
“in the house”
-
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”
This is a phrase and not a complete sentence.
-Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state.
+Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state.
Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example,
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti
(i) “The man is in the house.”
(ii) “The man in the house”
@@ -1103,7 +1103,7 @@ 5.6 Sentences and phrases with pr
[EaTTarIqu Eila -lmadInati TawIlun]{.trn}
"The way to the city is long."
-->
-
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ.
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim.
“The man in the house is a teacherm.”
+
fi -lbayti
“in the house” -
+
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”
+
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti
(i) “The man is in the house.”
(ii) “The man in the house”
+
ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim.
“The man in the house is a teacherm.”
5.6 Sentences and phrases with pr
5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject
We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject.
We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example,
-رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ
rajulun fi -lbayti
“a man in the house”
Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject):
“A man is in the house.”
In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it:
-فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
+
فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ.
fi -lbayti rajul.
“In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.”
In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”:
@@ -1132,10 +1132,10 @@5.8 Prepositions with multiple no
A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun:
“The boy went to the school and to the house.”
In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples:
-إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ
+
إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school to and the house”
إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ
+
إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ
ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati
“to the school and the house”
Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state.
@@ -1145,10 +1145,10 @@5.8 Prepositions with multiple no
“to him and me”
“to him and to me”
In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples:
-إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ
+
إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ
ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi
“to me and to the boy”
إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ
+
إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ
ʾilayya waʾilayhi
“to me and to him”
5.9 To have somethingلِ li “for”
-عِنْدَ ɛinda “at”
-لَدَىٰ ladā “at”
-مَعَ maɛa “together with”
+لِ li “for”
+عِنْدَ ɛinda “at”
+لَدَىٰ ladā “at”
+مَعَ maɛa “together with”
Here are some examples:
-لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ.
+
لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ.
li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab.
“The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”)
-عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
“The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”)
-مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ.
+
مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ.
maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah.
“The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”)
Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”:
-لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
-لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
+لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
li -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc.
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere.
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
lada -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now.
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
-مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
+مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
maɛa -rrajuli kitāb.
means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him.
-There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used.
+There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used.
+
li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab.
“The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”)
+
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
“The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”)
+
maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah.
“The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”)
لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
-لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence
+لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
li -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc.
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere.
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
-لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence
+لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
lada -rrajuli kitāb.
implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now.
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
-مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
+
مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence
+مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ.
maɛa -rrajuli kitāb.
means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him.
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
14.1 Introduction
-مُحَمَّد
+مُحَمَّد
Muḥammad
-2عَائِشَة
+2عَائِشَة
Ɛāʾis͡hah
-سَعِيد
+سَعِيد
Saɛīd
-2فَاطِمَة
+2فَاطِمَة
Faṭimah
-ٱَلْحَسَن
+ٱَلْحَسَن
al-Ḥasan
-2حَفْصَة
+2حَفْصَة
Ḥafṣah
-ٱَلنُّعْمَان
+ٱَلنُّعْمَان
al-Nuɛmān
-2سُمَيَّة
+2سُمَيَّة
Sumayyah
-2طَلْحَة
+2طَلْحَة
Ṭalḥah
-2جَمِيلَة
+2جَمِيلَة
Jamīlah
-2أُسَامَة
+2أُسَامَة
Usāmah
-2زَيْنَب
+2زَيْنَب
Zaynab
-2عُثْمَان
+2عُثْمَان
Ɛut͡hmān
-2مَرْيَم
+2مَرْيَم
Maryam
-2عُمَر
+2عُمَر
Ɛumar
-2سُعَاد
+2سُعَاد
Suɛād
-2إِبْرَاهِيم
+2إِبْرَاهِيم
Ibrāhīm
-2أَسْمَاء
+2أَسْمَاء
Asmāʾ
-عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه
+عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه
Ɛabd Allāh
-2لَيْلَىٰ
+2لَيْلَىٰ
Laylā
-أَبُو بَکْر
+أَبُو بَکْر
Abū Bakr
-2أُمّ حَبِيبَة
+2أُمّ حَبِيبَة
Umm Ḥabībah
@@ -786,42 +786,42 @@ 14.1 Introduction
-2مَکَّة
+2مَکَّة
Makkah
-2رَمَضَان
+2رَمَضَان
Ramadān (a month)
-2دِمَشْق
+2دِمَشْق
Damascus
-أُحُد
+أُحُد
Uḥud (a mountain)
-2مِصْر
+2مِصْر
Egypt
-ٱَلنِّيل
+ٱَلنِّيل
the Nile (a river)
-ٱَلْقَاهِرَة
+ٱَلْقَاهِرَة
Cairo
-ٱَلْفَاتِحَة
+ٱَلْفَاتِحَة
the Fātiḥah (a sūrah)
-ٱَلْهِنْد
+ٱَلْهِنْد
India
-ٱَلْجُمُعَة
+ٱَلْجُمُعَة
Friday
Note the following points from the list abobe:
-
-
- Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. -
- Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). -
- Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh +
- Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. +
- Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). +
- Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh
We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter.
@@ -829,53 +829,53 @@14.1 Introduction14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns
Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways:
-
-
- All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. -
- A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. +
- All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. +
- A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite.
The above points are exemplified in the following sentence:
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ.
d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah.
“I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.”
Note the above from the above example:
-
-
- مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. -
- زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. -
- The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. -
- Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. +
- مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. +
- زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. +
- The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. +
- Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees.
14.3 Meanings of names
Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples:
-
-
- مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” -
- سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” -
- ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” -
- طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” -
- جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” +
- مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” +
- سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” +
- ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” +
- طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” +
- جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef”
It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example,
-جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ.
+
جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ.
jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd
“al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.”
or
“The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.”
Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended.
Note however the following sentence:
-ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt.
This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning:
+This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning:
“Jamīlah went to the house.”
-This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be:
-ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be:
+ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ.
d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt.
“A beautiful onef went to the house.”
We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below.
+We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below.
14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns
In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. -For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. +For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types:
- Fully-flexible proper nouns. @@ -916,7 +916,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper noun #### Names that don't begin with [ٱَلْ]{.ar} --> -
For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon).
+For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon).
Examples of fully-flexible names are:
| مُحَمَّد | +مُحَمَّد | Muḥammad | -مُعَاذ | +مُعَاذ | Muɛād͡h |
| نُوح | +نُوح | Nūh | -سَعْد | +سَعْد | Saɛd |
| شُعَيْب | +شُعَيْب | S͡huɛayb | -عَمَّار | +عَمَّار | Ɛammār |
| عَلِيّ | +عَلِيّ | Ɛalī | -حَسَّان | +حَسَّان | Ḥassān |
| زَيْد | +زَيْد | Zayd | -سَعِيد | +سَعِيد | Saɛīd |
| أَنَس | +أَنَس | Anas | -أُحُد | +أُحُد | Uḥud (a mountain) |
These are all masculine names.
Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns:
-زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ.
+
زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ.
zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib
“Zayd is a good boy.”
شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا.
+
شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا.
s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā.
“Anas thanked Ɛalī.”
لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ.
+
لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ.
labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar.
“Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.”
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category.
-
-
14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة
-All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible.
+14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة
+All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible.
Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples:
| 2خَدِيجَة | +2خَدِيجَة | K͡hadījah | -2مَيْمُونَة | +2مَيْمُونَة | Maymūnah |
| 2فَاطِمَة | +2فَاطِمَة | Faṭimah | -2صَفِيَّة | +2صَفِيَّة | Ṣafiyyah |
| 2عَائِشَة | +2عَائِشَة | Ɛāʾis͡hah | -2خَوْلَة | +2خَوْلَة | K͡hawlah |
| 2سُمَيَّة | +2سُمَيَّة | Sumayyah | -2جَمِيلَة | +2جَمِيلَة | Jamīlah |
| 2حَفْصَة | +2حَفْصَة | Ḥafṣah | -2آسِيَة | +2آسِيَة | Āsiyah |
However, some masculine names may end with ة too:
+However, some masculine names may end with ة too:
| 2حَمْزَة | +2حَمْزَة | Ḥamzah | -2مُعَاوِيَة | +2مُعَاوِيَة | Muɛāwiyah |
| 2أُسَامَة | +2أُسَامَة | Usāmah | -2عِکْرِمَة | +2عِکْرِمَة | Ɛikrimah |
| 2طَلْحَة | +2طَلْحَة | Ṭalḥah | -2عُبَادَة | +2عُبَادَة | Ɛubādah |
Example:
-طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ.
+
طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ.
“The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.”
-
14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ
-Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples:
+14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ
+Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples:
| 2أَسْمَاء | +2أَسْمَاء | Asmāʾ | -2لَيْلَىٰ | +2لَيْلَىٰ | Laylā |
| 2دَرْدَاء | +2دَرْدَاء | Dardāʾ | -2سَلْمَىٰ | +2سَلْمَىٰ | Salmā |
Examples in sentences:
-ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ.
“Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.”
Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example,
-سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ.
+
سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ.
“Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ”
But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence:
-سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ.
+
But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence:
+سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ.
would usually only mean
“Laylā asked Salmā.”
-
14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان
-All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible.
-This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns.
+14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان
+All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible.
+This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns.
Examples:
| 2عُثْمَان | +2عُثْمَان | Ɛut͡hmān | -2رَمَضَان | +2رَمَضَان | Ramaḍān |
| 2سُفْيَان | +2سُفْيَان | Sufyān | -2شَعْبَان | +2شَعْبَان | S͡haɛbān |
Example:
-جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ.
+
جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ.
“Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.”
-
14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل
-All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:
+14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل
+All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:
| 2أَحْمَد | +2أَحْمَد | Aḥmad | -2أَسْعَد | +2أَسْعَد | Asɛad |
-
-
@@ -1194,8 +1194,8 @@ 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern
@@ -1211,86 +1211,86 @@ 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل
-Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:
+14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل
+Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples:
| 2عُمَر | +2عُمَر | Ɛumar | -2مُضَر | +2مُضَر | Muḍar |
Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر.
+Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر.
| Ɛamr | -عَمْرٌو ɛamrun | -عَمْرًا ɛamran | -عَمْرٍو ɛamrin | +عَمْرٌو ɛamrun | +عَمْرًا ɛamran | +عَمْرٍو ɛamrin |
| Ɛumar | -عُمَرُ ɛumaru | -عُمَرَ ɛumara | -عُمَرَ ɛumara | +عُمَرُ ɛumaru | +عُمَرَ ɛumara | +عُمَرَ ɛumara |
14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs
Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples:
-
-
- 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” -
- 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” +
- 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” +
- 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives”
Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs.
14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin<
-2جِبْرِيل
+2جِبْرِيل
Jibrīl
-2زَکَرِيَّا
+2زَکَرِيَّا
Zakariyyā
-2إِبْرَاهِيم
+2إِبْرَاهِيم
Ibrāhīm
-2يَحْيَىٰ
+2يَحْيَىٰ
Yaḥyā
-2إِسْمَاعِيل
+2إِسْمَاعِيل
Ismāɛīl
-2هَاجَر
+2هَاجَر
Hājar
-2إِسْحَاق
+2إِسْحَاق
Is·ḥāq
-2مَرْيَم
+2مَرْيَم
Maryam
-2يَعْقُوب
+2يَعْقُوب
Yaɛqūb
-2يَأْجُوج
+2يَأْجُوج
Yaʾjūj
-2يُوسُف
+2يُوسُف
Yūsuf
-2مَأْجُوج
+2مَأْجُوج
Maʾjūj
-2يُونُس
+2يُونُس
Yūnus
-2إِبْلِيس
+2إِبْلِيس
Iblīs
-2إِدْرِيس
+2إِدْرِيس
Idrīs
-2فِرْعَون
+2فِرْعَون
Pharoah
-2أَيُّوب
+2أَيُّوب
Ayyūb
-2هِرْقَل
+2هِرْقَل
Heraclius
-2مُوسَىٰ
+2مُوسَىٰ
Mūsā
-2کِسْرَىٰ
+2کِسْرَىٰ
Chosroes
-2عِيسَىٰ
+2عِيسَىٰ
Ɛīsā
-2قَيْصَر
+2قَيْصَر
Caesar
Note that -2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” -as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, +2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” +as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names.
The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example:
-
-
- نُوح Nūḥ +
- نُوح Nūḥ
14.4.2.8 Feminine names
-All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here:
+All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here:
| 2زَيْنَب | +2زَيْنَب | Zaynab | -2مَرْيَم | +2مَرْيَم | Maryam |
| 2سُعَاد | +2سُعَاد | Suɛād | -2هَاجَر | +2هَاجَر | Hājar |
The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples:
-
-
- هِنْد Hind -
- دَعْد Daɛd +
- هِنْد Hind +
- دَعْد Daɛd
Example of usage:
-ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ.
or
-ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ.
+ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ.
“Hind went to Daɛd’s house.
-
14.5 The name فُلَان
-The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example,
-ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. +
14.5 The name فُلَان
+The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example,
+ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.”
-For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used.
-صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ.
+
For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used.
+صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ.
“So-and-sof told the truth.”
@@ -1341,14 +1341,14 @@
14.6 The Replacement -
In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of -شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state.
+In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of +شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state.
The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example,
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ.
“The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.”
In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them.
+In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them.
Here is another example:
-سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا.
+
سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا.
“The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.”
@@ -1356,107 +1356,107 @@ 14.7 Annexed names
14.7 Annexed names
14.7.1 “Slave of” names
-Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are:
+Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are:
-- عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh”
-- عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful”
+- عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh”
+- عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful”
-As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example:
-عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ.
+
As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example:
+عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ.
“Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.”
14.7.2 “Parent of” names
-It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence:
-ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ.
+
It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence:
+ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ.
“I went to Abū Zayd’s house.”
-(Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.)
While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example,
-سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا.
+
سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا.
“I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.”
-(Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.)
Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) -2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah +2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named -2حَبِيبَة +2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage.
By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames.
For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called -2أَبُو هُرَيرَة +2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah -because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence.
-أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ.
+because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence.
أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ.
“Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.”
-(Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.)
Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر.
+(Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) +Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر.
It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions -أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr +أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and -2أَبُو هُرَيرَة +2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah.
14.7.3 “Son of” names
-In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named -عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”.
+In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named +عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”.
Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible.
Examples:
-
-
- the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet +
- the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. -
- the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. -
- a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. +
- the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. +
- a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam.
14.7.3.1 Full names
The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name:
-زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ
+
زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ
Zayd the son of Ɛalī
Note some peculiarities of the full name:
-
-
- The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. -
- The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. +
- The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. +
- The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ.
These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence:
-زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ.
+
زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ.
“Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.”
In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence.
-For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن.
+In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence.
+For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن.
Example:
-قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ.
+
قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ.
“The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.”
The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example:
-ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ.
+
The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example:
+ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ.
“Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.”
-(Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.)
We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below.
14.7.4 Other annexed names
Other words besides -عَبْد, -أَب, -أُمّ, +عَبْد, +أَب, +أُمّ, and -ٱِبْن +ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples:
-
-
ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns”
-مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”.
-Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”.
-ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet.
+ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns”
+مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”.
+Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”.
+ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet.
-
-
14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
-Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples:
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples:
| ٱَلْحَسَن | +ٱَلْحَسَن | al-Ḥasan | -ٱَلزُّبَيْر | +ٱَلزُّبَيْر | al-Zubayr |
| ٱَلْحُسَيْن | +ٱَلْحُسَيْن | al-Ḥusayn | -ٱَلنُّعْمَان | +ٱَلنُّعْمَان | al-Nuɛmān |
| ٱَلْعَبَّاس | +ٱَلْعَبَّاس | al-Ɛabbās | -ٱَلْحَارِث | +ٱَلْحَارِث | al-Ḥārit͡h |
If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. -This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples:
-ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم.
+
If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. +This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples:
+ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم.
“al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).”
-(u-state displayed with ◌ُ.)
سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+(u-state displayed with ◌ُ.)
سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
“The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.”
-(a-state displayed with ◌َ.)
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ.
+(a-state displayed with ◌َ.)
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ.
“I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.”
-(i-state displayed with ◌ِ.)
Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. +(i-state displayed with ◌ِ.)
+Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why.
-Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it.
+Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it.
Examples:
-
-
The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء.
+The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء.
The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) -ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās +ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called -ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس.
+ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس.
However, the son of -ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| +ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called -ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ.
+ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ.14.9 Place names
-Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above.
+Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above.
Examples of place names are:
| 2مَکَّة | +2مَکَّة | Makkah | -ٱَلْمَدِينَة | +ٱَلْمَدِينَة | al-Madīnah |
| 2دِمَشْق | +2دِمَشْق | Damascus | -ٱَلْقَاهِرَة | +ٱَلْقَاهِرَة | Cairo |
| 2بَغْدَاد | +2بَغْدَاد | Bag͡hdād | -ٱَلْهِنْد | +ٱَلْهِنْد | India |
| 2مِصْر | +2مِصْر | Egypt | -ٱَلصِّين | +ٱَلصِّين | China |
| 2فَارِس | +2فَارِس | Persia | -ٱَلرُّوم | +ٱَلرُّوم | Rome |
| 2تَبُوک | +2تَبُوک | Tabūk | -ٱَلْبَصْرَة | +ٱَلْبَصْرَة | Baṣrah |
Example of use:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ.
“The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.”
While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are:
| ٱَلْيَمَن | +ٱَلْيَمَن | Yemen | -ٱَلشَّام | +ٱَلشَّام | the Levant | |||||
| ٱَلْعِرَاق | +ٱَلْعِرَاق | Iraq | @@ -1596,47 +1596,47 @@ | قُرَيش | +قُرَيش | Qurays͡h | -ٱَلْأَوْس | +ٱَلْأَوْس | al-Aws | |
| بَنُو تَمِيم | +بَنُو تَمِيم | Banū Tamīm | -ٱَلْخَزْرَج | +ٱَلْخَزْرَج | al-K͡hazraj | |||||
| 2هَوَازِن | +2هَوَازِن | Hawāzin | -2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل | +2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل | Banū Isrāʾīl |
Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. -The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name -2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl +
Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. +The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name +2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe -2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes -2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl.
-Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples:
+2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes +2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. +Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples:
-
-
- قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. -
- بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. +
- قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. +
- بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm.
14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names
The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples:
-
-
2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example:
-بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ.
+2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example:
+بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ.
“Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.”
-قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example:
-قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ.
+قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example:
+قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ.
“Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.”
-2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible.
+2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible.
@@ -1645,7 +1645,7 @@ 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names
14.10.2 Gender of tribe names
Example:
-سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ.
+
سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ.
“Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.”
+
“Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.”
14.11 Titles
-ٱَلنَّبِيّ
+ٱَلنَّبِيّ
Prophet
-ٱَلْإِمَام
+ٱَلْإِمَام
Imām
-ٱَلْمَلِک
+ٱَلْمَلِک
King
-ٱَلشَّيْخ
+ٱَلشَّيْخ
S͡hayk͡h
-ٱَلْأَمِير
+ٱَلْأَمِير
Commander
-ٱَلْحَافِظ
+ٱَلْحَافِظ
Ḥāfiḍ͡h
-ٱَلْقَاضِي
+ٱَلْقَاضِي
Judge
-ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ
+ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ
Professor
Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like
-
-
- ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) -
- ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) -
- ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) +
- ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) +
- ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) +
- ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts)
14.11.1 Titles as replacees
-Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example,
-سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example,
+سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
“A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.”
In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement.
+In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement.
Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples:
Example:
-أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ.
+
أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ.
“The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.”
14.12 Nicknames
-Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”.
+Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”.
Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement.
-أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
+
أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ.
“Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.”
قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ.
+
قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ.
“Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.”
@@ -1795,54 +1795,54 @@ 14.13 The affiliate adjectival no
diff --git a/docs/romanization-scheme.html b/docs/romanization-scheme.html
index b8eb03da..ec3980c3 100644
--- a/docs/romanization-scheme.html
+++ b/docs/romanization-scheme.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
14.13 The affiliate adjectival no
-عِرَاقِيّ
+عِرَاقِيّ
an Iraqi
-قُرَشِيّ
+قُرَشِيّ
a Qurays͡hite
-مَکِّي
+مَکِّي
a Makkan
-تَمِيمِيّ
+تَمِيمِيّ
a Tamīmian
-دِمَشْقِيّ
+دِمَشْقِيّ
a Damascan
-إِسْرَائِيلِيّ
+إِسْرَائِيلِيّ
an Isrāʾīlite
-شَافِعِيّ
+شَافِعِيّ
a S͡hāfiɛite
-حَنَفِيّ
+حَنَفِيّ
a Ḥanafī
-مَالِکِيّ
+مَالِکِيّ
a Mālikī
-حَنْبَلِيّ
+حَنْبَلِيّ
a Ḥanbalī
Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns:
-
-
- Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. -
- The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. +
- Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. +
- The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix.
- Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example,
-
-
- قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ +
- قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ
- The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example:
-
-
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. -
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. +
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. +
- A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”.
We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??.
-Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples:
-ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ.
+
Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples:
+ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ.
“Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
Romanization scheme
-ص
-ش
-س
-ز
-ر
-ذ
-د
-خ
-ح
-ج
-ث
-ت
-ب
-ء
+ص
+ش
+س
+ز
+ر
+ذ
+د
+خ
+ح
+ج
+ث
+ت
+ب
+ء
ṣ
@@ -764,20 +764,20 @@ Romanization scheme
-ى
-و
-ه
-ن
-م
-ل
-ک
-ق
-ف
-غ
-ع
-ظ
-ط
-ض
+ى
+و
+ه
+ن
+م
+ل
+ک
+ق
+ف
+غ
+ع
+ظ
+ط
+ض
y
@@ -811,14 +811,14 @@ Romanization scheme
-◌َ
-◌ُ
-◌ِ
-◌َا
-◌ُو
-◌ِي
-◌َوْ
-◌َيْ
+◌َ
+◌ُ
+◌ِ
+◌َا
+◌ُو
+◌ِي
+◌َوْ
+◌َيْ
a
@@ -837,13 +837,13 @@ Romanization schemeة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
+ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
For example:
-ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
+
ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah.
diff --git a/docs/search_index.json b/docs/search_index.json
index 1e0f8e07..d734e976 100644
--- a/docs/search_index.json
+++ b/docs/search_index.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and” functions. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.” Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
+[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025 Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and”. (أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.”) Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) The verb following حَتَّىٰ in this case may even be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
diff --git a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
index 508a9d13..44f43f88 100644
--- a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
+++ b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,24 +706,24 @@ 8.1 Introduction
u-state
-رَجُلٌ
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+رَجُلٌ
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ
a-state
-رَجُلًا
-ٱَلرَّجُلَ
+رَجُلًا
+ٱَلرَّجُلَ
i-state
-رَجُلٍ
-ٱَلرَّجُلِ
+رَجُلٍ
+ٱَلرَّجُلِ
As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun.
There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible.
-Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
+Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
+As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns.
So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns:
@@ -761,7 +761,7 @@ 8.1 Introduction
8.2 Feminine markers
-Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
+Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
8.2 Feminine markers
-«جري»
-جَارِيَة “a girlf”
+«جري»
+جَارِيَة “a girlf”
–
-«علم»
-عَالِمَة “a scholarf”
-عَالِم “a scholarm”
+«علم»
+عَالِمَة “a scholarf”
+عَالِم “a scholarm”
-«کلب»
-کَلْبَة “a dogf”
-کَلْب “a dogm”
+«کلب»
+کَلْبَة “a dogf”
+کَلْب “a dogm”
-«شجر»
-شَجَرَة “a tree”
+«شجر»
+شَجَرَة “a tree”
–
-«صغر»
-صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf”
-صَغِير adj. “smallm”
+«صغر»
+صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf”
+صَغِير adj. “smallm”
-As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
-It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
-Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
+As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
+It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
+Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers:
@@ -822,101 +822,101 @@ 8.2 Feminine markers
-«صحر»
-صَحْرَاء “a desert”
+«صحر»
+صَحْرَاء “a desert”
–
-«حمر»
-حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
-أَحْمَر adj. “redm”
+«حمر»
+حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
+أَحْمَر adj. “redm”
-«ذکر»
-ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance”
+«ذکر»
+ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance”
–
-«غضب»
-غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf”
-غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym”
+«غضب»
+غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf”
+غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym”
-When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes
-اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
+When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes
+اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
Root
Noun
-Pattern using paradigm «فعل»
+Pattern using paradigm «فعل»
-«هدي»
-ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”
-ٱَلْفُعَل
+«هدي»
+ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”
+ٱَلْفُعَل
-«خبء»
-خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”
-فِعَال
+«خبء»
+خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”
+فِعَال
-These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
+These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
Otherwise,
-when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة.
-Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
-By the way, another difference from ة is that when
-اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun
-حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
-is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun
-أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
+when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة.
+Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
+By the way, another difference from ة is that when
+اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun
+حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
+is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun
+أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
We will discuss this in more detail below.
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below.
When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus:
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility.
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility.
-8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
-Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
+8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
+Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
Here is an example sentence with this noun:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah.
“The man went to a wide desert.”
-Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence
-is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
-Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
-Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2
+
Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence
+is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
+Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
+Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2
to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer.
-Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example
-خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible.
+
Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example
+خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible.
-Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
-We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
-Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
+8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
+We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
+Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
@@ -928,34 +928,34 @@ 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extr
u-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
a-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
i-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence.
Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words.
Here is an example of this word in a sentence:
-ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah.
“The book is a beautiful remembrance.”
-Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
-Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
+Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
-Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
+8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
+Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
@@ -967,58 +967,58 @@ 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern
-«حمر»
-2أَحْمَر
-2حَمْرَاء
+«حمر»
+2أَحْمَر
+2حَمْرَاء
red
-«سود»
-2أَسْوَد
-2سَوْدَاء
+«سود»
+2أَسْوَد
+2سَوْدَاء
black
-«بيض»
-2أَبْيَض
-2بَيْضَاء
+«بيض»
+2أَبْيَض
+2بَيْضَاء
white
-«عرج»
-2أَعْرَج
-2عَرْجَاء
+«عرج»
+2أَعْرَج
+2عَرْجَاء
lame
-«حور»
-2أَحْوَر
-2حَوْرَاء
+«حور»
+2أَحْوَر
+2حَوْرَاء
beautiful eyed
-«بکم»
-2أَبْکَم
-2بَکْمَاء
+«بکم»
+2أَبْکَم
+2بَکْمَاء
mute
Example:
-لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ.
“The man wore a white shirt.”
-8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
-This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
+8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
+This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
-- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun.
-- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun.
-- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah.
+- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun.
+- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun.
+- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah.
-It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
+It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
@@ -1030,33 +1030,33 @@ 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end w
-«غضب»
-2غَضْبَان
-2غَضْبَىٰ
+«غضب»
+2غَضْبَان
+2غَضْبَىٰ
very angry
-«عطش»
-2عَطْشَان
-2عَطْشَىٰ
+«عطش»
+2عَطْشَان
+2عَطْشَىٰ
very thirsty
-«جوع»
-2جَوْعَان
-2جَوْعَىٰ
+«جوع»
+2جَوْعَان
+2جَوْعَىٰ
very hungry
-8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
+8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
Here are some examples of these nouns:
-- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques”
-- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys”
+- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques”
+- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys”
These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11
, if Allāh wills.
diff --git a/docs/sound-plurals.html b/docs/sound-plurals.html
index 603ab5cd..338662b5 100644
--- a/docs/sound-plurals.html
+++ b/docs/sound-plurals.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
- 4.5 A definite noun as the information
- 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+
- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
- 5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
- 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
- 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
- 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
- 6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
- 8.2 Feminine markers
- 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
- 9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
- 9.1 Introduction
- 9.2 Forming the dual
- 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
- 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
- 10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
- 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
- 12.12 Usage of the annexation
- 13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
- 13.1 Introduction
- 13.2 The five nouns
- 13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
- 14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
- 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
- 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-- 14.5 The name فُلَان
+- 14.5 The name فُلَان
- 14.6 The Replacement
- 14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-- 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+- 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
- 14.9 Place names
- 14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
- 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
- 16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
- 17.8 Future
- 17.9 Negation
- 18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
- 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -731,8 +731,8 @@ 10.1 Introduction
10.2 The ūn sound plural
-The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
-Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
+The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
+Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
10.2 The ūn sound plura
u-state
-مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna
+مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna
+مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna
-Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
-The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
+Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
+The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
10.2 The ūn sound plura
u-state
-مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni
+مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni
+مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni
Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
-ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah
“The teachers are in the school.”
a-state:
-سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr.
“The boy asked some teachers about a matter.”
i-state:
-طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
+
طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā.
“The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.”
@@ -809,16 +809,16 @@ 10.2.1 Applicability of the
The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include:
-- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”.
-- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”.
-- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
+- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”.
+- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”.
+- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
10.3 The āt sound plural
-The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
-Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
+The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
+Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
10.3 The āt sound plura
u-state
-حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
+حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
a- and i-states
-حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
Note that:
-- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural.
-- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
+- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural.
+- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
@@ -866,25 +866,25 @@ 10.3 The āt sound plura
u-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
a-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
i-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
-10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending.
-Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
+10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending.
+Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
10.3.1 Nouns ending in
u-state
-مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu
+مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti
+مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti
Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
-فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
+
فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun.
“In the school are teachers.”
a-state:
-نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
+
نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna.
“Allāh aided the Muslims.
i-state:
-نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti.
“The boy looked at the animals.”
-There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
+There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
-10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1,
-if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural.
+if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural.
Example:
@@ -948,17 +948,17 @@ 10.3.2 Nouns ending with
-«صحر»
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”
-صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt
+«صحر»
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”
+صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt
-10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2,
-If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
+If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
10.3.3 Nouns ending with
-«ذکر»
-2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”
-ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt
+«ذکر»
+2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”
+ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt
@@ -1013,23 +1013,23 @@ 10.3.3 Nouns ending with
-10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
-Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
-If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
+10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
+If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
There are two separate rules to consider:
-If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
-- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt.
-- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt.
-- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
+- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt.
+- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt.
+- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
-If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
+If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
-- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt.
-- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
+- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt.
+- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
- be retained,
- be converted to an a mark, or
@@ -1037,11 +1037,11 @@ 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patter
For example:
-- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”.
-- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
+- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”.
+- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
-Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
+Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
@@ -1079,10 +1079,10 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns10.2.1),
-the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
+the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds:
-Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1092,25 +1092,25 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
a son
-طِفْل ṭifl
+طِفْل ṭifl
a child
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān
a human being
-حُرّ ḥurr
+حُرّ ḥurr
a free man
Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition.
Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1121,24 +1121,24 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns
-مُعَلِّم
+مُعَلِّم
a teacherm
-مُعَلِّمُونَ
+مُعَلِّمُونَ
-مُسْلِم
+مُسْلِم
a Muslimm (one who submits)
-مُسْلِمُونَ
+مُسْلِمُونَ
-کَافِر
+کَافِر
a disbelieverm
-کَافِرُونَ
+کَافِرُونَ
-لَاعِب
+لَاعِب
a playerm
-لَاعِبُونَ
+لَاعِبُونَ
@@ -1146,31 +1146,31 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nounsحُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus:
-حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”.
+حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus:
+حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”.
Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural.
In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills.
10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns
-If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
+If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun:
-- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
+- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
-It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
+It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
-- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
+- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
The above condition is satisfied; therefore,
-کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
-By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
-We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
+کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
+By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
+We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
-- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2.
-- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
+- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2.
+- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
-Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
+Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
@@ -1180,7 +1180,7 @@ 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt
10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker
Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like
-ة, اء, and ىٰ
+ة, اء, and ىٰ
are able to form an āt plural.
Examples:
-سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahumu -rrajul.
“The man asked them3,m.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
saʾaltukum
“I asked you3,m.”
-سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
+
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
saʾalatkunn.
“She asked you3,f.”
-سَأَلَانَا.
+
سَأَلَانَا.
saʾalānā.
“They2,m asked us.”
-سَأَلَتَاهُ.
+
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
saʾalatāh.
“They3,m asked him.”
@@ -1542,24 +1542,24 @@ 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns10.7 Verbs with plural doers
10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn.
“The teacherm3,m went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
d͡hahabat muɛallimāt.
“Teachers3,f went.”
@@ -1586,43 +1586,43 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee sing. masc.
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Absentee sing. fem.
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Absentee dual
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee sing. masc.
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Addressee sing. fem.
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Addressee dual
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker sing.
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
Speaker dual
@@ -1651,78 +1651,78 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee pl. masc.
-و
+و
“they3,m”
-فَعَلُوا faɛalū
+فَعَلُوا faɛalū
Absentee pl. fem.
-نَ -na
+نَ -na
“they3,f”
-فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
+فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
Addressee pl. masc.
-تُمْ -tum
+تُمْ -tum
“youm,3”
-فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
+فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
Addressee pl. fem.
-تُنَّ -tunna
+تُنَّ -tunna
“youf,3”
-فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
+فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
Speaker pl.
-نَا -nā
+نَا -nā
“we”
-فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
+فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns:
-The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
+The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
-- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
+- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
-This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
+This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
-- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
+- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
+The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
-- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
+ - أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
ʾakaltum k͡hubzā.
“You3,m ate some bread.”
-- أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
+ - أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz.
“You3,m ate the bread.”
The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabu -rrajul.
“They3,m hit the man.
-- ضَرَبُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبُوهُ.
ḍarabūh.
“They3,m hit him.”
The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabtumu -rrajul.
“You3,m hit the man.”
-- ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
ḍarabtumūh.
“Youpl. masc. hit him.”
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
-سَأَلْنَا.
+
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
+سَأَلْنَا.
saʾalnā.
“We asked.”
-سَأَلَنَا.
+
سَأَلَنَا.
saʾalanā.
“He asked us.”
@@ -1743,43 +1743,43 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah.
“They3,m went to a school.”
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f played in the house.”
-لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“They3,f played in the house.”
The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.”
= “The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.”
= “The friends3,f played in the house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
Similarly,
-أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
and
-ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
= “The players3,f ate and drank and went.”
@@ -1886,33 +1886,33 @@ 10.7.3 Sentence word order with p
10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually
If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage.
If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples:
-ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu.
“The mother and the boy went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu.
“The boy and the mother went.”
If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example:
-ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa.
“I, you, and he went.”
-Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
+Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples:
-أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
+
أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā.
“You1,m and he, you2 went.”
-أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
+
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā.
“I and Muḥammad, we went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā.
“The mother and the girl went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna.
“The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.”
If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example:
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū.
“The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.”
diff --git a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
index 0fd332cc..80bd11cb 100644
--- a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
+++ b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -708,29 +708,29 @@ 20.1 Introduction
20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”:
-يَفْعَلُ
+
يَفْعَلُ
yafɛalu
“he does”
-Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
In order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb,
we change the u-mark into a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
-يَفْعَلْ
+ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
+يَفْعَلْ
yafɛal
-This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
-For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
+
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb.
So, for example, the u-state
incomplete-action verb:
-يَفْعَلَانِ
+
يَفْعَلَانِ
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
becomes, for the
ø-state:
-يَفْعَلَا
+
يَفْعَلَا
yafɛalā
Here is the complete table of the
ø-state
@@ -755,80 +755,80 @@
20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
he
invisible
-يَفْعَلُ
-يَفْعَلْ
+يَفْعَلُ
+يَفْعَلْ
she
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,m
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ي
-تَفْعَلِينَ
-تَفْعَلِي
+ي
+تَفْعَلِينَ
+تَفْعَلِي
I
invisible
-أَفْعَلُ
-أَفْعَلْ
+أَفْعَلُ
+أَفْعَلْ
they2,m
-ا
-يَفْعَلَانِ
-يَفْعَلَا
+ا
+يَفْعَلَانِ
+يَفْعَلَا
they2,f
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
you2
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
they3+,m
-و
-يَفْعَلُونَ
-يَفْعَلُوا
+و
+يَفْعَلُونَ
+يَفْعَلُوا
they3+,f
-نَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
you3+,m
-و
-تَفْعَلُونَ
-تَفْعَلُوا
+و
+تَفْعَلُونَ
+تَفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-نَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
we
invisible
-نَفْعَلُ
-نَفْعَلْ
+نَفْعَلُ
+نَفْعَلْ
@@ -836,22 +836,22 @@ 20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
- The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants:
-- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f)
-- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f)
+- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f)
+- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f)
-- The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
+
- The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
-- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m)
-- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m)
+- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m)
+- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m)
- When the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
ends with a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
-ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
+ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
+ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
-- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ
+- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ
-20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-The particle لِ when connected to the front of a
+
20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+The particle لِ when connected to the front of a
incomplete-action verb
causes it to be in the
ø-state
and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”:
-لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+
لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
“The man should go!”
or
“Let the man go!”
(“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.)
-لِنَذْهَبْ!
+
لِنَذْهَبْ!
“Let’s go!”
The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter.
-The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ.
-The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a
+
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ.
+The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a
ø-mark. Examples:
-فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
+
فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
“So let us eat our food and drink our drink!”
-لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
“You should sit on the ground!”
-20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-The word لَا when in front of a
+
20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+The word لَا when in front of a
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
gives the meaning of a prohibition.
In English this can be translated using “Don’t”.
For example,
-لَا تَکْتُبُوا
+
لَا تَکْتُبُوا
“Don’t write3,m!”
-يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
“Don’t1,m enter the house!”
-The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا.
+
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا.
Example:
-فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
+
فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
“So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!”
Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant.
However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example:
-لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
+
لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
“Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!”
-By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state
+
By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state
ø-state. We have already seen in
section 17.9.2
-that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense.
+that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense.
Example:
-لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
+
لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu.
“The man does not go.” or,
“The man is not going.” or,
“The man will not go.”
-20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-The particle لَمْ when in front of an
+
20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+The particle لَمْ when in front of an
incomplete-action verb
causes it to be in the
ø-state
@@ -939,27 +939,27 @@
20.5 With لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
“The man did not go.”
We have already learned in
-section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
+مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.”
or,
“The man has not gone.”
-Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense.
-مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
+Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense.
+مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
Here are some more examples:
-20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
-The word لَمَّا when in front of a
+
20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+The word لَمَّا when in front of a
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
gives the meaning “did not yet”.
For example,
-لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
+
لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
“Zayd did not go yet.”
@@ -988,30 +988,30 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
you1,m
-ٱفْعَلْ
+ٱفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ٱفْعَلِي
+ٱفْعَلِي
you2
-ٱفْعَلَا
+ٱفْعَلَا
you3+,m
-ٱفْعَلُوا
+ٱفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-ٱفْعَلْنَ
+ٱفْعَلْنَ
-
In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
+In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria:
-When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
+When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
@@ -1021,20 +1021,20 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
-نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا
-ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!”
+نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا
+ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!”
-قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا
-ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!”
+قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا
+ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!”
-مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا
-ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!”
+مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا
+ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!”
Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
+Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
@@ -1044,16 +1044,16 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
-عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا
-ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!”
+عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا
+ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!”
-ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا
-ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!”
+ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا
+ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!”
-جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا
-ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!”
+جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا
+ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!”
20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
Here are some examples of using the verb of command:
The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”.
Instead, the
-ø-state verb is used with لَا
+ø-state verb is used with لَا
as described in
section 20.4
above.
-لَا تَذْهَبْ
+
لَا تَذْهَبْ
“Don’t go!”
@@ -1087,44 +1087,44 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
-«أمل»
-أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
-ٱؤْمُلْ
+«أمل»
+أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
+ٱؤْمُلْ
-«أذن»
-أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
-ٱئْذَنْ
+«أذن»
+أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
+ٱئْذَنْ
Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence:
-يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
+
يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib!
“O my mother, permit me to play!”
-يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr!
“O Zayd, hope for good!”
When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples:
-ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
+
ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
ʾūmul
not
\(\times\) ʾuʾmul
-ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
+
ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
ʾīd͡hanī
not
\(\times\) ʾiʾd͡hanī
As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”
+فَ “so”
then the connecting hamza is not written
-and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف.
+and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف.
Examples:
-وَأْمُلْ
+
وَأْمُلْ
waʾmul
“And hope!”
-فَأْذَنْ
+
فَأْذَنْ
faʾd͡han
“So permit!”
@@ -1132,7 +1132,7 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command
In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below:
-20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
+20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular:
@@ -1144,49 +1144,49 @@ 20.8.3.1 The verbs
-«أکل»
-أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”
-کُلْ
+«أکل»
+أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”
+کُلْ
-«أخذ»
-أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take”
-خُذْ
+«أخذ»
+أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take”
+خُذْ
-«أمر»
-أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order”
-مُرْ
+«أمر»
+أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order”
+مُرْ
As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command.
However, of these verbs, the verb of command for
-أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا
+أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا
is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
-وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
+فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
+وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
and
-فَأْمُرْ faʾmur
+فَأْمُرْ faʾmur
This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs.
Here are some examples of these verbs of command:
-20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
-The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
+20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
+The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
-- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal
-- Irregular: سَلْ sal
+- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal
+- Irregular: سَلْ sal
If the verb of command is preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command
-ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.
+فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command
+ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.
Otherwise, the irregular verb of command
-سَلْ sal is often preferred.
+سَلْ sal is often preferred.
Examples of usage:
diff --git a/docs/subject-information-sentences.html b/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
index 76839ad7..fb862327 100644
--- a/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
+++ b/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -701,13 +701,13 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic.
First we assemble the individual parts:
-- “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.).
-- “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.).
+- “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.).
+- “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.).
-Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state:
+Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state:
-- ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
-- بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state)
+- ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
+- بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state)
In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get:
@@ -718,7 +718,7 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
-->
But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied.
Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write
-بَيْتٌ but say
+بَيْتٌ but say
bayt, not
baytun.
This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5.
@@ -726,11 +726,11 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
“The house is a building.”
We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state:
-- The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state)
-- The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state)
+- The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state)
+- The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state)
And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information:
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ.
+
ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ.
ʾalbaytu bināʾ.
“The house is a building.”
and there we have our sentence.
@@ -740,15 +740,15 @@ 4.3 Matching the gender between t
In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying:
“The building is a school.”
-- The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
-- The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state)
+- The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
+- The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state)
In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu madrasah.
“The building is a school.”
We can also reverse this sentence:
-ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ.
+
ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ.
ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ.
“The school is a building .”
So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information.
@@ -765,30 +765,30 @@
4.3 Matching the gender between t
“The mother is a teacher.”
Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence:
-The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic:
-- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher”
-- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”.
+- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher”
+- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”.
-Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun
+
Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun
(u-state).
Now we can assemble the sentence:
-ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
ʾalʾummu muɛallimah.
“The mother is a teacherf.”
In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”,
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”,
which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information
-ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.)
+ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.)
“a mother”. So we get:
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ.
ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm.
“The teacherf is a mother.”
Here is another example:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ.
ʾarrujulu ʾab.
“The man is a father.”
Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender.
-ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ.
+
ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ.
ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The mother is a person.”
-ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
+
ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah.
“The person is a (female) teacher.”
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ.
ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The (female) teacher is a person.”
-In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender.
-The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say:
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ.
+
In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender.
+The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say:
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ.
ʾalḥayawānu hirr.
“The animal is a (male) cat.”
and
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ.
ʾalḥayawānu hirrah.
“The animal is a (female) cat.”
The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information.
Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ.
ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim.
“The man is the teacherm.”
-The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns.
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ.
+
The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns.
+ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ.
ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu.
“The house is the building.”
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ.
ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu.
“The animal is the cat.”
@@ -1036,19 +1036,19 @@ 4.6 An indefinite noun as the sub
Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills.
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
-4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
-Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
-وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
+
4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
+Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
+وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
wamadrasatun
“and a school”
-وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
+
وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah.
“The building is a mosque and a school.”
-If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah
“The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.”
-We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
-وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
+وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
-Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus:
+
Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus:
“The man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
-4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
-The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”.
-فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
-gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
+The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”.
+فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
+gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah
“The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.”
-فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
-فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
+فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
diff --git a/docs/the-arabic-script.html b/docs/the-arabic-script.html
index 8b874b17..8c74285e 100644
--- a/docs/the-arabic-script.html
+++ b/docs/the-arabic-script.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,210 +706,210 @@ 2.1 The Arabic alphabet
1
-ا
+ا
ā
-أَلِف alif
-A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”.
+أَلِف alif
+A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”.
2
-ب
+ب
b
-بَاء bāʾ
+بَاء bāʾ
Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”.
3
-ت
+ت
t
-تَاء tāʾ
+تَاء tāʾ
Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum.
4
-ث
+ث
t͡h
-ثَاء t͡hāʾ
+ثَاء t͡hāʾ
Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound.
5
-ج
+ج
j
-جِيم jīm
+جِيم jīm
Equivalent to English “j” in “just”.
6
-ح
+ح
ḥ
-حَاء ḥāʾ
-Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ.
+حَاء ḥāʾ
+Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ.
7
-خ
+خ
k͡h
-خَاء k͡hāʾ
+خَاء k͡hāʾ
Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound.
8
-د
+د
d
-دَال dāl
-Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum.
+دَال dāl
+Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum.
9
-ذ
+ذ
d͡h
-ذَال d͡hāl
-Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth.
+ذَال d͡hāl
+Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth.
10
-ر
+ر
r
-رَاء rāʾ
+رَاء rāʾ
Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”.
11
-ز
+ز
z
-زَاء zāʾ
+زَاء zāʾ
Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”.
12
-س
+س
s
-سِين sīn
+سِين sīn
Equivalent to English “s” in “see”.
13
-ش
+ش
s͡h
-شِين s͡hīn
+شِين s͡hīn
Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”.
14
-ص
+ص
ṣ
-صَاد ṣād
-An emphatic س that will be described later.
+صَاد ṣād
+An emphatic س that will be described later.
15
-ض
+ض
ḍ
-ضَاد ḍād
+ضَاد ḍād
An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later.
16
-ط
+ط
ṭ
-طَاء ṭāʾ
-An emphatic ت that will be described later.
+طَاء ṭāʾ
+An emphatic ت that will be described later.
17
-ظ
+ظ
ḍ͡h
-ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ
-An emphatic ذ that will be described later.
+ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ
+An emphatic ذ that will be described later.
18
-ع
+ع
ɛ
-عَيْن ɛayn
+عَيْن ɛayn
A sound like “a” from the throat.
19
-غ
+غ
g͡h
-غَيْن g͡hayn
-Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping.
+غَيْن g͡hayn
+Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping.
20
-ف
+ف
f
-فَاء fāʾ
+فَاء fāʾ
Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”.
21
-ق
+ق
q
-قَاف qāf
+قَاف qāf
Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat.
22
-ک
+ک
k
-کَاف kāf
+کَاف kāf
Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”.
23
-ل
+ل
l
-لَام lām
+لَام lām
Equivalent to English “l” in “light”.
24
-م
+م
m
-مِيم mīm
+مِيم mīm
Equivalent to English “m” in “man”.
25
-ن
+ن
n
-نُون nūn
+نُون nūn
Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”.
26
-ه
+ه
h
-هَاء hāʾ
-Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح
+هَاء hāʾ
+Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح
27
-و
+و
w/ū
-وَاو wāw
+وَاو wāw
As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”.
28
-ي
+ي
y/ī
-يَاء yāʾ
+يَاء yāʾ
As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”.
-Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants.
-But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel.
-The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah).
+
Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants.
+But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel.
+The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah).
-Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written.
+Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written.
So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script.
Romanization scheme
-ى
-و
-ه
-ن
-م
-ل
-ک
-ق
-ف
-غ
-ع
-ظ
-ط
-ض
+ى
+و
+ه
+ن
+م
+ل
+ک
+ق
+ف
+غ
+ع
+ظ
+ط
+ض
y
@@ -811,14 +811,14 @@ Romanization scheme
-◌َ
-◌ُ
-◌ِ
-◌َا
-◌ُو
-◌ِي
-◌َوْ
-◌َيْ
+◌َ
+◌ُ
+◌ِ
+◌َا
+◌ُو
+◌ِي
+◌َوْ
+◌َيْ
a
@@ -837,13 +837,13 @@ Romanization schemeة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
+ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
For example:
-ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
+
ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah.
diff --git a/docs/search_index.json b/docs/search_index.json
index 1e0f8e07..d734e976 100644
--- a/docs/search_index.json
+++ b/docs/search_index.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and” functions. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.” Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
+[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025 Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and”. (أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.”) Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) The verb following حَتَّىٰ in this case may even be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
diff --git a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
index 508a9d13..44f43f88 100644
--- a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
+++ b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,24 +706,24 @@ 8.1 Introduction
u-state
-رَجُلٌ
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+رَجُلٌ
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ
a-state
-رَجُلًا
-ٱَلرَّجُلَ
+رَجُلًا
+ٱَلرَّجُلَ
i-state
-رَجُلٍ
-ٱَلرَّجُلِ
+رَجُلٍ
+ٱَلرَّجُلِ
As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun.
There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible.
-Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
+Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
+As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns.
So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns:
@@ -761,7 +761,7 @@ 8.1 Introduction
8.2 Feminine markers
-Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
+Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
8.2 Feminine markers
-«جري»
-جَارِيَة “a girlf”
+«جري»
+جَارِيَة “a girlf”
–
-«علم»
-عَالِمَة “a scholarf”
-عَالِم “a scholarm”
+«علم»
+عَالِمَة “a scholarf”
+عَالِم “a scholarm”
-«کلب»
-کَلْبَة “a dogf”
-کَلْب “a dogm”
+«کلب»
+کَلْبَة “a dogf”
+کَلْب “a dogm”
-«شجر»
-شَجَرَة “a tree”
+«شجر»
+شَجَرَة “a tree”
–
-«صغر»
-صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf”
-صَغِير adj. “smallm”
+«صغر»
+صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf”
+صَغِير adj. “smallm”
-As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
-It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
-Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
+As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
+It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
+Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers:
@@ -822,101 +822,101 @@ 8.2 Feminine markers
-«صحر»
-صَحْرَاء “a desert”
+«صحر»
+صَحْرَاء “a desert”
–
-«حمر»
-حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
-أَحْمَر adj. “redm”
+«حمر»
+حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
+أَحْمَر adj. “redm”
-«ذکر»
-ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance”
+«ذکر»
+ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance”
–
-«غضب»
-غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf”
-غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym”
+«غضب»
+غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf”
+غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym”
-When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes
-اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
+When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes
+اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
Root
Noun
-Pattern using paradigm «فعل»
+Pattern using paradigm «فعل»
-«هدي»
-ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”
-ٱَلْفُعَل
+«هدي»
+ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”
+ٱَلْفُعَل
-«خبء»
-خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”
-فِعَال
+«خبء»
+خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”
+فِعَال
-These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
+These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
Otherwise,
-when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة.
-Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
-By the way, another difference from ة is that when
-اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun
-حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
-is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun
-أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
+when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة.
+Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
+By the way, another difference from ة is that when
+اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun
+حَمْرَاء adj. “redf”
+is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun
+أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
We will discuss this in more detail below.
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below.
When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus:
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility.
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility.
-8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
-Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
+8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
+Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
Here is an example sentence with this noun:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah.
“The man went to a wide desert.”
-Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence
-is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
-Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
-Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2
+
Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence
+is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
+Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
+Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2
to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer.
-Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example
-خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible.
+
Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example
+خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible.
-Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
-We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
-Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
+8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
+We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
+Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
@@ -928,34 +928,34 @@ 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extr
u-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
a-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
i-state
-ذِکْرَىٰ
-ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
+ذِکْرَىٰ
+ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ
Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence.
Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words.
Here is an example of this word in a sentence:
-ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah.
“The book is a beautiful remembrance.”
-Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
-Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
+Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
-Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
+8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
+Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
@@ -967,58 +967,58 @@ 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern
-«حمر»
-2أَحْمَر
-2حَمْرَاء
+«حمر»
+2أَحْمَر
+2حَمْرَاء
red
-«سود»
-2أَسْوَد
-2سَوْدَاء
+«سود»
+2أَسْوَد
+2سَوْدَاء
black
-«بيض»
-2أَبْيَض
-2بَيْضَاء
+«بيض»
+2أَبْيَض
+2بَيْضَاء
white
-«عرج»
-2أَعْرَج
-2عَرْجَاء
+«عرج»
+2أَعْرَج
+2عَرْجَاء
lame
-«حور»
-2أَحْوَر
-2حَوْرَاء
+«حور»
+2أَحْوَر
+2حَوْرَاء
beautiful eyed
-«بکم»
-2أَبْکَم
-2بَکْمَاء
+«بکم»
+2أَبْکَم
+2بَکْمَاء
mute
Example:
-لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ.
“The man wore a white shirt.”
-8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
-This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
+8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
+This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
-- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun.
-- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun.
-- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah.
+- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun.
+- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun.
+- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah.
-It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
+It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
@@ -1030,33 +1030,33 @@ 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end w
-«غضب»
-2غَضْبَان
-2غَضْبَىٰ
+«غضب»
+2غَضْبَان
+2غَضْبَىٰ
very angry
-«عطش»
-2عَطْشَان
-2عَطْشَىٰ
+«عطش»
+2عَطْشَان
+2عَطْشَىٰ
very thirsty
-«جوع»
-2جَوْعَان
-2جَوْعَىٰ
+«جوع»
+2جَوْعَان
+2جَوْعَىٰ
very hungry
-8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
+8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
Here are some examples of these nouns:
-- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques”
-- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys”
+- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques”
+- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys”
These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11
, if Allāh wills.
diff --git a/docs/sound-plurals.html b/docs/sound-plurals.html
index 603ab5cd..338662b5 100644
--- a/docs/sound-plurals.html
+++ b/docs/sound-plurals.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
- 4.5 A definite noun as the information
- 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+
- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
- 5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
- 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
- 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
- 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
- 6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
- 8.2 Feminine markers
- 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
- 9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
- 9.1 Introduction
- 9.2 Forming the dual
- 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
- 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
- 10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
- 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
- 12.12 Usage of the annexation
- 13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
- 13.1 Introduction
- 13.2 The five nouns
- 13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
- 14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
- 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
- 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-- 14.5 The name فُلَان
+- 14.5 The name فُلَان
- 14.6 The Replacement
- 14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-- 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+- 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
- 14.9 Place names
- 14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
- 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
- 16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
- 17.8 Future
- 17.9 Negation
- 18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
- 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -731,8 +731,8 @@ 10.1 Introduction
10.2 The ūn sound plural
-The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
-Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
+The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
+Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
10.2 The ūn sound plura
u-state
-مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna
+مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna
+مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna
-Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
-The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
+Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
+The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
10.2 The ūn sound plura
u-state
-مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni
+مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni
+مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni
Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
-ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+
ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah
“The teachers are in the school.”
a-state:
-سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+
سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr.
“The boy asked some teachers about a matter.”
i-state:
-طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
+
طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā.
“The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.”
@@ -809,16 +809,16 @@ 10.2.1 Applicability of the
The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include:
-- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”.
-- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”.
-- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
+- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”.
+- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”.
+- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
10.3 The āt sound plural
-The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
-Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
+The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
+Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
10.3 The āt sound plura
u-state
-حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
+حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
a- and i-states
-حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
Note that:
-- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural.
-- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
+- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural.
+- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
@@ -866,25 +866,25 @@ 10.3 The āt sound plura
u-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu
a-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
i-state
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti
-10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending.
-Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
+10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending.
+Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
10.3.1 Nouns ending in
u-state
-مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu
+مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu
a- and i-states
-مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti
+مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin
+ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti
Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
-فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
+
فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun.
“In the school are teachers.”
a-state:
-نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
+
نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna.
“Allāh aided the Muslims.
i-state:
-نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
+
نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti.
“The boy looked at the animals.”
-There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
+There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
-10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1,
-if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural.
+if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural.
Example:
@@ -948,17 +948,17 @@ 10.3.2 Nouns ending with
-«صحر»
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”
-صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt
+«صحر»
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”
+صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt
-10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2,
-If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
+If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
10.3.3 Nouns ending with
-«ذکر»
-2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”
-ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt
+«ذکر»
+2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”
+ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt
@@ -1013,23 +1013,23 @@ 10.3.3 Nouns ending with
-10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
-Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
-If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
+10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
+If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
There are two separate rules to consider:
-If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
-- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt.
-- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt.
-- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
+- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt.
+- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt.
+- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
-If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
+If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
-- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt.
-- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
+- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt.
+- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
- be retained,
- be converted to an a mark, or
@@ -1037,11 +1037,11 @@ 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patter
For example:
-- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”.
-- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
+- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”.
+- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
-Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
+Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
@@ -1079,10 +1079,10 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns10.2.1),
-the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
+the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds:
-Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1092,25 +1092,25 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns
-ٱِبْن ʾibn
+ٱِبْن ʾibn
a son
-طِفْل ṭifl
+طِفْل ṭifl
a child
-إِنْسَان ʾinsān
+إِنْسَان ʾinsān
a human being
-حُرّ ḥurr
+حُرّ ḥurr
a free man
Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition.
Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1121,24 +1121,24 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns
-مُعَلِّم
+مُعَلِّم
a teacherm
-مُعَلِّمُونَ
+مُعَلِّمُونَ
-مُسْلِم
+مُسْلِم
a Muslimm (one who submits)
-مُسْلِمُونَ
+مُسْلِمُونَ
-کَافِر
+کَافِر
a disbelieverm
-کَافِرُونَ
+کَافِرُونَ
-لَاعِب
+لَاعِب
a playerm
-لَاعِبُونَ
+لَاعِبُونَ
@@ -1146,31 +1146,31 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nounsحُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus:
-حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”.
+حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus:
+حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”.
Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural.
In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills.
10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns
-If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
+If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun:
-- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
+- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
-It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
+It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
-- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
+- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
The above condition is satisfied; therefore,
-کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
-By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
-We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
+کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
+By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
+We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
-- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2.
-- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
+- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2.
+- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
-Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
+Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
@@ -1180,7 +1180,7 @@ 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt
10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker
Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like
-ة, اء, and ىٰ
+ة, اء, and ىٰ
are able to form an āt plural.
Examples:
-سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahumu -rrajul.
“The man asked them3,m.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
saʾaltukum
“I asked you3,m.”
-سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
+
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
saʾalatkunn.
“She asked you3,f.”
-سَأَلَانَا.
+
سَأَلَانَا.
saʾalānā.
“They2,m asked us.”
-سَأَلَتَاهُ.
+
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
saʾalatāh.
“They3,m asked him.”
@@ -1542,24 +1542,24 @@ 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns10.7 Verbs with plural doers
10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn.
“The teacherm3,m went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
d͡hahabat muɛallimāt.
“Teachers3,f went.”
@@ -1586,43 +1586,43 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee sing. masc.
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
Absentee sing. fem.
invisible
“she”
-فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
+فَعَلَتْ faɛalat
Absentee dual
-◌َا -ā
+◌َا -ā
“them2”
-masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
+masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā
Addressee sing. masc.
-تَ -ta
+تَ -ta
“youm,2”
-فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
+فَعَلْتَ faɛalta
Addressee sing. fem.
-تِ -ti
+تِ -ti
“youf,2”
-فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
+فَعَلْتِ faɛalti
Addressee dual
-تُمَا -tumā
+تُمَا -tumā
“you2”
-فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
+فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā
Speaker sing.
-تُ -tu
+تُ -tu
“I”
-فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
+فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu
Speaker dual
@@ -1651,78 +1651,78 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee pl. masc.
-و
+و
“they3,m”
-فَعَلُوا faɛalū
+فَعَلُوا faɛalū
Absentee pl. fem.
-نَ -na
+نَ -na
“they3,f”
-فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
+فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
Addressee pl. masc.
-تُمْ -tum
+تُمْ -tum
“youm,3”
-فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
+فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
Addressee pl. fem.
-تُنَّ -tunna
+تُنَّ -tunna
“youf,3”
-فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
+فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
Speaker pl.
-نَا -nā
+نَا -nā
“we”
-فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
+فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns:
-The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
+The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
-- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
+- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
-This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
+This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
-- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
+- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
+The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
-- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
+ - أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
ʾakaltum k͡hubzā.
“You3,m ate some bread.”
-- أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
+ - أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz.
“You3,m ate the bread.”
The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabu -rrajul.
“They3,m hit the man.
-- ضَرَبُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبُوهُ.
ḍarabūh.
“They3,m hit him.”
The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabtumu -rrajul.
“You3,m hit the man.”
-- ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
ḍarabtumūh.
“Youpl. masc. hit him.”
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
-سَأَلْنَا.
+
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
+سَأَلْنَا.
saʾalnā.
“We asked.”
-سَأَلَنَا.
+
سَأَلَنَا.
saʾalanā.
“He asked us.”
@@ -1743,43 +1743,43 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah.
“They3,m went to a school.”
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f played in the house.”
-لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“They3,f played in the house.”
The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.”
= “The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.”
= “The friends3,f played in the house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
Similarly,
-أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
and
-ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
= “The players3,f ate and drank and went.”
@@ -1886,33 +1886,33 @@ 10.7.3 Sentence word order with p
10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually
If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage.
If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples:
-ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu.
“The mother and the boy went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu.
“The boy and the mother went.”
If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example:
-ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa.
“I, you, and he went.”
-Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
+Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples:
-أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
+
أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā.
“You1,m and he, you2 went.”
-أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
+
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā.
“I and Muḥammad, we went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā.
“The mother and the girl went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna.
“The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.”
If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example:
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū.
“The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.”
diff --git a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
index 0fd332cc..80bd11cb 100644
--- a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
+++ b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -708,29 +708,29 @@ 20.1 Introduction
20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”:
-يَفْعَلُ
+
يَفْعَلُ
yafɛalu
“he does”
-Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
In order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb,
we change the u-mark into a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
-يَفْعَلْ
+ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
+يَفْعَلْ
yafɛal
-This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
-For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
+
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb.
So, for example, the u-state
incomplete-action verb:
-يَفْعَلَانِ
+
يَفْعَلَانِ
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
becomes, for the
ø-state:
-يَفْعَلَا
+
يَفْعَلَا
yafɛalā
Here is the complete table of the
ø-state
@@ -755,80 +755,80 @@
20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
he
invisible
-يَفْعَلُ
-يَفْعَلْ
+يَفْعَلُ
+يَفْعَلْ
she
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,m
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ي
-تَفْعَلِينَ
-تَفْعَلِي
+ي
+تَفْعَلِينَ
+تَفْعَلِي
I
invisible
-أَفْعَلُ
-أَفْعَلْ
+أَفْعَلُ
+أَفْعَلْ
they2,m
-ا
-يَفْعَلَانِ
-يَفْعَلَا
+ا
+يَفْعَلَانِ
+يَفْعَلَا
they2,f
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
you2
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
they3+,m
-و
-يَفْعَلُونَ
-يَفْعَلُوا
+و
+يَفْعَلُونَ
+يَفْعَلُوا
they3+,f
-نَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
you3+,m
-و
-تَفْعَلُونَ
-تَفْعَلُوا
+و
+تَفْعَلُونَ
+تَفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-نَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
we
invisible
-نَفْعَلُ
-نَفْعَلْ
+نَفْعَلُ
+نَفْعَلْ
@@ -836,22 +836,22 @@ 20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
- The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants:
-- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f)
-- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f)
+- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f)
+- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f)
-- The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
+
- The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
-- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m)
-- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m)
+- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m)
+- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m)
- When the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
ends with a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
-ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
+ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
+ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
-- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ
+- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ
-20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-The particle لِ when connected to the front of a
+
20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+The particle لِ when connected to the front of a
incomplete-action verb
causes it to be in the
ø-state
and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”:
-لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+
لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
“The man should go!”
or
“Let the man go!”
(“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.)
-لِنَذْهَبْ!
+
لِنَذْهَبْ!
“Let’s go!”
The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter.
-The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ.
-The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a
+
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ.
+The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a
ø-mark. Examples:
-فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
+
فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
“So let us eat our food and drink our drink!”
-لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
“You should sit on the ground!”
-20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-The word لَا when in front of a
+
20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+The word لَا when in front of a
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
gives the meaning of a prohibition.
In English this can be translated using “Don’t”.
For example,
-لَا تَکْتُبُوا
+
لَا تَکْتُبُوا
“Don’t write3,m!”
-يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
“Don’t1,m enter the house!”
-The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا.
+
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا.
Example:
-فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
+
فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
“So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!”
Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant.
However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example:
-لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
+
لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
“Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!”
-By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state
+
By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state
ø-state. We have already seen in
section 17.9.2
-that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense.
+that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense.
Example:
-لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
+
لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu.
“The man does not go.” or,
“The man is not going.” or,
“The man will not go.”
-20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-The particle لَمْ when in front of an
+
20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+The particle لَمْ when in front of an
incomplete-action verb
causes it to be in the
ø-state
@@ -939,27 +939,27 @@
20.5 With لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
“The man did not go.”
We have already learned in
-section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
+مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.”
or,
“The man has not gone.”
-Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense.
-مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
+Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense.
+مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
Here are some more examples:
-20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
-The word لَمَّا when in front of a
+
20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+The word لَمَّا when in front of a
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
gives the meaning “did not yet”.
For example,
-لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
+
لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
“Zayd did not go yet.”
@@ -988,30 +988,30 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
you1,m
-ٱفْعَلْ
+ٱفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ٱفْعَلِي
+ٱفْعَلِي
you2
-ٱفْعَلَا
+ٱفْعَلَا
you3+,m
-ٱفْعَلُوا
+ٱفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-ٱفْعَلْنَ
+ٱفْعَلْنَ
-
In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
+In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria:
-When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
+When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
@@ -1021,20 +1021,20 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
-نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا
-ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!”
+نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا
+ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!”
-قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا
-ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!”
+قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا
+ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!”
-مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا
-ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!”
+مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا
+ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!”
Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
+Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
@@ -1044,16 +1044,16 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
-عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا
-ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!”
+عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا
+ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!”
-ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا
-ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!”
+ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا
+ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!”
-جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا
-ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!”
+جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا
+ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!”
20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
Here are some examples of using the verb of command:
The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”.
Instead, the
-ø-state verb is used with لَا
+ø-state verb is used with لَا
as described in
section 20.4
above.
-لَا تَذْهَبْ
+
لَا تَذْهَبْ
“Don’t go!”
@@ -1087,44 +1087,44 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
-«أمل»
-أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
-ٱؤْمُلْ
+«أمل»
+أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
+ٱؤْمُلْ
-«أذن»
-أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
-ٱئْذَنْ
+«أذن»
+أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
+ٱئْذَنْ
Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence:
-يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
+
يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib!
“O my mother, permit me to play!”
-يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr!
“O Zayd, hope for good!”
When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples:
-ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
+
ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
ʾūmul
not
\(\times\) ʾuʾmul
-ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
+
ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
ʾīd͡hanī
not
\(\times\) ʾiʾd͡hanī
As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”
+فَ “so”
then the connecting hamza is not written
-and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف.
+and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف.
Examples:
-وَأْمُلْ
+
وَأْمُلْ
waʾmul
“And hope!”
-فَأْذَنْ
+
فَأْذَنْ
faʾd͡han
“So permit!”
@@ -1132,7 +1132,7 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command
In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below:
-20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
+20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular:
@@ -1144,49 +1144,49 @@ 20.8.3.1 The verbs
-«أکل»
-أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”
-کُلْ
+«أکل»
+أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”
+کُلْ
-«أخذ»
-أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take”
-خُذْ
+«أخذ»
+أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take”
+خُذْ
-«أمر»
-أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order”
-مُرْ
+«أمر»
+أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order”
+مُرْ
As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command.
However, of these verbs, the verb of command for
-أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا
+أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا
is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
-وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
+فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
+وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
and
-فَأْمُرْ faʾmur
+فَأْمُرْ faʾmur
This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs.
Here are some examples of these verbs of command:
-20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
-The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
+20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
+The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
-- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal
-- Irregular: سَلْ sal
+- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal
+- Irregular: سَلْ sal
If the verb of command is preceded by
-وَ “and”
+وَ “and”
or
-فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command
-ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.
+فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command
+ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.
Otherwise, the irregular verb of command
-سَلْ sal is often preferred.
+سَلْ sal is often preferred.
Examples of usage:
diff --git a/docs/subject-information-sentences.html b/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
index 76839ad7..fb862327 100644
--- a/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
+++ b/docs/subject-information-sentences.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -701,13 +701,13 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic.
First we assemble the individual parts:
-- “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.).
-- “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.).
+- “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.).
+- “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.).
-Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state:
+Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state:
-- ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
-- بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state)
+- ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
+- بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state)
In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get:
@@ -718,7 +718,7 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
-->
But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied.
Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write
-بَيْتٌ but say
+بَيْتٌ but say
bayt, not
baytun.
This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5.
@@ -726,11 +726,11 @@ 4.2 Forming subject-information s
“The house is a building.”
We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state:
-- The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state)
-- The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state)
+- The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state)
+- The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state)
And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information:
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ.
+
ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ.
ʾalbaytu bināʾ.
“The house is a building.”
and there we have our sentence.
@@ -740,15 +740,15 @@ 4.3 Matching the gender between t
In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying:
“The building is a school.”
-- The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
-- The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state)
+- The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state)
+- The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state)
In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu madrasah.
“The building is a school.”
We can also reverse this sentence:
-ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ.
+
ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ.
ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ.
“The school is a building .”
So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information.
@@ -765,30 +765,30 @@
4.3 Matching the gender between t
“The mother is a teacher.”
Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence:
-The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic:
-- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher”
-- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”.
+- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher”
+- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”.
-Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun
+
Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun
(u-state).
Now we can assemble the sentence:
-ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
+
ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
ʾalʾummu muɛallimah.
“The mother is a teacherf.”
In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun
-مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”,
+مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”,
which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information
-ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.)
+ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.)
“a mother”. So we get:
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ.
ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm.
“The teacherf is a mother.”
Here is another example:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ.
ʾarrujulu ʾab.
“The man is a father.”
Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender.
-ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ.
+
ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ.
ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The mother is a person.”
-ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
+
ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah.
“The person is a (female) teacher.”
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ.
ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The (female) teacher is a person.”
-In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender.
-The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say:
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ.
+
In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender.
+The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say:
+ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ.
ʾalḥayawānu hirr.
“The animal is a (male) cat.”
and
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ.
ʾalḥayawānu hirrah.
“The animal is a (female) cat.”
The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information.
Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes:
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ.
+
ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ.
ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim.
“The man is the teacherm.”
-The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns.
-ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ.
+
The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns.
+ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ.
ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu.
“The house is the building.”
-ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ.
+
ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ.
ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu.
“The animal is the cat.”
@@ -1036,19 +1036,19 @@ 4.6 An indefinite noun as the sub
Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills.
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
-4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
-Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
-وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
+
4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
+Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
+وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
wamadrasatun
“and a school”
-وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
+
وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah.
“The building is a mosque and a school.”
-If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah
“The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.”
-We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
-وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
+وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
-Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus:
+
Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus:
“The man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
-4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
-The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”.
-فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
-gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
+The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”.
+فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
+gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah
“The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.”
-فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
-فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
+فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
diff --git a/docs/the-arabic-script.html b/docs/the-arabic-script.html
index 8b874b17..8c74285e 100644
--- a/docs/the-arabic-script.html
+++ b/docs/the-arabic-script.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,210 +706,210 @@ 2.1 The Arabic alphabet
1
-ا
+ا
ā
-أَلِف alif
-A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”.
+أَلِف alif
+A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”.
Romanization scheme
-◌َ
-◌ُ
-◌ِ
-◌َا
-◌ُو
-◌ِي
-◌َوْ
-◌َيْ
+◌َ
+◌ُ
+◌ِ
+◌َا
+◌ُو
+◌ِي
+◌َوْ
+◌َيْ
a
@@ -837,13 +837,13 @@ Romanization schemeة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
+ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
For example:
-ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
+
ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah.
diff --git a/docs/search_index.json b/docs/search_index.json
index 1e0f8e07..d734e976 100644
--- a/docs/search_index.json
+++ b/docs/search_index.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and” functions. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.” Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
+[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025 Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and”. (أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.”) Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) The verb following حَتَّىٰ in this case may even be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
diff --git a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
index 508a9d13..44f43f88 100644
--- a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
+++ b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,24 +706,24 @@ 8.1 Introduction
u-state
-رَجُلٌ
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+رَجُلٌ
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ
a-state
-رَجُلًا
-ٱَلرَّجُلَ
+رَجُلًا
+ٱَلرَّجُلَ
i-state
-رَجُلٍ
-ٱَلرَّجُلِ
+رَجُلٍ
+ٱَلرَّجُلِ
As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun.
There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible.
-Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
+Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”:
Romanization schemeة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
+ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise.
For example:
-ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
+
ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ.
ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah.
diff --git a/docs/search_index.json b/docs/search_index.json
index 1e0f8e07..d734e976 100644
--- a/docs/search_index.json
+++ b/docs/search_index.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-794-g99b9aea Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and” functions. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.” Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ is used with an expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb is used as an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would, or is meant to, occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant, or at the point of being expected, to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action actually occured, for something may have prevented it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above two examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) In fact, the following verb may be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
+[["index.html", "Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Preface", " Learn Standard Arabic A self-instruction textbook with grammar, vocabulary, and exercises Author Names v0.1.0-795-g9b3a025 Preface بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The primary texts of Islām (the Qurʾān and the Ḥadīt͡h) are in Arabic. So too is much of its scholarly literature. However, there is a multitude of Muslims for whom Arabic is not a native language, yet who are familiar enough with English to study textbooks written in this language. The goal of this book is to help them learn Arabic at a beginner’s level so that, together with a study of the appropriate expositional texts, they are one step closer to understanding the primary texts in their original language. We hope that this will, if Allāh wills, make them feel more connected to the primary texts and their teachings. Furthermore, they can be empowered to study the vast body of Arabic Islāmic literature. This book is a learning grammar and not a reference grammar. So, in the initial chapters, topics are introduced at only a basic level, without treating them exhaustively, before moving on to the next topic. That notwithstanding, past the first few chapters, we have generally tried to group content meaningfully for convenient reference during learning. In addition, since this is a beginner’s textbook, only the more common usages are explained. We have also aimed to make this a self-instruction textbook so that a diligent student should, if Allāh wills, be able to study it without an instructor. The target learner is someone who has not been exposed to grammatical terminology like inflection, case, mood, etc. While terminology is necessary for a rigorous non-immersive learning of language, we have tried to steer away from Latin-based terms like accusative and jussive. Such terms, when first encountered by an uninitiated learner, may deter from proceeding further. (Learning a language can be hard enough without getting the feeling that your grammar book is accusing you of something!) So we have in some places translated the meaning of Arabic grammar terms to English. In other places, we have used established English grammar terms where the terms are basic enough. We have even, in places, invented terms where we deemed appropriate. The drawback to this non-standard approach, however, is that the student may not be able to immediately relate the terminology he has learned in this book to established terminology in other grammar textbooks. To remedy this to some extent, we provide a glossary in the appendix which maps the grammatical terminology used in this book to other, established, Latin-based and Arabic-based counterparts. It may also be appropriate to inform the reader that we chose to present a simplified version of Arabic grammar. As such, the grammar presented here may not be entirely consistent with the comprehensive and harmonious framework developed by the Arab grammarians. We chose this approach because we felt that exposing the beginner to complex grammatical details at this stage would be more of a hindrance than a help in learning the language. This book is a currently work in progress and is produced with the R bookdown package. The code and text for volume 1 are open-sourced and developed at github.com/adamiturabi/arabic-tutorial-book. The typeset output of volume 1 is published at adamiturabi.github.io/arabic-tutorial-book/. the authors "],["romanization-scheme.html", "Romanization scheme", " Romanization scheme The following romanization scheme is used in this book for the transcription and transliteration of Arabic sounds and letters into the Latin script. consonants ص ش س ز ر ذ د خ ح ج ث ت ب ء ṣ s͡h s z r d͡h d k͡h ḥ j t͡h t b ʾ ى و ه ن م ل ک ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض y w h n m l k q f g͡h ɛ ḍ͡h ṭ ḍ vowels ◌َ ◌ُ ◌ِ ◌َا ◌ُو ◌ِي ◌َوْ ◌َيْ a u i ā ū ī aw ay When transcribing example text, the italic Latin script is used, no letters are capitalized, a non-sentence-initial connecting hamzah is transliterated with a hyphen (-), and the lām of the definite article is not transliterated for sun letters. ة is transcribed as h at the end of an utterance, and as t otherwise. For example: ٱِلْتَقَطَتْ أُمُّ طَلْحَةَ وَٱلْحَسَنِ وَرَقَةَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ. ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah. When using Arabic words in the English text, the regular (non-italic) Latin script is used, words are transcribed in pausal pronunciation, word-final ◌ِيّ -iyy is transcribed as “ī”, the first letter of a proper noun is capitalized, word-initial hamzah is not transliterated, the definite article is always transliterated as “al-” with a hyphen following it, as shown. ة is transcribed as “t” in the middle of an annexation, and as “h” otherwise. Accurate romanizations are preferred unless an established and distinctly separate usage is current in English. Examples: “Ɛalī and Usāmah revised Sūrat al-Ɛankabūt from the Qurʾān in the mosque in the month of Rabīɛ al-T͡hānī.” “The caliphate moved from al-Madīnah to Damascus.” "],["introduction.html", "1 Introduction 1.1 History of Arabic 1.2 About this book ", " 1 Introduction All praises are due to Allāh. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allāh from the evil in our souls and from our sinful deeds. Whomever Allāh guides, no one can mislead. Whomever Allāh leads astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allāh. I also bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those who followed them with good conduct. 1.1 History of Arabic Allāh, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the Qurʾān 1400 years ago to the Prophet Muḥammad, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him. The language of the Qurʾān is the Arabic language, as it was understood by the Arabs at that time. The sayings and actions of the Prophet, may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him, were recorded by his companions also in this Arabic language. We will call the Arabic of this pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic era as Classical Arabic. The Classical Arabic language consisted of multiple dialects that were spoken by the different tribes and in the different regions of the Arabian peninsula. All languages change naturally over time. For example, English has changed to such a degree that the Old English language spoken 1400 years ago would be unintelligible to us today. So too did the Classical Arabic dialects begin to change. But as part of preserving His religion, Allāh preserved the Arabic language as well. This was by means of the efforts of scholars who recorded the Classical Arabic language of the time of the revelation. In the process of preserving Arabic, one particular variety became standardized and gained prevalence as a literary language over the other dialects of the Arabic of the early-Islāmic period. This Standard Arabic, in its early period after standardization, is called Classical Standard Arabic. The pre-Islāmic and early Islāmic Arabic dialects (of which Classical Standard Arabic is but a standardized variety) are then referred to, collectively, as pre-standard Classical Arabic. Classical Standard Arabic was used as the language of religious scholarship, science, and literature in the Islāmic world. As scholars developed new branches of religious and secular sciences, new terms and meanings were added to it that are termed post-classical. A few words were also borrowed from foreign languages and Arabicized, as needed by the different scientific disciplines. (Pre-Standard Classical Arabic itself had a few Arabicized foreign borrowings from neighboring languages.) These additions were, by and large, deliberate, done by scholars who were experts in their fields and also well versed in Classical Standard Arabic, and validated by subsequent generations of scholarly discourse. Besides these needed additions, the grammar and core language remained remarkably unchanged. While Standard Arabic was thus preserved from major change and was used for literary purposes, the language that was spoken by Arabs in their day-to-day lives continued to change over time from the pre-standard Classical Arabic dialects into the modern colloquial dialects. And so today, there exist two very distinct types of Arabic: the preserved Standard Arabic which is taught at schools and is primarily a written language, and the modern colloquial Arabic dialects which Arabs learn as their mother tongue and which are primarily only spoken and not written. Figure 1.1: Timeline of the development of Standard Arabic. In modern times, many new words and meanings have been added to Standard Arabic, often via translation from Western languages, to keep up with technological advancements and modern media. This modern development of Standard Arabic is called Modern Standard Arabic. There are also a small amount of words, meanings, and grammatical usages, which existed in Classical Arabic, but which are deemed archaic, and are therefore largely unused, in Modern Standard Arabic. Figure 1.1 (above) depicts this historical development of Standard Arabic. 1.2 About this book 1.2.1 Scope In this book, we will study Standard Arabic. We will focus on the pre-modern language. If Allāh wills, this will help you to begin to understand the language of the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīt͡h, and Islāmic literature. If your goal is to learn Modern Standard Arabic, then this book may still be of help because the core language and the grammar are essentially the same. However, you may prefer to study from a resource that focuses on the modern language. This book does not touch at all upon the modern colloquial dialects that are spoken in the Arab world today. 1.2.2 Current status This book is currently a work in progress, and not yet ready for study. There is a watermark on all online published pages indicating this status. The preface and this introduction have been written prematurely as a reference for guiding principles that we can refer to during the write process. We publish updates online while the book is still a work in progress in the hope that it will help in correcting errors. 1.2.3 Methodology We will start, if Allāh wills, with the Arabic script and present, in each chapter, a new concept of Arabic grammar, together with examples. We will also give vocabulary for you to memorize and have chapter exercises. Many times we introduce a topic early on because a later topic is dependent on it. And in order to organize content in a manageable and referrable way, we will give a full treatment of the first topic. But in actuality, an exhaustive understanding of the first topic is not that very essential to the core understanding of grammar that a learner needs at that stage. An example of such a topic is proper nouns which are, what we have termed, semi-flexible (diptotes in Western grammars), and indeed semi-flexible nouns in general. In the chapter introductions, we will list any such topics contained in the chapter. When encountering such topics for the first time, we recommend that you skim through them to get a basic understanding and move on to more essential concepts. You may refer back to the topic when needed. Some of the sentences we present, both as examples and as chapter exercises, because of their contrived nature, may seem of dubious usefulness to a learner wanting to learn practical usage. Also, when translating examples, we usually steer toward a literal, word-for-word, translation rather than an idiomatic one. The resulting English will then often sound awkward, and even sometimes ungrammatical. This is to show a correspondence between the words in the Arabic sentence and the English translation. We ask that you overlook these shortcomings. 1.2.4 How to study 1.2.4.1 Exercises In answering the exercises, we strongly recommend that you memorize the vocabulary in full and write down the answers with pen and paper. We strongly recommend that you resist the tendency to answer the exercises only orally or mentally without writing them down, or look up the answers from the answer key before attempting to write the answer yourself, or look up words in the vocabulary list without memorizing them, or proceed to the next chapter before memorizing the vocabulary and going through the exercises. You may also find yourself having to go back a few chapters every once in a while and revising the concepts therein. This is very normal and not a cause for any concern. It may also prove beneficial to re-do the exercises of that chapter when doing so. 1.2.4.2 Vocabulary Know that while Arabic grammar requires effort to master to a proficient degree, the real barrier to reading and understanding Arabic texts by oneself is vocabulary. Arabic is a very rich language and knowledge of a few thousand words is needed before the student can begin to read texts independently. In fact, we would not be too far off to say that grammar, at this stage, is only a tool to help you make sense of the vocabulary that you are acquiring. So, focus on acquiring vocabulary, first and foremost. In appendix ??, we suggest companion reading material, dictionaries, and techniques on acquiring and retaining vocabulary. 1.2.5 Accessibility You can download a printable copy of this book by clicking the PDF icon in the toolbar at the top of this page. The toolbar also has display options, like changing the font size, etc. "],["the-arabic-script.html", "2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.4 Connecting hamzah 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence 2.6 Qurʾānic script", " 2 The Arabic script 2.1 The Arabic alphabet The alphabet consists of both consonants and vowels. In the English word “banana”, “a” is a vowel, and “b” and “n” are called consonants. The Arabic alphabet traditionally has 28 letters, shown in the table below. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description 1 ا ā أَلِف alif A vowel like in English “man”. But after these letters (خ،ر،ص،ض،غ،ق) it sounds like “awe” in English “awesome”. 2 ب b بَاء bāʾ Equivalent to English “b” in “boy”. 3 ت t تَاء tāʾ Similar to English “t” in “tall” but softer. Touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 4 ث t͡h ثَاء t͡hāʾ Similar to to English “th” in “think” but softer. Have your lips and cheek in a wide grin. Loosely bite the tip of your tongue between your front teeth and then force air out trying to hiss “ssss”. Keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth and the hiss should come out like a “th” sound. 5 ج j جِيم jīm Equivalent to English “j” in “just”. 6 ح ḥ حَاء ḥāʾ Similar to English “h” in “hat” but pronounced from the bottom of the throat. Take care there is no scraping as with خ. 7 خ k͡h خَاء k͡hāʾ Similar to “ch” in Scottish “loch”. Try saying “kh” but with a scraping sound. 8 د d دَال dāl Similar to to English “d” in “dog” but softer. Just like with ت, touch the tongue against the back of the top front teeth instead of just the gum. 9 ذ d͡h ذَال d͡hāl Place your tongue as in ث and force air out. But this time instead of trying to hiss “ssss” try to buzz “zzzz” and again keep your tongue touching the top and bottom teeth. 10 ر r رَاء rāʾ Equivalent to English “r” in “rat”. 11 ز z زَاء zāʾ Equivalent to English “z” in “zoo”. 12 س s سِين sīn Equivalent to English “s” in “see”. 13 ش s͡h شِين s͡hīn Equivalent to English “sh” in “show”. 14 ص ṣ صَاد ṣād An emphatic س that will be described later. 15 ض ḍ ضَاد ḍād An sound unique to Arabic that will be described later. 16 ط ṭ طَاء ṭāʾ An emphatic ت that will be described later. 17 ظ ḍ͡h ظَاء ḍ͡hāʾ An emphatic ذ that will be described later. 18 ع ɛ عَيْن ɛayn A sound like “a” from the throat. 19 غ g͡h غَيْن g͡hayn Somewhat like a “gh” sound but much softer. Try pronouncing خ but without any scraping. 20 ف f فَاء fāʾ Equivalent to English “f” in “fox”. 21 ق q قَاف qāf Similar to English “k” in “kite” but further back in the throat. 22 ک k کَاف kāf Equivalent to English “k” in “kite”. 23 ل l لَام lām Equivalent to English “l” in “light”. 24 م m مِيم mīm Equivalent to English “m” in “man”. 25 ن n نُون nūn Equivalent to English “n” in “nut”. 26 ه h هَاء hāʾ Equivalent to English “h” in “hat”. Much softer than ح 27 و w/ū وَاو wāw As a consonant it is equivalent to English “w” in “water”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “oo” in “moon”. 28 ي y/ī يَاء yāʾ As a consonant it is equivalent to English “y” in “yellow”. It is also a vowel equivalent to English “ee” in “meek”. Note that the letters و (wāw) and ي (yāʾ) are both vowels and consonants. But that أَلِف (alif) is only a vowel. The consonant corresponding to أَلِف is ء (hamzah). Although ء (hamzah) ought to be considered a letter in its own right, it was originally only pronounced and not written. So it is not traditionally considered part of the 28-letter script. No. Arabic letter Tran-scrip-tion Name Description – ء ʾ هَمْزَة hamzah Technically called a glottal stop, it is the sound of the breath stopping in the beginning of, and between the syllables in, the utterance “oh-oh”. 2.1.1 Alternative order of letters The above order of the letters in alphabetical sequence is currently used today. There is an alternative order that was more used in the past (from right to left): ا ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ک ل م ن س ع ف ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ This alternative order is discussed more in appendix ??. (TODO: add appendix for أبجد order, discuss its use in lists and numerical value.) 2.1.2 Pronunciation notes Some of the sounds are similar to sounds in English but others are very different. Here we will attempt to describe the sounds but we recommend that you learn the correct pronunciation from an experienced Arabic or Qurʾān teacher. Online videos may also help in practicing the sounds. 2.1.2.1 ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ The letters س sīn, ت tāʾ, and ذ d͡hāl are pronounced with the mouth and lips in a wide grin. Now try pronouncing them, in turn, with the lips round forming a small circle. The sounds will be emphatic and will be ص ṣād, ط ṭāʾ, and ظ ḍ͡hāʾ respectively. 2.1.2.2 ض ḍād ض ḍād is thought to be unique to Arabic. There are two ways to pronounce it. The first is similar to an emphatic د. The second is almost similar to ظ. We reiterate that it is best to use audio training to help with pronouncing these sounds. 2.2 Writing Arabic words 2.2.1 Letters in different positions Arabic is written right-to-left, unlike English and most other languages which are written left-to-right. When writing, the letters in a word are generally joined to each other, except for six out of the 28 letters, which join only to the letter preceding them but not to the letter following them. These six partially-joining letters are ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و. When joining the letters, letters are modified in order to join to the preceding and following letter. The fully-joining letters can be in four positions: by itself (isolated), in the beginning of a group of joined letters, in the middle of a group of joined letters, in the end of a group of joined letters. As we just mentioned, six of the letters (ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، و) don’t join to the following letter. So these letters can only occur only in the end of a group of joined letters, or isolated by themselves. In this book we will show a “Simplified Arabic” writing style where, in each of the four positions, the letter maintains its basic shape and is usually only slightly modified to join to the previous and following letter with horizontal lines. To explain the method of modifying the letters when joining them, we will take ب as an example and start with the isolated form: Isolated form: ب To modify this into the end form, we simply join a horizontal line to the right of the letter: End form: ـب. To get the middle form, we take the end form ـب and cut off its tail which is at its left, and replace it with a horizontal line. We also move the dot slightly to get: Middle form: ـبـ And finally, to get the beginning form, we take the middle form ـبـ and remove the horizontal line at the right: Beginning form: بـ Now most of the letters follow this common technique but a few of them are modified a little further in each form. These, more complicated, letters are ع، غ، ک، ه، ي and you can study them and the rest of the letters in the table below: No. Isolated End Middle Beginning 1 ا ـا none none 2 ب ـب ـبـ بـ 3 ت ـت ـتـ تـ 4 ث ـث ـثـ ثـ 5 ج ـج ـجـ جـ 6 ح ـح ـحـ حـ 7 خ ـخ ـخـ خـ 8 د ـد none none 9 ذ ـذ none none 10 ر ـر none none 11 ز ـز none none 12 س ـس ـسـ سـ 13 ش ـش ـشـ شـ 14 ص ـص ـصـ صـ 15 ض ـض ـضـ ضـ 16 ط ـط ـطـ طـ 17 ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ 18 ع ـع ـعـ عـ 19 غ ـغ ـغـ غـ 20 ف ـف ـفـ فـ 21 ق ـق ـقـ قـ 22 ک ـک ـکـ کـ 23 ل ـل ـلـ لـ 24 م ـم ـمـ مـ 25 ن ـن ـنـ نـ 26 ه ـه ـهـ هـ 27 و ـو none none 28 ي ـي ـيـ يـ You can see that each letter maintains a basic shape and is modified for each of the four positions. 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word Notice that when we modified the isolated form to get to the beginning, middle, and end forms, we added a horizontal line to each or both sides. It is this horizontal line which joines to the horizontal line of the neighboring letter. As an example, we would like to join the following letters (starting from the right): م-ع-ش-ر into one word. The first letter is م so we modify it to its beginning form مـ. The next two letters are converted to their middle forms ـعـ، ـشـ. And the last letter ر is converted to its end form ـر. Then we join the horizontal lines together and get مــعــشــر. Usually, when we join letters like this we shorten the horizontal lines so you will generally see the word like this معشر. In this example, we needed the beginning, middle, and end forms of the letters. Isolated forms are used in a word when there is a partially-joining letter present that won’t join to the following letter. The letter after a partially-joining letter will be in its beginning form even though it is in the middle of a word. But if it too is a partially-joining letter, or it is the last letter in the word then it will take its isolated form. Let’s take a look at some examples where a group of disjoint letters are joined to form a word: Disjoint Joined ذ-ل-ک ذلک ا-ح-م-د احمد ر-س-و-ل رسول و-ز-ي-ر وزير ر-ا-ز-ق رازق Notice that in the last example, all the letters were in the isolated form. 2.2.2.1 Simplified and Traditional writing styles We have just shown how letters join to each other with a horizontal line in the Simplified Arabic writing style. Traditional Arabic writing styles are a little more complex than Simplified Arabic: some letters join almost vertically instead of horizontally. But when you get familiar with the Simplified Arabic writing style, if Allah wills, it will not be too difficult for you to read the Traditional Arabic writing style as well. Here are some comparisions of letters joining to each other in the Simplified Arabic and Traditional Arabic writing styles. Disjoint Joined (simplified) Joined (traditional) ت-م-ر تمر تمر ا-ل-ح-ج-ج الحجج الحجج ا-ل-م-ا-س الماس الماس ل-م-ح-ة لمحة لمحة س-ح-ر سحر سحر ب-ح-ي-ر-ة بحيرة بحيرة ف-ي في في ب-ت-ث-ب-ي-ت-ت-ي-ن بتثبيتتين بتثبيتتين 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) ة is a special letter which is merged from two letters of the alphabet. It is a ت but it is written as a ه with two dots above it. ة is pronounced exactly as a ت, except when it is at the end of a sentence in which case it is pronounced as a ه as we’ll explain later, if Allāh wills. ة occurs only at the end of a word so it has only an end form and an isolated form (used when the letter before it is a partially-joining letter). Examples: فاطمة شجرة فتاة ة is called rounded tāʾ because it appears as if have taken ت and squeezed its shape until it became round. In contrast, ت is called straightened tāʾ when needed to differentiate it from ة. 2.2.4 Writing hamzah We have mentioned that hamzah was a later addition to the Arabic alphabet and originally it was only sounded and not written. Hamzah can be written in a number of different ways: “Seated” above (or below) a vowel letter: Hamzah can be written above the vowel letters thus: أ ؤ ئ. When written over ي, the ي will not have any dots, thus: ئـ، ـئـ، ـئ. It may also be written under an alif thus: إ. Examples: أفعال, سؤلک, فئة, إن. “Unseated” after a letter. This has two sub cases: Standalone, after a partially-joining letter or at the end of a word. Examples: تساءل, توءم, عبء. Inline, in the middle of a word after a fully-joining letter. In this case hamzah is written above the horizontal line that joins the letters. Examples: خطيـٔة, شيـٔا, بريـٔين. In all cases it is pronounced the same. There are actually a set of fairly complicated rules that determine which of the above ways to choose when writing hamzah. We present these rules in Appendix A. We recommend that for now, you memorize the spelling of each word that we present that contains a hamzah. When you are sufficiently advanced, and curious enough, you may refer to Appendix A to learn the full set of rules. 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar Some letters are very similar to each other and only differ in their dots or other slight differences. You should take care to distinguish between these letters. We will describe their similarities and differences here. The letters ب, ت, and ث differ only in their dots and are otherwise identical in all positions. ن and ي are similar in initial and middle positions to ب, ت, and ث but differ from them and from each other in isolated and final positions. Compare all five in the table below: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ب ـب ـبـ بـ ت ـت ـتـ تـ ث ـث ـثـ ثـ ن ـن ـنـ نـ ي ـي ـيـ يـ These groups of letters differ too, only in their dots: ج, ح, and خ د and ذ ر and ز س and ش ص and ض ط and ظ ع and غ The letters ف and ق are similar in the initial and middle positions except for the dots. But in the isolated and final positions, the tail of ق goes lower than that of ف. Isolated End Middle Beginnning ف ـف ـفـ فـ ق ـق ـقـ قـ Be careful also not to confuse غ and ف in their middle forms. The loop for ف is round where it is triangular and flat-topped for غ (as it is for ع). Compare their middle forms in the table below: Isolated Middle غ ـغـ ف ـفـ The letters alif ا and lām ل could also be confused for each other. Their forms are shown here again for easy comparison: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ا ـا none none ل ـل ـلـ لـ 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām When the letter alif follows lām we would expect them to be joined like this ل+ا → لـا. But actually, they are joined in a special way ل+ا → لا When the combination occurs at the end of a group of joined letters, it will appear thus: ـلا Examples: ألا الإيمان الصلاة 2.3 Vowels and pronunciation marks. 2.3.1 Short Vowels Arabic has six vowels. There are three short vowels which don’t have letters in the alphabet. Instead they are shown with pronunciation marks: a as the first vowel in English “manipulate”, written with an a-mark ◌َ which is a small diagonal line above the letter like مَـ ma. i as in English “bit”, written with an i-mark ◌ِ which is a small diagonal line under the letter like بِـ bi. u as in English “put”, written with an u-mark ◌ُ which is like a tiny و wāw above the letter like فُـ fu. Examples of words with short vowels: فَتَحَ fataḥa عَمِلَ ɛamila قُتِلَ qutila 2.3.2 Long Vowels There are also three long vowels which are part of the alphabet: ā generally written with an unmarked alif ا and with the preceding letter having an a-mark. Example مَا mā. This vowel is mostly pronounced like the vowel in English “man”. If however, it comes after these letters خ،ر،ص،ض،ط،ظ،غ،ق it is pronounced like English “awe”. ī like in English “meek” written with an unmarked ي yāʾ with the preceding letter having an i-mark. Example فِي fī. ū like in English “moon” written with an unmarked و wāw with the preceding letter having an u-mark. Example ذُو d͡hū. Examples of words with long and short vowels: هَارُونُ hārūnu کَذَا kad͡hā سَرَادِيبَ sarādība 2.3.2.1 ā vowel written with a small alif Sometimes the ā vowel is written as a small alif ◌ٰ, called a “dagger alif”, instead of a regular alif ا. This is done only for a few commonly used words. Here are some examples: هَـٰذَا hād͡hā ذَ ٰلِکَ d͡hālika 2.3.2.2 ā vowel written with a yāʾ In some other words, the ā vowel is written with a yāʾ instead of an alif ا. When this happens, we will write the yāʾ without its dots and write a dagger alif ◌ٰ above it, like this ىٰ. Here are some examples: عَلَىٰ ɛalā رَمَىٰ ramā 2.3.3 Zero-vowel written with a ø-mark As we have seen above if an Arabic letter has a vowel after it it will take one of the three pronunciation marks: ◌َ, ◌ِ, ◌ُ. If, however, there is no vowel after the letter we will put a zero-vowel ø-mark on it ◌ْ. This mark can generally only occur if there is a short vowel before the letter. Examples: کَمْ kam مُنْذُ mund͡hu مِنْهُمْ minhum مِنْهَا minhā 2.3.4 Semi-vowels Arabic has two short semi-vowels: aw like in English “show”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example لَوْ law. ay like in English “bait”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a short a vowel before it. Example کَيْ kay. Examples with short semi-vowels: وَيْحَکَ wayḥaka غَيْرُهُ g͡hayruhu قَوْلُهُ qawluhu It also has two long semi-vowels: āw like in English “cow”. This is written with a wāw with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example وَاوْ wāw. āy like in English “bye”. This is written with a yāʾ with a ø-mark on it and a long ā vowel before it. Example شَايْ s͡hāy. These long semi-vowels are rare and may only occur at the end of a sentence. 2.3.5 Doubled letters A word may contain “doubled” letters. This is when the same letter occurs, one after the other; the first letter has a ø-mark, and the second letter has a vowel. For example, in the word قَتْتَلَ qattala, the letter ت is doubled. When this occurs, we actually only write the letter once and put a “doubling mark” ◌ّ on it, like so: قَتَّلَ qattala. When pronouncing this word, stop at and stress the doubled letter qattala and make sure it does not sound like the undoubled letter in قَتَلَ qatala. Examples with doubled letters: کَبَّرَ kabbara حَدُّهُ ḥadduhu فَعَّالَ faɛɛāla سِکِّينُ sikkīnu. Note that the i-mark is below the doubling mark but above the letter ک. This is the most common way to write this, although having the i-mark below the letter is also sometimes done as well. (In this case, the doubling mark will still be above the letter.) سَفُّودُ saffūdu ضَالِّينَ ḍāllīna مُزَّمِّلُ muzzammilu 2.3.6 Nūnation In the next chapter, we will learn, if Allāh wills, that nouns in Arabic are sometimes pronouned with an extra nūn sound at their end. This is called nūnation. Nūnation is indicated in writing, not by adding a the letter ن at the end of the word, but by writing the final vowel mark twice, thus: ◌ٌ un, for example کِتَابٌ kitābun. ◌ً an, for example شَجَرَةً s͡hajaratan. ◌ٍ in, for example بَيْتٍ baytin. The nūnated a-mark ◌ً has specific spelling rules: Generally, we will generally add a silent alif after it, for example سَالِم becomes سَالِمًا sāliman. This is done for all words except: If the word ends with a ة. In this case we don’t add the silent alif. For example, غَاضِبَة becomes غَاضِبَةً g͡hāḍibatan. If the word ends with a ā vowel, whether written with an alif ا or as a yāʾ with dagger alif ىٰ. In this case, the an mark is put on the letter before the alif ا or yāʾ ىٰ and the final vowel letter becomes silent and is not pronounced. For example, مُصْطَفَىٰ becomes مُصْطَفًى muṣṭafan, عَصَا becomes عَصًا ɛaṣan. If the word ends with a hamzah. In this case, we might or might not write a silent alif, depending on the following rules: If there is an alif before an unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add a silent alif after the hamzah. However, this may affect the writing of the hamzah, for example مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَءًا mubtadaʾan. This is discussed further in appendix A. Here are some examples of nūned words: سَعْدٌ saɛdun ضَرْبًا ḍarban قَاضٍ qāḍin سَعَةً saɛatan دُعَاءً duɛāʾan ٱِمْرَءًا imraʾan شَيْـًٔا s͡hayʾan سُوءًا sūʾan غَبَنٌ g͡habanun 2.4 Connecting hamzah Some words in arabic begin with a ø-mark. When this occurs a connecting hamzah ٱ (written as a tiny صـ on an alif) is put before it. If this word comes in the beginning of the sentence the connecting alif is pronounced as a hamzah. Otherwise this connecting hamzah is not pronounced and the word is connected to the final vowel of the previous word in pronunciation. In this tutorial we will transcribe the connecting hamzah with a hyphen “-”. Examples of connecting hamzah: ٱِفْتَحِ ٱلْبَابَ ʾiftaḥi -lbāba ٱُنْظُرْ ʾunḍ͡hur If the previous word does not end with a vowel, then a helper vowel is added. The most common helper vowel is ◌ِ. Example: زَيْدٌ ٱلْکَرِيمُ zayduni -lkarīmu When one word ends in a long vowel and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah, the long vowel becomes a short vowel in pronunciation, but in writing the long vowel’s letter is retained. For example: أَخَذَ مِنَّا ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾak͡had͡ha minna -lkitāba ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ d͡hu -lqarnayni فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti 2.5 Pronouncing the end of a sentence When a word is at the end of a sentence and it ends with a long vowel, then the final long vowel is pronounced normally. However, when a word at the end of a sentence does not end with a long vowel, then the final letter’s pronunciation mark is pronounced as a ø-mark when vocalizing the sentence. If the final letter is a ة then it is pronounced as a ه hāʾ with a ø-mark. This change in pronunciation is only vocal, it does not affect how we write the pronunciation mark. Here we give some examples of words pronounced if they were at the end of a sentence: فَتْحُ fat·ḥ عُقْبَةٌ ɛuqbah وَالِدَايَ wālidāy وَالِدَيَّ wālidayy If however, the final letter’s pronunciation mark is a an mark then it is pronounced as a long-ā vowel. The only exception is if the final letter were ةً, in which case it is then pronounced as a hāʾ with a ø-mark هْ. Here are examples of words with an marks pronounced as if they were at the end of a sentence. مَفْعُولًا mafɛūlā سَاجِدًا sājidā مَرْفُوعَةً marfūɛah Note that the above exception is only for ة. If a hamzah with an an mark occurs at the end of a word, then it too will be pronounced as if it had a long-ā vowel after it. Such is the case, whether or not a silent alif is written after the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَءًا is pronounced mubtadaʾā دُعَاءً is pronounced duɛāʾā Similarly, if the word has a final yāʾ that represents the long-ā vowel, and the letter before has an an mark, it is pronounced with the long-ā vowel at the end of the sentence. For example: مُصْطَفًى is pronounced muṣṭafā Except in this section, we will usually transcribe Arabic into English letters without modifiying the transcription for the last word in the sentence. This is because the last vowel mark is helpful for us to learn the grammatical function of the word. But when saying the sentence out aloud you should pronounce the ending of the final word as we have just described. For example, the sentence: ذَهَبَ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ will be transcribed, in the remainder of this book, as: d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayti but should be pronounced as d͡hahaba ʾila -lbayt 2.6 Qurʾānic script In printed volumes of the Qurʾān, the spelling words is a little different from non-Qurʾānic Standard Arabic. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this book. Here we’ll just give a few examples and note that these differences are typically only found in printed volumes of the Qurʾān. Standard Arabic Qurʾānic Arabic ٱلصَّلَاةَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ يَا ٱبْنَ أُمَّ يَبْنَؤُمَّ "],["nouns.html", "3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Definiteness 3.3 State 3.4 Grammatical gender 3.5 Exercises", " 3 Nouns 3.1 Introduction A noun is a kind of word that is the name of something or someone. Here are some examples of common nouns in Arabic: Arabic word Transcription Definition رَجُل rajul man کِتَاب kitāb book بَيْت bayt house شَجَرَة s͡hajarah tree صَبْر ṣabr patience وَقْت waqt time طَعَام ṭaɛām food ٱِبْن ʾibn son Note that the final letter in each word, above, does not have a vowel mark. This is because, the final vowel mark is actually variable, as we shall see later in this chapter. When we discuss nouns outside of sentences we shall pronounce the ة as a h. Therefore, شَجَرَة “tree”, in isolation, is pronounced s͡hajarah, not s͡hajarat. Some nouns begin with a connecting hamzah, for example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “son”. When in the beginning of a sentence, the connecting hamzah will be pronounced with an i-mark ◌ِ. 3.2 Definiteness When talking about nouns it is necessary to introduce a topic called definiteness. A noun is definite when the person or thing it refers to is known. For example, if you say, “The man arrived.” then the usage of the word “the” before “man” tells us that the man is known to us. Therefore the noun “man” is definite in this sentence. Conversely, if we had said “A man arrived.” then the use of “a” before “man” tells us that the man is unknown to us. Therefore “man” is indefinite in this sentence. “The” is called the definite article and “a” is called the indefinite article. 3.2.1 Definite nouns in Arabic The definite article in Arabic is ٱَلْ ʾal. It corresponds to the English definite article “the”. In order to make a noun definite, we attach ٱَلْ ʾal to its beginning. For example, the definite noun “the book” in Arabic is ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb. ٱَلْ ʾal begins with a connecting hamzah; the hamzah will be pronounced only in the beginning of a sentence. And when it occurs in the beginning of a sentence, the hamzah is pronounced with a ◌َ a-mark. 3.2.1.1 Sun letters and moon letters The noun “man” in Arabic is رَجُل rajul. To make this noun definite, we add ٱَلْ ʾal to the beginning of the word. But instead of becoming ٱَلْرَجُل ʾalrajul the word becomes ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul. The ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the ر gets doubled. This happens because the first letter ر in the word رَجُل rajul is from a group of letters called “sun letters”. For all nouns beginning with sun letters, when ٱَلْ ʾal is put in the beginning, the ل in ٱَلْ becomes silent and the sun letter becomes doubled. The rest of the letters in the alphabet are called “moon letters” and for words that begin with moon letters, the ل in ٱَلْ does not become silent and the moon letter does not become doubled. For example, ک is a moon letter and we have already seen that کِتَاب kitāb “book” becomes ٱَلْکِتَاب ʾalkitāb “the book”. The sun letters are ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The moon letters are ء ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ک م ه و ي. The names “sun letters” and “moon letters” were given because of the Arabic words for “sun” and “moon” respectively. “The sun” in Arabic is ٱَلشَّمْس ʾas͡hs͡hams which begins with ش which causes the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. “The moon” is ٱَلْقَمَر ʾalqamar which begins with ق which does not cause the ل in ٱَلْ to be silent. Thus ش represents the sun letters and ق represents the moon letters. Here are some examples of words that begin with sun letters: Noun Definite noun رَجُل rajul “man” ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrajul “the man” تَاجِر tājir “trader” ٱَلتَّاجِر ʾattājir “the trader” لُعْبَة luɛbah “toy” ٱَللُّعْبَة ʾalluɛbah “the toy” 3.2.1.2 The definite article ٱَلْ ʾal with nouns with an initial connecting hamzah If the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal is with prefixed to nouns that have an initial connecting hamzah, then the ل shall no longer have an ø-mark ◌ْ. Instead it shall have an i-mark ◌ِ. Example: ٱَلِٱبْن ʾali-bn “the son” 3.2.2 Indefinite nouns in Arabic Arabic has no indefinite article corresponding to the English indefinite article “a”. In order to make a noun indefinite in Arabic, it is simply written or pronounced without the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “a book”. 3.2.3 Differences in definiteness between Arabic and English The articles “a” and “the” are types of words called determiners. Besides “a” and “the”, English has other determiners like “some”, “this”, “that”, etc. that can make a noun definite or indefinite. For example: “This man gave that boy some food.” In the above sentence “man” and “boy” are definite, and “food” is indefinite. English can also have definite or indefinite nouns without determiners. The definiteness of the noun is then determined by the meaning of the sentence. Consider, for example, the sentence: “Time is valuable.” Here, we are not talking about some indefinite amount of time, but rather the general concept of time, which is known to us. Therefore, the noun “time” here is definite. Consider now the sentence: “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” Here, “time” has an indefinite meaning “[some] time”. As opposed to this complicated situation in English, Arabic uses only the definite article ٱَلْ ʾal to make common nouns definite. So when translating sentences from English to Arabic, you must first determine whether the noun is definite or not in English, and then use ٱَلْ ʾal when the noun is definite. Examples: “This man gave that boy some food.” man: definite; Arabic: ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul boy: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām water: indefinite; Arabic: طَعَام ṭaɛām “Time is valuable.” time: definite; Arabic: ٱَلْوَقْت ʾalwaqt “We don’t have to leave just yet; we have time.” time: indefinite; Arabic: وَقْت waqt 3.3 State Nouns in Arabic have a property called state. The state of a noun is dependent on the function of the noun in a sentence. The state of a noun is indicated by the noun’s ending. There are three states that a noun can be in. They are: the u-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ُ on the final letter of the noun. the a-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌َ on the final letter of the noun. the i-state, indicated, for most nouns, by a ◌ِ on the final letter of the noun. When a noun is indefinite, then, for most nouns, it is also nūnated. Here, for example, is the noun کِتَاب kitāb “book” in its three states: State Indefinite “a book” Definite “the book” u-state کِتَابٌ kitābun ٱَلْکِتَابُ ʾalkitābu a-state کِتَابًا kitāban ٱَلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba i-state کِتَابٍ kitābin ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi The u-state is a noun’s normal state in a sentence, and there needs to be a reason to take the noun out of this state into another state. We will begin to use state more in the next chapter if Allāh wills, where we learn how to form sentences. 3.4 Grammatical gender Some nouns designate animate beings like “man”, “woman”, “boy”, “girl”, “dog”, “cow”, etc. Other nouns designate inanimate objects like “book”, “house”, “hand”, “tree”, “city”, “food”. There are three grammatical genders in English: The masculine gender. This is used for nouns that designate male human beings and also some male animals. The pronouns used for the masculine gender are “he”, “him”, and “his”. The feminine gender. This is used for nouns that designate female human beings, and also some female animals. The pronouns used for the feminine gender are “she” and “her”. The neutral gender. This is used for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals in general. The pronoun used for the neutral gender is “it”. In Arabic, there are only two grammatical genders: the masculine gender and the feminine gender. All nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine in gender. Nouns that designate male human beings are assigned the masculine grammatical gender. And nouns that designate female human beings are assigned the feminine grammatical gender. As for nouns that designate inanimate objects and animals, these, too, are assigned either a masculine or a feminine gender. For example, کِتَاب kitāb “book” in Arabic is masculine. And شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “tree” in Arabic is feminine. We shall discuss this in more detail below. 3.4.1 Nouns that designate animate beings. In Arabic, in terms of their form, nouns that designate animate beings are in three categories: There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being and the nouns match to each other. There are separate nouns for the male and female animate being but the nouns are unrelated. The same noun is used for both sexes. We will discuss each of these categories below. 3.4.1.1 Matching nouns for male and female animate beings In Arabic for some nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for both sexes match each other. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn masc. son ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah fem. daughter طِفْل ṭifl masc. child طِفْلَة ṭiflah fem. (female) child إِنْسَان ʾinsān masc. human being إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah fem. (female) human being حُرّ ḥurr masc. free man حُرَّة ḥurrah fem. free woman کَلْب kalb masc. (male) dog کَلْبَة kalbah fem. (female) dog هِرّ hirr masc. (male) cat هِرَّة hirrah fem. (female) cat – – – مُعَلِّم muɛallim masc. (male) teacher مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah fem. (female) teacher طَالِب ṭālib masc. (male) student طَالِبَة ṭālibah fem. (female) student صَاحِب ṣāḥib masc. (male) companion صَاحِبَة ṣāḥibah fem. (female) companion صَدِيق ṣadīq masc. (male) friend صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah fem. (female) friend In each of the words in the table above, the feminine noun is basically the same as the masculine noun but with the addition of a ة at the end. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is a child, and its feminine is طِفْلَة ṭiflah (fem.). As a matter of fact, the ة is called a feminine marker for singular nouns. There are a couple of other, less common, feminine markers besides ة that we will learn them later, if Allāh wills. Note that the vowel-mark before the ة is always an a-mark. Note also that we have divided the table above into two groups. The first group contains nouns that have a primitive meaning, without a primarily adjectival or verbal quality in the meaning, for example “human” “cat”, etc. The second group contains nouns that have an adjectival or verbal quality. For example, a “teacher” is someone who teaches. A “friend” is someone who is friendly. And so on. This grouping will become important when, if Allāh wills, you study morphology, and the classification of nouns into primitive and derived nouns. But we can give a short preview here: Basically, for the second group (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), the formation of the feminine noun by adding a feminine marker (like ة) to the masculine noun is normal and expected. Whereas, for the first group (the one that refers to primitive nouns without a verbal or adjectival meaning), the fact that the feminine and masuline nouns match each other and differ only by the feminine marker ة is something that, although somewhat common, is more of a coincidence. Another noteworthy point is that, for many primitive nouns (the first group), only one of the masculine/feminine pair may be used to refer to beings of either sex. What we mean by this is that, for example, کَلْب kalb, while remaining a masculine noun, can be used to refer to both “a (male) dog” and “a (female) dog”, especially if the animal’s physical gender is not particularly important to what is being said. And کَلْبَة kalbah (fem.) “a female dog” is typically only used when it is needed to specify the gender of the animal. Conversely, هِرَّة hirrah “a (female) cat” may be used to refer to cat of either physical gender, especially if it is not obvious whether it is a male or female cat. This preference of the noun of one gender to refer to beings of either physical gender is arbitrary and case-by-case. For example, طِفْل ṭifl (masc.) is commonly used to say “a child”, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl. But طِفْلَة ṭiflah is fairly common too specifically for “a female child”. As another example, the word إِنْسَانَة ʾinsānah (fem.) “a female human being” is rarely used at all. Instead, the word إِنْسَان ʾinsān, while remaining a masculine noun, is almost always used to refer to “a human being” in general, regardless of actual gender. On the other hand, ٱِبْن ʾibn “son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “daughter” are only ever used for their respective gender. So ٱِبْن ʾibn (masc.) “a son” is never used to mean “a daughter”. And ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah (fem.) “a daughter” is never used to mean “a son”. There aren’t very many of such nouns. And we have covered a few of the common ones above. A good dictionary will also provide guidance in this regard. As for the second group of words (the one that has adjectival or verbal meanings), they are typically only ever used for their respective gender. So, for example, مُعَلِّم muɛallim (masc.) is only used for “a (male) teacher”. And مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) is only used for “a (female) teacher”. 3.4.1.2 Unrelated nouns for male and female animate beings For other nouns that designate animate beings, the nouns for the male and female sexes are completely unrelated. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition أَب ʾab masc. father أُمّ ʾumm fem. mother غُلَام g͡hulām masc. boy جَارِيَة jāriyah fem. girl عَبْد ɛabd masc. male slave أَمَة ʾamah fem. female slave أَسَد ʾasad masc. lion لَبْوَة labwah fem. lioness ثَوْر t͡hawr masc. bull بَقَرَة baqarah fem. cow Even in these nouns you can see that the feminine noun usually ends with a ة feminine marker. There are only a few commonly used feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker like ة. أُمٌّ ʾummun “mother” is one of these exceptions. 3.4.1.3 Using the same noun for both sexes There are other nouns for animate beings where the same word is used for both sexes. The word itself will still be either grammatically masculine or feminine. Here are some examples: Arabic word Gender Definition شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ masc. person نَفْس nafs fem. self عَدُوّ ɛaduww masc. enemy حَيَوَان ḥayawān masc. animal طَائِر ṭāʾir masc. bird قِرْد qird masc. monkey حَمَامَة ḥamāmah fem. dove نَمْلَة namlah fem. ant So for example قِرْد qirdun “monkey” is grammatically masculine but it will be used for both a male and a female monkey. Similarly, شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is a masculine noun meaning “person”. While remaining grammatically masculine, it can be used to refer to persons of male or female persons. Note also that نَفْس nafsun “self” is a feminine noun but it does not end in a ة. It is one of the small number of feminine nouns that don’t have a female marker, like أُمٌّ ʾummun (fem.) “mother”. 3.4.2 Nouns that designate inanimate objects As mentioned earlier, nouns that designate inanimate objects are assigned a fixed grammatical gender. There is usually no discernable reason why some are assigned a masculine gender while others are assigned a feminine gender. Arabic word Gender Definition کِتَاب kitāb masc. book بَيْت bayt masc. house قَلَم qalam masc. pen طَعَام ṭaɛām masc. food مَاء māʾ masc. water مَدْرَسَة madrasah fem. school مَدِينَة madīnah fem. city غُرْفَة g͡hurfah fem. room شَجَرَة s͡hajarah fem. tree شَمْس s͡hams fem. sun قَمَر qamar masc. moon عِلْم ɛilm masc. knowledge قُوَّة quwwah fem. strength حَيَاة ḥayāh fem. life مَوْت mawt masc. death In these nouns as well, we note that feminine nouns usually end with the feminine marker ة. But here too, we find another exception: شَمْسٌ s͡hamsun “sun” which is feminine but does not end with a feminine marker. These exceptions are not very many and, if Allāh wills, we will not find it hard to memorize them. There is a sub-group of nouns that designate inanimate objects, but can also be used to refer to animate beings. Here are a couple of examples: Arabic word Gender Definition رَهِينَة rahīnah fem. pledge عُضْو ɛuḍw masc. member رَهِينَة rahīnah is a feminine noun meaning “pledge”. For inanimate objects it refers to something that is held as a security or a collateral. With its animate meaning, it is used to refer to a human hostage. Similarly, عُضْو ɛuḍw is a masculine noun meaning “member”. For inanimate objects it refers to a limb which is the member of a body. With its animate meaning it refers to a person who is a member of a professional organization. Just like we saw for the nouns in section 3.4.1.3, such nouns adhere to their fixed grammatical gender when used for either male or female persons. 3.4.3 Nouns with mismarked gender We saw that there are some nouns that are feminine, but do not end with with a feminine marker like ة. These were: أُمّ ʾumm (fem.) “mother” نَفْس nafs (fem.) “self” شَمْس s͡hams (fem.) “sun” There are a few more nouns that are like this. One special category among them is body parts. Many prominent body parts that come in pairs or more, are grammatically feminine, whether or not they end with a feminine marker like ة. Here are some examples: يَد yad (fem.) “hand” (sometimes “an arm”) عَيْن ɛayn (fem.) “eye” أُذُن ʾud͡hun (fem.) “ear” قَدَم qadam (fem.) “foot” رِجْل rijl (fem.) “leg” (sometimes “foot”) إِبْهَام ʾibhām (fem.) “thumb” إِصْبَع ʾiṣbaɛ (fem.) “finger, toe” سِنّ sinn (fem.) “tooth” رُکْبَة rukbah (fem.) “knee” There are exceptions, however. The following body parts come in pairs yet are masculine. مَنْخَر mank͡har (masc.) “nostril” مِرْفَق mirfaq (masc.) “elbow” There are other such exceptions as well. Body parts that don’t come in pairs are typically more regular in their gender: they are feminine if they end in a feminine marker like ة, and masculine if they don’t. Examples: رَأْس raʾs (masc.) “head” أَنْف ʾanf (masc.) “nose” بَطْن baṭn (masc.) “belly” لِحْيَة liḥyah (fem.) “beard” Conversely, nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, yet are masculine are very rare. Some of the more common of them are: خَلِيفَة k͡halīfah (masc.) “caliph” عَلَّامَة ɛallāmah (masc.) “great scholar” دَاعِيَة dāɛiyah (masc.) “great preacher” There are also a few words which can be optionally assigned a masculine or feminine gender. Among these are: سُوق sūq (masc. or fem.) “market” طَرِيق ṭarīq (masc. or fem.) “path” A good dictionary should mention the gender of all these exceptional words. In addition, in appendix ?? as well, we have a compiled a list of feminine nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker. (TODO: get from Hava: pg. xi (fem) and xii (admitting either gender).) 3.5 Exercises In the following English sentences, determine whether the underlined nouns will be translated with definite or indefinite nouns in Arabic. "],["subject-information-sentences.html", "4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information 4.4 Detached pronouns 4.5 A definite noun as the information 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”", " 4 Subject-information sentences 4.1 Introduction In this chapter we will learn about a class of sentences called subject-information sentences. Subject-information sentences consist of two parts: The subject. This is the topic of the sentence. The information. This gives us some information about the subject. 4.2 Forming subject-information sentences Here is a subject-information sentence: The subject of the sentence is “the building”. This means that the sentence is about “the building”. The information is “a house”. This means that the information that the sentence is giving us about the subject is that it is “a house”. Let’s try to form this sentence in Arabic. First we assemble the individual parts: “The building” in Arabic is ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.). “A house” is بَيْت bayt (masc.). Next we put them both in the u-state. For subject-information sentences, both the subject and the information shall be in the u-state. Remember that the u-state is formed by putting a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ at the end of an indefinite noun, and a u-mark ◌ُ at the end of a definite noun. Here are the two nouns in the u-state: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) بَيْتٌ baytun (masc.) “a house” (u-state) In order to form this sentence in Arabic, we put the subject first and then the information. So we get: But wait! Where is the Arabic word for “is”? It turns out that Arabic does not usually express any word for “is”. Instead, the meaning of this word is implied. Also, note that the final vowel mark at the end of the sentence is written but not pronounced. So we will write بَيْتٌ but say bayt, not baytun. This is in accordance with what we learned in section 2.5. Now let’s try reversing this sentence, and try making the sentence: “The house is a building.” We follow the same procedure by assembling the individual parts of the sentence and putting them in the u-state: The subject: ٱَلْبَيْتُ ʾalbaytu (masc.) “the house” (u-state) The information: بِنَاءٌ bināʾun (masc.) “a building” (u-state) And then we put them together, first the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” and there we have our sentence. 4.3 Matching the gender between the subject and the information In the sentences above, both the subject and the information were masculine nouns. Now let’s try forming a sentence where the subject and the information have different genders. Let’s try saying: “The building is a school.” The subject: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ ʾalbināʾu (masc.) “the building” (u-state) The information: مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun (fem.) “a school” (u-state) In the same manner as before, we form the sentence by first writing the subject and then the information: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” We can also reverse this sentence: ٱَلْمَدْرَسَةُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ. “The school is a building .” So we see that it is quite normal to have a sentence where the gender of the subject does not match the gender of the information. This is because the words we have dealt with so far denote animate objects. If either the subject or the information denote animate beings, then in this case the subject and the information often do match each other in gender. For example, let’s try to form the sentence: “The mother is a teacher.” Here are the indiviual words that we will use to form the sentence: The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state). The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic: مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state). Now we can assemble the sentence: ٱَلْأُمُّ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾalʾummu muɛallimah. “The mother is a teacherf.” In the reverse sentence “The teacher is a mother.”, we again use the feminine noun مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”, which is now the subject of the sentence, to match the feminine noun in the information ٱَلْأُمّ ʾalumm (fem.) “a mother”. So we get: ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ أُمٌّ. ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm. “The teacherf is a mother.” Here is another example: ٱَلرَّجُلُ أَبٌ. ʾarrujulu ʾab. “The man is a father.” Now, let’s try a sentence where we are still dealing with animate beings but the nouns mismatches in grammatical gender. ٱَلْأُمُّ شَخْصٌ. ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The mother is a person.” ٱَلشَّخْصُ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah. “The person is a (female) teacher.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةُ شَخْصٌ. ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ. “The (female) teacher is a person.” In the above examples, the grammatical genders mismatch between the subject and the information. But this is because we are matching with the physical gender of the person represented by the masculine noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ “a person”, not its grammatical gender. The same effect is seen when using the word حَيَوان ḥayawān which is a masculine noun meaning “an animal”. It can be applied to both male and female animals. So we can say: ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرٌّ. ʾalḥayawānu hirr. “The animal is a (male) cat.” and ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِرَّةٌ. ʾalḥayawānu hirrah. “The animal is a (female) cat.” 4.4 Detached pronouns Pronouns, in Arabic, are special nouns that can be used in place of other nouns when it is known who is being referred to. This means that they can replace definite nouns only. Pronouns in English include words like “he”, “she”, “it”, “you”, “I”, etc. In order to explain the usage of pronouns, we will first show a sentence with a noun subject: “The man is a teacher.” Now we you can replace the definite subject noun “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He is a teacher.” In Arabic there are a few different kinds of pronouns. Here we will learn detached pronouns. They are called detached pronouns because they are detached from other words. There are another set of pronouns called attached pronouns that we will learn later, if Allāh wills. 4.4.1 Participants When talking about pronouns, it is beneficial to make use of a concept of grammar called participants. In any kind of speech there are there can be up to three types of participants involved. A participant may be singular, i.e. consist of one individual, or plural, i.e., consist of more than one individual. The three participants in speech are: The speaker-participant. This is the participant who is speaking. When the speaker-participant refers to himself or herself (or themselves if plural) in English, then he/she/they use the pronouns “I”, “me”, “we”, and “us”. The addressee-participant. This is the participant whom the speaker-participant is directly speaking to. When the speaker-participant refers to the addressee-participant in English, he uses the “you” pronoun. The absentee-participant. This is the participant who is not being directly spoken to. Their only participation in the speech is that they are being referred to. When the speaker-participant refers to the absentee-participant in English, he uses the pronouns “he”, “him”, “she”, “her”, “it”, “they”, and “them”. In this chapter we will learn the Arabic pronouns for the singular participants. 4.4.2 Detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant Here are the Arabic detached pronouns for the singular absentee-participant: singular masculine absentee-participant: هُوَ huwa “he”. singular feminine absentee-participant: هِيَ hiya “she”. Here are some examples of pair of sentences, each first with a noun, and then with a pronoun in place of the noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrajulu muɛallim. “The man is a teacherm.” هُوَ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa muɛallim. “He is a (male) teacherm.” ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ طَالِبَةٌ. ʾaljāriyatu ṭalibah. “The girl is a studentf.” هِيَ طَالِبَةٌ. hiya ṭalibah. “She is a studentf.” ٱَلْبَيْتُ بِنَاءٌ. ʾalbaytu bināʾ. “The house is a building.” هُوَ بِنَاءٌ. huwa bināʾ. “It is a building.” Note that Arabic uses the pronoun هُوَ huwa “he” to refer to the inanimate object “the house”. This is because, as we know, all nouns in Arabic are either masculine or feminine. In translating the sentence to English we will employ the neutral pronoun “it” to make the sentence sound natural. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu madrasah. “The building is a school.” هُوَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. huwa madrasah. or هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. “It is a school.” Note that either هُوَ huwa “he” or هِيَ hiya “she” can be used in the above sentence because the gender of the subject ٱَلْبِنَاء ʾalbināʾ (masc.) “the building” mismatches the gender of the information مَدْرَسَة madrasah (fem.) “a school.”. In such cases where the genders of the subject and the information do not match, then, generally speaking, the pronoun for either gender could be employed with the following guideline: Prefer to match the gender of the subject pronoun with the gender of the information, unless the noun being replaced with a pronoun is an animate being, in which case prefer to use the gender of the animate being. So in the above sentence we will prefer to use هِيَ مَدْرَسَةٌ. hiya madrasah. because the information مَدْرَسَةٌ madrasatun “a school” is feminine. Here is an example with an animate being as the subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ إِنْسَانٌ. ʾaljāriyatu īnsān. “The girl is a human.” هِيَ إِنْسَانٌ. hiya īnsān. “She is a human.” Here, if we replace the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة ʾaljāriyah “the girl” with a pronoun, we will prefer to use هِيَ hiya “she”, because the girl is an animate being, even though the information إِنْسَانٌ ʾinsānun “a human” is masculine. 4.4.3 Detached pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant Here are the pronouns for the singular addressee-participant and speaker-participant: singular masculine addressee-participant: أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm”. singular feminine addressee-participant: أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf”. singular speaker-participant: أَنَا ʾana “I”. Note that the addressee-participant pronoun “you” has separate pronouns for the masculine and the feminine while the speaker-participant pronoun “I” has the same pronoun for both genders. Examples with these pronouns: أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾanta muɛallim. “Youm are a teacherm.” أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. ʾanti muɛallimah. “Youf are a teacherf.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾana muɛallim. “I am a teacherm.” أَنَا مُعَلِّمَة. ʾana muɛallimah. “I am a teacherf.” 4.4.4 Definiteness of pronouns We stated, and saw, that pronouns can replace definite nouns. This means that pronouns themselves are definite nouns (even though they are not prefixed by ٱَلْ ʾal “the”). This fact will be useful in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 4.4.5 Rigidity of pronouns Remember in section ??, we talked about the flexibility of nouns. We said that nouns whose endings change with the noun’s state are called flexible nouns. Most nouns fall into this category. Pronouns, however, are nouns whose endings don’t change with their state. Therefore they fall into the category of rigid nouns. 4.5 A definite noun as the information In all the examples so far, the information has been an indefinite noun: “a building”, “a teacher”, “a cat”, etc. It is also possible for the information to be a definite noun: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The above sentence, although correct, is ambiguous. It can also be interpreted as a noun-phrase, meaning “the teacher-man”, instead of the complete sentence “The man is the teacherm.” Therefore, in order to disambiguate and make it clear that we mean the complete sentence, a disambiguating pronoun is usually (but not always) inserted between the subject and the information. Disambiguating pronouns are detached pronouns that match the subject of the sentence in gender. With a disambiguating pronoun, the sentence above becomes: ٱَلرَّجُلُ هُوَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ. ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim. “The man is the teacherm.” The disambiguating pronoun here is هُوَ huwa and is not translated. Here are some more examples of sentences with definite informations and disambiguating pronouns. ٱَلْبَيْتُ هُوَ ٱلْبِنَاءُ. ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu. “The house is the building.” ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ هِيَ ٱلْهِرَّةُ. ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu. “The animal is the cat.” 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject In all the sentences we have seen so far, the subject has always been a definite noun. This is usually the case. A subject needs a certain amount of weight in order to be the first word in a sentence. And being definite gives it this needed weight. That is: “the man” is grammatically heavier than “a man”. So it is easier to start a sentence with “the man”. So can we even have a sentence that has an indefinite subject? For example: A house is a building. A man is the teacher. Yes, it is possible, but sentences where the subject is an indefinite noun are not as straightforward to express in Arabic. We will explore some ways of expressing them later if Allāh wills. 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” 4.7.1 وَ wa- “and” Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word. وَمَدْرَسَةٌ wamadrasatun “and a school” وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah. “The building is a mosque and a school.” If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used. ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah “The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.” We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ: وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.” 4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then” The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. فَ fa- “so”/“and then” gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example, ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah “The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.” فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example, فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun “So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.” "],["prepositions.html", "5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 True prepositions 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions 5.4 Attached pronouns 5.5 Translating prepositions 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns 5.9 To have something", " 5 Prepositions 5.1 Introduction Prepositions are words like “in”, “on”, “from”, etc. They are placed directly before a noun, for example: “in a house”. The preposition “in” is placed directly before the noun “a house”. In Arabic prepositions, when placed before a noun, put it in the i-state. For example the preposition فِي fī means “in”. We can put it before the noun بَيْت bayt “a house”: فِي بَيْتٍ fī baytin “in a house” Note how the noun بَيْتٍ baytin “a house” is in the i-state because of the preposition فِي fī “in” before it. The i-state is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the final letter of بَيْت. Arabic has two types of prepositions: true prepositions and pseudo-prepositions. 5.2 True prepositions True prepositions are particles. Particles are a class of words, like nouns and verbs. Particles don’t have the properties of nouns. Thus, they cannot be definite or indefinite. They cannot be preceded by ٱَلْ al nor may they be nūnated. And they don’t have state (u-state, a-state, i-state). Here is a list of the more common true prepositions: Preposition Meaning بِ bi with, by, next to لِ li for, to فِي fī in عَلَىٰ ɛalā on إِلَىٰ ʾilā to, toward مِنْ min from عَنْ ɛan from, about کَ ka like Notes: Prepositions that are a single letter (like بِ bi, ل li, کَ ka) are joined to the following noun in writing. Example: بِقَلَمٍ biqalamin “with a pen” لِرَجُلٍ lirajulin “for a man” کَٱبْنٍ ka-bnin “like a son” When a single letter preposition comes before a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the preposition is generally joined to the أَلِف in the ٱَلْ al. The أَلِف is now not pronounced (because as we know it has a connecting hamzah). Example: بِٱلْقَلَمِ bi-lqalami “with the pen” If the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then the ل in ٱَلْ gets an i-mark ◌ِ instead of its usual ø-mark ◌ْ. We described this in section 3.2.1.2. Example: کَٱلِٱبْنِ ka-li-bni “like the son” The only exception is the preposition لِ li. When joined to a definite noun with ٱَلْ al, the أَلِف in ٱَلْ is dropped and we write the two lāms together. Example: لِلرَّجُلِ li-rrajuli “for the man” لِلْجَارِيَةِ li-ljāriyati “for the girl” لِلِٱبْنِ li-li-bni “for the son” However, in this case, if the noun too starts with a lām, then we drop the entire ٱَلْ al (in writing, not in meaning). This is to avoid having three lāms joined to each other. Example: ٱَللُّعْبَةُ ʾalluɛbatu “the toy” becomes لِلُّعْبَةِ li-lluɛbati “for the toy” not \\(\\times\\) لِللُّعْبَةِ This is also true for the phrase: لِلَّـٰهِ lillāhi “for Allāh” which is formed from لِ + ٱللَّـٰهِ The prepositions عَلَىٰ ɛalā “on” and إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” have a long-ā vowel at the end but it is written with a dotless yāʾ ىٰ instead of an أَلِف. (We have already learned that some words are written this way in section 2.3.2.2.) Prepositions that are composed of multiple letters are not joined to the following noun. Example: إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ ʾilā madrasatin “to a school” If a preposition ends with a long vowel, then, as usual, it get shortened to a short vowel when it is followed by a word which begins with a connecting hamzah. Examples: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” إِلَى ٱبْنٍ ʾila -bnin “to a son” If a preposition ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ and it is followed by a word that begins with a connecting hamzah, then the ø-mark is changed to a short vowel according to the following rules: The ending of the preposition عَنْ ɛan gets an i-mark and becomes عَنِ ɛani. Examples: عَنِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ɛani -rrajuli “from the man” عَنِ ٱبْنٍ ɛani -bnin “from the son” The ending of the preposition مِنْ min gets an a-mark if followed by the ٱَلْ al of a definite noun. Otherwise it gets an i-mark if followed by any other connecting hamzah. Examples: مِنَ ٱلرَّجُلِ mina -rrajuli “from the man” مِنِ ٱبْنٍ mini -bnin “from a son” 5.3 Pseudo-prepositions Pseudo-prepositions are actually nouns but they are used as prepositions. The above rules of writing and pronunciation apply to them as well. Here is a list of some common pseudo-prepositions: Preposition Transcription Meaning عِنْدَ ɛinda at لَدَىٰ ladā at لَدُنْ ladun at مَعَ maɛa together with بَيْنَ bayna between, among There are three different prepositions above that we have translated as “at”. لَدُنْ is relatively rarer compared to the others. Otherwise, they are largely interchangeable but there are some differences in meaning that we will explain later, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples using pseudo-prepositions: مَعَ ٱلْغُلَامِ maɛa -lg͡hulāmi “with the boy” عِنْدَ ٱلْبَيْتِ ɛinda -lbayti “at the house” لَدَى ٱلْبَابِ lada -lbābi “at the door” بَيْنَ ٱلنَّاسِ bayna -nnāsi “among the people” 5.4 Attached pronouns We have already learned detached pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, and أَنَا in section 4.4. Detached pronouns are the equivalent of “he”, “she”, and “I”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the u-state. Now we will learn about attached pronouns. Attached pronouns are, more or less, the equivalent of “him”, “her”, and “me”, etc. They are used in place of nouns that are in the a-state and the i-state. One place where attached pronouns are used is when the replace the noun directly following a preposition. The singular attached pronouns are listed below. The detached pronouns are included as well for easy comparison. Participant Detached pronoun Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “him” هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “her” هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” ي “me” 5.4.1 Attached pronouns with prepositions As mentioned above, one place the attached pronouns are used are after prepositions. Here are some notes regarding how they attach to prepositions: Generally, these pronouns attach to the last letter of the preposition before it. Examples: مِنْکَ minka “from you” مَعَهُ maɛahu “with him” عَنْهَا ɛanhā “from her” The ىٰ ā ending of prepositions become ◌َيْ -ay when attaching an attached pronoun. Examples: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to her” عَلَيْکَ ɛalayka “on youm” The pronoun هُ -hu “him” becomes هِ hi when it is preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. So we get بِهِ bihi “with him” فِيهِ fīhi “in him” إِلَيْهِ ʾilayhi “to him” The attached pronoun for the speaker deserves special attention. The pronoun itself is the letter ي. But it has two variants: ◌ِي -ī ◌ِيَ -iya Generally, both of these variants cause the final letter of the word before them, if a consonant, to have an i-mark ◌ِ, regardless of the whether or not that letter originally had an i-mark. Examples: لِي lī and لِيَ liya “for me” بِي bī and بِي biya “with/by me” مَعِي maɛī and مَعِيَ maɛiya “together with me” عِنْدِي ɛindī and عِنْدِيَ ɛindiya “at me” Between these two, variants, ◌ِي -ī is more commonly used generally, except in the cases described in the next point, below: For any word that ends with a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw), the variant ◌ِي -ī for the speaker attached pronoun is not used. Instead, only the variant يَ -ya may be used with such words. Prepositions that fall under this category are فِي fī, عَلَىٰ ɛalā, إِلَىٰ ʾilā, and لَدَىٰ ladā. Furthermore, the ىٰ -ā ending in these will become ◌َيْ ay instead when attaching the pronoun. In addition, the pronoun يَ -ya will not cause the final letter of word before it to have an i-mark because it does that only to consonants, not to vowels or semivowels. So we get: يَ + فِي = فِيَّ fiyya “in me” يَ + إِلَيْ = إِلَيَّ ʾilayya “to me” يَ + عَلَيْ = عَلَيَّ ɛalayya “on me” يَ + لَدَيْ = لَدَيَّ ladayya “at me”. The preposition کَ ka “like” is not used with any attached pronoun. So, for example, we don’t say: \\(\\times\\) کَهُ kahu for “like him.” Instead, we will learn another method to express this meaning in later chapters, if Allāh wills. The word “between”, because of its meaning, is typically used with two or more individuals. For example, “between us”, “between you and him”, etc. In Arabic, when the pseudo-preposition بَيْنَ bayna is used with a singular attached pronoun, it is repeated. For example, بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَکَ baynī wabaynaka “between me and you” 5.5 Translating prepositions For each preposition that we have listed above, we have also given its meaning. For example, فِي fī “in” بِ bi “with”, “by”, “next to” These meanings are not always fixed. And there is some degree of overlap in meanings as well. For example, in order to say “in the city” we will usually say فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ fi -lmadīnati but sometimes we can also say بِٱلْمَدِينَةِ bi -lmadīnati with the same meaning. As you keep learning, practicing, and reading Arabic, you will learn how to choose which preposition to use, if Allah wills. Similarly, sometimes we have two or more prepositions with almost the same meaning. For example, مِنْ min “from” عَنْ ɛan “from”, “about” Knowing when to use one or the other will also take practice. 5.6 Sentences and phrases with prepositions We have seen how a noun can be used after a preposition to get a prepositional phrase, for example: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ fi -lbayti “in the house” We can put an indefinite noun in front of this structure: رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” This is a phrase and not a complete sentence. Note that the preposition فِي fī “in” only puts the noun after it (ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾalbayti “the house”) in the i-state. It has no effect on the state of the noun before it (رَجُلٌ rajulun “a man”). In this case, it is in the u-state. Instead of an indefnite noun, we can also put a definite noun in front of the prepositional phrase. Now the resulting structure can, in general, have two meanings: (i) a complete sentence, and (ii) an incomplete sentence. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti (i) “The man is in the house.” (ii) “The man in the house” Usually, it will be clear from the context which of the two meanings is valid. For example, the second meaning, “The man in the house”, can be part of a complete sentence: ٱَلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾarrujulu fi -lbayti muɛallim. “The man in the house is a teacherm.” 5.7 Sentences with an indefinite subject We said, in section 4.6, that the subject of a sentence is usually a definite noun. Now, we shall explore one way of allowing a sentence with an indefinite subject. We have seen that if an indefinite noun is placed in front of a prepositional phrase, we get an incomplete sentence. For example, رَجُلٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ rajulun fi -lbayti “a man in the house” Now we will see how to make the complete sentence (with an indefinite subject): “A man is in the house.” In order to express this sentence, we put the prepositional phrase first, and place the indefinite subject after it: فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلٌ. fi -lbayti rajul. “In the house is a man.” = “A man is in the house.” In English, it may sometimes be more convenient to translate this type of sentence using the expression “there is”: “There is a man in the house.” 5.8 Prepositions with multiple nouns/pronouns In English, we can use a preposition with multiple nouns separated by “and”, thus: “The boy went to the school and the house.” A similar meaning can be achieved by repeating the preposition before each noun: “The boy went to the school and to the house.” In Arabic as well, if there are multiple nouns associated with a preposition then you may choose to repeat the preposition or not. Examples: إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَإِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school to and the house” إِلَى ٱلمَدْرَسَةِ وَٱلْبَيْتِ ʾila -lbayti walmadrasati “to the school and the house” Note that when you don’t repeat the preposition, the second noun is still in the i-state. In English, you have a similar option when you use pronouns instead of nouns. All of the following should be acceptable: “to the boy and me” “to the boy and to me” “to him and me” “to him and to me” In Arabic, however, if one or more pronouns is used then the prepositions must be repeated. Examples: إِلَيَّ وَإِلَى ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾilayya waʾila -lg͡hulāmi “to me and to the boy” إِلَيَّ وَإِلَيْهِ ʾilayya waʾilayhi “to me and to him” 5.9 To have something English uses the verb “have” or “has” to express that someone Arabic does not have a verb for “have” or “has”. In order to express sentences like “I have a book.” “The boy has a father.” Arabic uses prepositions like لِ li “for” عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” لَدَىٰ ladā “at” مَعَ maɛa “together with” Here are some examples: لِلْغُلَامِ أَبٌ. li -lg͡hulāmi ʾab. “The boy has a father.” (literally: “For the boy is a father.”) عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. “The man has a book.” (literally: “At the man is a book.”) مَعَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ لُعْبَةٌ. maɛa -ljāriyati luɛbah. “The girl has a toy.” (literally: “With the girl is a toy.”) Here are some notes that can help you choose which preposition to use to express “has” or “have”: لِ li “for” is used to express personal relationships, like “I have a friend”, “I have a son”, etc. It is also used when you wish to imply that you own the object. For example, the sentence لِلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. li -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man owns a book. But it is possible that he has lent it to someone else so he does not actually have it on his person or at his house, etc. عِنْدَ ɛinda “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession, but not necessarily that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence عِنْدَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. ɛinda -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession. But it is possible that it may not be with him right now. It may be at his house or elsewhere. لَدَىٰ ladā “at” is used to express that the person has the object in his possession and that he has it with him right now. For example the sentence لَدَى ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. lada -rrajuli kitāb. implies that the man has a book in his possession and that he has it with him right now. مَعَ maɛa “together with” is used to express that the person has the object with him right now. But it doesn’t necessarily imply ownership. For example, the sentence مَعَ ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابٌ. maɛa -rrajuli kitāb. means that the man has a book with him right now. But it is possible that he does not own it and that someone else has lent it to him. There is some degree of overlap in meaning and you will get a feeling of which preposition is more appropriate in which circumstance as you progress in your learning, if Allah wills. For now, if you find that the object can be used with all of these prepositions, you might go with عِنْدَ ɛinda as it is the more commonly used. "],["completed-action-verbs.html", "6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Arabic word roots 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb 6.4 Verbal sentences 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb 6.13 TODO", " 6 Completed-action verbs 6.1 Introduction Verbs are action words. Verbs can be either completed-action verbs where the action of the verb has been completed, e.g., “The boy went.” or incomplete-action verbs where the action of the verb is on-going or not yet completed, e.g., “The boy goes.” In this chapter we will study completed-action verbs. 6.2 Arabic word roots We take this opportunity to learn about Arabic roots. Native Arabic words, both nouns and verbs, are generally derived from roots. Most roots are comprised of three letters. A smaller number are comprised of four or more letters. Words are derived from their roots according to patterns. In traditional Arabic grammar studies, the root «فعل» is used as a paradigm for three-letter roots to showcase word and meaning patterns. So for example, the word بَيْت bayt “a house” is derived from the root «بيت». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of the word بَيْت bayt is فَعْل faɛl. The أَمْر ʾamr “a matter” is derived from the root «ءمر». Its pattern is also فَعْل faɛl. Similarly, the word مَکْتَب maktab “a library” is derived from the root «کتب». And مَلْعَب malɛab “a playground” is derived from the root «لعب». Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can see that the pattern of both these words is مَفْعَل mafɛal. Here, the letter م m is an extraneous letter added to form the words and is not part of their roots. Not only nouns, but verbs, too, are derived from roots. All verbs are derived from their roots in a fixed set of patterns called forms which are numbered 1 onward. For example, the completed-action form 2 verb pattern is فَعَّلَ faɛɛala and the completed-action form 3 verb pattern is فَاعَلَ fāɛala. There are approximately 9-10 forms that are in common usage. In addition, there are a few higher order forms (11 onward) that are less common. In this chapter will study the completed-action form 1 verb only. 6.3 The form 1 completed-action verb Here are some examples of completed-action form 1 verbs in Arabic: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «فعل» فَعَلَ faɛala “did” «ذهب» ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” «کتب» کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” «قرء» قَرَأَ qaraʾa “read” «جلس» جَلَسَ jalasa “sat” «سءل» سَأَلَ saʾala “questioned” «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” «جعل» جَعَلَ jaɛala “made” «علم» عَلِمَ ɛalima “knew” «عمل» عَمِلَ ɛamila “worked” «کبر» کَبُرَ kabura “grew” Note that «فعل», in addition to being used as a paradigm root, also has a verb in its own right: فَعَلَ faɛala “did”. Note, also, that the completed-action form 1 verb consists only of the three letters of the root. The first and the final letter always have an a-mark while the middle letter’s vowel is variable. It may have an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. Using the paradigm root «فعل», we can say that the form 1 verb occurs in the patterns فَعَلَ, فَعِلَ, and فَعُلَ. A good dictionary will tell us the middle vowel mark of a particular verb. However, as a trend, the a-mark is the most common for the middle vowel mark, followed by the i-mark, while the u-mark is the least common. Interestingly, there can exist multiple verbs from the same root, each with its own distinct meaning, that differ only in the vowel mark on the middle letter. An example of two such verbs is: حَسَبَ ḥasaba “calculated” حَسِبَ ḥasiba “deemed” You can see above how the verb کَتَبَ kataba “wrote” is derived from the root «کتب». We have already, by the way, learned another word derived from this root: the noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, which is on the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl. Note how both the verb and the noun derived from this root have a meaning that is common and has to do with writing or of something written. In a similar manner, you will often see that words derived from the same root generally share some common meaning, although this common meaning may not always be obvious or straightforward. 6.4 Verbal sentences We have already learned of subject-information sentences. Here we will learn of a new type of sentence called a verbal sentence. A verbal sentence is one that begins with a verb. When a verb is in a sentence, it requires a doer. The doer is a noun which represents the person who does the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence “The boy went.”, the noun “the boy” is the doer of the verb. 6.4.1 Verbs with a masculine doer noun Consider the sentence: “The boy went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulām. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَ d͡hahaba “went” is the verb and ٱلْغُلَامُ alg͡hulāmu “the boy” is the doer. Note how the doer is in the u-state. Also note that in English the doer comes before the verb whereas in Arabic the doer comes after the verb in sentence word order. We can state this as a rule of Arabic grammar: In Arabic, every verb in a sentence shall have a doer noun. The doer noun shall be in the u-state and shall come after the verb in sentence word order. In the above example the doer noun was definite, but a doer may be indefinite too. Example: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىَ ٱلسُّوقِ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾila -ssūq. “A man went to the market.” In the above sentence, the doer noun رَجُلٌ rajulun is indfinite. 6.4.2 Verbs with a feminine doer noun Now consider the sentence: “A girl went.” In order to express this sentence in Arabic, we will say: ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyah. “A girl went.” Note that we have modified the verb by adding on the letter تْ at the end. This تْ is used when the doer is ia feminine noun. It is called the تْ of femininity. If the word following the noun begins with a connecting hamzah then we add a helper vowel to the تْ and it becomes تِ. Examples: جَلَسَتِ ٱلْهِرَّةُ عَلَى ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. jalasati -lhirratu ɛala -lkursiyyi. “A catf sat on the chair.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلطِّفْلَةُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṭṭiflatu fi -lbayt. “The childf played in the house.” 6.5 Verbs with doees 6.5.1 Direct doees Consider the sentence: “The man wrote a book.” In this sentence, “wrote” is the verb, “the man” is the doer, and “a book” is what we shall call the doee. In fact, it is what we shall call a direct doee because it comes directly after the verb without an intermediate preposition. A doee is the noun to whom the action of verb is done. In Arabic, we will express the sentence “The man wrote a book.” by saying: کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” Note how in Arabic the doee کِتَابًا kitāban “a book” is in the a-state. This is because, in Arabic, verbs shall cause a direct doee to be in the a-state. This is true whether the direct doee is definite or indefinite. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلْجَارِيَةَ. saʾalati -lʾummu -ljāriyah. “The mother questioned the girl.” Note again how ٱلْجَارِيَةَ aljāriyata “the girl” is in the a-state because it is a direct doee. 6.5.2 Multiple direct doees Some verbs can take more than one direct doee. In this case, all direct doees shall be in the a-state. For example, جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُسْلِمًا. jaɛala -llāhu -rrajula muslimā. “Allāh made the man a Muslim.” In this sentence both ٱلرَّجُلَ arrajula “the man” and مُسْلِمًا musliman “a Muslim” are direct doees of the verb جَعَلَ jaɛala and therefore both are placed in the a-state. 6.5.3 Indirect doees Instead of, or in addition to, direct doees, some verbs take an indirect doee. An indirect doee is one before which there is a preposition. For example, in English we might say: “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence, “the moon” is an indirect doee because it is preceded by the preposition “at”. Similarly, in Arabic, we will say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَى ٱلْقَمَرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu ʾila -lqamar. “The man looked at the moon.” In this sentence ٱَلْقَمَرِ alqamari “the moon” is an indirect doee of the verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara “looked” because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”. The preposition, as usual, causes the word after it (the indirect doee ٱَلْقَمَرِ ʾalqamari) to be in the i-state, as opposed to the a-state of the direct doee. Note also, that the verb “looked” in English used the preposition “at” whereas the Arabic verb نَظَرَ naḍ͡hara used the preopsition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” for the same meaning. This is very common and you should not expect Arabic to use exact counterparts of the prepositions used in English. In fact, everytime you learn a new verb, you should also learn the prepositions that go with it. It is also possible for the same verb to take different prepositions with possibly different meanings. So, for example, we can say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ٱلْأَمْرِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu fi -lʾamri. “The man looked into the matter.” It may also be possible for the same verb to take a direct doee. So we could also say: نَظَرَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْمَکْتُوبَ فِي ٱلْکِتَابِ. naḍ͡hara -rrajulu -lmaktūba fi -lkitābi. “The man viewed what was written in the book.” A good dictionary will tell us which prepositions are used with indirect doees with a given verb and also whether it takes a direct doee. Some verb take a direct doee and another indirect doee, both at the same time. For example, سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -lmuɛallimata ɛan ʾamr. “The boy asked the teacherf about a matter.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَةَ ʾalmuɛallimata “the teacherf” is the direct doee, and therefore it is in the a-state. أَمْرٍ ʾamrin “a matter” is an indirect doee, and so it is in the i-state. The preposition عَنْ ɛan is translated, here, as “about”. It is also possible that an English verb may take a direct doee, while the corresponding Arabic verb may only take an indirect doee. The reverse is also quite possible. For example, غَفَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِ. g͡hafara -llāhu lilmuslimi. “Allāh forgave the Muslim.” The verb “forgave” in English takes a direct doee for the person who is forgiven. In Arabic, however, the corresponding verb غَفَرَ g͡hafara “forgave” takes the forgiven person as an indirect doee, using the preposition لِ li. 6.6 Verbs with doer pronouns We have learned that a pronoun is a special kind of noun that can be used to replace a definite noun. And we have already learned two category of pronouns in Arabic: Detached pronouns, like هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Attached pronouns, like هُ, هَا, etc. Now we would like to replace the doer noun of a verb with a pronoun. For example, instead of saying: “The man went.” we would like to say: “He went.” For this we will have to learn a third category of pronoun pronouns called doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Doer pronouns are of two types: visible and invisible. Here we list the singular doer pronouns in Arabic. Singular participant Doer pronoun Masc. absentee (“he”) invisible Fem. absentee (“she”) invisible Masc. addressee (“you1,m”) تَ -ta Fem. addressee (“you1,f”) تِ -ti Speaker (“I”) تُ -tu We will now give an explanation of the above doer pronouns. 6.6.1 Doer pronouns for the singular absentee-participant (“he”/“she”) The doer pronouns of the absentee-participant are the equivalent of “he” and “she”. For example, let’s try to replace the doer-noun “the man” in the sentence: “The man went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba -rrajul. “The man went.” When we replace the doer noun ٱلرَّجُل ʾarrujul “the man” with the doer pronoun “he”, we get: ذَهَبَ. d͡hahab. “[He] went.” As you can see, all we did was omit the doer-noun ٱَلرَّجُل ʾarrujul, and we didn’t add any word to replace it as the doer pronoun. This is because the doer pronoun for “he” is invisible and automatically comes into place when we omit the doer noun. The doer pronoun for “she” is similarly invisible. For example, if we replace the doer noun in the sentence: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابًا. qaraʾati -ljāriyatu kitābā. “The girl read a book.” we get: قَرَأَتْ کِتَابًا. qaraʾat kitābā. “[She] read a book.” 6.6.1.1 Explanation of invisible pronouns Why do we have to go to all the trouble of saying that the doer-pronouns of the singular masculine absentee-participant “he”/“she” are invisible? Why can’t we simply say that there are no doer-pronouns for the singular masculine absentee-participant? The reason is that making the statement that these pronoun exist but are invisible is useful to us from the perspective of the grammar theory that we are building. That is: we need to be able to state, as a rule of grammar, that every verb needs to have a doer, whether visible or not. And that doer shall come after the verb in sentence word order. If we are able to make this a rule, then we will see, if Allāh wills, that it will help us later. For example, when we study verbs with plural doers. 6.6.2 Doer pronouns for the singular addressee (“you1”) and speaker (“I”) participants It is only the doer pronouns for the singular absentee participant that are invisible for completed-action verbs. The doer pronouns for the singular addressee and speaker participants are visible. When visible, the doer pronouns are attached to the verb. Here we show how the visible doer pronouns are attached to the verb using the root paradigm «فعل». The middle root letter (ع) has an a-vowel ◌َ here but this vowel will vary for other verbs. Singular participant Doer pronoun Doer pronoun with verb Addressee “you1,m” تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee “you1,f” تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker “I” تُ -tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Note also how the visible singular doer pronouns modify the verb by replacing the a-mark ◌َ on its final letter by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Furthermore, note how the doer pronoun for the addressed person “you” is differentiated for masculine and feminine doers whereas the doer pronoun for the speaking person “I” is the same for both genders. Here are some examples of sentences with visible doer pronouns: کَتَبْتَ کِتَابًا. katabta kitābā. “Youm wrote a book.” ذَهَبْتُ d͡hahabt. “I went.” The above sentence ends with the doer pronoun, so the vowel-mark on the doer pronoun is not pronounced (d͡hahabt). So, how would be know which doer pronoun it is? That is, does the sentence say “I went.” or “Youm went.” or “Youf. went.”? The answer is that the sentence by itself is ambiguous and context would tell us which of the three options is intended. Take care to note that the singular doer pronouns modify the final letter of the basic verb, whereas the تْ of femininity does not. So make sure you see the difference in the following two sentences: قَرَأْتِ ٱلْکِتَابَ. qaraʾti -lkitāb. “Youf read the book.” قَرَأَتِ ٱلْکتَابَ. qaraʾati -lkitāb. “She read the book.” 6.6.3 Assimilation of the doer pronoun If the final letter of the root of a verb is ت, then it gets assimililated with the ت which is the doer pronoun and only one ت, representing both, is written. Consider the verb: «سکت» سَکَتَ sakata “became quiet” When we add a visible doer pronoun to this verb, we get: سَکَتُّ sakattu “I became quiet” سَکَتَّ sakatta “You1,m became quiet” سَکَتِّ sakatti “You1,f became quiet” Assimilation is treated in more detail in chapter/appendix TODO. 6.7 Verbs with doee pronouns Just like doer nouns may be replaced with doer pronouns, so, too, may doee nouns be replaced with doee pronouns. Doee pronouns are also attached to the end of the verb but they don’t modify the vowel on the final letter of the verb. The doee pronouns are the same attached pronouns that are also used with prepositions: Singular participant Doee pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “you1,m” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “you1,f” Speaker ي “me” Here are some notes regarding their usage: Doee pronouns shall always be attached to the verb. So if there is a doer noun then it shall be placed after the attached doee pronoun. For example: سَأَلَهُ ٱلْغُلَامُ. saʾalahu -lg͡hulām. “The boy asked him.” If however, the doer is also a pronoun, then it shall be attached first to the verb and then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the doer pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتُکِ. saʾaltuk. “I asked youf.” If the doer pronoun is invisible, then the doee pronoun shall be attached to the verb again directly with only a possible تْ of femininity intervening. For example: سَأَلَهَا. saʾalahā. “He asked her.” سَأَلَتْکَ. saʾalatk. “She asked youm.” If the doee pronoun هُ -hu “him” is preceded by the vowels i, ī, or ay then it shall instead become هِ hi with no change in meaning. (We’ve already learned this rule.) For example, سَأَلْتِهِ. saʾaltih “Youf asked him.” An intervening ن is always used between the verb and the speaker-participant doee pronoun variants ◌ِي -ī and ◌ِيَ -iya. Remember that these pronouns force any consonant before it to have a i-mark ◌ِ. Therefore, the combination will be written as نِي -nī and نِيَ -niya respectively. For example: سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ. saʾalanī rajul. “A man asked me.” سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalaniya -rrajul. “The man asked me.” If there is a visible doer pronoun, the intervening ن shall come after it so that the ن is always connected to the doee pronoun. For example, سَأَلْتَنِي. saʾaltanī “Youm asked me.” By the way, we have already seen this intervening ن before when it was used with some prepositions, e.g. مِنِّي minnī, عَنِّي ɛannī, and لَدُنِّي ladunnī Even though, the variant ◌ِي -ī is, in general, more commonly used, when the noun following it begins with a connecting hamzah then the variant ◌ِيَ -ya is preferred. That is why we used the variant ◌ِيَ -ya when it was followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِيَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.), and the variant ◌ِي -ī when it was not followed by a connecting hamzah (سَأَلَنِي رَجُلٌ.). This preference is not mandatory. So it is allowed for ◌ِي -ī to be used when followed by a connecting hamzah. When this happens, the long vowel -ī will be shortened to -i in connecting it to the next word, although the ◌ِي is retained in writing. For example, سَأَلَنِي ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalani -rrajul. “The man asked me.” 6.8 Multiple verbs for one doer In this section we will use the verbs: Root Completed-action form 1 verb Meaning «دخل» دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” «خرج» خَرَجَ k͡haraja “exited” «ءکل» أَکَلَ ʾakala “ate” «شرب» شَرِبَ s͡hariba “drank” Consider, now, the sentence: “I entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” The doer in this sentence is the pronoun “I”. This same doer is doing the action of multiple verbs: “entered”, “ate”, “drank”, and “exited”. When we try to express this sentence in Arabic we must remember that every verb shall have its own doer, and that the doer shall occur after it in sentence word order. So we will say: دَخَلْتُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلْتُ فَشَرِبْتُ فَخَرَجْتُ. dak͡haltu -lg͡hurfata faʾakaltu fas͡haribtu fak͡harajt. “I entered the room and then I ate and then I drank and then I exited.” Note also, that we need to replace the commas by connecting particles like وَ wa- “and”, or فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, etc. We chose فَ fa- which implies consequence or subsequence between the individual events. Let’s now try this sentence with a doer noun instead of a doer pronoun: “The girl entered the room, ate, drank, and exited.” Here is our translation: دَخَلَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغُرْفَةَ فَأَکَلَتْ فَشَرِبَتْ فَخَرَجَتْ. dak͡halati -ljāriyatu -lg͡hurfata faʾakalat fas͡haribat fak͡harajat. “The girl entered the room and then she ate and then she drank and then she exited.” Each verb again has its own doer, which is coming after the verb in sentence word order. The doer of the first verb دَخَلَ dak͡hala “entered” is the noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu “the girl”. The subsequent verbs all have doers too but they are the invisible doer pronouns for the singular feminine absentee participant. That is why we don’t write them. Note also that every verb has the تْ of femininity attached to it to indicate its singular feminine absentee doer. 6.9 Order of words in a sentence 6.9.1 Changing the order of words for emphasis In Arabic, the doer always follows the verb. So the normal order of a sentence is verb-doer-doee. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitābā. “The man wrote a book.” However, we will often come across sentences like: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitābā. It may appear as if ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu is the doer and it is coming before the verb کَتَبَ kataba. But actually, this is not the case. As a matter of fact, this sentence is basically a subject-information sentence. Here ٱَلرَّجُلُ arrajulu “the man” is the subject of the sentence, and کَتَبَ کِتَابًا kataba kitāban “he wrote a book”, itself a verbal sentence with an invisible doer pronoun, is the information about the subject. So the translation of the sentence is technically: “The man, he wrote a book.” However, this is an awkward translation so we will usually translate it as “The man wrote a book.” The question arises: if both sentences above have the same translation, then would we say ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. ʾarrajulu kataba kitāban. instead of the more normal کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابًا. kataba -rrajulu kitāban.? The answer is that this change in the sentence’s word order is done in order to give more emphasis to the doer, as if to say: “The man wrote a book.” So in Arabic, the order of words is generally more flexible than in English and this is often used to give emphasis to certain words. 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them When a verb has a doer noun and a doee noun, the normal order of words in a sentence is: verb, doer noun, doee noun. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba -rrajulu -lkitāba. “The man wrote the book.” There is a tendency, in Arabic, for verbs to pull definite nouns towards them. This means that if there are any indefinite nouns, they have a tendency to get pushed father away. So, for example, if a verb’s doer is an indefinite noun and the doee is a definite noun, the doee will often (but not always) precede the doer. For example, کَتَبَ ٱلْکِتَابَ رَجُلٌ. kataba -lkitāba rajul. “A man wrote the book.” The vowel-marks at the end of the nouns, and context, will tell us which is the doer and which is the doee. In this particular example, it was optional, and not mandatory to make the definite doee precede the doer in sentence word order. So we could have also said, instead: کَتَبَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba rajuluni -lkitāb. “A man wrote the book.” Now let’s take a look at sentences with pronouns. Remember that pronouns are a category of nouns, and also (from section 4.4.4) that they are definite nouns. In fact they are stronger in definiteness than words that are made definite using ٱَلْ. This because if when we say “The man wrote the book.” instead of “A man wrote the book.”, we assume that everyone knows which man we are referring to. Now if we replace “the man” with the pronoun “he”: “He wrote the book.”, then this assumption becomes stronger. “He” is, in a sense, more definite than “the man.”. So now, when the direct doee noun ٱلْکِتَابَ ʾalkitāba “the book” is replaced with the pronoun “it”, the doee pronoun must be attached to the verb, and then the doer noun follows the doee pronoun: کَتَبَهُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. katabahu -rrajulu. “The man wrote it.” This can be seen as a mandatory case of the verb pulling the definite noun toward it. Now, consider a sentence with an indirect doee. Again, the normal order of words in a sentence is verb, doer noun, preposition, doee noun. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lmadrasah. “The boy went to the school.” Now, if we replace the indirect doee noun ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmadrasati “the school” with the pronoun “it”, the indirect doee pronoun هَا -hā “it” is attached, not to the verb, but to the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā thus: إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it”. So it possible to preserve the original order of words in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَيْهَا. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu ʾilayhā. “The boy went to it.” While the above sentence is correct, it is in fact more common to place the preposition and doee pronoun إِلَيْهَا ʾilayhā “to it” right after the verb, and before the doer noun, thus: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba ʾilayha -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went to it.” This is because the pronoun هَا -hā “it” is stronger in definiteness than ٱلْغُلَام ʾalg͡hulām “the boy”. So the verb has a stronger pull towards it. This ordering of words due to the attractive pull of the verb is largely learned by experience. The more you read Arabic, the better feel you will get for it, if Allāh wills. 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs In order to negate a completed-action verb, the particle مَا mā is placed before it. This gives the meaning of the action of the verb did not get, or has not got, done. So for example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad The particle قَدْ qad, when placed before a completed-action verb emphasizes that the action of the verb has already or definitely occured. قَدْ ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. qad d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man has already gone.” or, “The man did go.” 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb FIXME: move to imperfect verb chapter We have mentioned that doee pronouns are attached to the verb. Sometimes there is a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb. When separating the doee pronoun from the verb, it is instead attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. So then we get the following doee pronouns: Person Doee pronoun Absent person (masc.) “him” إِيَّاهُ ʾiyyāhu Absent person (fem.) “her” إِيَّاهَا ʾiyyāhā Addressed person (masc.) “youmasc.” إِيَّاکَ ʾiyyāka Addressed person (fem.) “youfem.” إِيَّاکِ ʾiyyāki Speaking person (masc. and fem.) “me” إِيَّايَ ʾiyyāya Note that for the speaking person “me”, there is no intervening ن between the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā and the doee pronoun. Note also that only يَ -ya is allowed to be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā. This is because ◌ِي -ī is not permitted to be used with words that end in a long vowel (-ā, -ī, or -ū) or a semi-vowel (-ay or -aw). And the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā ends with the long-vowel ā. But we may ask why is there a need to separate the doee pronoun from the verb? This can occur for a couple of reasons: If there are multiple doee pronouns, only one of them can be attached to the verb. Example, ضَرَبَتْنِي وَإِيَّاهُ. ḍarabatnī wa ʾiyyāhu. “She hit me and him.” If the doee is placed before the verb for emphasis. Example, إِيَّايَ ضَرَبَتْ. ʾiyyāya ḍarabat. “She hit me.” 6.13 TODO Multiple verb doers: Copy over from sound plurals and rework. جواز تأنيث الفعل ووجوبه "],["adjectival-nouns-and-descriptive-noun-phrases.html", "7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Adjectives in English 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee", " 7 Adjectival nouns and descriptive noun phrases 7.1 Introduction So far we have studied common nouns like رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house”. In this chapter we will study adjectival nouns. Adjectival nouns are a class of nouns that don’t denote objects. Rather they describe some quality of an object. 7.2 Adjectives in English In English we usually use adjectives to describe nouns. For example, the word “big” is an adjective. It can be used in a couple of different ways: It can be used to describe a noun in an descriptive noun-phrase. For example: “a big car” The adjective “big” can also be used as the information of a sentence, describing the subject noun. For example: “The car is big.” But the adjective “big” cannot be used by itself as a noun, for example, as the subject of a sentence. So we can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The big is fast.” We would have to say something like: “The big car is fast.” instead. 7.3 Terminology: the describer and the describee We take this opportunity to introduce some grammatical terminology. The descriptive noun-phrase “a big car” consists of two parts: The adjective “big”. It is describing the car. We will call it the describer in the noun-phrase. The common noun “a car”: It is being described by the describer. We will call it the describee. We will reserve this terminology of describer and describee only for the noun and adjective in an descriptive noun-phrase. So we won’t use this terminology for the sentence: “The car is big.” Instead, here we will continue to use the existing terminology of subject and information. The definite noun “the car” is the subject of this sentence, and the adjective “big” is the information. 7.4 Adjectival nouns in English Consider the English word “antique”. It is what we will call a adjectival noun. It can be used just like an adjective to describe a noun as part of a noun-phrase. For example: “The antique table is expensive.” In the above sentence the adjective “antique” is a describer and is describing the noun “table”. It can also be used as the information of a sentence, just like an adjective. For example: “The table is antique.” But what makes it different from an normal adjective is that it can also be used by itself as a noun. For example: “The antique is expensive.” Here “the antique” could refer to any entity that can be described by the quality of being old and valuable. The adjectival noun does not require any other noun in this sentence and can stand on its own as the subject of the sentence. Adjectival nouns are rare in English. Instead, adjectives are usually used when we want to describe a noun. 7.5 Adjectival nouns in Arabic and genderizability Arabic does not have adjectives. It only has adjectival nouns. The word صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is an example of an indefinite adjectival noun in Arabic. It describes the quality of being “small” or “little”. It can be used to denote any person, animal, or things that can be described as being small. Technically we could translate it as “a little onem” or “a small onem”. Being a noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr, like all other nouns in Arabic, will have a grammatical gender. Since it does not end with a feminine marker like ة, we can state that صَغِير ṣag͡hīr is a masculine noun. Adjectival nouns, typically, are genderizable. This means that we can feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) to get the feminine noun. We will feminize صَغِير ṣag͡hīr (masc.) with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah (fem.) “a little onef”. Generally, the dictionary will typically only supply the masculine adjectival noun. And we are expected to know how to feminize it to get the feminine adjectival noun. As opposed to adjectival nouns, common nouns are not genderizable. So, for example, if we know that the noun غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” exists, we cannot assume that we can feminize it, by using the feminine marker ة, for example, getting: \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. This would be a misguided attempt to obtain the meaning for “a girl” in Standard Arabic. Instead, we have to look up the Arabic word for “a girl” in the dictionary separately, and we find that it is جَارِيَة jāriyah. Many times times, a masculine/feminine common noun pair will exist, that differ only by the feminine marker ة. For example: ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” and ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah “a daughter”. مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” and مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf” This does not indicate that the common noun is genderizable. Rather, when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a meaning that is derived from a verb or an adjective (like مُعَلِّم/مُعَلِّمَة), then the masculine/feminine pair are co-derived as separate non-genderizable words. We will discuss this in more detail in later chapters, if Allāh wills. And when the common noun masc./fem. pair has a primitive (non-verbal and non-adjectival) meaning, (like ٱِبْن/ٱِبْنَة), then this is only a coincidence. We alluded to this in section ??. 7.5.1 Examples of Arabic adjectival nouns Here are some examples of Arabic adjectival nouns that we will use in this chapter. Arabic adjectival noun Meaning کَبِير kabīr a big one صَغِير ṣag͡hīr a small one طَيِّب ṭayyib a good one قَدِيم qadīm an old one جَدِيد jadīd a new one طَوِيل ṭawīl a long/tall one وَاسِع wāsiɛ a wide one عَرَبِيّ ɛarabiyy an Arab مَشْهُور mas͡h·hūr a famous one 7.6 The describer and the describee in descriptive noun-phrases Let’s learn how descriptive noun-phrases are formed in Arabic. We learned in section 7.3 above that descriptive noun-phrases consist of a describer and a describee. In English descriptive noun-phrases, like “the small house”, the adjective describer (“small”) comes before the describee (“house”). Also, only one definite article (“the”) is used before the entire noun-phrase. Here is the equivalent Arabic descriptive noun-phrase: Note the following: The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” comes after the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house”. Both the adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” and the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” get the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” is genderized to match the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in gender. The adjectival noun describer ٱَلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the small onem” matches the describee ٱَلْبَيْت ʾalbayt “the house” in state. In this example, they were both in the u-state but we will see examples in the other states as well. The word-for-word equivalence of the above descriptive noun-phrase is “the small-one house” but we will usually give the more natural translation: “the small house” Let’s try another example: let’s try to translate the sentence: “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” Here is the sentence in Arabic: أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا مِنْ ٱلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. ʾak͡had͡hati -ljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu kitaban jadīdan mina -lʾummi -ṭṭayyibah. “The little girl took a new book from the good mother.” This sentence has three descriptive noun-phrases. We will analyze each one individually: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaljāriyatu -ṣṣag͡hīratu “the little girl” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ʾaljāriyatu is the doer of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the u-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلصَّغِيرَةُ ʾaṣṣag͡hīratu follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (u-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). کِتَابًا جَدِيدًا kitāban jadīdan “a new book” In this phrase the indefinite masculine noun کِتَابًا kitāban is the doee of the verb أَخَذَ ʾak͡had͡ha “took”. Therefore it is in the a-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer جَدِيدًا jadīdan follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (a-state), gender (masculine), and definiteness (indefinite). ٱَلْأُمِّ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ ʾalʾummi -ṭṭayyibati “the good mother” In this phrase the definite feminine noun ٱلْأُمِّ ʾalʾummi is following the preposition مِنْ min “from”. Therefore it is in the i-state. It is also the describee in the descriptive noun-phrase. Its describer ٱَلطَيِّبَةِ ʾaṭṭayyibati follows the describee and is made to match the describee in state (i-state), gender (feminine), and definiteness (definite). Note carefully that the describer matches the describee in gender, not necessarily in having the same ة ending. The feminine adjectival noun describer ٱَلطَيِّبَة ʾaṭṭayyibah is still formed using the feminine marker ة, despite the feminine describee ٱَلْأُمّ not having the ة feminine marker. Sometimes, a common noun of one gender is used to refer to persons of either gender. For example: the noun شَخْص s͡hak͡hṣ is itself a masculine noun but it may be used to refer to both male and female persons. If such a noun is a describee, then we will prefer to match the describer to the grammatical gender of the noun, not the physical gender of the person it is referring to. For example: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ شَخْصٌ طَيِّبٌ. ʾaljāriyatu s͡hak͡hṣun ṭayyib. “The girl is a good person.” See how we preferred to use the masculine adjectival noun طَيِّب ṭayyib instead of using the feminine طَيِّبَة ṭayyibah. 7.7 Adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence 7.7.1 Indefinite adjectival noun Let’s see how to use Arabic adjectival nouns as the information of a sentence. In the above sentence, the indefinite adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a small one” is used as the information of a sentence. Its indefiniteness and u-state is indicated by the nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ on its end. When an adjectival noun is the information of a sentence, then it shall be genderized to match the gender of the subject noun. The subject noun in this case (ٱَلْبَيْت) is masculine. Therefore, the masculine adjectival noun (صَغِير) is chosen. Technically, the translation of this sentence is “The house is a small one.” However, because Arabic has only adjectival nouns and not adjectives, it is how we can express the English sentence “The house is small.” Therefore we can also translate it into English as such. Now let’s try a sentence with a feminine subject: ٱَلْجَارِيَةُ صَغِيرَة. ʾaljāriyatu ṣag͡hīrah “The girl is a little onef.” = “The girl is little.” In the above example the subject (ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl”) was feminine. Therefore, we feminized the masculine adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr with the feminine marker ة to get the feminine adjectival noun صَغِيرَة ṣag͡hīrah “a little onef” and used the feminine adjectival noun in the sentence. 7.7.2 Definite adjectival noun Let’s see if a definite adjectival noun can be used in the information. For example, we would like to say “The old tree is the big one.” The subject of the sentence is ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmuiatu “the old tree”. And the information is ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾalkabīratu “the big one”. When we put the two together we get: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu -lkabīratu The problem is that the above could also be interpreted as one phrase “the big old tree”, and not as the complete sentence “The old tree is the big one.” This is the same problem that we highlighted in section 4.5. The solution, too, is the same. We insert a detached pronoun, that matches the gender of the subject, between the subject and the information. So in order to get our intended meaning, we will say: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ هِيَ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu -lqadīmatu hiya -lkabīratu. “The old tree is the big one.” 7.8 Adjectival nouns used without a described noun We have mentioned that adjectival nouns are just like other nouns that we have learned so far, in that they have gender, state, and definiteness. Can we then use an adjectival noun by itself and not when it is describing another noun? The answer is yes, we can. So for example, you can say: شَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. s͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The little one drank some milk.” The above is a correct sentence. But, by itself, it is not very clear. What do we mean by “the little one”? Is it a little boy, or a little cat, or something else? So, context would be needed to know what exactly is being denoted by the adjectival noun when it is used by itself independently. Here is the same sentence again, but this time with some clarifying context. حَمَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ ٱلصَّغِيرَ. وَشَرِبَ ٱلصَّغِيرُ حَلِيبًا. ḥamalati -lʾummu -ṣṣag͡hīra. was͡hariba -ṣṣag͡hīru ḥalībā. “The mother carried the little one. And the little one drank some milk.” So now we can tell that what is meant by ٱلصَّغِير ʾaṣṣag͡hīr “the little one” here is “the baby”. 7.9 Adjectival nouns re-used as common nouns Sometimes, an adjectival noun, through much usage, acquires the meaning of a common noun. It then gets listed with this meaning in the dictionary. We actually just saw an example above. The adjectival noun صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is commonly used to mean “a baby”. Of course, context would be needed to know whether, in a particular sentence, it has its common noun meaning: “a baby”, or its general adjectival noun meaning: “a little one”. The opposite of صَغِير ṣag͡hīr “a little one” is کَبِير kabīr “a big one”. It too has acquired the common noun meaning of “an elder person”. Here is an example of its usage: قَدِمَ ٱلْکَبِيرُ وَوَعَظَ ٱلْغُلَامَ. qadima -lkabīru wawaɛaḍ͡ha -lg͡hulāma. “The elder arrived and admonished the boy.” When an adjectival noun gets re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. For example, the feminine adjectival noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah (fem.) “a good one” is re-used as a common noun meaning “a good deed”. So we can use it in a sentence: ٱلصِّيَامُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣiyāmu ḥasanah. “Fasting is a good deed.” The subject in this sentence is the masculine noun ٱَلصِّيَام ʾaṣṣiyām “fasting”. And the information is the feminine noun حَسَنَة ḥasanah “a good deed”. Note that the information does not match the subject in gender. This is because it lost its genderizability since it is no longer acting as an adjectival noun “a good onef”, but rather as the common noun “a good deed”. What if we have the sentence: ٱَلصَّدَقَةُ حَسَنَةٌ. ʾaṣṣadaqatu ḥasanah. The feminine gender of the subject ٱَلصَّدَقَة. ʾaṣṣadaqah “charity” now matches the gender of the information حَسَنَة ḥasanah. So now, technically, the information could be the adjectival noun, meaning “a good onef”. So the sentence could mean: “Charity is good.” Or the information could be the common noun, meaning “a good deed”. Then the sentence would mean: “Charity is a good deed.” Context would be needed to tell us which meaning is intended. 7.10 Common-nouns used as describers in a noun-phrase Usually, adjectival nouns are used as the describer in an descriptive noun-phrase. However, we also often find a common noun used as a describer. For example, هُوَ رَجُلٌ مُعَلِّمٌ. huwa rajulun muɛallim. “He is a teacherm man.” = “He is a man who is a teacherm.” 7.11 Multiple adjectival nouns describing the same noun In English we can have a noun described by multiple adjectives separated by commas and the word “and”. For example, “The building is big, tall, and wide.” In Arabic we will separate the multiple adjectival nouns with وَ wa- “and”: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ کَبِيرٌ وَطَوِيلٌ وَوَاسِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu kabīrun waṭawīlun wawāsiʾun “The building is big and tall and wide.” In an English descriptive noun-phrase, multiple describers may describe the same describee, without being separated by the word “and”. For example, “The man is a famous Arab writer.” In Arabic, we can do the same, except the describees will be in the reverse order: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَاتِبٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مَشْهُورٌ. ʾarrujulu kātibun ɛarabiyyun mas͡h·hūr. “The man is a famous Arab writer.” 7.12 A prepositional phrase separating the describer from the describee Consider the phrase: کِتَابٌ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ kitābun mina -lmaktabati “a book from the library” If we want to add a adjectival noun as to describe “the book”, we may add it either before or after the prepositional phrase describer. Here are both examples as complete sentences: قَرَأَ کِتَابًا صَغِيرًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. qaraʾa kitāban ṣag͡hīran mina -lmaktabati. AND قَرَأَ کِتَابًا مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ صَغِيرًا. qaraʾa kitāban mina -lmaktabati ṣag͡hīran. “a small book from the library” The first option is usually chosen as a matter of preference but the second option is legitimate too. "],["semi-flexible-nouns.html", "8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Feminine markers 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns", " 8 Semi-flexible nouns 8.1 Introduction Nouns are of two main categories of nouns, with regard to their endings in the different noun states: Rigid nouns. Flexible nouns. These are further sub-divided into: Fully-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns. So far we have been mostly studying fully-flexible nouns. In this chapter we will learn about semi-flexible nouns. Here is an example of the kind of nouns we have learned so far: State Indefinite Definite u-state رَجُلٌ ٱَلرَّجُلُ a-state رَجُلًا ٱَلرَّجُلَ i-state رَجُلٍ ٱَلرَّجُلِ As you can see, the noun is nūnated when it is indefinite, and also, the vowel mark on the last letter changes for each state that the noun is in. These kinds of nouns are called fully-flexible nouns. They are by far the most common type of noun. There are some nouns, however, that are semi-flexible. Here is an example of a semi-flexible noun, صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite. When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns. So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns: When indefinite, a semi-flexible noun is not nūnated. When indefinite and in the i-state, a semi-flexible noun’s final letter does not have an i-mark. Instead it shall have an a-mark, just like when it is in the a-state. The other category of nouns are rigid nouns. Rigid nouns don’t change their endings due to their state. They are much fewer in number compared to flexible nouns. Pronouns are an example of rigid nouns. 8.2 Feminine markers Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun from same root (if any) «جري» جَارِيَة “a girlf” – «علم» عَالِمَة “a scholarf” عَالِم “a scholarm” «کلب» کَلْبَة “a dogf” کَلْب “a dogm” «شجر» شَجَرَة “a tree” – «صغر» صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” صَغِير adj. “smallm” As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun. It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals. Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ. Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers: Root Feminine noun Masculine noun (if any) «صحر» صَحْرَاء “a desert” – «حمر» حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” أَحْمَر adj. “redm” «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” – «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples: Root Noun Pattern using paradigm «فعل» «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” ٱَلْفُعَل «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” فِعَال These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي). Otherwise, when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals. By the way, another difference from ة is that when اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun أَحْمَر adj. “redm”. We will discuss this in more detail below. 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below. When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun. Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible. Here is an example sentence with this noun: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ. d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah. “The man went to a wide desert.” Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun. 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee. Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer. Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ. We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns. Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states: State Indefinite Definite u-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ a-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ i-state ذِکْرَىٰ ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words. Here is an example of this word in a sentence: ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ. ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah. “The book is a beautiful remembrance.” Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2. Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine. 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default. Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «حمر» 2أَحْمَر 2حَمْرَاء red «سود» 2أَسْوَد 2سَوْدَاء black «بيض» 2أَبْيَض 2بَيْضَاء white «عرج» 2أَعْرَج 2عَرْجَاء lame «حور» 2أَحْوَر 2حَوْرَاء beautiful eyed «بکم» 2أَبْکَم 2بَکْمَاء mute Example: لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ. labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ. “The man wore a white shirt.” 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible. This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun: The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category: Root Masc. Noun Fem. noun Meaning «غضب» 2غَضْبَان 2غَضْبَىٰ very angry «عطش» 2عَطْشَان 2عَطْشَىٰ very thirsty «جوع» 2جَوْعَان 2جَوْعَىٰ very hungry 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. Here are some examples of these nouns: 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills. "],["duals.html", "9 Duals 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Forming the dual 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences 9.5 Detached dual pronouns 9.6 Attached dual pronouns 9.7 Verbs with dual doers", " 9 Duals 9.1 Introduction For any number greater than one, English uses the plural. For example, the plural of “house” is “houses”. So in English we will say: “two houses” Arabic, on the other hand, uses the plural only for nouns in number three and higher. For nouns that are two in number Arabic uses the dual. Since English does not have a dual, we will sometimes indicate it using the the subscript 2, thus: “houses2”, to mean “two houses”. 9.2 Forming the dual The dual is formed by appending the dual suffix ◌َانِ -āni when the noun is in the u-state and ◌َيْنِ -ayni when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. Definite nouns, which have ٱَلْ in their beginning are dualized the same way. For example, when we dualize بَيْت bayt “a house” in order to say “houses2”, we get: States Indefinite Definite u-state بَيْتَانِ baytāni ٱَلْبَيْتَانِ ʾalbaytāni a- and i-states بَيْتَيْنِ baytayni ٱَلْبَيْتَيْنِ ʾalbaytayni Note that indefinite duals are not nūnated. The only difference between definite and indefinite duals is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. Here are examples of duals in sentences: u-state: ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ فِي ٱلْحَقِيبَةِ. ʾalkitābāni fi -lḥaqībah. “The books2 are in the bag.” a-state: قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayn. “The boy read two books.” i-state: غَضِبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ عَلَى ٱلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ. g͡haḍibati -lʾummu ɛala -ljāriyatayn. “The mother became angry at the girls2.” ### Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is converted to a ت before appending the dual suffix. For example, dualizing شَجَرَة s͡hajarah “a tree”, we get “trees2”: States Indefinite Definite u-state شَجَرَتَانِ s͡hajaratāni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratāni a- and i-states شَجَرَتَيْنِ s͡hajaratayni ٱَلشَّجَرَتَيْنِ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratayni Example: ٱَلشَّجَرَتَانِ فِي ٱلْحَدِيقَةِ. ʾas͡hs͡haratāni fi -lḥadīqah. “The trees2 are in the garden.” If a feminine noun does end with a ة then it will simply be appended with ◌َانِ -āni and ◌َيْنِ -ayni. For example, dualizing أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” in order to get “mothers2”, we get: u-state: أُمَّانِ ʾummāni a-state and i-state: أُمَّيْنِ ʾummayni There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to dualize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 9.2.1 Nouns ending with اء If a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the dual. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «صحر» صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ “a desert” صَحْرَاوَانِ ṣaḥrāwāni صَحْرَاوَيْنِ ṣaḥrāwayni «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf” حَمْرَاوَانِ ḥamrāwāni حَمْرَاوَيْنِ ḥamrāwayni There are other words where the ء in the اء ending originates from the word’s root. Example: «خبء» خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent”, pattern: فِعَال We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.2.2 Nouns ending with ىٰ If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when adding the dual suffixes. Examples: Root Singular Dual (u-state) Dual (a- and i-states) «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” غَضْبَيَانِ g͡haḍbayāni غَضْبَيَيْنِ g͡haḍbayayni «ذکر» ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَانِ d͡hikrayāni ذِکْرَيَيْنِ d͡hikrayayni Just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ is not extrinsic to the word’s root. Example: «هدي» ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance”, pattern: ٱَلْفُعَل We will learn how to form duals of these words in later chapters, if Allāh wills. 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases We learned that when an adjectival noun is a describer in an descriptive noun-phrase, then it matches the describee in definiteness, state, and gender. For example: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْقَدِيمَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾila -lmadīnati -lqadīmah. “I went to the old city.” To this we add that the describer shall also match the describee in number. So if the describee is a dual then the adjectival-noun describer shall be dualzed to match it. Examples: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ ٱلطَّيِّبَتَانِ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾalʾummāni -ṭṭayyibatāni fi -lbayt. “The good mothers2 are in the house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ کِتَابَيْنِ ثَقِيلَيْنِ قَدِيمَيْنِ. qaraʾa -lg͡hulāmu kitābayni t͡haqīlatayni qadīmatayn. “The boy read two old heavy books.” 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences In subject-information sentences, if the subject is a dual, and the information is a adjectival noun, then the information will typically match the subject in being a dual. For example: ٱَلْأُمَّانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. ʾalʾummāni karīmatān. “The mothers2 are generous.” ٱَلْکِتَابَانِ ٱلْکَبِيرَانِ ثَقِيلَانِ. ʾalkitābāni -lkabīrāni t͡haqīlān. “The big books2 are heavy.” Such is usually also the case even when the information is a common noun, not an adjectival noun. For example, ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ مُعَلِّمَانِ. ʾarrujulāni muɛallimān. “The men2 are teachersm,2.” Sometimes, however, the subject and information may not match in number because of the meaning of the sentence. For example, ٱَلْوِسَادَتَانِ سَرِيرٌ. ʾalwisādatāni sarīr. “The two cushions are a bed.” In the above example, the information does not match the subject in both number, and, as it happens, in gender. 9.5 Detached dual pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns that are used in place of singular nouns. They are repeated here: Singular participant Detached pronoun Masc. absentee هُوَ huwa “he” Fem. absentee هِيَ hiya “she” Masc. addressee أَنْتَ ʾanta “youm,1” Fem. addressee أَنْتِ ʾanti “youf,1” Speaker أَنَا ʾana “I” Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the dual participants: Dual participant Detached pronoun Absentee هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker – Note that the dual detached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. If the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun, which we will learn in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. Here are some examples of their use: هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ. huma -rrajulān. “They2 are the men2.” هُمَا مُعَلِّمَتَانِ کَرِيمَتَانِ. humā muɛallimatāni karīmatāni. “They2 are noble teachersf.” قَالَتِ ٱلأُمُّ لِلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ أَنْتُمَا قَرِيبَتَانِ مِنِّي. qālati -lʾummu liljāriyatayni ʾantumā qarībatāni minnī. “The mother said to the girls2, ‘You2 are near me.’” In the last example, the feminine adjectival-noun قَرِبَتَانِ qarībatāni is used because it is referring to the feminine noun ٱَلْجَارِيَتَيْنِ ʾaljāriyatayni “the girls2”. 9.6 Attached dual pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular participant. They too are repeated here: Singular participant Attached pronoun Masc. absentee هُ -hu “him” Fem. absentee هَا -hā “her” Masc. addressee کَ -ka “youm,1” Fem. addressee کِ -ki “youf,1” Speaker ي “me” Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the dual participant: Dual participant Attached pronoun Absentee هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker – Note the following points about them: Like the dual detached pronouns, the dual attached pronouns are the same for both genders. Also, there is no attached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. Again, the plural pronoun will be used in this case. The dual absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they2”/“them2”) are the same هُمَا -humā. Just like the absentee-participant singular masculine attached pronoun هُ hu “him”, the dual absentee-participant attached pronoun “them2” هُمَا -humā becomes هِمَا -himā when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمَا bihimā “with them2” فِيهِمَا fīhimā “in them2” إِلَيْهِمَا ʾilayhimā “to them2” The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the dual attached pronouns: لَهُمَا lahumā “for them2” لَکُمَا lakumā “for you2” As expected, the long ā vowel at the ends of the dual attached pronouns becomes a short a vowel when followed by a connecting hamzah ٱ. Example: ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykuma -rrajulu. “The man went toward you2.” 9.6.1 Dual doee pronouns The dual attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمَا ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahuma -rrajulu. “The man asked them2.” سَأَلْتُکُمَا. saʾaltukumā “I asked you2.” سَأَلَتْکُمَا. saʾalatkumā. “She asked you2.” 9.7 Verbs with dual doers 9.7.1 Dual nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a dual. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” 9.7.2 Dual pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular doer pronouns: Singular participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Masc. absentee invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Fem. absentee invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Masc. addressee تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Fem. addressee تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Speaker تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Now we will learn the dual doer pronouns: Dual participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker – “us2” – Note the following regarding the dual doer pronouns: The dual doer pronouns are the same for both genders. However, when the absentee-participant doer pronoun (◌َا -ā) is used for a feminine doer, it is attached to the verb with an intervening ت of femininity thus: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā “theyf,2 did” Here are some examples of the dual doer pronouns: سَأَلْتُمَانَا saʾaltumānā “You2 asked us” سَأَلَتَاکُمَا saʾalatākumā “Theyf,2 asked you2” سَأَلَاهُمَا saʾalāhumā “Theym,2 asked them2” 9.7.3 Sentence word order with dual doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with dual doers: ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “They2 went to a house.” ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahabā -rrujalāni ʾilā baytin. “The men2 went to a house.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ ذَهَبَا إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. ʾarrujalāni d͡hahabā ʾilā baytin. “The men2, they2 went to a house.” = “The men2 went to a house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾakala -rrajulāni was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَلرَّجُلَانِ أَکَلَا وَشَرِبَا وَذَهَبَا. ʾarrajulāni ʾakalā was͡haribā wad͡hahabā. “The men2, they2 ate and they2 drank and they2 went.” = “The men2 ate and drank and went.” "],["sound-plurals.html", "10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction 10.2 The ūn sound plural 10.3 The āt sound plural 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural 10.5 Detached plural pronouns 10.6 Attached plural pronouns 10.7 Verbs with plural doers", " 10 Sound plurals 10.1 Introduction Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc. As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible. Arabic has two categories of plurals: The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example: Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending. Arabic has two types of sound plurals: The ūn sound plural. The āt sound plural. We will describe each of these in this chapter. The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills. 10.2 The ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”. Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” u-state مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna a- and i-states مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”. The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison: State Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” u-state مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences: u-state: ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah “The teachers are in the school.” a-state: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr. “The boy asked some teachers about a matter.” i-state: طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا. ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā. “The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.” 10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings. The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include: عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. 10.3 The āt sound plural The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun. Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”: State Indefinite ūn plural “animals” Definite ūn plural “the animals” u-state حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a- and i-states حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti Note that: Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. State the animal the animals u-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu a-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti i-state ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”: State Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” u-state مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu a- and i-states مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences: u-state: فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ . fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun. “In the school are teachers.” a-state: نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ. naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna. “Allāh aided the Muslims. i-state: نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ. naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti. “The boy looked at the animals.” There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills. 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example: Root Singular āt sound plural «صحر» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples: Root Singular āt sound plural «ذکر» 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural. If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural. There are two separate rules to consider: If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example: نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \\(\\times\\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \\(\\times\\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \\(\\times\\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example, جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either: be retained, be converted to an a mark, or be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter. For example: ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \\(\\times\\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt. 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings. 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals. Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals. 10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural. We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately. 10.4.1.1 Common nouns With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \\(\\times\\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds: Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition. Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun): Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals. The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural. In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills. 10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural. Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun: کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus: کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural. We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are: 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead. 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural. 10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are: Singular āt sound plural حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” حَسَنَات ḥasanāt صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”. Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”. The following exceptional nouns: أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation” أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave” شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later. All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural. 10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker Common nouns Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters. حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”. حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.) Masculine adjectival nouns Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings. For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”. By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt. 10.5 Detached plural pronouns We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُوَ huwa “he” Absentee sing. fem. هِيَ hiya “she” Absentee dual هُمَا humā “they2” Addressee sing. masc. أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” Addressee sing. fem. أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” Addressee dual أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” Speaker sing. أَنَا ʾana “I” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants: Participant Detached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ hum “they3,m” Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” Addressee pl. masc. أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” Speaker pl. نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders. Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun. Here are some examples of their use: هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. hum muslimūn. “They3,m are men3.” هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. hum muɛallimaāt. “They3,f are teachersf.” أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ. ʾantum lāɛibūn. “You3,m are players3,m.” أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. ʾantunna ṣadīqāt. “You3,f are friends3,f.” نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ. naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān. “We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.) نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ. naḥnu muslimāt. “We3,f are Muslims3,f.” 10.6 Attached plural pronouns We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee sing. masc. هُ -hu “him” Absentee sing. fem. هَا -hā “her” Absentee dual هُمَا -humā “them2” Addressee sing. masc. کَ -ka “youm,1” Addressee sing. fem. کِ -ki “youf,1” Addressee dual کُمَا -kumā “you2” Speaker sing. ي “me” Speaker dual – Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant: Participant Attached pronoun Absentee pl. masc. هُمْ -hum “them3,m Absentee pl. fem. هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f Addressee pl. masc. کُمْ -kum “you3,m” Addressee pl. fem. کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” Speaker pl نَا -nā “us” Note the following points about them: The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same: masculine: هُمْ -hum. feminine: هُنَّ -hunna. Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f” become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples: بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m” فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f” إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. humu -lmuɛallimūn. “Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul. “The man went to you3,m.” أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ. ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.” When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get: نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns: لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m” لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f” لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m” لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f” لَنَا lanā “for us” 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples: سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ. saʾalahumu -rrajul. “The man asked them3,m.” سَأَلْتُکُمْ. saʾaltukum “I asked you3,m.” سَأَلَتْکُنَّ. saʾalatkunn. “She asked you3,f.” سَأَلَانَا. saʾalānā. “They2,m asked us.” سَأَلَتَاهُ. saʾalatāh. “They3,m asked him.” 10.7 Verbs with plural doers 10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu. “The boy went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun “A girl went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ. d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni. “The boys2 went.” ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ. d͡hahabat jāriyatāni. “Two girls went.” These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn. “The teacherm3,m went.” ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. d͡hahabat muɛallimāt. “Teachers3,f went.” 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here: Participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee sing. masc. invisible “he” فَعَلَ faɛala Absentee sing. fem. invisible “she” فَعَلَتْ faɛalat Absentee dual ◌َا -ā “them2” masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā Addressee sing. masc. تَ -ta “youm,2” فَعَلْتَ faɛalta Addressee sing. fem. تِ -ti “youf,2” فَعَلْتِ faɛalti Addressee dual تُمَا -tumā “you2” فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā Speaker sing. تُ -tu “I” فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu Speaker dual – “us2” – Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns: plural participant Doer pronoun Meaning Doer pronoun with verb Absentee pl. masc. و “they3,m” فَعَلُوا faɛalū Absentee pl. fem. نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ faɛalna Addressee pl. masc. تُمْ -tum “youm,3” فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum Addressee pl. fem. تُنَّ -tunna “youf,3” فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna Speaker pl. نَا -nā “we” فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns: The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example: ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example: ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples: أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا. ʾakaltum k͡hubzā. “You3,m ate some bread.” أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ. ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz. “You3,m ate the bread.” The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabu -rrajul. “They3,m hit the man. ضَرَبُوهُ. ḍarabūh. “They3,m hit him.” The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example: ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ. ḍarabtumu -rrajul. “You3,m hit the man.” ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ. ḍarabtumūh. “Youpl. masc. hit him.” The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences: سَأَلْنَا. saʾalnā. “We asked.” سَأَلَنَا. saʾalanā. “He asked us.” 10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers: ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah. “They3,m went to a school.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f played in the house.” لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. laɛibna fi -lbayt. “They3,f played in the house.” The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it. ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ. ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah. “The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.” = “The teachers3,m went to a school.” ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ. ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt. “The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.” = “The friends3,f played in the house.” If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example: أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence. ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا. ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū. “The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.” = “The players3,m ate and drank and went.” Similarly, أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” and ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ. ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn. “The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.” = “The players3,f ate and drank and went.” 10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage. If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ. d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu. “The mother and the boy went.” ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ . d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu. “The boy and the mother went.” If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example: ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ. d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa. “I, you, and he went.” Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it. If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples: أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا. ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā. “You1,m and he, you2 went.” أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا. ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā. “I and Muḥammad, we went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā. “The mother and the girl went.” ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna. “The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.” If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example: ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا. ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū. “The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.” "],["broken-plurals.html", "11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings", " 11 Broken plurals 11.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we introduced sound plurals, which are formed by appending suffixes to the singular noun. The singular noun in these plurals remains, more or less, intact when forming these plurals. The sound plurals correspond to English regular plurals which are formed by appending “s” to the singular noun. However, English has some plurals that are not formed by adding the plural ending “s”. Here are some examples, Singular Plural man men woman women child children mouse mice In these plurals, the singular noun is altered to form the plural. Arabic also forms such plurals. They are called broken plurals because the singular noun is not kept intact but its structure is, in most cases, altered, or “broken-up” when forming the plural. While English only forms such plurals for a handful of nouns, Arabic forms broken plurals for many nouns. 11.2 Review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns Before we begin our discussion about broken plurals, we will do a quick review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. This will, if Allāh wills, facilitate the explanation of broken plurals. Most words in Arabic are formed from three letter roots. We use the paradigm root «فعل» to show word patterns. For example, the noun رَجُل rajul “a man” is formed from the root «رجل» on the pattern فَعُل faɛul. Most nouns in Arabic are fully-flexible. This means that, when indefinite, they are nūnated and the indefinite i-state is shown by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ at the end of the noun. For example, رَجُل rajul “a man” and بَيْت bayt “a house” are fully-flexible nouns. So, you can see, below, that they are nūnated, and the indefinite i-state is indicated by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ: ذَهَبَ رَجُلٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ. d͡hahaba rajulun ʾilā bayt. “A man went to a house.” Some nouns are semi-flexible. This means that they are not nūnated, and also, the indefinite i-state is indicated by an a mark ◌َ. Examples of such nouns are: 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2 adj. (fem.) “a very angry onef” from the root «غضب» 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 (fem.) “a desertf” from the root «صحر» ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ غَضْبَىٰ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ. d͡hahabat jāriyatun g͡haḍbā ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾ. “A very angry girl went to a desert.” When definite, semi-flexible nouns are identical to fully-flexible nouns: ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ ٱلْغَضْبَىٰ إِلَى ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. d͡hahabati -ljāriyatu -lg͡haḍbā ʾila -ṣṣaḥrāʾ. “The very angry girl went to the desert.” All nouns that have the endings اء and ىٰ, that are extrinsic to the word’s root, are semi-flexible. اء and ىٰ are also feminine markers for singular nouns, just like ة. (Except that ة does not, in general, make a noun semi-flexible.) It is important to note that ة, اء, and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see that they are also endings for broken plural nouns and, in that case, they are not feminine markers. However, اء and ىٰ, when endings for broken plural nouns, will make the broken plural nouns semi-flexible, just as they do for singular nouns. Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet. These are patterns for broken plurals, as we will see very soon. We had mentioned this in section 8.3.5. This concludes our short review of word patterns and semi-flexible nouns. We will use these concepts in our discussion of broken plurals. 11.3 Patterns of the broken plural Broken plurals occur in specific patterns, which we will show using the paradigm «فعل» for three-letter roots. Ararbic also has (comparatively fewer) four-letter roots and we will show patterns for broken plurals of four-letter roots using the paradigm root فعلل. We will also use the letter ف, when needed, to indicate any letter of the alphabet. We now give all but the rarest broken plural patterns below. The singular and plural and given together separated by a colon character “:”, the singular on the right, and its plural on the left. فُعَل fuɛal. Examples: صُورَة: صُوَر a picture دَوْلَة: دُوَل a dynasty/state أُمَّة: أُمَم a nation رُکْبَة: رُکَب a knee فُعْل fuɛl. Examples: أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2: حُمْر red أَعْمَىٰ2، عَمْيَاء2: عُمْي blind أَحْوَر2، حَوْرَاء2: حُور a beautiful eyed one أَصَمّ2، صَمّاء2: صُمّ deaf أَسْوَد2، سَوْدَاء2: سُود black أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2: بُکْم mute أَبْيَض2، بَيْضَاء2: بِيض white نَاقَة: نُوق a camelf فُعُل fuɛul. Examples: کِتَاب: کُتُب a book رَسُول: رُسُل a messenger جِدَار: جُدُر a wall سَفِينَة: سُفُن a ship فِعَل fiɛal. Examples: قِطْعَة: قِطَع a piece سِيرَة: سِيَر a course of life هِرَّة: هِرَر a catf فِعَال fiɛāl. Examples: رَجُل: رِجَال a man حَسَن: حِسَان adj. a good onem ٱِمْرَأَة: نِسَاء a woman حَسَنَة: حِسَان adj. a good onef أُنْثَىٰ2: إِنَاث a female صَعْب: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onem عَبْد: عِبَاد a slavem صَعْبَة: صِعَاب adj. a difficult onef أَمَة: إِمَاء a slavef صَغِير: صِغَار adj. a small onem جَبَل: جِبَال a mountain صَغِيرَة: صِغَار adj. a small onef ثَوب: ثِيَاب a garment کَبِير: کِبَار adj. a big onem رِيح: رِيَاح a wind کَبِيرَة: کِبَار adj. a big onef مَرَّة: مِرَار an occasion ضَعِيف: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onem بَحْر: بِحَار a sea ضَعِيفَة: ضِعَاف adj. a weak onef عَمُود: عِمَاد a pillar کِرَام: کَرِيم adj. a generous onem رَوْضَة: رِيَاض a garden غَضْبَان2: غِضَاب adj. a very angrym رُمْح: رِمَاح a spear غَضْبَىٰ2: غِضَاب adj. a very angryf فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: أَمْر: أُمُور a matter جَيْش: جُيُوش an army بَيْت: بُيُوت a house قَلْب: قُلُوب a heart حَقّ: حُقُوق a truth, a right رَأْس: رُؤُوس a head مَلِک: مُلُوک a king شَهْر: شُهُور a month سَيْف: سُيُوف a sword نَفْس: نُفُوس a self شَيْخ: شُيُوخ an old man عَيْن: عُيُون a (water) spring شَاهِد: شُهُود a witness فُعَّل fuɛɛal. Examples: رَاکِع: رُکَّع one who bowesm غَائِب: غُيَّب absent راکعَة: رُکَّع one who bowesf فُعَّال fuɛɛāl. Examples: قَارِئ: قُرَّاء a readerm کَافِر: کُفَّار a disbelieverm تَاجِر: تُجَّار a traderm جَاهِل: جُهَّال an ignorant onem عَامِل: عُمَّال a workerm فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: سَاحِر: سَحَرَة a magicianm قَاتِل: قَتَلَة a killerm عَامِل: عَمَلَة a labourerm سَيِّد: سَادَة a chiefm فُعَلَة fuɛalah. Examples: قَاضٍ: قُضَاة a judgem رَاوٍ: رُوَاة a narratorm فِعَلَة fiɛalah. Examples: دُبّ: دِبَبَة a bear قِرْد: قِرَدَة a monkey هِرّ: هِرَرَة a catm فِعْلَة fiɛlah. Examples: أَخ: إِخْوَة a brother فَتًى: فِتْيَة a young man أَفْعُل ʾafɛul. Examples: رِجْل: أَرْجُل a leg شَهْر: أَشْهُر a month نَفْس: أَنْفُس a self عَيْن: أَعْيُن an eye أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl. Examples: بَاب: أَبْوَاب a door مَيِّت: أَمْوَات dead قَلَم: أَقْلَام a pen 2شَيْء: أَشْيَاء a thing قَدَم: أَقْدَام a foot ٱِسْم: أَسْمَاء a name صَاحِب: أَصْحَاب a companionm يَوْم: أَيَّام a day شَرِيف: أَشْرَاف a noble onem عَدُوّ: أَعْدَاء an enemy طِفْل: أَطْفَال a child عَيْن: أَعْيَان an eminent person بِئْر: آبَار a (water) well أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah. Examples: لِسَان: أَلْسِنَة a tongue طَعَام: أَطْعِمَة a food إِمَام: أَئِمَّة a leaderm إِلَـٰه: آلِهَة a god 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2صَاحِبَة: صَوَاحِب a companionf 2عَامِل: عَوَامِل a factor 2جَارِيَة: جَوَارٍ a girl 2شَاهِد: شَوَاهِد a corroborating evidence 2أَمْر: أَوَامِر a command 2خَاتَم: خَوَاتِم a ring (jewelry) 2نَادِرَة: نَوَادِر a joke, a witticism 2فَارِس: فَوَارِس a horseman 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2حُرَة: حَرَائِر a free woman 2جَزِيرَة: جَزَائِر an island 2ضَرّة: ضَرَائِر a co-wife 2رِسَالَة: رَسَائل a message 2حَدِيقَة: حَدَائِق a garden 2حَاجَة: حَوَائِج a need 2حَقِيبَة: حَقَائِب a bag 2دَلِيل: دَلَائِل an evidence 2کَبِيرَة: کَبَائِر a major sin 2خَلِيفَة: خَلَائِف a successor 2کَرِيمَة: کَرَائِم a generous onef فِعْلَان fiɛlān. Examples: غُلَام: غِلْمَان a boy ثَوْر: ثِيرَان a bull جَار: جِيرَان a neighbor غُرَاب: غِرْبَان a crow أَخ: إِخْوَان a brother فَأْر: فِئْرَان a mouse فُعْلَان fuɛlān. Examples: بَلَد: بُلْدَان a country شُجَاع: شُجْعَان a brave one جِدَار: جُدْرَان a wall شَابّ: شُبَّان a young man 2فُعَلَاء fuɛalāʾ2. Examples: 2أَمِير: أُمَرَاء a commanderm 2خَلِيفَة: خُلَفَاء a caliph 2فَقِير: فُقَرَاء a poor onem 2عَالِم: عُلَمَاء a scholarm 2بَخِيل: بُخَلَاء a miserm 2شَاعِر: شُعَرَاء a poetm 2ضَعِيف: ضُعَفَاء a weak onem 2أَفْعِلَاء ʾafɛilāʾ2. Examples: 2نَبِيّ: أَنْبِيَاء a prophetm 2شَدِيد: أَشِدَّاء a forceful onem 2صَدِيق: أَصْدِقَاء a friendm 2قَوِيّ: أَقْوِيَاء a strong onem 2غَنِيّ: أُغْنِيَاء a rich onem 2شَقِيّ: أَشْقِيَاء a wretched onem 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Examples: 2مَرِيض: مَرْضَىٰ a sick onem 2جَرِيح: جَرْحَىٰ a wounded person 2أَسِير: أَسْرَىٰ a captive 2فَعَالِي faɛālī2. (Semi-flexible because of 2فَفَافِف pattern.) Examples: 2لَيْلَة: لَيَالٍ a night 2أَرْض: أَرَاضٍ a land, an earth 2أَهْل: أَهَالٍ a family 2فَعَالَىٰ faɛālā2. Examples: صَحْرَاء2: صَحَارَىٰ2 a desert فَتْوَىٰ2: فَتَاوَىٰ2 a formal legal opinion 2يَتِيم: يَتَامَىٰ an orphan 2هَدِيَّة: هَدَايَا a gift فَعِيل faɛīl (rare). Examples: عَبْد: عَبِيد a slavem حِمَار: حَمِير a donkeym فُعُولَة fuɛūlah (rare). Examples: بَعْل: بُعُولَة a husband فِعَالَة fiɛālah (rare). Examples: حَجَر: حِجَارَة a stone فَعَل faɛal (rare). Examples: حَلْقَة: حَلَق a circular ring فَعْل faɛl (very rare). Examples: صَاحِب: صَحْب a companion 2فَفَافِف fafāfif2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِل faɛālil2 2أَفَاعِل ʾafāɛil2 2تَفَاعِل tafāɛil2 2مَفَاعِل mafāɛil2 Examples: 2ثَعْلَب: ثَعَالِب a fox 2تَجْرِبَة: تَجَارِب an experience 2عَنْکَبُوت: عَنَاکِب a spider 2مَسْجِد: مَسَاجِد a mosque 2دِرْهَم: دَرَاهِم a dirham 2مَعَانٍ: مَعْنًى a meaning 2جَوْهَر: جَوَاهِر a gem 2مَحَالّ: مَحَلَّة a locality 2إِصْبَع: أَصَابِع a finger 2مَعِيشَة: مَعَاىِش a means of subsistence 2أَنْمُلَة: أَنَامِل a finger tip 2فَفَافِيف fafāfīf2. Includes the sub-patterns: 2فَعَالِيل faɛālīl2 2أَفَاعِيل ʾafāɛīl2 2تَفَاعِيل tafāɛīl2 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2 2يَفَاعِيل yafāɛīl2 2فَوَاعِيل fawāɛīl2 Examples: 2سُلْطَان: سَلَاطِين a sultan 2إِعْصَار: أَعَاصِير a whirlwind 2شَيْطَان: شَيَاطِين a devil 2تَأْرِيخ: تَوَارِيخ a history 2سِکِّين: سَکَاکِين a knife 2تَصْوِير: تَصَاوِير a picture 2دِينَار: دَنَانِير a dīnār 2مِفْتَاح: مَفَاتِيح a key 2مِسْکِين: مَسَاکِين a needy person 2مَلْعُون: مَلَاعِين an accursed onem 2کُرْسِيّ: کَرَاسِيّ a chair 2يُنْبُوع: يَنَابِيع a (water) spring 2أُمْنِيَّة: أَمَانِيّ a wish 2جَامُوس: جَوَامِيس a buffalo فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. Examples: أُسْتَاذ: أَسَاتِذَة a professor مَلَک: مَلَائِکَة an angel فَيْلَسُوف: فَلَاسِفَة a philosopher جَبَّار: جَبَابِرَة a tyrant Note the following from the above broken plural patterns and examples: Both common nouns and adjectival nouns form broken plurals. There are comparatively fewer broken plurals for female intelligent beings than for male intelligent beings. We will expand on this in a subsequent section. Some patterns of the broken plural are also patterns singular nouns. For example, the pattern فِعَال fiɛāl has both singular nouns, like کِتَاب kitāb “a book” and broken plurals, like رِجَال rijāl “men” The broken plural patterns فِعْلَان fiɛlān and فُعْلَان fuɛlān are fully-flexible nouns. Although they end with the ان ending which is extrinsic to the root, they are not semi-flexible nouns. Only singular adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان on the pattern فَعْلَان, and that also fulfil the other conitions listed in section 8.3.4, are semi-flexible. There is often a correlation between the pattern of a singular noun and the pattern of its plural. Sometimes this correlation is very strong: All singular nouns of the patterns 2أَفْل ʾafɛal2 and 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ that denote colors and physical characteristics, have broken plurals on the pattern فُعْل fuɛl. Example: Singular Plural أَحْمَر2، حَمْرَاء2 “red” حُمْر أَبْکَم2، بَکْمَاء2 “mute” بُکْم Singular nouns that have four or more consonant letters (excluding ة) regularly form their broken plurals on the patterns 2فَفَافِف and 2فَفَافِيف. The pattern 2فَفَافِيف is used when there is an intermendiate long vowel between the consonants. Examples: Singular Plural إِصْبَع “a finger” 2أَصَابِع مِفْتَاح “a key” 2مَفَاتِيح Singular nouns of the patterns فِعْلَة fiɛlah and فُعْلَة fuɛlah regularly form their broken plurals on the pattern فِعَل fiɛal and فُعَل fuɛal respectively. Examples: Singular Plural قِطْعَة “a piece” قِطَع رُکْبَة “a knee” رُکَب Other times, this correlation is more like a tendency: Singular nouns on the pattern فَعِيلَة faɛīlah tend to form broken plurals on the pattern 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2. Examples: Singular Plural حَدِيقَة “a garden” 2حَدَائِق حَقِيبَة “a bag” 2حَقَائِب Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil, that denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فُعَّل fuɛɛal, فُعَّال fuɛɛāl, and فَعَلَة faɛalah. Examples: Singular Plural غَائِب “absent” غُيَّب قَارِئ “a readerm” قُرَّاء قَاتِل “a killerm” قَتَلَة Singular nouns on the pattern فَاعِل fāɛil and فَاعِلَة fāɛilah, that don’t denote male intelligent beings, tend to form broken plurals on the pattern فَوَاعِل fawāɛil. Examples: Singular Plural صَاحِبَة “a companionf” 2صَوَاحِب عَامِل “a factor” 2عَوَامِل فَارِس fāris “a horseman” with the plural 2فَوَارِس is one of a number of exceptions. Some words have roots that have the same letter repeated in the root. These are called doubled roots. For example: Root Word Pattern «دبّ» دُبّ “a bear” فُعْل «حلّ» مَحَلَّة “a locality” مَفْعَلَة «أمّ» إِمَام “a leader” فِعَال «حقّ» حَقّ “a truth, a right” فَعْل «هرّ» هِرّ “a catm” فِعْل We will discuss doubled roots in detail in chapter ??. For now we will mention the following: The repeated letter in the word root may get doubled or separated in the word’s pattern. Frequently, the repeated letter may be doubled in the singular, and separated in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural حَقّ “a truth, a right” حُقُوق دُبّ “a bear” دِبَبَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة The reverse also occurs, where the repeated letter may be separated in the singular, and doubled in the plural. Examples: Singular Plural إِمَام “a leaderm” أَئِمَّة The doubled letter may modify the basic word pattern somewhat. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «شدّ» 2أَفْعِلَاء \\(\\times\\) 2أَشْدِدَاء 2أَشِدَّاء «حلّ» 2مَفَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2مَحَالِل 2مَحَالّ «صمّ» 2أَفْعَل \\(\\times\\) 2أَصْمَم 2أَصَمّ We have previously learned that the endings ة, اء, and ىٰ that are extrinsic to the word’s root are feminine markers for singular nouns. These extrinsic endings also occur for broken plurals but there, they are not feminine markers. In fact, in a sort of role reversal, the endings ة in a broken plural tends to indicate that the singular is a masculine noun. And the اء ending is only for broken plurals of male intelligent beings. Examples: Singular Plural لِسَان “a tongue” أَلْسِنَة هِرّ “a catm” هِرَرَة أَمِير “a commanderm” أُمَرَاء صَدِيق “a friendm” أَصْدِقَاء There often exist multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many times, in fact, a singular noun may have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Examples: Singular Plural شَهْر أَشْهُر، شُهُور عَيْن أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will discuss how to manage these multiple plurals in a subsequent section. Occasionally, multiple singular nouns will share the same broken plural. Examples: Singular Plural مَکْتَب “an office” 2مَکَاتِب مَکْتَبَة “a library” 2مَکَاتِب Context will then tell us which of two meanings is intended. The letters ء, ا, و, and ي are considered weak letters. Words that one or more these weak letters in their roots are called defective words. We will discuss defective words more completely in later chapters, if Allāh wills. For now, we will note the following: Weak letters often get interchanged with one another when going from a singular to a plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أرخ» تَأْرِيخ 2تَوَارِيخ «نوق» نَاقَة نُوق «ثور» ثَوْر ثِيرَان Weak letters can affect surrounding vowels. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «بيض» فُعْل \\(\\times\\) بُيْض بِيض The weak letter ي, when followed by the ىٰ ending, usually modifies (in writing) it to an ِʾalif instead. The pronunciation is the same. For example: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «هدي» 2فَعَالَىٰ \\(\\times\\) 2هَدَايَىٰ 2هَدَايَا A ي at the end of a word, in some states, gets omitted and replaced by a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on the preceding letter. This happens even when the ي is extrinsic to the root, and even if the word is semi-flexible (and thus would not normally be nūnated). Examples: Root Word pattern Expected word Actual word «قضي» فَاعِل \\(\\times\\) قَاضِي قَاضٍ «جري» 2فَوَاعِل \\(\\times\\) 2جَوَارِي 2جَوَارٍ «ليل» 2فَعَالِي \\(\\times\\) 2لَيَالِي 2لَيَالٍ Weak letters can also get omitted in the singular and resurface in the plural. Examples: Root Singular Plural «أخو» أَخ إِخْوَان، إِخْوَة «أمو» أَمَة إِمَاء If there are more than four consonant letters in a word, then only four of them are selected to form the broken plural. For example: Singular Plural عَنْکَبُوت “a spider” 2عَنَاکِب Some words have individual irrgularities as well and we will discuss them below: The word ٱِمْرَأَة and its plural نِسَاء are both irregular and we will discuss them separately in chapter 13. The broken plural 2أَشْيَاء ʾas͡hyāʾ (of the singular noun شَيْء s͡hayʾ “a thing”) is irregular in that it is semi-flexible. Otherwise its pattern أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl is regularly fully-flexible. The broken plural of the singular noun مَلَک malak “an angel” is مَلَائِکَة malāʾikah. It is on the pattern فَعَالِلَة faɛālilah. But it is unusual in that the plural has an extra letter ء that is missing in the singular. This is because the singular has a lesser-used variant: مَلْأَک malʾak that is used to form the plural. The broken plural of the singular noun دِينَار “a dīnār” is 2دَنَانِير. It is on the pattern 2فَعَالِيل. It is irregular in that there are two ن’s in the plural whereas the singular only has one. The root of بِئْر biʾr “a (water) well” is «بأر». The pattern of its broken plural is أَفْعَال. Based on its root letters, its plural on this pattern ought regularly to have been أَبْآر ʾabʾār. And this plural exists but is not very commonly used. Instead, in forming the plural, the root letters ب and أ get swapped irregularly, and the more commonly used plural is actually آبَار ’ʾābār. There are other words as well with similar irregularities. 11.4 Co-existence of multiple broken plurals We noted that there are often multiple broken plurals for the same singular noun. Many singular nouns even have a sound plural in addition to one or more broken plurals. Here are some examples. Singular Meanings Plural جِدَار a wall جُدُر، جُدْرَان شَهْر a month أَشْهُر، شُهُور ضَعِيف a weak onem 2ضِعَاف، ضُعَفَاء أَمْر a matter; a command 2أُمُور، أَوَامِر عَيْن an eye; a (water) spring; an eminent person أَعْيُن، عُيُون، أَعْيَان عَامِل a worker; a labourer; a factor عَامِلُونَ، عَوَامِل2، عَمَلَة، عُمَّال We will deal with the co-existence of sound and broken plurals in the next section. In this section, we will explain the existence of multiple broken plurals, and when one of them is preferred or required to be used over the other. Basically, there could be a few things going on: Sometimes it is more or less optional which of the multiple broken plurals to use. For example, the singular noun جِدَار has two broken plurals: جُدُر، جُدْرَان Either could be used, more or less, interchangeably. Sometimes, the usage of one of the plurals may be restricted. For example, ضِعَاف and ضُعَفَاء are both broken plurals of the masculine adjectival noun ضَعِيف “a weak onem”. For male intelligent beings, like “weak men”, either of the two plurals could be used. But remember that broken plurals that end with an extrinsic اء ending may only be used for male intelligent beings. So the plural ضُعَفَاء may only be used for male intelligent beings like “men” or “boys”, and not for masculine nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “lions” or “pens”, etc. Interestingly, ضِعَاف is also shared as the broken plural for the feminine adjectival noun ضَعِيفَة “a weak onef”. So it can be used for plurals of feminine nouns, both for female intelligent beings like “women” and “girls”, and for feminie nouns that denote non-intelligent beings like “trees”. Other times, the singular has multiple distinct meanings, and each of these distinct meanings is associated with its own broken plural(s). Here are some examples: The word أَمْر ʾamr has two distinct meanings, each with it’s own plural: “a matter”. This has the broken plural أُمُور ʾumūr. “a command”. This has the broken plural 2أَوَامِر ʾawāmir2. The word عَيْن ʾayn has multiple distinct meanings. There are three main meanings, and they share the broken plural with each other in the following way: “an eye”. This meaning primarily uses the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun but it may also use the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “a (water) spring”. This meaning primarily uses the plural عُيُون ɛuyūn but it may also use the plural أَعْيُن ʾaɛyun, and rarely also the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. “an eminent person”. This meaning only uses the plural أَعْيَان ʾaɛyān. The word عَامِل ɛāmil has the following meanings and plurals: “a workerm”. Generally, this has the plural عُمَّال ɛummāl. “a labourerm”. This uses the plural عَمَلَة ɛamalah. “a factor”. This uses the plural 2عَوَامِل ɛawāmil2. Arabic has what are known as plurals of fewness. These are specific patterns that may (sometimes, but not always) be used when the persons or things denoted by the plural are only a few (ten or less) and not many. These patterns are: فِعْلَة fiɛlah أَفْعُل ʾafɛul أَفْعَال ʾafɛāl أَفْعِلَة ʾafɛilah For example: شَهْر s͡hahr “a month”, plurals: أَشْهُر، شُهُور. The plural أَشْهُر could be used when the number of months are only a few (ten or less), and the plural شُهُور could be used when the number of months are large. The plurals أَعْيُن and عُيُون of the word عَيْن could also possibly be used similarly in this manner for both meanings: “an eye” and “a (water) spring”. (But not for the meaning “an eminent person” which only uses the plural أَعْيَان). Of course, this distinction only applies when the singular noun has additional plurals, not just one from the above four patterns. If a noun has only one of the about four plural patterns then it may be used indiscriminately and will not indicate any limitation in number. 11.5 Co-existence of sound and broken plurals Some nouns have both sound and broken plurals for more or less the same meaning. Here are some examples: Singular Meaning Sound plural Broken plural قَاتِل a killer قَاتِلُونَ قَتَلَة کَافِر a disbeliever کَافِرُونَ کُفَّار کَبِير a big onem کَبِيرُونَ کِبَار کَبِيرَة a big onef کَبِيرَات کِبَار صَغِير a small onem صَغِيرُونَ صِغَار صَغِيرَة a small onef صَغِيرَات صِغَار رَاکِع one who bowsm رَاکِعُونَ رُکَّع رَاکِعَة one who bowsf رَاکِعَات رُکَّع صَاحِبَة a companionf صَاحِبَات 2صَوَاحِب جَارِيَة a girl جَارِيَات 2جَوَارٍ حَدِيقَة a garden جَدِيقَات 2حَدَائِق We will treat the ūn and āt sound plurals separately. 11.5.1 ūn plurals and broken plurals Remember from chapter 10 that ūn plurals are, with very few exceptions, only used for male intelligent beings. If a singular noun has both an ūn sound plural and one or more broken plurals, then the use of the broken plural is generally preferred. The sound plural is then, generally, reserved for certain verbal usages. (We will study these in later chapters, if Allāh wills.) So, for example, قَتَلَة is preferred over قَاتِلُونَ generally for the meaning: “killers”. 11.5.2 āt plurals and broken plurals āt plurals are used for both female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. We will discuss each of these separately. 11.5.2.1 Female intelligent beings Remember from section 10.4.2 that, generally, all nouns that end with feminine markers (ة, اء, and ىٰ) can form the āt sound plural. There are some nouns that are excepted from this statement. These nouns only have broken plurals and don’t form sound plurals. For female intelligent beings, these nouns are: Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حور» حَوْرَاء ḥawrāʾ “a beautiful eyed onef” uses the broken plural حُور ḥūr Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf” uses the broken plural غِضَاب g͡hiḍāb. The following exceptional nouns: ٱِمْرَأَة “a woman”, broken plural: نِسَاء أَمَة “a slavef”, broken plural: إِمَاء In the case of these nouns we have no choice but to use the broken plural. For other nouns that denote female intelligent beings, the use of the āt sound plural is preferred over any broken plurals that the noun may have. So, for example, the use of the āt sound plural صَغِيرَات is preferred over the broken plural صِغَار for the adjectival noun صَغِيرَة “a small onef” The following are excepted from this general statement: أُنْثَىٰ “a female”, plural: إِنَاث. The āt sound plural is almost unused for this word. Broken plurals of the patterns: 2فَوَاعِل fawāɛil2 2فَعَائِل faɛāʾil2 These broken plural patterns are, in fact, predominantly used for female intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings, and only rarely for male intelligent beings. So the broken plural 2جَوَارٍ “girls” may be used freely as the plural of جَارِيَة “a girl” and is not preferred over by جَارِيَات. Similarly, 2صَوَاحِب may freely be used as the plural of صَاحِبَة. Only a few nouns denoting male intelligent beings have broken plurals on these patterns, like: فَارِس “a horseman”, plural: 2فَوَارِس خَلِيفَة “a successor”, plural: 2خَلَائِف In conclusion, with the general preference of using the āt sound plural over the broken plural for female intelligent beings, you will find that نِسَاء nisāʾ “women” is the only widely found broken plural for female intelligent beings in normal usage. 11.5.2.2 Non-intelligent beings For non-intelligent beings, the broken plural is preferred for use over āt sound plurals. So, for example, 2حَدَائِق ḥadāʾiq2 is preferred over حَدِيقَات ḥadīqāt as the plural of حَدِيقَة, though both are correct. 11.6 Usage of plurals of intelligent beings We will now discuss how plurals are used in Arabic. Using plurals is more complicated than using duals. In order to explain their usage systematically, we will treat plurals of intelligent beings separately from the plurals of non-intelligent beings. The usage of plurals of intelligent beings is more straightforward and in line with what we have studied for duals. We will discuss descriptive noun-phrases, subject-information sentences, and verbal sentences. 11.6.1 Plurals in descriptive noun-phrases Consistent with what we have learned so far, when the describee in a noun-phrase is plural, then the describer comes after it, and matches it in state, definiteness, gender, and number. Either or both of the describer and the describee may be sound plurals or broken plurals. Here are some examples: لَعِبَ ٱلطِّفْلُ ٱلصَّغِيرُ مَعَ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ ٱلْکِبَارِ. laɛiba -ṭṭiflu -ṣṣag͡hīru maɛa -lg͡hilmāni -lkibār. “The small child played with the big boys.” أَخَذَ ٱلتِّلْمِيذُ ٱلْعِلْمَ عَنِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ٱلْکِرَامِ. ʾak͡had͡ha -ttilmīd͡hu -lɛilma ɛani -lmuɛallimīna -lkirām. “The pupil took knowledge from the noble teachers.” لِلْجَارِيَةِ صَوَاحِبُ طَيِّبَاتٌ. liljāriyati ṣawāhibu ṭayyibāt. “The girl has good companionsf.” فِي ٱلسُّوقِ تُجَّارٌ صَادِقُونَ. fi -ssūqi tujjārun ṣadiqūn. “In the market are honest traders.” خَدَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلصَّالِحُ ٱلْغَنِيُّ ٱلْفُقَرَاءَ ٱلضِّعَافَ مِنَ ٱلْيَتَامَىٰ ٱلصِّغَارِ. k͡hadama -rrajulu -ṣṣāliḥu -lg͡haniyyu -lfuqarāʾa -ḍḍiɛāfa mina -lyatāmā -ṣṣig͡hār. “The rich righteous man served the weak poor ones from the little orphans.” 11.6.2 Plurals in subject-information sentences If the subject of a sentence is a plural denoting intelligent beings then the information typically matches it in being a plural. This is especially the case if the information is an adjectival noun. For example: ٱلْغِلْمَانُ أَطْفَالٌ طَيِّبُونَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu ʾaṭfālun ṭayyibūn. “The boys are good children.” ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَغْنِيَاءُ. ʾarrijālu ʾag͡hniyāʾ. “The men are rich.” ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ عَالِمَاتٌ. ʾalmuɛallimātu ɛālimāt, “The teachersf are scholarsf.” Sometimes the information may not match the subject in plurality because of the meaning of the sentence. For example: ٱَلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَمَّةٌ. ʾalmuslimūna ʾummah. “The Muslims are a nation.” ٱَلْجِيرَانُ ٱلطَّيِّبُونَ نِعْمَةٌ مِنَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. ʾaljīrānu -ṭṭayyibūna niɛmatun mina -llāh. “Good neighbors are a blessing from Allah.” With regards to detached pronouns, the same detached pronouns are used with detached plurals that we learned for in section 10.5 for sound plurals. Examples: أَنْتُنَّ نِسَاءٌ کَرِيمَاتٌ. ʾantunna nisāʾun karīmāt. “You3,f are generous women.” أَنْتُمْ شُبَّانٌ شُجْعَانٌ. ʾantum s͡hubbānun s͡hujɛānun “Youm,3 are courageous young men.” ٱَلشَّيَاطِينُ هُمُ ٱلْمَلَاعِنُ. ʾas͡hs͡hayāṭīnu humu -lmalāɛīn. “The devils are the accursed ones.” هُنَّ نِسَاءٌ غَنِيَّاتٌ. hunna nisāʾun g͡haniyyāt. “They3,f are rich women.” نَحْنُ غِلْمَانٌ أَصْدِقَاءُ. naḥnu g͡hilmānun ʾaṣdiqāʾ. “We are boys who are friends.” 11.6.3 Plurals with verbs We have already studied verbs with sound plurals in section 10.7. The same discussion applies to broken plurals as well. The doer and doee pronouns are the same. Here are a couple of examples: قَرَأَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ وَکَتَبْنَ. qaraʾati -nnisāʾu wakatabn. “The women read and wrote.” ٱَلْغِلْمَانُ لَعِبُوا بِکُرَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ. ʾalg͡hilmānu laɛibū bikuratin ḥamrāʾ. “The boys, they played with a red ball.” طَبَخَتِ ٱلنِّسَاءُ طَعَامًا لِلرِّجَال فَأَکَلُوهُ وَشَکَرُوهُنَّ. ṭabak͡hati -nnisāʾu ṭaɛāman lirrijāli faʾakalūhu was͡hakarūhunn. “The women prepared some food for the men, so they3,m ate it and they3,m thanked them3,f. ظَلَمَ ٱلْجَبَابِرَةُ ٱلْمَسَاکِينَ وَقَتَلُوهُمْ. ḍ͡halama -ljabābiratu -lmasākīna waqatalūhum. “The tyrants wronged the needy ones3,m and killed them3,m.” 11.7 Usage of plurals of non-intelligent beings We now turn our attention to plurals of non-intelligent beings. They treatment of plurals of non-intelligent beings is very different from everything we have learned so far. Regardless of the grammatical or physical gender of the singular noun, plurals of non-intelligent beings are treated, for the purposes of matching adjectival nouns and pronouns, as: grammatically feminine singular grammatically feminine plural It is optional which of the above two treatments one uses. However, the former option (feminine singular) is more common and is generally preferred. For the second option (feminine plural), in addition to the sound feminine plural of adjectival nouns, broken plurals are allowed to be used as well, as long as their meaning allows them to be used for non-intelligent beings. So, for example, the noun بَيت bayt denotes the inanimate object “a house”. It’s plural is بُيُوت. This plural is treated as either feminine singular or feminine plural. This is despite the fact that the singular noun بَيْت bayt “a house” is grammatically masculine. See how the بُيُوت buyūt is used in the examples below: ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کَبِيرَاتٌ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ کِبَارٌ. “The houses are big.” سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَاتٍ. سَکَنُوا فِي بُيُوتٍ صِغَارٍ. “They3,m lived in ssmall houses.” سَقَطَتِ ٱلْبُيُوتُ. “The houses fell.” ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطَتْ. ٱَلْبُيُوتُ سَقَطْنَ. “The houses, they fell.” هِيَ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. هُنَّ بُيُوتٌ لِلْفُقَرَاءِ. “They are houses for the poor.” Plurals of inanimate objects and animals (both male and female) are treated the same way. It doesn’t matter what the grammatical or physical gender of the singular is or whether it has a sound or broken plural. Examples: هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَةٌ. هِيَ ثِيرَانٌ وُحُوشٌ. هُنَّ ثِيرَانٌ وَحْشَاتٌ. “They are wild bulls.” ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرَةُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsm, they drank the milk.” ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبَتِ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. ٱَلْهِرَرُ شَرِبْنَ ٱلْحَلِيبَ. “The catsf, they drank the milk.” ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَة. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طِوَالٌ. ٱَلسُّفُنُ طَوِيلَاتٌ. “The ships are tall.” فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَةٌ. فِي ٱلصُّنْدُوقُ أَشْيَاءُ عَجِيبَاتٌ. “In the box are wonderful things.” (Note how 2أَشْيَاء is indefinite but is not nūnated. This is because it is irregularly semi-flexible.) By the way, this rule only applies to adjectival nouns in the describee or the information. A common noun in the describer or information will continue match the describee or subject in gender and number. For example, if you say: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَةُ. “The righteous acts are the good ones.” then حَسَنَة may only be the feminine adjectival noun “a good one”. If instead you want to use حَسَنَة with its common noun meaning of “a good deed”, then you have the use the plural: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هِيَ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” The plural هِي may continue to be used instead of هُنَّ, although the latter is also valid: ٱَلْأَفْعَالُ ٱلصَّالِحَةُ هُنَّ ٱلْحَسَنَاتُ. “The acts are the good deeds.” Similarly, if an adjectival noun connoting a non-intelligent being is used not as a describer or an information in a sentence, then it should be pluralized to indicate plurality. ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْکَبِيرَاتُ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals are big and small. The big ones are wild.” In the second sentence above, we could not have said (for the same meaning): \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ صَغِيرَةٌ وَکَبِيرَةٌ. ٱَلْكَبِيرَةُ وَحْشَةٌ. It is important to note that treating non-intelligent beings as grammatically feminine is only for the plural. Singular and dual nouns for non-intelligent beings are treated according to the gender of singular noun, as we have learned in previous chapters. So, for example, ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرٌ. “The house is big.” not \\(\\times\\) ٱَلْبَيْتُ کَبِيرَة. أَکَلَ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions2 ate the gazelle.” not \\(\\times\\) أَکَلَتِ ٱلْأَسَدَانِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. 11.7.1 Preferring the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular In most cases we will prefer to use the feminine singular over the feminine plural for plurals of non-intelligent beings. So, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” is generally preferred over ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” However, there may be a couple of reasons to prefer the feminine plural instead of the feminine singular. We will explain them below. 11.7.1.1 Using the feminine plural to indicate fewness In some circumstances the feminine plural may be used to indicate fewness whereas the feminine singular will be used to indicate a multitude. So if we say, ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلْنَ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were only a few lions (say ten or less). And if, instead, we said: ٱلْأُسُودُ أَکَلَتِ ٱلظَّبْيَ. “The lions, they ate the gazelle.” then this would indicate that there were many lions. This may seem counter-intuitive at first but you may understand it this way: If there are many lions then we treat them as one group. And if there are only a few lions, then we treat them one-by-one. 11.7.1.2 Using the feminine plural to avoid confusion Sometimes, if the plural noun is not immediately mentioned, then using the feminine singular may be misinterpreted to only mean one instead of the plural. For example, consider the following example: شَرِبَتِ ٱلْهِرَرُ ٱلْحَلِيبَ وَمَا شَرِبَتْهُ هِرَّةٌ. “The catsf drank the milk and one catf didn’t drink it.” If we want to follow this sentence with another sentence: “Then they went.”, if we use the feminine singular: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَتْ. then this might be misinterpreted to mean that only one cat (the one that didn’t drink the milk) went. So we might prefer to say, instead: ثُمَّ ذَهَبْنَ. "],["annexation.html", "12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Forming the annexation 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.12 Usage of the annexation", " 12 Annexation 12.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: “the boy’s book” This expression establishes a relation of belonging between the two nouns: (i) “the boy”, and (ii) “the book”. It says that the book belongs to the boy. Arabic expresses this meaning using a construction called annexation. In this chapter we will learn about this construction. 12.2 Forming the annexation The word “annexation” means the addition of a new annexed item to an existing base item. We use the term annexation in Arabic grammar when an annexe noun is annexed to a base noun by being placed right before it. Here is an example of an annexation: The annexation construction consists of two nouns: The annexe noun: This is the first noun in the annexation. The base noun: This is the second noun in the annexation. The annexe noun کِتَاب is annexed to, and belongs to, the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام. You can use the alphabetical order (A, B) to help you remember that the annexe noun comes before the base noun. 12.3 State of the annexe and base nouns The base noun in an annexation is always in the i-state. The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. For example, کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ ثَقِيلٌ. “The boy’s book is heavy.” (The annexe noun is in the u-state.) أَخَذَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The girl took the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the a-state.) کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابِ ٱلْغُلَامِ. “The teacherm wrote in the boy’s book.” (The annexe noun is in the i-state.) 12.4 Definiteness of the annexation Consider again the annexation expression we have been using so far: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite because it is prefixed by ٱَلْ “the”. Therefore we have translated it as “the boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is not made definite by ٱَلْ. Nor is it made indefinite by nūnation. Rather, its definiteness is determined by the base noun. Because the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام is definite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also definite. The entire annexation is definite. Consider now the case when the base noun is indefinite. کِتَابُ غُلَامٍ “a boy’s book” In the above example, the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite because it is nūnated and because it does not prefixed by ٱَلْ. Therefore we have translated it as “a boy”. The annexe noun کِتَاب is neither nūnated, nor does it have ٱَلْ. Its definiteness is, again, determined by the base noun. Because the base noun غُلَامٍ is indefinite, therefore the annexe noun کِتَاب is also indefinite. The entire annexation is indefinite. We will see soon, if Allāh wills, why the definiteness of the annexe noun is important. Here are some examples of definite and indefinite annexations. لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a man’s shirt.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The army’s commander took the king’s flag and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in a tree’s shade.” 12.4.1 Translating the annexation using “of” So far we have been using the English “’s” to translate the Arabic annexation. Examples: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a man’s house” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s house” Instead of using “’s” we may use “of” as well. For example: بَيْتُ رَجُلٍ “a/the house of a man” بَيْتُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “a/the house of the man” Note that the annexe noun “house” may be prefixed with either “a” or “the”. This will depend on what is more natural in English. Often time both will fit. Here are some examples: لَبِسَ ٱلطِّفْلُ قَمِيصَ رَجُلٍ. “The child wore a/the shirt of a man.” أَخَذَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْجَيْشِ رَايَةَ ٱلْمَلِکِ وَرَفَعَهَا. “The commander of the army took the flag of the king and raised it.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a tree.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a/the window of the house and entered the house.” It is important to understand that translating the annexe noun into English with “a” or “the” is purely for the reason of obtaining a natural translation. This does not affect whether or not the annexe noun is grammatically considered definite in Arabic. As we mentioned earlier, the definiteness of the annexe noun in Arabic depends only on the definiteness of the base noun. If the base noun is definite then the annexe noun shall be considered definite as well. And if the base noun is indefinite then the annexe noun shall be considered indefinite as well. The need to maintain this distinction will become apparent in the next section. If the base noun is definite, and it is desired to make the annexe noun grammatically indefinite, then it is necassary to break the annexation, and use a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتٍ لِلرَّجُلِ. “The boy went to a house of the man.” فَتَحَ ٱلِّصُّ شُبَّاکًّا مِنَ ٱلْبَيْتِ وَدَخَلَ ٱلْبَيْتَ. “The thief opened a window of the house and entered the house.” 12.5 Broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations There is no special rules for broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations. They behave just like singular nouns. Remember only that āt plurals end with ◌ٍ and ◌ِ in the a-state. Here are some examples: حَيَوَانَاتُ ٱلْغَابَةِ وَحْشَةٌ. “The animals of the forest are wild.” قَرَأَتْ طَالِبَاتُ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ صَفَحَاتِ ٱلْکُتُبِ “The school’s studentsf read the pages of the books.” فِي ٱلْخِزَانَةِ أَقْلَامُ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ. “In the cupboard are teachers’f pens. Contrary to broken plurals and āt plurals, duals and ūn sound plurals behave differently in annexations. We will deal with them in section 12.10 12.6 Describers in an annexation 12.6.1 Describing the base noun Consider the following expression: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Now say that we want to form an descriptive noun-phrase “the small girl’s book”. Basically, we want to describe the base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Here is how we will express this in Arabic: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرَةِ “the small girl’s book” In the manner we are already familiar with, we place the describer صَغِير “a small one” after the describee ٱَلْجَارِيَة “the girl” and match the describer with the describee in definiteness, state, gender and number (singular, dual, or plural). Similarly, if we had an indefinite annexation, we would get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍِ صَغِيرَةٍ “a small girl’s book” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي حَدِيقَةِ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The girl played in the garden of the big house.” قَرَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ سُورَةَ ٱلْقُرْآنِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy read the sūrah of the Noble Qurʾān.” جَلَسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فِي ظِلِّ شَجَرَةٍ عَرِيضَةٍ وَسِيعَةٍ. “The man sat in the shade of a wide broad tree.” 12.6.2 Describing the annexe noun Consider, again, the same annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl’s book” Say, now, that we want to describe the annexe noun کِتَاب “book” with the adjectival noun صَغِير “a small one”. Normally, nothing can come between the annexe noun and the base noun in an annexation. So, the describer needs to be placed, again, after the base noun. However, this time it will match the annexe noun, not the base noun, in state, definiteness, gender, and number. So we get: کِتَابُ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ ٱلصَّغِيرُ “the girl’s small book” Note how the describer ٱَلصَّغِيرُ matches the annexe noun کِتَابُ in state and gender. Note also how the describer is definite with an ٱَلْ. This is because it is matching the annexe noun کِتَابُ in definiteness. The annexe noun کِتَاب is definite, not with ٱَلْ, but rather because of the definite base noun ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ “the girl”. We’ve already learned this rule in section 12.4 above. Similarly, if we describe the annexe noun کِتَاب in an indefinite annexation, we get: کِتَابُ جَارِيَةٍ صَغِيرٌ “a girl’s small book” This time the describer صَغِيرٌ is indefinite with a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ. This is because the annexe noun کِتَابُ is indefinite. It is indefinite because base noun جَارِيَةٍ “a girl” is indefinite. Now, you might be foreseeing a problem. What if the annexe noun and the base noun have the same gender, and the annexe too is in the i-state? For example, in the sentence: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” or “The boy went to the man’s big house.” How do we know whether the describer کَبِير is meant to describe the annexe noun بَيْتِ or the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل? The annexe noun بَيْتِ and the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل are both masculine, singular, definite, and in the i-state. The answer is that in such cases, context will have to be clear to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. If the context makes it clear then there is no harm in using such a sentence for either of the two meanings. Also, sometimes, the meaning of the describer is such that it will likely apply to only one of the two nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَرِيمِ. “The boy went to a noble/generous man’s house.” In the sentence above the describer کَرِيم “noble/generous” is likely to apply to a man, and not to a house. If, however, the context is not clear, and the meaning of the describer can apply to both the annexe noun and the base noun, then the describer is likely to apply to the base noun and not to the annexe noun. So then, this interpretation is more likely: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ ٱلرَّجُلِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ. “The boy went to the big/old man’s house.” In order to apply a describer to the annexe noun in such a case, it is better to break the annexation and form a prepositional phrase instead, usually with the preposition لِ, which, here, will mean “of”. Example: ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ ٱلْکَبِيرِ لِلرَّجُلِ . “The boy went to the big house of the man.” Here are some more examples: لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ بِکُرَةِ ٱلْغُلَامِ ٱلْحَمرَاءِ. “The girl played with the boy’s red ball.” (Note that حَمْرَاء feminine to match کُرَة.) سَقَطَتْ وَرَقَةُ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ ٱلْخَضْرَاءُ عَلَىٰ مَاءِ ٱلنَّعْرِ ٱلْعَرِيضِ. “The green leaf of the tree fell on the water of the broad river.” (Note that خَضْرَاء is in the u-state to match وَرَقَة) حَمَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ حَقِيبَةَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةَ. “The boy carried the heavy school-bag.” (literally: the heavy bag of the school). کَتَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ عَلَىٰ صَفْحَةِ کِتَابٍ بَيْضَاءَ. “The man wrote on the white page of a book.” (Note that بَيْضَاءَ is feminine to match صَفْحَة. However, also note that it has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) 12.7 Semi-flexible nouns in an annexation Remember that semi-flexible nouns are not nūnated and that when indefinite, their i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. But when definite with ٱَلْ then they behave just like fully-flexible nouns. Example of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert”: State Indefinite Definite u-state صَحْرَاءُ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءُ a-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءَ i-state صَحْرَاءَ ٱَلصَّحْرَاءِ We will now see how semi-flexible nouns behave in an annexation. 12.7.1 A semi-flexible noun as the base noun Here are examples of the semi-flexible noun 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” as the base noun in an annexation: ٱَلْقَرْيَةُ فِي وَسَطِ ٱلصَّحْرَاءِ. “The village is in the middle of the desert.” شَرِبَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مَاءً مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءَ. “The bedouin drank some water from a desert’s well.” As you can see, when 2صَحْرَاء is definite, then its i-state is indicate by an i-mark ◌ِ, just like fully-flexible nouns. However, when it is indefinite, then its i-state is indicate by an a-mark ◌َ. This is consistent with the general behavior of semi-flexible nouns that we are familiar with. 12.7.2 A semi-flexible noun as the annexe noun Contrary from expected behavior, a semi-flexible annexe noun, even when indefinite, takes an i-mark ◌ِ in the i-state instead of an a-mark ◌َ. Example, قَدِمَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِيُّ مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. “The bedouin came from the desert of a far land.” In the above example, 2صَحْرَاء “a desert” is indefinite because it is the annexe noun to an indefinite base noun أَرْض “a land”. It is in the i-state because it is preceded by the preposition مِنْ “from”. Nevertheless, it takes an i-mark مِنْ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ, not an a-mark, which would be incorrect: \\(\\times\\) مِنْ صَحْرَاءَ أَرْضٍ. 12.8 Annexations with more than two nouns So far we have seen annexations with two nouns. Annexations may be arbitrarily long. Here is an example of a noun-chain with more than two nouns: The above annexation consists of three nouns. It may be divided into two sub-annexations: مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. Its annexe noun \\(a_1\\) is مِفْتَاح and its base noun \\(b_1\\) is بَابِ. بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Its annexe noun \\(a_2\\) is بَابِ and its base noun \\(b_2\\) is ٱلْبَيْتِ. The noun بَاب “door” is common to both sub-annexations. It is the base noun of the first sub-annexation مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ “door’s key”. At the same time, it is also the annexe noun of the second sub-annexation بَابِ ٱلْبَيْتِ “the house’s door”. Only the final base noun may have ٱَلْ or be nūnated. If the final base noun has ٱَلْ (as above) then all the nouns in the annexation are definite. And if the final base noun is indefinite, as in the example below, then all the nouns in the annexation are indefinite. مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ بَيْتٍ “a house’s door’s key” All the nouns except the first annexe noun must be in the i-state. Consistent with section 12.7.2 if a semi-flexible noun is any of the annexe nouns and is in the i-state, then its i-state is indicated by an a-mark ◌َ. Example: مِنْ بِئْرِ صَحْرَاءِ أَرْضٍ “from the well of the desert of a land” 12.9 Pronouns as base nouns Consider the expression: “his book” This expression is very similar to the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ “the boy’s book” The difference is that we would like to replace the base noun ٱَلْغُلَام “the boy” with the pronoun “his”. For this we use the attached pronoun هُ. When we place this pronoun as the base noun, we get: کِتَابُهُ “his book” This annexation follows the same rules as the other annexations we have been studying so far: The annexe noun may be in any state, depending on its function in the sentence. The base noun is in the i-state. But because the base noun is a pronoun, and pronouns are rigid nouns (see section 4.4.5 that don’t change their ending based on their state, therefore it’s i-state will not be apparent. Here are some examples of this annexation used in sentences: کِتَابُهُ ثَقِيلٌ. “His book is heavy” قَرَأَ ٱلرَّجُلُ کِتَابَهُ. “The man read his book.” کَتَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُ فِي کِتَابهِ. “The teacherm wrote in his book.” If the annexe noun ends with ة then it is converted to a ت when annexing it to an attached pronoun. For example: ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمْ. “They went to their school.” Here are some more examples of annexing to the different attached pronouns: دَخَلْتَ بَيْتَکَ. “You1,m entered your1,m house.” أَکَلَتَا طَعَامَهُمَا. “They2,f ate their2 food.” قَدِمْتُ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَتِکُمْ “I have arrived to your3,m city.” هُوَ إِمَامُ مَسْجِدِنَا. “He is the ʾImām of our mosque.” If the annexe noun is semi-flexible then it gets a ◌ِ in the i-state, as we’ve already learned. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2حَدَائِق “gardens”. لَعِبْنَ فِي حَدَائِقِهِنَّ. “They3,f played in their3,f gardens.” If an annexe noun ends with ىٰ then it gets converted to an أَلِف when annexing it to an attached pronoun. Example with 2فَتَاوَىٰ “legal opinions”: کَتَبَ تَلَامِذَةُ ٱلشَّيْخِ فَتَاوَاهُ فِي کُتُبِهِمْ. “The pupils of the religious scholar wrote down his legal opinions in their books.” For the singular speaker-participant there are two variants for the attached pronoun: ي -ī يَ -ya The first (ي -ī) is more commonly used. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابِي “I read my book.” أَقْلَامِي قَصِيرَة. “My pens are short.” If, however, the annexe noun ends in a long vowel or a semi-vowel then (ي -ī) is disallowed and only (يَ -ya) shall be used. Example with the semi-flexible broken plural 2هَدَايَا “gifts”: أَعْجَبَتْهُمْ هَدَايَايَ. “My gifts pleased them.” 12.9.1 Describers with annexations to pronouns Consider the annexation: کِتَابُهُ “his book” The annexe noun is کِتَاب and the base noun is the pronoun ه. We would like add a describer to this expression. Remember from section 4.4.4 that pronouns are definite nouns. That makes the annexe noun کِتَاب also definite. Therefore, any describer for this annexation will need to be definite too. Here is a new rule: Pronouns may not be describees. That is: they are not allowed to have describers. Even in English you may say: “The good boy went.” but you can’t say: \\(\\times\\) “The good he went.” So, any describers for the annexation must necessarily only describe the annexe noun, not the base pronoun. Example: کِتَابُهُ الأَحْمَرُ “his red book” Here are some more examples: کَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمِيَ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ “I wrote with my black pen.” حَمَلَ غِلْمَانُ ٱلْقَرْيَةِ حَقَائبَهُمُ ٱلثَّقِيلَة إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَتِهِمُ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. “The village boys carried their heavy bags to their distant school.” (literally: the village’s boys.) 12.10 Duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations We have already dealt with broken plurals and āt sound plurals in annexations in section 12.5. In this section we will deal with duals and ūn sound plurals in annexations. 12.10.1 Duals and ūn sound plurals as base nouns As base noun, duals and ūn sound plurals behave no differently than other nouns. Being base nouns they will be in the i-state and this shall be indicated by: ◌َيْنِ -ayni for duals ◌ِينَ -īna for ūn sound plurals Here are some examples: لَجِئَ ٱلْمَظْلُومُنَ ٱلضُّعَفَاءُ فِي بِلَادِ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ ٱلْآمِنَةِ. “The weak wronged ones took refuge in the secure lands of the Muslims.” أُخُتُ ٱلْغُلَامَيْنِ ٱلطَّوِيلَيْنِ صَغِيرَةِ. “The tall boys’2 sister is little.” هِيَ طَالِبَةُ مُعَلِّمَتَيْنِ کَرِيمَتَيْنِ. “She is the studentf of noble teachers2,f.” 12.10.2 Duals and ūn sound plurals as annexe nouns When duals and ūn sound plurals are annexe nouns, then their final ن is treated as a sort of nūnation and is, therefore, deleted before annexing them to a base noun. For example: بَيْتَا ٱلرَّجُلِ “the man’s houses2” not \\(\\times\\) بَيْتَانِ ٱلرَّجُلِ Note, also, that because the base noun ٱَلرَّجُلِ begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ, therefore the long vowel ā at the end of بَيْتَا is pronounced as a short vowel a, thus: bayta -rrajuli not \\(\\times\\) baytā -rrajuli If the dual annexe noun were in the i-state then the final ي gets an i-mark ◌ِ if there is following connecting hamzah. Example: قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. qaraʾtu kitābayi -rrajul “I read the man’s books2.” Here are some more examples including ūn sound plurals: مُعَلِّمُو ٱلْغُلَامِ کِرَامٌ. muɛallimu -lg͡hulāmi kirām. “The boy’s teachers3 are noble.” (Note that there is no silent أَلِف after مُعَلِّمُو as there is after a verb with a plural absentee-participant doer pronoun, e.g. لَعِبُوا “they3,m played”) لَعِبَ ٱبْنَا ٱلرَّجُلِ مَعَ لَاعِبِي مَدِينَتِهِمْ. laɛiba -bna -rrajuli maɛa lāɛibī madīnatihim. “The man’s sons2 played with the players of their city.” 12.10.2.1 Annexing duals and ūn sound plurals to pronouns Duals and ūn sound plurals can be annexed to attached pronouns, and in this case too, they will lose their final ن. Examples: مُعَلِّمُونَا طَيِّبُونَ. “Our teachers3,m are good.” لَعِبَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ مَعَ صَدِيقَتَيْهَا “The girl played with her friends2,f.” بَيْتَايَ کَبِيرَانِ. “My houses2 are big.” (Note that only the يَ variant is allowed to be used because of بَيْتَا ending with a long vowel.) قَرَأْتُ کِتَابَيَّ (Note how کِتَابَيْ + يَ becomes کِتَابَيَّ.) There are also two special cases in this category and we will examine them below: Annexing an ūn sound plural to the singular speaker participant pronoun When an ūn sound plural is annexed to the singular speaker participant pronoun, then again, only the يَ variant can be used. However, in addition, the expression will appear the same regardless of the state of the annexe noun. So for all states (u-state, a-state, and i-state), we will get: مُعَلِّمِيَّ We don’t say \\(\\times\\) مُعَلِّمُويَ for the u-state. Examples: مُعَلِّمِيَّ کِرَامٌ. “My teachers3,m are noble.” (u-state) سَأَلْتُ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I asked my teachers3,m.” (a-state) أَخَذْتُ کِتَابًا مِنْ مُعَلِّمِيَّ “I took a book from my teachers3,m.” (i-state) Annexing an dual noun to a dual pronoun When a dual noun is to be annexed to a dual pronoun, then the dual annexe noun is often converted to a plural. For example, instead of saying نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رَأْسَيْهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads2.” it is in fact, more common, to say نَظَرْتُ إِلَىٰ رُؤُوسِهِمَا “I looked at their2 heads3.” Although the former is also correct. This is because the annexation of a dual to a dual is considered burdensome upon the tongue to utter, and so the plural is prefered. 12.11 Annexations with “and” 12.11.1 Multiple annexe nouns and one base noun In English we can have an expression like “the pen and the book of the boy” = “the boy’s pen and book”. In this sentence there are two annexe nouns and one base noun. In order to express this in Arabic, we will say: قَلَمُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamu -lg͡hulāmi wa kitābuhu “the boy’s pen and his book” = “the boy’s pen and book” Note that the annexation is not broken by the insertion of وَ wa “and”. Rather a second annexation is used and the two are separated by وَ wa “and”. This is the preferred way of expressing such expressions. There is another, less preferred way of expressing this. And this is by breaking the first annexation and inserting وَ wa “and”: قَلَمُ وَکِتَابُ ٱلْغُلَامِ qalamu wa kitābu -lg͡hulāmi “the boy’s pen and book” This second method is not considered as eloquent. Some even consider it incorrect. So we advise you to use the first method whenever possible. 12.11.1.1 With pronouns If the base noun in the first annexation is replaced with a pronoun then only the first method is allowed. For example, قَلَمُهُ وَکِتَابُهُ qalamuhu wakitābuhu “his pen and his book” 12.11.2 One annexe noun and multiple base nouns We can also have expressions like “the house of the boy and the girl”. In this sentence there is one annexe noun and two base nouns. To express this in Arabic we will say: بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَٱلْجَارِيَةِ baytu -lg͡hulāmi wa-ljāriyati “the house of the boy and the girl” Note that both ٱلْغُلَامِ ʾalg͡hulāmi and ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ ʾaljāriyati are in the i-state because they are both base nouns in the annexation. 12.11.2.1 With pronouns If one or both of the base nouns in the annexation is replaced with a pronoun then the first noun must be repeated. For example, بَيْتُ ٱلْغُلَامِ وَبَيْتُهَا “the boy’s house and her house” بَيْتُهُ وَبَيْتُهَا baytuhu wabaytuhā “his house and her house” 12.12 Usage of the annexation 12.12.1 Primarily belonging 12.12.2 نحو، مثل، شبه Don’t become definite when annexed to pronoun 12.12.3 نفس “self” ضَرَبا أنفسهما قالت لِي نَفسي 12.12.4 annexation of material خاتمُ ذَهَبٍ خاتمٌ ذَهَبٌ خاتمٌ مِن ذَهَبٍ 12.12.5 مَدينَةُ دَمشق 12.12.6 مجرد ترفيه "],["irregular-nouns.html", "13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction 13.2 The five nouns 13.3 Other irregular nouns", " 13 Irregular nouns 13.1 Introduction There are some nouns in Arabic which are irregular and behave a little differently than other regular nouns. In this chapter we will study these irregular nouns. 13.2 The five nouns There are five nouns in Arabic which are irregular in the same basic way. Collectively, they are called “the five nouns”. They behave a little differently from regular nouns in how they display their state. 13.2.1 أَبٌ ʾab, أَخٌ ʾak͡h, and حَمٌ ḥam The first three nouns that we will talk about are: أَب ʾab “a father” (root: «أبو») أَخ ʾak͡h “a brother” (root: «أخو») حَم ḥam “a father-in-law” (root: «حمو») The final root letter of all three of these nouns is و. However, irregularly, it is omitted in most formations of the word. It does resurface in some cases as we will describe below. Without the final root letter و, these nouns display their state like regular nouns. Here are some examples: لِلْجَارِيَةِ أَبٌ کَبِيرٌ وَأَخٌ صَغِيرٌ. liljāriyati ʾabun kabīrun waʾak͡hun ṣag͡hīr “The girl has an old father and a young brother.” ضَرَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ أَخًا لَهُ. ḍaraba -lg͡hulāmu ʾak͡han lahu. “The boy beat a brother of his.” ٱَلْحَمُ وَٱلْأَبُ فِي بَيْتِ ٱلْأَخِ. ʾalḥamu walʾabu fī bayti -lʾak͡h. “The father-in-law and the father are in the brother’s house.” Where the nouns behave irregularly is when they are an annexe noun in an annexation. Then instead of displaying their state with ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, they display their state using the long vowels و ū, ا ā, and ي ī instead. Here are some examples: هُوَ أَخُو ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. huwa ʾak͡hu -ljāriyah “He is the girl’s brother.” سَأَلْتُ أَبَا صَدِيقِي عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾaltu ʾabā ṣadīqī ɛan ʾamr. “I asked my friend’s father about a matter.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ حَمِي ٱلرَّجُلِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ḥami -rrajul. “I went to the man’s father-in-law’s house.” When these nouns are annexed to attached pronouns, then in most cases they will behave as above. So, for example, أَبُوهُ ʾabūhu “his father” (u-state). أَخَانَا ʾak͡hānā “our brother” (a-state). However, if the attached pronoun is ي (for the singular speaker participant), then in that case, the attached pronoun ي attaches to the annexe noun directly, without any intervening long vowel: أَخِي ʾak͡hī “my brother” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). أَبِي ʾabī “my father” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). حَمِي ḥamī “my father-in-law” (u-state, a-state, and i-state). Here are some more examples in sentences: أَخُوهُ طَوِيلٌ وَأَخُوهَا قَصِيرٌ وَأَخِي کَبِيرٌ. ʾak͡hūhu ṭawīlun waʾak͡hūhā qaṣīrun waʾak͡hī kabīr. “His brother is tall and her brother is short and my brother is big.” سَأَلَ أَخَاهُمْ وَأَخَانَا. saʾaltu ʾak͡hāhum waʾak͡hānā. “I asked theirm,3+ brother and our brother.” شَکَرَ أَخِي أَبِي. s͡hakara ʾak͡hī ʾabī. “My brother thanked my father.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخِيهِنَّ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡hīhinn. “I went to theirf,3+ brother’s house.” The above irregular behavior of these three nouns is only when they are annexe nouns. When they happen to be base nouns in annexations, then they again they behave like regular nouns and their state is displayed by the short vowel marks ◌ُ, ◌َ, and ◌ِ, when definite, and by nūnation ◌ٌ, ◌ً, and ◌ٍ, when indefinite. . Examples: بَيْتُ ٱلْأَخِ کَبِيرٌ. baytu -lʾak͡hi kabīr. “The brother’s house is big.” ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَخٍ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti ʾak͡h. “I went to a brother’s house.” When these nouns form their duals and plurals, then the final root letter و is resurfaces. In forming the broken plural, the final root letter و, being a weak letter, sometimes converts to a ء. The following table shows their duals and plurals. Word Dual (u-state) Dual (a-state and i-state) Plural أَب ʾab أَبَوَانِ ʾabawāni أَبَوَيْنِ ʾabawayni آبَاء ʾābāʾ أَخ ʾak͡h أَخَوَانِ ʾak͡hawāni أَخَوَيْنِ ʾak͡hawayni إِخْوَة ʾik͡hwah, إِخْوَان ʾik͡hwān حَم ḥam حَمَوَانِ ḥamawāni حَمَوَيْنِ ḥamawayni أَحْمَاء ʾaḥmāʾ One special note regarding the dual أَبَوَانِ/أَبَوَيْنِ: in addition to meaning “two fathers”, they can also mean “both parents”, i.e., “a father and a mother”. Here are examples of these words in sentences: ذَهَبَ ٱلْأَخَوَانِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. d͡hahaba -lʾak͡hawāni fi -lmasjidi. “The brothers2 went to the mosque.” سَأَلْتُ أَخَوَيَّ عَنْ أَمْرٍ saʾaltu ʾak͡hawayya ɛan ʾamrin. “I asked my brothers2 about a matter.” شَکَرْتُ لِأَبَوَيْهِ s͡hakartu liʾabawayhi. “I thanked his parents.” 13.2.2 ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt The fourth irregular noun from “the five nouns” is the masculine noun ذُو d͡hū and its feminine counterpart ذَات and d͡hāt. The words ذُو d͡hū and ذَات d͡hāt mean “owner of” or “possessor of”. So, for example, ذُو ٱلْمَالِ d͡hu -lmāli means “possessorm of wealth” or “wealthy personm”. The singular, dual, and plural of ذُو d͡hū in all three states is shown in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذُو d͡hū ذَوَا d͡hawā ذَوُو d͡hawū a-state ذَا d͡hā ذَوَيْ d͡haway ذَوِي d͡hawī i-state ذِي d͡hī same as a-state same as a-state The noun ذُو d͡hū and its duals and plurals are only ever used as annexe nouns in annexations. Furthermore, they may not be annexed to pronouns. Here are some examples: ٱَلرَّجُلُ ذُو ٱلْمَالِ. ʾarrujulu d͡hu -lmāl. “The man is the possessor of wealth.” = “This man is wealthy.” The word ذَات is the feminine of ذُو. When used as an annexe noun, its states, duals, and plurals are as in the table below: State Singular Dual Plural u-state ذَاتُ d͡hātu ذَوَاتَا d͡hawātā ذَوَاتُ d͡hawātu a-state ذَاتَ d͡hāta ذَوَاتَيْ d͡hawātay ذَوَاتِ d͡hawāti i-state ذَاتِ d͡hāti same as a-state same as a-state Examples: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ ذَاتُ ثَمَرٍ کَثِيرٍ. hād͡hihi -s͡hs͡hajaratu d͡hātu t͡hamarin kat͡hīrin. “This tree is the possessor of much fruit.” = “This tree is very fruitful.” As opposed to ذُو which is only an annexe noun, ذَات may be used a noun in its own right. In this case it means “personality” or “essence”. This usage is often found in theological or philosophical works. And, as such, unlike ذُو which can’t be annexed to attached pronouns, ذَات can be annexed to attached pronouns. Examples: 13.2.3 فَم fam The fifth of “the five nouns” is فَم fam “a mouth”. It is the most irregular of “the five nouns”. In some ways, the word فَم fam is regular. It is only irregular when it is a singular annexe noun. Let’s first see its regular bahavior. عَلَى ٱلْوَجْهِ فَمٌ وَفِي ٱلْفَمِ لِسَانٌ. ɛala -lwajhi famun wafi -lfami lisān “On the face is a mouth, and in the mounth is a tongue.” It is a base noun in an annexation regularly: نَطَقَ لِسَانُ ٱلْفَمِ. naṭaqa lisānu -lfam. “The mouth’s tongue articulated [speech].” It forms duals regularly, which are used in annexations regularly فَمَا ٱلنَّهْرَيْنِ کَبِيرَانِ. fama -nnahrayni kabīrāni. “The mouths2 of the rivers2 are big.” Let’s now see its irregular behavior. When فَم is a singular annexe noun, then it is usual for it to follow the example of the rest of the five nouns. Here is how it will appear as a singular annexe noun in the three states: u-state a-state i-state فُو fū فَا fā فِي fī Examples of usage: فُو ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. fu -nnahri kabīr. “The mouth of the river is big.” فُوهَا جَمِيلٌ. fūhā jamīl. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَاهُ. fataḥa fāh. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فِي ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fi -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” When the attached pronoun for the speaking person ي is attached to فُو fū, فَا fā, or فِي fī the combination is always فِيَّ fiyya in all three states. Examples: فِيَّ مَفْتُوحٌ. fiyya maftūh. “My mouth is open.” فَتَحْتُ فِيَّ. fataḥtu fiyy. “I opened my mouth.” أَکَلْتُ بِفِيَّ. ʾakaltu bifiyy. “I ate with my mouth.” In addition to the above irregular behavior, it is permissible, but less common, to treat فَم regularly as an annexe noun in an annexation. So it is permissible to also say: فَمُ ٱلنَّهْرِ کَبِيرٌ. famu -nnahri kabīr. “The river’s mouth is big.” فَمِي مَفْتُوحٌ. famī maftūhun. “My mouth is open.” فَمُهَا جَمِيلٌ. famuhā jamīlun. “Her mouth is beautiful.” فَتَحَ فَمَهُ. fataḥa famahu. “He opened his mouth.” جَعَلَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لُقْمَةَ طَعَامٍ فِي فَمِ ٱبْنَتِهَا. jaɛalati -lʾummu luqmata ṭaɛāmin fī fami -bnatihā. “The mother put a morsel of food in her daughter’s mouth.” The other irregularity of فَم fam “a mouth” is that its broken plural is أَفْواه ʾafwāh. Note that the letter م has not been used to form the broken plural, and instead a و, and a ه are used to form it. 13.3 Other irregular nouns There are more nouns that have irregularity in their own ways. We will discuss them below. 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt أُولُو ʾulū (first syllable has a short vowel with a silent و) means “peoplem of”. It is only used as a masculine plural annexe noun, similar in meaning to ذَوُو d͡hawū which we discussed in section 13.2.2 above. There is no singular or dual of this noun. Here is its form in the different states: u-state a-and i-state أُولُو ʾulū أُولِي ʾulī Example: لِأُولِي ٱلْأَرْحَامِ حُقُوقٌ. liʾuli -lʾarḥāmi ḥuqūq. “The people of the wombs (i.e. blood relatives) have rights.” The feminine counterpart of أُولُو ʾulū is أُولَات ʾulāt “women of”. The first syllable again has a short vowel with a silent و. u-state a-and i-state أُولَاتُ ʾulātu أُولَاتِ ʾulāti لِأُولَاتِ ٱلْحَمْلِ حُقُوقٌ عَلَىٰ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ. liʾulāti -lḥamli ḥuqūq ɛalā buɛūlatihinn. “The women of pregnancy (i.e. pregnant women) have rights upon their husbands.” 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm The noun أُمّ ʾumm “a mother” forms two āt sound plural variants: أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt أُمَّات ʾummāt The first variant أُمَّهَات ʾummahāt is more commonly used. Example: أُمَّاهَاتُ ٱلْغِلْمَانِ طَيِّبَاتٌ. ʾummahātu -lg͡hilmāni ṭayyibāt. “The boys’ mothers are good.” 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah The noun سَنَة sanah “a year” forms both an āt sound plural and an ūn sound plural. (Remember from section 10.2.1 that a few nouns that don’t denote male intelligent beings have ūn sound plurals.) In both plurals, the singular noun is modified irregularly. Singular āt sound plural ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) سَنَة sanah سَنَوَات sanawāt سِنُونَ sinūna سِنِينَ sinīna Either of the two plurals may be used interchangeably. Here are some examples: 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ مَاء māʾ “a water” forms its broken plural irregularly: مِيَاه miyāh “waters”. 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip” forms its broken plural irregularly: شِفَاه s͡hifāh “lips”. Also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, it does not form an āt sound plural. 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint The noun ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” is from the root «بنو». It has two feminine counterparts: ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah بِنْت bint which mean “a daughter”. ٱِبْن ʾibn “a son” forms both a broken plural and an ūn sound plural. Its broken plural is أَبْنَاء ʾabnāʾ “sons”. In forming the ūn sound plural, the singular noun is modified irregularly: Singular ūn sound plural (u-state) ūn sound plural (a- and i-states) ٱِبْن ʾibn بَنُونَ banūna بَنِينَ banīna The feminine ٱِبْنَة and بِنْت “a daughter” form the irregular āt sound plural بَنَات banāt “daughters”. Note that بَنَات banāt is not a broken plural from the root «بنت». Therefore, it obeys the rules of āt sound plurals and does not end with ◌َ or ◌ً in the a-state. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās نَاس nās and أُنَاس ʾunās are from the root «أنس». They both mean “a people”. When indefinite, only أُنَاس ʾunās tends to be used, and نَاس nās tends to be unused. When definite, only ٱَلنَّاس ʾannās tends to be used, and ٱَلْأُنَاس ʾalʾunās is unused. Here are some examples using these nouns: 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة The nouns ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ (masc.) “a man, a person” and ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah (fem.) “a woman” are quite irregular. Firstly, ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” is, from the perspective, of its meaning, the feminine counterpart of رَجُل rajul “a man (male human being)”. ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ, on the other hand, only means “a man” in a general sense. For example, in the sentence “A man is only as good as his word.” It can also be translated as “a person”. Secondly, ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ “a man, a person” has no plural. نَاس/أُنَاس “a people” and قَوْم “a population” may be used when a plural is required. ٱِمْرَأَة ʾimraʾah “a woman” irregularly forms the broken plurals نِسَاء nisāʾ and نِسْوَة niswah “women”. The former (نِسَاء nisāʾ) is more commonly used. Like شَفَة s͡hafah it also, despite ending in the feminine marker ة, does not form an āt sound plural. Thirdly, both nouns are very irregular in how they become definite nouns with ٱَلْ. When ٱَلْ is prefixed to these nouns to make them definite, they lose the initial connecting hamzah and change their internal vowels. This table shows what we mean: State Definite of ٱِمْرَأ Definite of ٱِمْرَأَة u-state ٱَلْمَرْءُ ʾalmarʾu ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ ʾalmarʾatu a-state ٱَلْمَرْءَ ʾalmarʾa ٱَلْمَرْأَةَ ʾalmarʾata i-state ٱَلْمَرْءِ ʾalmarʾi ٱَلْمَرْأَةِ ʾalmarʾati The masculine noun ٱِمْرَأ ʾimraʾ has an additional irregularity. When it is indefinite, it irregularly displays its state, not only on its final letter ء, but also on the letter before it ر. It is also permissible for it to behave regularly by displaying its state on its final letter only, but this is not as commonly used. This table shows what we mean: State Regular indefinite (less common) Irregular indefinite (more common) u-state ٱِمْرَأٌ ʾimraʾun ٱِمْرُؤٌ ʾimruʾun a-state ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan ٱِمْرَءًا ʾimraʾan i-state ٱِمْرَأٍ ʾimraʾin ٱِمْرِئٍ ʾimriʾin Here are some examples of these nouns: "],["proper-nouns.html", "14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns 14.3 Meanings of names 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns 14.5 The name فُلَان 14.6 The Replacement 14.7 Annexed names 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ 14.9 Place names 14.10 Names of tribes 14.11 Titles 14.12 Nicknames 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun 14.14 Complete full names", " 14 Proper nouns 14.1 Introduction Proper nouns are also known as names. Here are some examples of Arabic names: Men’s names Women’s names مُحَمَّد Muḥammad 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah سَعِيد Saɛīd 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā أَبُو بَکْر Abū Bakr 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah Place names Misc. names 2مَکَّة Makkah 2رَمَضَان Ramadān (a month) 2دِمَشْق Damascus أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلنِّيل the Nile (a river) ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo ٱَلْفَاتِحَة the Fātiḥah (a sūrah) ٱَلْهِنْد India ٱَلْجُمُعَة Friday Note the following points from the list abobe: Although some names begin with ٱَلْ, most don’t. Many names are semi-flexible (indicated by 2◌). Some names consist of more than a single word, like عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh We will explain these and more details regarding proper nouns in this chapter. 14.2 Definiteness of proper nouns Proper nouns differ from common nouns and adjectival nouns in a couple of important ways: All proper nouns, even if they don’t begin with ٱَلْ, are definite. A proper noun which does not begin with ٱَلْ, and which is fully-flexible, shall be nūnated, despite being definite. The above points are exemplified in the following sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ مُحَمَّدٍ ٱلْکَرِيمِ وَزَيْنَبَ ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ. d͡hahabtu ʾilā bayti muḥammadini -lkarīmi wazaynaba -ṭṭayyibah. “I went to the house of the noble Muḥammad and the good Zaynab.” Note the above from the above example: مُحَمَّدٍ is fully-flexible so it has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state. زَيْنَبَ is semi-flexible so it is not nūnated, and instead has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state. The proper nouns مُحَمَّد and زَيْنَب are describees in descriptive noun phrases. Their describers (ٱلْکَرِيمِ and ٱلطَّيِّبَةِ., respectively) have ٱَلْ to match the definiteness of the definite proper noun describees. Furthermore, they both end with ◌ِ because they match the i-state of their describees. 14.3 Meanings of names Many names are re-used from common nouns and adjectival nouns with positive meanings. Examples: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad “a highly praised onem” سَعِيد Saɛīd “a happy (fortunate) onem” ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan “the good onem” طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah “an acacia (tree)” جَمِيلَة Jamīlah “a beautiful onef” It is possible for these names to sometimes (technically) cause a sentence to have an ambiguous meaning. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلْحَسَنُ مَعَ سَعِيدٍ. jalsa -lhasanu maɛa saɛīd “al-Ḥasan sat with Saɛīd.” or “The good onem sat with a happy (fortunate) onem.” Context would tell us whether the proper noun or the common/adjectival noun meaning is intended. Note however the following sentence: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةُ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatu ʾila -lbayt. This sentence can only be understood to use جَمِيلَة with its proper noun meaning: “Jamīlah went to the house.” This is because جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun and fully-flexible as an adjectival/common noun. If جَمِيلَة were intended to be used with its adjectival/common noun meaning then it would have a nūnated u-mark ◌ٌ and the sentence would be: ذَهَبَتْ جَمِيلَةٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْبَيْتِ. d͡hahabat jamīlatun ʾila -lbayt. “A beautiful onef went to the house.” We will learn why جَمِيلَة is semi-flexible as a proper noun in section ?? below. 14.4 Flexibility of proper nouns In this section we will discuss the flexibility of proper nouns. For now, we will deal only with proper nouns that do not begin with ٱَلْ. In terms of their flexibility, proper nouns consist of two types: Fully-flexible proper nouns. Semi-flexible proper nouns. We will treat each of them below. 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns For names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ, the default assumption is that they are fully-flexible, unless they fall into one of the categories of semi-flexible nouns (which we will study soon). Examples of fully-flexible names are: مُحَمَّد Muḥammad مُعَاذ Muɛād͡h نُوح Nūh سَعْد Saɛd شُعَيْب S͡huɛayb عَمَّار Ɛammār عَلِيّ Ɛalī حَسَّان Ḥassān زَيْد Zayd سَعِيد Saɛīd أَنَس Anas أُحُد Uḥud (a mountain) These are all masculine names. Examples of sentences with fully-flexible proper nouns: زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ طَيِّبٌّ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ṭayyib “Zayd is a good boy.” شَکَرَ أَنَسٌ عَلِيًّا. s͡hakara ʾanasun ɛaliyyā. “Anas thanked Ɛalī.” لَبِسَ سَعِيدٌ قَمِيصَ نُوحٍ ٱلأَخْضَرَ. labisa saɛīdun qamīṣa nūḥini -lʾak͡hḍar. “Saɛīd wore Nūḥ’s green shirt.” 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns The rules for the semi-flexibility of proper nouns are a little different from the rules for the semi-flexibility of common nouns and adjectival nouns that we learned in chapter 8. Proper nouns shall be semi-flexible if they fall under one of the categories below. Note that the categories are not mutually exclusive. That is: some semi-flexible proper nouns will fall into more than one category. 14.4.2.1 Names ending with ة All names ending with ة shall be semi-flexible. This rule is specific to proper nouns. We have already seen that common nouns and adjectival nouns that end ith ة are fully-flexible. Most such proper nouns are feminine names. Examples: 2خَدِيجَة K͡hadījah 2مَيْمُونَة Maymūnah 2فَاطِمَة Faṭimah 2صَفِيَّة Ṣafiyyah 2عَائِشَة Ɛāʾis͡hah 2خَوْلَة K͡hawlah 2سُمَيَّة Sumayyah 2جَمِيلَة Jamīlah 2حَفْصَة Ḥafṣah 2آسِيَة Āsiyah However, some masculine names may end with ة too: 2حَمْزَة Ḥamzah 2مُعَاوِيَة Muɛāwiyah 2أُسَامَة Usāmah 2عِکْرِمَة Ɛikrimah 2طَلْحَة Ṭalḥah 2عُبَادَة Ɛubādah Example: طَلْحَةُ ٱلْطَّوِيلُ بَعْلُ جَمِيلَةَ ٱلْکَرِيمَةِ. “The tall Ṭalḥah is the husband of the generous Jamīlah.” 14.4.2.2 Names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ Similar to common nouns and adjectival nouns, all names ending with an extrinsic اء or ىٰ shall be semi-flexible. These are usually feminine names. Examples: 2أَسْمَاء Asmāʾ 2لَيْلَىٰ Laylā 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ 2سَلْمَىٰ Salmā Examples in sentences: ذَهَبَتْ سَلْمَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَسْمَاءَ. “Salmā went tp Asmāʾ’s house.” Sentence word order is usually pretty flexible. For stylistic reasons, it is permissible for a doee to precede the doer. For example, سَأَلَتْ دَرْدَاءَ أَسْمَاءُ. “Asmāʾ asked Dardāʾ” But because words that end with ىٰ never display any state, then for these words the sentence word order becomes more rigid. So the following sentence: سَأَلَتْ لَيْلَىٰ سَلْمَىٰ. would usually only mean “Laylā asked Salmā.” 14.4.2.3 Names ending with an extrinsic ان All names ending with an extrinsic ان will be semi-flexible. This is somewhat different from the rule we learnt for common noun and adjectival nouns in section 8.3.4. There only adjectival nouns of the pattern فَعْلَان and whose feminine was not formed by adding ة to it were considered semi-flexible nouns. Examples: 2عُثْمَان Ɛut͡hmān 2رَمَضَان Ramaḍān 2سُفْيَان Sufyān 2شَعْبَان S͡haɛbān Example: جَلَس عُثْمَانُ مَعَ سُفْيَانَ فِي رَمَضَانَ. “Ɛut͡hmān sat with Sufyān in Ramaḍān.” 14.4.2.4 Names on the pattern أَفْعَل All names on the pattern أَفْعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2أَحْمَد Aḥmad 2أَسْعَد Asɛad 14.4.2.5 Names of the pattern فُعَل Names of the pattern فُعَل shall be semi-flexible. Examples: 2عُمَر Ɛumar 2مُضَر Muḍar Interestingly, the fully-flexible name Ɛamr is written with a silent و at its end: عَمْرو when in the u- and i-states in order to distinguish it from the more common name Ɛumar. Otherwise, both names would appear identical when written without vowel marks, thus: عمر. Name u-state a-state i-state Ɛamr عَمْرٌو ɛamrun عَمْرًا ɛamran عَمْرٍو ɛamrin Ɛumar عُمَرُ ɛumaru عُمَرَ ɛumara عُمَرَ ɛumara 14.4.2.6 Names that are originally verbs Names that are originally verbs are semi-flexible. Examples: 2يَزِيد Yazīd “He increases” 2يَعِيش Yaɛīs͡h “He lives” Their origin as verbs will be apparent when we study incomplete-action verbs. 14.4.2.7 Names of foreign origin Names of foreign origin are generally semi-flexible. These include the names of angels, many of the previous prophets and messengers, and other persons. Examples: 2جِبْرِيل Jibrīl 2زَکَرِيَّا Zakariyyā 2إِبْرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm 2يَحْيَىٰ Yaḥyā 2إِسْمَاعِيل Ismāɛīl 2هَاجَر Hājar 2إِسْحَاق Is·ḥāq 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb 2يَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj 2يُوسُف Yūsuf 2مَأْجُوج Maʾjūj 2يُونُس Yūnus 2إِبْلِيس Iblīs 2إِدْرِيس Idrīs 2فِرْعَون Pharoah 2أَيُّوب Ayyūb 2هِرْقَل Heraclius 2مُوسَىٰ Mūsā 2کِسْرَىٰ Chosroes 2عِيسَىٰ Ɛīsā 2قَيْصَر Caesar Note that 2فِرْعَون “Pharoah” as 2قَيْصَر “Caesar”, despite being titles, are treated as proper names. The only exception to this rule is a masculine name of foreign origin that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name will be fully-flexible. Example: نُوح Nūḥ 14.4.2.8 Feminine names All feminine names, regardless of their origin, or their ending, shall be semi-flexible. We have already given examples of semi-flexible feminine names that end with ة, اء, and ىٰ, so we will provide other examples here: 2زَيْنَب Zaynab 2مَرْيَم Maryam 2سُعَاد Suɛād 2هَاجَر Hājar The only exception to this rule is a feminine name of native Arabic origin, that comprises of only three letters, and whose middle letter has an ø-mark. Such a name is permitted to be optionally fully-flexible or semi-flexible. Examples: هِنْد Hind دَعْد Daɛd Example of usage: ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدٍ. or ذَهَبَتْ هِنْدُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ دَعْدَ. “Hind went to Daɛd’s house. 14.5 The name فُلَان The fully-flexible name فُلَان is used as a place-holder name in casual conversations. It may be translated into English as “so-and-so”. For example, ظَلَمَ ٱلرَّجُلُ فُلَانًا وَغَدَرَ بِفُلَانٍ. “The man wronged so-and-so and he acted treacherously with so-and-so.” For females, the name 2فُلَانَة is used. صَدَقَتْ فُلَانَةُ. “So-and-sof told the truth.” 14.6 The Replacement Before we proceed with our discussion on proper nouns, we will take a short digression to discuss a grammatical concept called the replacement. We will only give a short preview here and will treat it fully in chapter ??. A replacement is a word that follows another word, the replacee, and replaces it from the perspective of the grammar of the sentence. The replacement is put in the same state as the replacee. Here is an example of a sentence with a replacement and a replacee: In the above sentence, the word کِتَابًا “a book” is the replacement of شَيْـًٔا “something”. Therefore, it is put in the same a-state. The replacement is frequently used with proper nouns. For example, ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ عَمِّهِ عَلِيٍّ. “The boy went to his uncle Ɛalī’s house.” In this sentence, the name عَلِيّ Ɛalī is the replacement of the replacee عَمّ “uncle”. Note, again, that the replacement comes after the replacee and matches it in state. However, the replacement does not need to come directly after the replacee. We can see that there is the pronoun ه “his” between them. Here is another example: سَأَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ مُعَاذٌ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَ سَعْدًا. “The student Muɛād͡h asked the teacher Saɛd.” 14.7 Annexed names So far we have only dealt with proper nouns that are single words. There are some proper nouns that may be formed from two words that are in an annexation. These belong to different categories: 14.7.1 “Slave of” names Some names are formed by annexing the noun عَبْد ɛabd “a slave” to one of the names of Allāh. The most common of these names are: عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh “the Slave of Allāh” عَبْد ٱلرَّحْمَـٰن Ɛabd al-Raḥmān “the Slave of the Most Merciful” As usual, the base noun shall always be in the i-state. And the state of the annexe noun عَبْد is variable, depending on it’s function in the sentence. Example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ هُوَ أَخُو عَبْدِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ. “Ɛabd Allāh is the brother of Ɛabd al-Raḥmān.” 14.7.2 “Parent of” names It is common to call a man, not by his own given name, but rather by calling him the father of one of his children, usually his first born son. For example, if a man named أَحْمَد “Aḥmad” had a son named زَيْد “Zayd”, he may be called أَبُو زَيْد Abū Zayd “Zayd’s father”. Example of usage in a sentence: ذَهَبْتُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ أَبِي زَيْدٍ. “I went to Abū Zayd’s house.” (Note how زَيْدٍ has a nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ in the i-state because it is fully-flexible.) While using the name of first-born son is more common, a daughter’s name could be used as well. Example, سَأَلْتُ أَبَا رُقَيَّةَ سُؤالًا. “I asked Abū Ruqayyah a question.” (Note how رُقَيَّةَ has an a-mark ◌َ in the i-state because it is semi-flexible.) Women, too, are similarly called as the mother of one of their children. For example, the wife of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) 2أُمّ حَبِيبَة Umm Ḥabībah was called thus because she had a daughter named 2حَبِيبَة from a previous marriage. By the way, a person need not literally be a father or a mother to be called in such a way. These names may be applied as nicknames. For example, the Companion of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) was called 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah because it is reported that he used to have a pet kitten (هُرَيْرَة). Here is an example of this name in a sentence. أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ صَحَابِيٌّ جَلِيلٌ. “Abū Hurayrah is a great Companion.” (Note how هُرَيْرَةَ is now considered a semi-flexible proper noun even though it may originally have been derived from the common noun “a kitten”.) Similarly, the Companion أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr is not known to have a son named بَکْر. It is often the case that a “parent of” name overtakes the actual given name of person in popularity, and becomes the person’s name for all intents and purposes. Such is indeed the case for the Companions أَبُو بَکْرٍ Abū Bakr and 2أَبُو هُرَيرَة Abū Hurayrah. 14.7.3 “Son of” names In a manner similar to “parent of” names, a person may be referred to as the son of his parent. For example, the Companion 2عُمَر Ɛumar had a son named عَبْد ٱللَّـٰه Ɛabd Allāh. He is commonly known as 2ٱِبْن عُمَر Ibn Ɛumar “Ɛumar’s son”. Attributing a son to his father is most common. But attributing him to a mother or other ancestor is also possible. Examples: the Companion عَمَّار was affectionately called 2ٱِبْن سُمَيَّة Ibn Sumayyah “Sumayyah’s son” by the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him). His mother Sumayyah was an early martyr in Islām. the famous scholar ٱِبْن کَثِير Ibn Kat͡hīr is referred to by his grandfather’s name کَثِير Kat͡hīr. a human being is called 2ٱِبْن آدَم based on his being a descendent of the first man, the Prophet Adam. 14.7.3.1 Full names The full name of a person is formed by putting his given name first, and then his “son of” name after it as a replacement. Here is an example of a full name: زَيْدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ Zayd the son of Ɛalī Note some peculiarities of the full name: The name زَيْد “Zayd” has lost its nūnation. The word بْن “son” is not written with its initial connecting hamzah ٱ. These peculiarities are only when forming a full name in this manner. Consider for example the following sentence: زَيْدٌ ٱبْنُ عَلِيٍّ. “Zayd is the son of Ɛalī.” In the above example, the name زَيْدٌ is nūnated and ٱبْن is written with its connecting hamzah ٱ. Therefore this is not an expression of the full name in a replacee-replacement format. Rather, ٱبْنُ أَحْمَدَ here is the information of the sentence. For women, the word بِنْت is used instead of بْن. Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ کِتَابَ ٱلطَّالِبَةِ زَيْنَبَ بِنْتِ أَحْمَدَ. “The teacher read the book of the student Zaynab the daughter of Aḥmad.” The names of multiple forefathers may be strung together in this way separated by بْن. For example: ٱِسْمُ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ ٱللَّـٰهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ. “Our prophet’s name is Muḥammad the son of Ɛabd Allāh the son of Ɛabd al-Muṭṭalib.” (Note that the second بْنِ is in the i-state to match the state of the annexe noun عَبْدِ in عَبْدِ ٱللّـٰه.) We will deal with complete full names in section 14.14 below. 14.7.4 Other annexed names Other words besides عَبْد, أَب, أُمّ, and ٱِبْن may be used in annexed names too. Here are some examples: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَينِ D͡hu l-Qarnayn “He of the two horns” مَدِينَة ٱلنَّبِي madinatu -nnabiyyi “The City of the Prophet”, frequently reduced to simply ٱَلْمَدِينَة “al-Madīnah”. Context is used to infer whether by ٱَلْمَدِينَة is meant “al-Madīnah” or “the city”. ٱمْرُؤُ ٱلْقَيْس Imruʾ al-Qays “The man of al-Qays”, a pre-Islāmic poet. 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ Most names do not begin with ٱَلْ. Some, however, do begin with ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَن al-Ḥasan ٱَلزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr ٱَلْحُسَيْن al-Ḥusayn ٱَلنُّعْمَان al-Nuɛmān ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h If a proper noun begins with ٱَلْ then the question of its flexibility is mostly irrelevant. This is because noun beginning with with ٱَلْ display their state fully, regardless of whether or not they are semi-flexible without the ٱَلْ. Examples: ٱَلْحَسَنُ حَفِيدُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ صلى اللّه عليه وسلم. “al-Ḥasan is the grandson of the messenger of Allāh (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him).” (u-state displayed with ◌ُ.) سَأَلَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلنُّعْمَانَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “The man asked al-Nuɛmān about a matter.” (a-state displayed with ◌َ.) ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى بَيْتِ ٱلنُّعْمَانِ. “I went to al-Nuɛmān’s house.” (i-state displayed with ◌ِ.) Names that begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes lose their initial ٱَلْ. Sometimes, this is systematic, as we will lear in section ??. Other times, it’s hard to tell why. Conversely, names that don’t begin with ٱَلْ can sometimes gain it. Examples: The name of the daughter of the Companion أَبُو ٱلدَّرْدَاء Abu l-Dardāʾ is actually 2دَرْدَاء Dardāʾ, not ٱَلدَّرْدَاء. The son of the uncle of the Prophet (may Allāh grant peace and confer blessing upon him) ٱَلْعَبَّاس al-Ɛabbās is called ٱِبْن عَبَّاس Ibn ɛabbās, not ٱِبْن ٱلْعَبَّاس. However, the son of ٱَلْزُّبَيْر al-Zubayr| is called ٱِبْن ٱلْزُّبَيْر Ibn al-Zubayr with the ٱَلْ. 14.9 Place names Place names are generally feminine. Because of their feminine gender, those not beginning with ٱَلْ will be semi-flexible according to section 14.4.2.8 above. Examples of place names are: 2مَکَّة Makkah ٱَلْمَدِينَة al-Madīnah 2دِمَشْق Damascus ٱَلْقَاهِرَة Cairo 2بَغْدَاد Bag͡hdād ٱَلْهِنْد India 2مِصْر Egypt ٱَلصِّين China 2فَارِس Persia ٱَلرُّوم Rome 2تَبُوک Tabūk ٱَلْبَصْرَة Baṣrah Example of use: ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ مَکَّةَ ٱلْمُکَرَّمَةِ وَٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْمُنَوَّرَةِ. “The man went to the ennobled Makkah and the illuminated al-Madīnah.” While most place names are feminine, a few are masculine. Among these are: ٱَلْيَمَن Yemen ٱَلشَّام the Levant ٱَلْعِرَاق Iraq 14.10 Names of tribes Here are examples of names of tribes: قُرَيش Qurays͡h ٱَلْأَوْس al-Aws بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm ٱَلْخَزْرَج al-K͡hazraj 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl Tribes are usually called by the name of their progenitor. For example, 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of the Prophet 2يَعْقُوب Yaɛqūb. The ūn sound plural بَنُونَ “sons/children” is annexed to the name 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl to get the name of the tribe 2بَنُو إِسْرَائِيل Banū Isrāʾīl “the children of Isrāʾīl”. In the a- and i-states, this becomes 2بَنِي إِسْرَائِيل Banī Isrāʾīl. Not all tribe names have بَنُونَ “sons” annexed to them, but many do. And often it is optional to keep or drop the annexed بَنُونَ. Examples: قُرَيْش Qurays͡h usually does not have بَنُونَ annexed to it. بَنُو تَمِيم Banū Tamīm may optionally drop the annexed بَنُونَ and be called simply تَمِيم Tamīm. 14.10.1 Flexibility of tribe names The flexibility of tribe names depends on the name. Here are some examples: 2إِسْرَائِيل Isrāʾīl is a name of foreign origin and is therefore semi-flexible. Example: بَعَثَ ٱللَّـٰهُ مُوسَىٰ إِلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ. “Allāh sent Mūsā to the children of Isrāʾīl.” قُرَيْش Qurays͡h and تَمِيم Tamīm are native Arabic masculine names and are therefore fully-flexible. Example: قُرَيشٌ وَبَنُو تَمِيمٍ قَبِيلَتَانِ. “Qurays͡h and Banū Tamīm are tribes2.” 2هَوَازِن Hawāzin is on the semi-flexible noun pattern 2فَفَافِف and is therefore semi-flexible. 14.10.2 Gender of tribe names Tribe names are unusual in that they are treated as both singular feminine and plural masculine. If the tribe name is the doer of a verb then it is usually treated as singular feminine. Otherwise, for example, if it comes before the verb, then the plural masculine pronouns are used for it. Example: سَکَنَتْ قُرَيْشٌ مَکَّةَ وَعَبَدُوا ٱلْأَصْنَامَ. “Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah and they worshipped idols.” 14.11 Titles Titles are common nouns that denote a rank or position of a person. Titles in English include: Doctor, Mister, and King. For example: King David Mr. Smith Dr. Adams Here are some examples of titles in Arabic: ٱَلنَّبِيّ Prophet ٱَلْإِمَام Imām ٱَلْمَلِک King ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h ٱَلْأَمِير Commander ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h ٱَلْقَاضِي Judge ٱَلْأُسْتَاذ Professor Some Arabic titles are left untranslated in English like ٱَلْإِمَام Imām (a leader) ٱَلشَّيْخ S͡hayk͡h (a venerable man) ٱَلْحَافِظ Ḥāfiḍ͡h (one who has memorized, and preserved religious texts) 14.11.1 Titles as replacees Titles are usually placed in front a proper noun and made definite with ٱَلْ to match the proper noun. For example, سَأَلَ رَجُلٌ ٱلْإِمَامَ مَالِکًا عَنْ أَمْرٍ. “A man asked Imām Mālik about a matter.” In the above sentence, the title ٱَلْإِمَامَ Imām is a replacee and the name مَالِکًا Mālik is the replacement. Some titles are formed from annexations. Examples: خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh سَيْفُ ٱللَّـٰهِ the Sword of Allāh أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Commander of the Believers عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ the Pillar of the Faith أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ the Mother of the Believers صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ the Righteousness of the Faith Example: أُمُّ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱِبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ. “The Mother of the Believers Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh Abū Bakr.” 14.11.2 Titles in annexations Some prominent inanimate objects, like mountains, rivers, and cities, may have titles. For example: Mount Everest the river Nile the city of Damascus In Arabic, the titles for these objects usually don’t occur as replacees as they do for persons. Rather, the title is annexed to the proper noun in an annexation. Examples: جَبَلُ أُحُدٍ Mount Uḥud مَدِينَةُ دِمَشْقَ the city of Damascus نَهْرُ ٱلنِّيلِ the river Nile شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ the month of Ramaḍān يَوْمُ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ the day of Friday سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah Example: قَرَأَتِ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ سُورَةَ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ. “The girl read the Sūrah of al-Fātiḥah in the month of Ramaḍān.” 14.12 Nicknames Nicknames are often given to people. They are usually descriptive of some physical quality or character trait of the person. For example, the Companion Abū Bakr was given the nickname ٱلصِّدِّيق “the steadfast affirmer of the truth”. Nicknames usually come after a person’s name as a replacement. أَبُو بَکَرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقُ هُوَ خَلِيفَةُ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ. “Abū Bakr the steadfast affirmer of the truth is the successor of the messenger of Allāh.” قَرَأَ سُلَيْمَانُ ٱلأَعْمَشُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ. “Sulaymān the weak-sighted read the Qurʾān.” 14.13 The affiliate adjectival noun The affiliate adjectival noun is a kind of adjectival noun that indicates an affiliation. Here are some examples of affiliate adjectival nouns: عِرَاقِيّ an Iraqi قُرَشِيّ a Qurays͡hite مَکِّي a Makkan تَمِيمِيّ a Tamīmian دِمَشْقِيّ a Damascan إِسْرَائِيلِيّ an Isrāʾīlite شَافِعِيّ a S͡hāfiɛite حَنَفِيّ a Ḥanafī مَالِکِيّ a Mālikī حَنْبَلِيّ a Ḥanbalī Note the following about affiliate adjectival nouns: Generally, the ending ◌ِيّ -iyy is suffixed to a noun to create an affiliate adjectival noun. The ة ending is removed before adding the ◌ِيّ -iyy suffix. Sometimes there are other internal changes to the word before this suffix is added. For example, قُرَيْش becomes قُرَشِيّ The affiliate adjectival noun may be formed from any of the names of a person. (Usually, one of the more distinctive names is chosen.) For example: A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَبُو حَنِيفَة Imām Abū Ḥanīfah is called حَنَفِيّ “a Ḥanafī”. A follower of the school of thought of ٱَلْإِمَام أَحْمَد بْن حَنْبَل Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is called حَنْبَلِيّ “a Ḥanbalī”. We will treat adjectival nouns more fully in chapter ??. Afflilate adjectival nouns frequently occur with proper nouns. They come after the proper noun as a replacement, and are made definite by ٱَلْ to match the proper noun in definiteness. Examples: ٱِبْن کَثِيرٍ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ مُفَسِّرٌ وَمُؤَرِّخٌ. “Ibn Kat͡hīr the Damascan is an exegete and a historian.” 14.14 Complete full names We have already studied how a basic full name is formed in section 14.7.3.1. Here, we will expand on that topic. The complete full name of a person is formed by placing some or all of his different names in a particular order. Each name in the order is a replacement of one of the names before it. Generally, the order is: Titles “Father of” name Given name “Son of” names Affiliate names The nickname’s position is variable. Here are some examples of full names in varying degrees of completeness: عَائِشَةُ هِيَ ٱبْنَةُ خَلِيفَةِ رَسُولِ ٱللَّـٰهِ أَبِي بَکْرٍ ٱلصِّدِّيقِ. “Ɛāʾis͡hah is the daughter of the Successor of the Messenger of Allāh, Abū Bakr, the steadfast affirmer of the truth.” قَتَلَ أَبُو لُؤْلُؤَةَ ٱلْمَجُوسِيُّ أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبَا حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنَ ٱلْخَطَّابِ. “Abū Luʾluʾah, the Magian killed the Commander of the Believers, Abū Ḥafṣ, Ɛumar the son of al-K͡haṭṭāb.” ٱلْحَافِظُ ٱلْمُؤَرِّخُ ٱلْمُفَسِّرُ عِمَادُ ٱلدِّينِ أَبُو ٱلْفِدَاءِ إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُمَرَ بْنِ کَثِيرٍ ٱلْقُرَشِيُّ ٱلدِّمَشْقِيُّ ٱلشَّافِعِيُّ “The Ḥāfiḍ͡h, the historian, the exegete, the Pillar of the Faith, the father of al-Fidāʾ, Ismāʾīl the son of Ɛumar the son of Kat͡hīr, the Qurays͡hite, the Damascan, the S͡hāfiɛite” (Note how the second بْنِ is in the i-state because it is a replacement of عُمَرَ which is in the i-state because it is a base noun of the first بْنُ.) "],["calling-out.html", "15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons 15.4 Omitting يَا yā 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name", " 15 Calling out 15.1 Introduction When calling out to someone in Arabic, the particle يَا yā is usually prefixed to the person’s name. For example, ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْنَبُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaynabu. “Peace be upon you, O Zaynab.” There are different rules regarding the state markings of the noun following يَا yā and we will describe them in the following sections. 15.2 Calling out to specific persons 15.2.1 Using single word personal names When a specific person is called out to, and the name used to call him consists of a single word, then that word shall be in the u-state. The sentence above is an example of this rule where the name زَينَبُ zaynabu “Zaynab” is in the u-state. If the word would be nūnated, then the nūnation is dropped. So, for example, the name زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” usually is nūnated. But when used for being called out to, the nūnation is dropped and it becomes: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا زَيْدُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā zaydu. “Peace be upon you, O Zayd.” 15.2.2 Using single word indefinite common nouns The examples above show the person being called out to using a personal name. Instead of a personal name, a common noun can also be used with the same rule. Examples: ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا غُلَامُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā g͡hulāmu. “Peace be upon you, O you boy.” ٱَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْکُمْ يَا جَارِيَةُ. ʾassalāmu ɛalaykum yā jāriyatu. “Peace be upon you, O you girl.” In English, we have shown that a specific person is being called using the word “you”, e.g., “O you boy”. Duals and plurals are also allowed, again with the same rule: يَا رِجَالُ، قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ. yā rijālu qad ḥadat͡ha ʾamrun. “O you men, a matter has occurred.” Note how the word رِجَالُ rijālu “men” is not nūnated because the word is used to call out to the specific persons. Similarly, يَا لَاعِبَانِ بَدَأْتُمَا ٱللَّعِبَ وَمَا فَعَلْتُمَا ٱلْعَمَلَ. yā lāɛibāni badaʾtuma -llaɛiba wamā faɛaltuma -lɛamal. “O you players2, you have started playing and you have not done the work.” 15.2.3 Using single word definite common nouns When using a common noun to call out to a person, especially if the common noun is a title, it is often desired to make the common noun definite with ٱَلْ. In this case, the particle يَا yā is modified to أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā, or sometimes يَا أَيُّهَا yā ʾayyuhā. Examples: يَا أَيُّهَا ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ، قَدْ فَعَلْتُ ٱلْوَاجِبَ. yā ʾayyuha -lʾustād͡hu, qad faɛaltu -lwājiba “O you the Professor, I have done the obligatory [work].” أَنَا سَقِيمٌ أَيُّهَا ٱلطَّبِيبُ. ʾana saqīmun, ʾayyuha -ṭṭabību. “I am ill, O you the Doctor.” If the person being called out to is feminine, then أَيُّهَا ʾayyuhā is modified to أَيَّتُهَا ʾayyatuhā. For example: أَيَّتُهَا ٱلْمُعَلِّمَةُ، هَـٰذَا کِتَابِي. ʾayyatuha -lmuɛallimatu, hād͡hā kitābi. “O you the teacherf, this is my book.” 15.2.4 Using multiple words The above discussion pertains to calling out to the addressed person with a single word. Often times a person’s name may consist of multiple words. For example: عَبْدُ ٱللَّـٰهِ ɛabdu -llāhi “Ɛabd Allāh” أَبُو بَکْرٍ ʾabū bakrin “Abū Bakr” صَلَاحُ ٱلدِّينِ ṣalāḥu -ddīni “Salāḥ ad-Dīn” In this case, then instead of the u-state, the word is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. Examples: مَا عَرَفْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلرَّجُلَ، يَا عَبْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ. mā ɛaraftu d͡hālika -rrajula, yā ɛabda -llāhi. “I have not recognized that man, O Ɛabd Allāh.” يَا أَبَا بَکْرٍ، أَنْتَ رَجُلٌ کَرِيمٌ. yā ʾabā bakrin, ʾanta rajulun karīmun “O Abū Bakr, You are a noble man.” يَا صَلَاحَ ٱلدِّينِ، صَبَرْتَ فَنَصَرَکَ ٱللَّـٰهُ. yā ṣalāḥa -ddīni, ṣabarta fanaṣaraka -llāhu. “O Salāḥ ad-Dīn, you were patient so Allāh gave you victory.” If, instead of a personal name, a noun phrase consisting of multiple words is used to call out to a person, then in this case as well, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَمِيرَ ٱلْمُؤمِنِينَ، قَدْ حَضَرَ ٱلْقَوْمُ. yā ʾamīra -lmuʾminīna, qad ḥaḍara -lqawmu. “O Commander of the Believers, the people are present.” يَا ٱبْنَ أَخِي، قَدْ سَقَطَ قَلَمُکَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. ya -bna ʾak͡hī, qad saqaṭa qalamuka. “O my nephew, your pen has fallen on the ground.” يَا تَلَامِيذَ ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ، ٱلْعِلْمُ أَمَانَةٌ. yā talāmīd͡ha -lmadrasati, -lɛilmu ʾamānatun. “O pupils of the school, knowledge is a trust.” When multiple words are used to call out to a person, the second word in the noun-chain may be a pronoun. Here too, the first noun shall be in the a-state. Examples: يَا أَبانا yā ʾabānā “O our father” 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons All the discussion so far has pertained to calling out to specific persons. So for example, when you say, يَا مُسْلِمُ، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā muslimu, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O you Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” then you are addressing a specific Muslim, who is perhaps in front of you. If an unspecified person or persons are being called out, then the word used to call out is put into the a-state. Furthermore, the nūnation, if any, is preserved. So if you want to address any unspecific Muslim, you will say: يَا مُسْلِمًا، نَصْرُ ٱللَّـٰهِ قَرِيبٌ. yā musliman, naṣru -llāhi qarībun. “O [any] Muslim, the victory of Allāh is near.” If multiple words are used, whether or not the person called out to is specific or unspecified, then too the first noun is put in the a-state. يَا لَاعِبِي لُعَبٍ، ٱلْوَقْتُ ثَمِينٌ. yā lāɛibī luɛabini, -lwaqtu t͡hamīnun. “O [any] players of games, time is precious.” 15.4 Omitting يَا yā When calling out to someone, it is permissible to omit the يَا yā, especially when the person being called is very near. So, instead of saying, يَا زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. yā zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “O Zayd, your question is excellent.” it is permissible to say: زَيْدُ، سُؤالُکَ جَيِّدٌ. zaydu, suʾāluka jayyidun. “Zayd, your question is excellent.” Note that even when يَا yā is ommitted the name زَيْدُ zaydu “Zayd” is in the u-state without any nūnation. This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the word رَبٌّ rabbun “lord”, to emphasize the closeness of Allāh to the supplicator. For example, رَبَّنا لَکَ ٱلْحَمْدُ. rabbanā laka -lḥamdu. “Our Lord, for you is [all] praise.” 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” When calling someone with the pronoun “my”, for example “O my people”, it is common to shorten the attached pronoun ي ī “my” to an i-mark ◌ِ. So while the following is permissible, يَا قَوْمِي yā qawmī “O my people” it is more common to say: يَا قَوْمِ yā qawmi “O my people” This usage is especially common when supplicating to Allāh with the phrase رَبِّ rabbi “my Lord”. 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name When calling out to Allāh by name, it is permissible to prefix the name Allāh with يَا. So we can say: يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu “O Allāh” Note that the word أَللَّـٰهُ ʾallāhu now has a regular hamzah أ instead of a connecting hamzah ٱ. However, instead of saying يَا أَللَّـٰهُ yā ʾallāhu for “O Allāh”, it is in fact more common to use a special word: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ ʾallāhumma “O Allāh” Examples: ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلسَّلَامُ وَمِنْکَ ٱلسَّلَامُ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ssalāmu waminka -ssalāmu. “O Allāh, You are Peace and from You is peace.” ٱَللَّـٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ ٱلصَّاحِبُ فِي ٱلسَّفَرِ. ʾallāhumma ʾanta -ṣṣāḥibu fi -ssafari. “O Allāh, You are the companion in the journey.” "],["pointing-nouns.html", "16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings 16.5 The pointing noun phrase 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech", " 16 Pointing nouns 16.1 Introduction Consider the following expression: The word “this” is what we will call a pointing noun. We call it this because we can imagine standing next to a book and pointing to it and saying “this book”. The word “book” here is similarly called the pointed-to noun. It refers to the object being pointed to. 16.2 The pointing nouns in Arabic There are two types of pointing nouns: Near pointing nouns: “this-one” (singular) and “these-ones” (dual and plural). Far pointing nouns: “that-one” (singular) and “those-ones” (dual and plural). The following are the pointing nouns in Arabic: Participant State Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. masc. all هَـٰذَا this onem ذَ ٰلِکَ that onem sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef dual masc. u هَـٰذَانِ these ones2,m ذَ ٰنِکَ those ones2,m dual masc. a,i هَـٰذَيْنِ these ones2,m ذَيْنِکَ those ones2,m dual fem. u هَاتَانِ these ones2,f تَانِکَ those ones2,f dual fem. a,i هَاتَيْنِ these ones2,f تَيْنِکَ those ones2,f plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 Note the following: Many of the pointing nouns contain small أَلِف ◌ٰ. For most of them, this is how they must be written. It would be incorrect to write هَـٰذَا hād͡hā as هَاذَا. All the near pointing nouns begin with a ه. And all the far pointing nouns end with ک. The و in أُولَـٰئِکَ ʾulāʾika is silent and not pronounced. That is, the first syllable has a short vowel u, not the long vowel ū. Most of the pointing nouns are rigid nouns. That is: their endings are not modified for their state. The dual pointing nouns, however, are flexible nouns, for example: هَـٰذَانِ (u-state) / هَـٰذَيْنِ hād͡hayni (a- and i-states). The pointing nouns for the plural are the same for both masculine and feminine genders. 16.3 Definiteness of pointing nouns The pointing nouns share some similarities with pronouns هُوَ, هِيَ, etc. Just like pronouns, pointing nouns, too, are definite nouns even though they don’t have ٱَلْ. Remember, however, from section 12.9.1, that pronouns may not be describees. Pointing nouns are different from pronouns in this regard. It is allowed to describe a pointing noun with a describer in a noun phrase. Both these facts will prove useful in the next section. 16.4 Pointing noun for plurals of non-intelligent beings Consistent with how we have been dealing with the so far, , we can choose between the following pointing nouns for the plurals of non-intelligent beings: Near pointing noun Far pointing noun sing. fem. all هَـٰذِهِ this onef تِلْکَ that onef plural all هَـٰؤُلَاءِ these ones3 أُولَـٰئِکَ those ones3 The singular feminine pointing noun is usually preferred, unless the plural plural pointing noun is needed to indicate that there is more than one. We will be giving examples throughout this chapter. 16.5 The pointing noun phrase Remember from chapter 7 that a descriptive noun-phrase consists of a describer and a describee. The describer follows the describer and matches it in definiteness, state, gender, and number. Here is an example of a descriptive noun-phrase in a sentence. We will now see how this same descriptive noun-phrase can be used with pointing nouns. 16.5.1 Pointing to a single noun We will first deal with nouns that are single words, like ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ above. In section 16.5.2 below, we will deal with nouns that are part of an annexation, like کِتَابَيِ ٱلرَّجُلِ. 16.5.1.1 The pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ Just like an adjectival noun, a pointing noun can be a describer in a noun-phrase. But remember from section 16.3 above that pointing nouns are definite. So, if a pointing noun is a describer in a noun-phrase, the describee has to be definite too. Example: In the above example, the pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is the describee in a descriptive noun-phrase. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is its describer. It follows the describee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a special case, when the pointed-to noun has ٱَلْ (as in this case: ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ), then the order of the pointing noun and the pointed to noun is permitted to be reversed. The pointing noun is then a replacee (see section 14.6), and the pointed-to noun is its replacement. Example: In the above example, the pointing noun هَـٰذَيْنِ is a replacee. It is definite, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. The pointed-to noun ٱَلْکِتَابَيْنِ is its replacement. It follows the replacee and matches it being dual, in the a-state, masculine, and dual. As a matter of fact, even though both orders are permitted, this reverse order of placing the pointing noun first and following it with the pointed-to noun is more common. Here are some more examples of pointing noun phrases when the pointed-to noun is definite with ٱَلْ: هَـٰذَا ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ إِمَامٌ. ٱَلرَّجُلُ ٱلْکَرِيمُ هَـٰذَا إِمَامٌ. “This noble man is an imām.” 16.5.1.2 The pointed-to noun is a proper noun Remember that proper noun are definite nouns, even though they usually don’t begin with ٱَلْ. For example: زَيْد Zayd ٱَلْحَارِث al-Ḥārit͡h 2زَيْنَب Zaynab قُرَيْش Qurays͡h Such names may also be part of a pointing noun phrase. If they don’t begin with ٱَلْ then only the [pointed-to noun first, then pointing noun] order is permitted. Example: زَيْدٌ هَـٰذَا أَخُو زَيْنَبَ تِلْکَ. “This Zayd is that Zaynab’s brother.” قُرَيْشٌ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ سَکَنُوا بِمَکَّةَ. “These Qurays͡h dwelled in Makkah.” If the name begins with ٱَلْ then both orders are permitted. هَـٰذَا ٱلْحَارِث ٱلْحَارِث هَـٰذَا “this al-Ḥārit͡h” 16.5.2 Pointing to an annexation Consider the following expression: “the man’s book” We can apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “the man” in a pointing noun phrase. So we have two options: “the book of this man” “this book of the man” Similarly, consider the following expression: “Zayd’s book” We can, again, apply the pointing noun “this” to either “the book” or to “Zayd”: “the book of this Zayd” “this book of Zayd” In this section we will learn how to construct these pointing noun phrases in Arabic. Arabic uses annexations to express the above meanings. So we will discuss annexations like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” and کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Note that both the above annexations are definite because their base nouns are definite. Indefinite annexations like کِتَاب رَجُلٍ “a man’s book” cannot be used in pointing noun phrases. 16.5.2.1 The definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ We will first consider annexations where the definite base noun begins with ٱَلْ, like: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” 16.5.2.1.1 Pointing to the base noun We would like to express the phrase: “the book of this man” In order to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل “the man” with the pointing noun هَـٰذَا “this-onem”, we can put the pointing noun either before or after the base noun, thus: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “the book of this man” Both these pointing noun phrases give the same meaning: “the book of this man”. However, the first phrase کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ is preferred, consistent with what we learned in section 16.5.1.1, above. The second phrase کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا, although correct, would only rarely be used with this meaning. (In fact, it has another meaning: “this book of the man” which we will learn in section 16.5.2.1.2, below.) Here is how these phrases could be used in complete sentences: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ جَدِيدٌ. کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا جَدِيدٌ. “The book of this man is new.” Before we give more examples, let’s analyze these phrases in detail. Consider the first pointing noun phrase: As you can see the pointing noun هَـٰذَا has taken the place of ٱَلرَّجُل as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, هَـٰذَا is also a replacee, whose replacement is ٱَلرَّجُل. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of this-one: the man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” Consider, now, the second pointing noun phrase: ٱَلرَّجُل, here, keeps its place as the base noun in the annexation. In addition to being the base noun, ٱَلرَّجُل is also a describee, whose describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the book of the this-one man” The more natural translation is: “the book of this man” 16.5.2.1.2 Pointing to the annexe noun Consider, again, the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ “the book of the man” We have already discussed how to point to the base noun ٱَلرَّجُل in a pointing noun phrase. Now, we would like to point to the annexe noun کِتَاب in a pointing noun phrase. In other words, we would like to express the meaning: “this book of the man” The way to express this in Arabic is کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” But wait! Didn’t we see in section 16.5.2.1.1 above that this expression has the meaning “the book of this man”? It turns out that this expression supports both meanings. But it will generally only be used for the meaning: “this book of the man” In order to express “the book of this man” we will typically use the expression کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّجُلِ. Let’s analyze the expression کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” in detail: کِتَاب, here, is both and annexe noun and a describee. Its describer is the pointing noun هَـٰذَا. The literal, word-for-word, translation of this phrase is: “the this-one book of the man” The more natural translation is: “this book of the man” Here is this pointing noun phrase in a complete sentence: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا أَخْضَر. “This book of the man is green.” Ambiguity of this phrase A quick note about the ambiguity of this expression: کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the man” (usual) “the book of this man” (rare) The ambiguity of whether the pointing noun هَـٰذَا points to the annexe noun کِتَابُ or the base noun ٱلرَّجُلِ only exists because the annexe noun and the base noun match each other in gender and number: singular masculine. If the annexe noun and the base noun were different in gender and number, then there would be no ambiguity. Examples: کِتَابَا ٱلرَّجُلِ هَـٰذَانِ “these books2 of the man” کِتَابُ ٱلرَّجُلَيْنِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the men2” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذَا “this book of the woman” کِتَابُ ٱلْمَرْأَةِ هَـٰذِهِ “the book of this woman” Here are some more examples of pointing to annexe nouns: 16.5.2.1.3 The base noun is a proper noun beginning with ٱَلْ Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of al-Zubayr” We can apply the preceding discussion of pointing to the annexe noun and base noun to this annexation as well. So we get: کِتَابُ هَـٰذَا ٱلزُّبَيْرِ “the book of this al-Zubayr” کِتَابُ ٱلزُّبَيْرِ هَـٰذَا “this book of al-Zubayr” (usual) “the book of this al-Zubayr” (rare) 16.5.2.2 The definite base noun does not begin with ٱَلْ Consider, now, that the base noun is definite but does not begin with ٱَلْ. There are two such types of nouns that we will discuss: Proper nouns not beginning with ٱَلْ Pronouns 16.5.2.2.1 The base noun is a proper noun not beginning with ٱَلْ We will first deal with proper nouns that don’t begin with ٱَلْ. Consider the annexation: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ “the book of Zayd” Because the base noun زَيْد does not begin with ٱَلْ, any pointing nouns can come only after the entire annexation, thus: کِتَابُ زَيْدٍ هَـٰذَا In theory, this supports two meanings: “this book of Zayd” “the book of this Zayd” In practice, however, the first meaning (“this book of Zayd”) is much more likely. Pointing to a proper noun in a pointing noun phrase (“the book of this Zayd”) is uncommon, generally. 16.5.2.2.2 The base noun is a pronoun We have learned, in section 4.4.4, that pronouns are always definite, despite not beginning with ٱَلْ. We have also learned, in section 12.9, that a pronoun may be a base noun in an annexation. Example: کِتَابُهُ “his book” Neither the annexe noun کِتَاب, nor the attached pronoun هُ begin with ٱَلْ. So if we want to add the pointing noun هَـٰذَا to this annexation to form a pointing noun phrase, then we have to place it at the end, after the annexation, thus: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا The pointing noun هَـٰذَا, here, is a describee. But what is its describer? We have also learned, in section 12.9.1 that pronouns may not be describees in a descriptive noun phrase. So, we are left with only one option: the annexe noun کِتَاب is the desceibee. And the meaning of the phrase is: کِتَابُهُ هَـٰذَا “this book of his” Here are some more examples: 16.6 Pointing nouns as subjects Besides their use in pointing noun phrases, pointing nouns are very often used as the subject of a sentence. For example: The pointing noun is (usually) made to match the information in number and gender. Examples: هَاتَانِ جَارِيَتَانِ. “These are girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ مُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ أَقْلَامٌ. “These are pens.” تِلْکَ بُيُوتٌ. “Those are houses.” هَـٰذَانِ صَغِيرَانِ. “These are small ones2.” The information may be a single word (as above) or more complex (as below): ذَ ٰلِکَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤِْمِنِينَ. “That is the commander of the believers.” أُولَـٰئِکَ أَکَلْنَ ٱلطَّعَامَ.. “Those-ones ate3,f the food.” هَـٰذَا ثَوْبُ رَجُلٍ. “This is a man’s garment.” هَـٰذِهِ کُتُبُهُ. “These are his books.” هَـٰذَانِ بَيْتَانِ کَبِيرَانِ.. “These are big houses2.” If the information is a noun that begins with ٱَلْ then it may be placed after the pointing noun subject in the same manner: While the this is permitted and correct, it may be sometimes confused with for the pointing noun phrase “this man”. So, in the same way that we learned in section 4.5, we insert a detached pronoun between the subject and the information, thus: هَـٰذَا هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “This is the man.” Here are some more examples: هَاتَانِ هُمَا ٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ. “These are the girls2.” أُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ. “Those are the teachers.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلْأَقْلَامٌ. “These are the pens.” تِلْکَ هِيَ ٱلْبُيُوتٌ. “Those are the houses.” هَـٰذَانِ هُمَ ٱلصَّغِيرَانِ. “These are the small ones2.” 16.6.1 Mismatched pointing noun subject When the pointing noun is a subject we usually match its number and gender with the number and gender of the information, as we have been doing so far. However, when the pointing noun subject refers to a noun in a previous sentence, then we may prefer to match to the previous noun than to the the following information. Example: بَلَغَنَا خَبَرُ ٱلْمَطَرِ عَلَى ٱلْجَبَالِ. ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ لِلزُّرَّاعِ. “The news of the rain on the mountains has reached us. That is a good tiding for the sowers.” Note that the second sentence’s subject and information mismatch: ذَ ٰلِکَ بُشْرَىٰ “That is a good tiding.” The information بُشٌرَىٰ “a good tiding” is a feminine noun but the subject ذَ ٰلِکَ is masculine. This is because ذَ ٰلِکَ is actually referring to خَبَر in the previous sentence which is a masculine noun. 16.7 Pointing nouns as other parts of speech Besides their use in pointing noun phrases and as subjects, pointing nouns may be used as other parts of speech as well, typically where one would expect pronouns. Here are some examples: أَخَذْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَيْنِ مِنَ ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذا وَمَا قَرَأْتُ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “I took the books2 from the library. I read this one and I didn’t read that one.” شَغَلَنِي ٱلْعَمَلُ ٱلصَّعْبُ وَمَا فَرَغْتُ مِنْ ذَ ٰلِکَ. “The difficult work occupied me and I did not get done with that.” "],["u-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Pattern for form 1 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter 17.4 Verb state 17.5 With doer nouns 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns 17.7 With doer pronouns 17.8 Future 17.9 Negation", " 17 u-state incomplete-action verbs 17.1 Introduction We had mentioned that there are approximately 10 commonly used verb forms. And we have already studied the completed-action verb for form 1. In this chapter we will study incomplete-action form 1 verbs. Incomplete-action verbs are used when the action of a verb is on-going at present or will occur in the future. 17.2 Pattern for form 1 Using the root paradigm «فعل», we have already seen that completed-action verbs for form 1 occur in the patterns فَعَلَ faɛala, فَعِلَ faɛila, and فَعُلَ faɛula. The patterns for form 1 incomplete-action verbs are يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu, يَفْعِلُ yafɛilu, and يَفْعُلُ yafɛulu. Note that the incomplete-action verb forms add an extraneous يَـ ya- to the beginning of the verb. This extra letter can change, as we will see soon, to the letters تَـ ta-, نَـ na, or أَ ʾa- depending on the doer. 17.3 Vowel-mark on the middle root letter We have seen that vowel on the middle root letter in a completed-action verb can vary depending on the verb. So we can have, کَتَبَ kataba “he wrote” عَمِلَ ɛamila “he worked” کَبُرَ kabura “he became big” Similarly, the vowel on the middle letter in an incomplete-action verb can also vary depending on the verb. Generally, this will need to be looked up in a dictionary and memorized. But there are the following rules which limit the variation: If the completed-action verb has an a-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter can have either an a-mark, i-mark, or an u-mark, depending on the verb. For example, کَتَبَ يَکْتُبُ kataba yaktubu “he wrote, he writes” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ d͡hahaba yad͡h·habu “he went, he goes” کَشَفَ يَکْشِفُ kas͡hafa yaks͡hifu “he uncovered, he uncovers” If the completed-action verb has an i-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter will usually have an a-mark. Rarely, for a few verbs, it may be an i-mark instead. For example, عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ ɛamila yaɛmalu “he worked, he works” حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ ḥasiba yaḥsibu “he deemed, he deems” If the completed-action verb has an u-mark on the middle letter, the incomplete-action verb’s middle letter shall have a u-mark. For example, کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ kabura yakburu “he grew big, he grows big” It is possible for some incomplete-action verbs to have more than option for the vowel mark on the middle letter. Both variants give the same meaning for the verb. For example, the completed-action verb حَسِبَ ḥasiba “he deemed” has as its incomplete-verb both يَحْسِبُ yaḥsibu and يَحْسَبُ yaḥsabu. 17.4 Verb state As you know, nouns in Arabic have a state that is determined by the function of the noun in the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ. saʾala -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula ʾan s͡hayʾin. “The boy asked the man about something.” In the above sentence, ٱَلْغُلَامُ ʾalg͡hulāmu is the doer of the verb so it is in the u-state and this is indicated by the u-mark on its final letter. ٱَلرَّجُلَ ʾarrujala is the direct doee of the verb so it is in the a-state and this is indicated by the a-mark on its final letter. شَيْءٍ s͡hayʾin is directly preceded by a preposition so it is in the i-state and this is indicated by the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ on its final letter. The ending of the completed-action verb سَأَلَ is not determined based on the function of the verb in the sentence, and therefore, it does not have any state. (Its ending can change depending on whether a pronoun is attached to it but this is not related to the function of the verb in the sentence and does not represent any state.) As opposed to completed-action verbs, which don’t have any state, incomplete-action verbs do have a state which is determinined by the function of the verb in a sentence. Similar to nouns, the state of an incomplete-action verb is indicated by the vowel mark or suffix at the end of the verb. Incomplete action verbs have three states, just like nouns. These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state Two of the states have their names in common with nouns: the u-state and the a-state. The the ø-state (null-state) is named differently. The u-mark on the final letter of يَفُعَلُ yafɛalu indicates that it is in the u-state. We will study only the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in this chapter. And we will study the a-state and ø-state in later chapters if Allāh wills. 17.5 With doer nouns As with completed-action verbs, doer nouns are placed after the verb in sentence word order. However, the gender of the doer noun affects the beginning of the incomplete-action verb. If the doer noun is masculine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with used is يَـ ya-. And if the doer noun is feminine, then the incomplete-action verb shall begin with تَـ ta-. Examples: يَکْتُبُ ٱلْغُلَامُ فِي کِتابِهِ. yaktubu -lg͡hulāmu fī kitābihi “The boy writes in his book.” يَعْمَلُ ٱلرَّجُلَانِ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. yaɛmalu -rrajulāni fi -lmadīnati. “The mendual. work in the city.” يَکْتُبُ ٱلْجَارِيَةُ فِي کِتابِهَا. yaktubu -ljāriyatu fī kitābihā. “The girl writes in her book.” تَعْمَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءُ فِي بُيُوتِهِنَّ. taɛmalu -nnisāʾu fī buyūtihinna. “The women work in their houses.” 17.6 With doee nouns and pronouns Doee nouns and pronouns with incomplete-action verbs work exactly as with completed-action verbs. يَسْأَلُ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلرَّجُلَ سُؤَالًا. yasʾalu -lg͡hulāmu -rrajula suʾālan. “The boy asks the man a question.” يَسْأَلُهَا ٱلْغُلَامُ سُؤَالًا. yasʾaluha -lg͡hulāmu suʾālan. “The boy asks her a question.” 17.7 With doer pronouns When we studied completed-action verbs, we saw that doer pronouns are either visible or invisible. Visible doer pronouns are added to the end of the verb, modifying the end of the verb in the process. The doer pronouns for incomplete-action verbs are different from the doer pronouns for completed-action verbs. Incomplete-action verbs’ doer pronouns are also added to the end of the verb, but in addition to modifying the end of the verb, they modify the beginning of the verb as well. Futhermore, additional letters may be added after the doer pronoun to indicate the state of the verb. We’ll show what all this means in the table below of verbs with doer pronouns. Completed-action verbs are included as well so that you can contrast them with their incomplete-action counterparts. Person Completed-action doer pronoun Completed-action verb with doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun Incomplete-action verb with doer pronoun in the u-state he invisible فَعَلَ faɛala invisible يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu she invisible فَعَلَتْ faɛalat invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,m تَ -ta فَعَلْتَ faɛalta invisible تَفْعَلُ tafɛalu you1,f تِ -ti فَعَلْتِ faɛalti ي -ī تَفْعَلِينَ tafɛalīna I تُ tu فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu invisible أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu they2,m ا -ā فَعَلَا faɛalā ا -ā يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni they2,f ا -ā فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni you2 تُمَا -tumā فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā ا -ā تَفْعَلَانِ tafɛalāni they3+,m و -ū فَعَلُوا faɛalū و -ū يَفْعَلُونَ yafɛalūna they3+,f نَ -na فَعَلْنَ faɛalna نَ -na يَفْعَلْنَ yafɛalna you3+,m تُمْ -tumā فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum و -ū تَفْعَلُونَ tafɛalūna you3+,f تُنَّ -tunna فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna نَ na تَفْعَلْنَ tafɛalna we نَا nā فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā invisible نَفْعَلُ nafɛalu Note the following: The verb تَفْعَلُ is used both for “she” and “you2m” doers. Only context will be able to help us differentiate between the two. In incomplete action verbs which have invisible doer pronouns, the u-state of the verb is indicated by the u-mark ◌ُ on the final letter of the verb. For incomplete-action verbs that have ا, و, or ي as the doer pronoun, the u-state is indicated by an extraneous ن added to the end of the verb. And for the remaining incomplete action verbs whose doer pronoun is نَ, there is no indication of the state of the verb. Here are some examples of the usage of the doer pronouns: Remember that in Arabic, each verb must have it’s own doer, so when there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer, the first verb can be used with the doer noun and the rest with doer pronouns. This is the same behavior as with completed-action verbs. For example: يَجْلِسُ ٱلرِّجَالُ وَيَأْکُلُونَ وَيَشْرَبُونَ. yajlisu -rrijālu wa yaʾkulūna wa yas͡hrabūna. “The men sit and (they) eat and (they) drink.” 17.8 Future The incomplete-action verb is used to express both the present (habitual and progressive) and future tenses. Sometimes all meanings are meant in the same expression. And if only one of the meanings is intended, context can be sufficient to determine which is intended. So, for example, يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. can mean, either one, or even all, of: “The man goes.” or “The man is going.” or “The man will go.” Arabic does provide a mechanism for specifying that the use of an incomplete-action verb is solely to intend a future action. This is by means of the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa that can be placed before the verb. They provide a meaning of “will” or “will soon”. سَـ sa-, being a single letter particle, is attached to the verb. For example, سَيَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sayad͡h·habu -rrajulu. and سَوْفَ يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ sawfa yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man will go.” or “Soon the man will go.” The difference in usage of سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa can be thought of as one of emphasis. سَوْفَ sawfa is more emphatic than سَـ sa-. This emphasis can translate to more definiteness in the action or even that the action is farther in the future. 17.9 Negation 17.9.1 Negation using مَا mā As with completed-action verbs, incomplete-action verbs too can be negated by placing the particle مَا before them. This negates the meaning of the verb usually for the present tense. For example, مَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ mā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” 17.9.2 Negation using لَا lā In addition to مَا mā, incomplete-action verbs can be negated using لَا lā in the same manner. In addition to negating the meaning of the verb for the present tense, it can also negate the meaning for the future tense. لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” The particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa may not be combined with مَا mā and لَا lā when negating verbs. "],["the-verbal-noun-of-doing.html", "18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns 18.7 TODO", " 18 The verbal-noun of doing 18.1 Introduction Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the “doing” verbal-noun, that we shall study in this chapter. Consider the following form 1 verb: Root Completed-action verb Incomplete-action verb (u-state) Doing verbal-noun «ذهب» ذَهَبَ “he went” يَذْهَبُ “he goes” ذَهَاب “going” The doing verbal-noun associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used. Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format: ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” The completed-action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding incomplete-action verb, and their doing verbal-noun are given together, in sequence. The doing verbal-noun is given in the a-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”. 18.2 Patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs The patterns of the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the doing verbal-noun when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind: If the verb takes a direct doee, then the completed-action verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because completed-action verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case: The doing verbal-noun for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples: فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)” حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)” If the verb does not take a direct doee, then: If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples: تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired” جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient” أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples: خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green” سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example: قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the doing verbal-noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example: يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then: If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the doing verbal-noun tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples: قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back” سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down” خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples: سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples: رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart” If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the doing verbal-noun is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples: صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream” If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the doing verbal-noun is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples: تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade” أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander” If the completed-action verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the doing verbal noun tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples: صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult” شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave” As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have doing verbal-nouns which don’t fall under the above rules. 18.3 Usage of the doing verbal-noun 18.3.1 State and definiteness The doing verbal noun has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat”. We can use its doing verbal noun in a sentence like this: فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَکْلِ. farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli. “Zayd got done with eating.” Note how the doing verbal noun ٱلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the i-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min. Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَکْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَکْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section ??, the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section. Having said that, the indefnite doing verbal-noun may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say: فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ. farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin. “He got done with a [certain] difficult work.” 18.3.2 With a doer A doer may be used with the doing verbal-noun to show who is doing the action. In this case, the doing verbal-noun and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The doing verbal-noun shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the i-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ. samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin. “I heard Zayd’s reading.” The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say: سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ. samiɛtu qirāʾatahu. “I heard his reading.” 18.3.3 With an indirect doee If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the doing verbal-noun of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the doing verbal-noun. For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the doing verbal noun, thus: تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ. taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati. “I became tired from going to the far city.” If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer verbal-noun, as explained in the previous section. For example, حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ. ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin. “I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.” 18.3.4 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doing verbal noun, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: 18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the i-state in an annexation with the doing verbal noun In the first method, the direct doee is in the i-state as the base noun in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the doing verbal-noun, or when there is no other phrase between the doing verbal-noun and the direct doee. For example, فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ. farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi. “Zayd got done with reading the book.” In this sentence, ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the doing verbal-noun قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the doing verbal-noun. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the doing verbal noun thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”. Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example, قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ. qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi “Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.” Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a doing verbal-noun by placing it in an annexation with the doing verbal-noun. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a doing verbal-noun is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْکِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading. But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its doing verbal-noun, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.” We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee. 18.3.4.2 The direct doee in a-state following the doing verbal-noun The second way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the a-state after the doing verbal-noun. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the a-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example: ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا. ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran. “Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.” Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far. The doee noun in the a-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This usage of putting the direct doee in the a-state after the doing verbal noun is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the doing verbal-noun. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the doing verbal-noun by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example, فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ کِتَابًا. farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban. “I got done with reading, in the library, a book.” The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the doing verbal-noun and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the doing verbal-noun and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned. فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ کِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ . farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati. “I got done with reading a book in the library.” 18.3.4.3 The direct doee in i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li The third way to deal with a direct doee and a doing-verbal noun is to put it in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios: When the doing verbal-noun is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example: فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْکُتُبِ. farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi. “I got done with a reading of the books.” This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْکُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete. When the doer comes between the doing verbal-noun and the doee. Example, أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the a-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section: أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ. ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu. “Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.” 18.4 Multiple doing verbal-nouns for the same verb It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one doing verbal-noun. Usually, each of the doing verbal-nouns has its own meaning, distinct from each other. For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْکُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ. taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati. “Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.” There exists another meaning for this verb with its own doing verbal-noun: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its doing verbal noun in a sentence: دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ. dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim. “The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.” Sometimes the meaning between the multiple doing verbal-nouns is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)” It has two doing verbal-nouns: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other. جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple doing verbal-noun used for not knowing something. For example, مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ. mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu. “Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.” جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example, نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِکِينَ. nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna. “The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.” As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a doing verbal-noun, the simpler its meaning. And doing verbal-nouns of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning. 18.5 Doing verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns There are many doing verbal-nouns, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning. For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The doing verbal-noun سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example, سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ کَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ. saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu. “The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.” سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a doing verbal-noun “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say: کَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ. kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati. “The professor wrote a question on the board.” 18.6 Common nouns re-used as doing verbal-nouns Just as some doing verbal-nouns are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as doing verbal-nouns. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the doing verbal-noun فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example: طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ. ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi. “The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].” 18.7 TODO Add multiple doees with masdar "],["a-state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan 19.4 After لِ li 19.5 After کَيْ kay 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā 19.7 After لَنْ lan 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ", " 19 a-state incomplete-action verbs 19.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We introduced the u-state incomplete-action verb in chapter 17. In this chapter we will study the a-state incomplete-action verb. The u-state incomplete-action verb makes a plain statement. The a-state incomplete-action verb implies a wish or purpose. The a-state incomplete-action verb is used after the following articles: أَنْ ʾan لَنْ lan لِ li کَيْ kay حَتَّىٰ ḥattā إِذَنْ ʾid͡han We will go over these cases in this chapter. 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a a-mark ◌َ, thus: يَفْعَلَ yafɛala This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the a-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the a-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the a-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb a-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلَ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلَ you1f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلَ they2m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلَ Take note the following: The u-state and a-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3f) The a-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3m) 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan أَنْ ʾan “that” is the main article which causes the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state. The other articles that we listed in the introduction are all either derived from أَنْ or include its meaning implicitly without expressing it. 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb أَنْ often follows verbs that have a meaning of wishing or hoping. For example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu ʾan yanjaḥ. “The student hoped that he succeed.” لَا can be used to negate the following a-state incomplete-action verb. لَا combines with أَنْ and assimilates with it to form أَلَّا ʾallā “that not”. For example, أَمَرَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱلِٱبْنَ أَلَّا يَکْسَلَ. ʾamara -lʾabu li-bna ʾallā yaksal. “The father ordered the son that he not be lazy.” Other than this لَا, أَنْ must directly precede the following a-state incomplete-action verb and must not be separated from it. 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun In grammatical theory, أَنْ and the following verb form a clause that is equivalent in meaning to the doing verbal-noun of the verb. So in the example, أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ أَنْ يَنْجَحَ., the أَنْ clause (أَنْ يَنْجَحَ) is equivalent to the doing verbal noun ٱلنَّجَاح. So the sentence is grammatically equivalent to أَمَلَ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلنَّجَاحَ. ʾamala -ṭṭālibu -nnajāḥ. “The student hoped [for] success.” This grammatical equivalence of the أَنْ clause with a noun aloows the أَنْ clause to take the place of a noun in various positions in a sentence. So, in the above example, the أَنْ clause is in place of the direct doee of the verb أَمَلَ: We show other examples below where the أَنْ clause occurs in place of other noun positions. As the subject: As the information: As a doer noun: In the i-state as the base noun in an annexation: In the i-state after a preposition: 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ In the above example the verb رَغِبَ يَرْغَبُ takes an indirect doee after the preposition فِي. In such cases, where the أَنْ clause occurs after a preposition, it is common to drop the preposition as long as there is not resulting confusion in meaning. So, we can also say (without the preposition فِي) for the same meaning: رَغِبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ آَنْ يَأْکُلَ. “The boy desired that he eat.” 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ Ocassionally, أَنْ is used with the meaning “lest”. For example: قَتَلْتُ ٱلثُّعْبَانَ أَنْ يَقْتُلَنِي. “I killed the serpent lest it kill me.” أَنْ may also occur before a completed-action verb. Example: بَلَغَنِي أَنْ رَجَعْتَ. “That you have returned has reached me.” 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ There are other types of أَنْ in the Arabic language. They all have the basic meaning “that”. But they are used in different grammatical ways. The أَنْ we have learned here is called the verbal noun أَنْ because of the equivalence of its clause with a doing verbal noun. There is also another type of أَنْ called the lightened أَنْ that we will learn in section 22.9.2. There is also the explanatory أَنْ and the extra أَنْ that we will cover in chapter ??. 19.4 After لِ li 19.4.1 The لِ of purpose The article أَنْ may be attached to the preposition لِ li thus: لِأَنْ liʾan to give the purpose of the following verb. This لِ may be translated as “so that”. For example: أَکَلَ لِأَنْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” When لِ is thus used, أَنْ is optionally allowed to be dropped while its meaning is retained. لِ is then attached to the verb. So we can say, for the same meaning: أَکَلَ لِيَشْبَعَ. “He ate so that he be sated.” But when using لَا to negate the verb, then أَنْ must be expressed, and the combination of لِ, أَنْ, and لَا is written as لِئَلَّا liʾallā. For example, شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِئَلَّا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water so that he not be thirsty.” By the way, the grammatical equivalence of أَنْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb with a verbal noun of doing applies also to when لِ is used before (either an expressed or an implied) أَنْ. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِيَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. or قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِأَنْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book so that he know its meaning.” Then, grammatically, أَنْ and what follows it may be expressed with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.4.2 The لِ of denial There is a specific لِ, called the لِ of denial, which is used with a-state incomplete-action verbs and the verb کَانَ that we will discuss in section (TODO in کَانَ chapter). 19.5 After کَيْ kay کَيْ kay is a preposition similar to لِ in meaning. It may be translated as “in order that”, or also as “so that”. It is also used before the a-state incomplete-action verb. The difference from لِ is that, when لِ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb, expressing or dropping the أَنْ was optional. But with کَيْ, dropping the أَنْ is mandatory, while its meaning is retained. For example: أَکَلَ کَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” لَا is used, as usual, to negate the verb and is attached to کَيْ thus: کَيْلَا kaylā. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ کَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” The preposition لِ may be combined with کَيْ thus: لِکَيْ likay, for more or less the same meaning. For example: أَکَلَ لِکَيْ يَشْبَعَ. “He ate in order that he be sated.” With لَا the whole combination is written as لِکَيْلَا likaylā. أَنْ must again be not be expressed. Example: شَرِبَ ٱلْمَاءَ لِکَيْلَا يَعْطَشَ. “He drank the water in order that he not be thirsty.” By the way, کَيْ and a following a-state incomplete-action verb are not directly replaced by a verbal noun of doing. So, for example, if we have a sentence: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ کَيْ يَعْلَمَ مَفْهُومَهُ. “He read the book in order that he know its meaning.” Then لِ is to be used in place of کَيْ if we wish to replace it and what follows with the verbal noun of doing عِلْم thus: قَرَأَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لِعِلْمِ مَفْهُومِهِ. “He read the book for the knowledge of its meaning.” 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā حَتَّىٰ ḥattā is a particle that can be used in multiple ways. Its basic meaning is “until” or “to the point of” or “even” where it indicates an extreme limit. Before we discuss its use with a verb following it, we will take a short digression to discuss its use with a following noun. 19.6.1 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following noun Consider the following sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسِهَا. “I ate the fish until its head.” حَتَّىٰ “until”, here, is used as a preposition. Therefore, رَأْس is in the i-state, as the noun following a preposition. The meaning of the sentence is that the fish was eaten all the way to its head. (Whether the head itself was eaten or not is ambiguous. The sentence itself admits both meanings.) Consider now a variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ حَتَّىٰ رَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish, even its head.” رَأْس, here, is in the a-state because it is a direct doee of the verb أَکَلَ “ate”. The particle حَتَّىٰ “even”, here, is only a connector between the direct doees in much the same way as وَ “and”. (أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ وَرَأْسَهَا. “I ate the fish and its head.”) Consider now yet another variant of this sentence: أَکَلْتُ ٱلسَّمَکَةَ. حَتَّىٰ رَأْسُهَا [أَکَلْتُهَا]. “I ate the fish. Even its head [I ate].” Now رَأْس is in the u-state because it is actually the subject of a new sentence, whose information is (an either expressed or implied) أَکَلْتُهَا “I ate it”. حَتَّىٰ, here, serves as an introductory particle to the second subject and does not affect the state of the following noun. 19.6.2 حَتَّىٰ ḥattā with a following verb Just as حَتَّىٰ is used for different purposes with a following noun, so too is it used with different purposes with a verb following it. 19.6.2.1 حَتَّىٰ with a following a-state incomplete-action verb When the verb following حَتَّىٰ signifies the expectation or purpose of a future action, then the verb used is an a-state incomplete-action verb. This is done in the following two scenarios: When حَتَّىٰ is used to indicate an extreme point at which the action of the following verb would occur, or is meant to occur. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ حَتَّىٰ أَخْتِمَهُ. “I read the Qurʾān to the point of finishing it.” يَغْضَبُ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. “He becomes angry to the point of their fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. “He became angry to the point of not controlling himself.” It is noteworthy that the use of حَتَّىٰ, here, implies only that the following action is meant to occur, or is at the point of being expected to occur. It doesn’t actually state that the action will actually occur, for something may prevent it from occurring in reality. Note, also, that لَا is not attached to حَتَّىٰ in حَتَّىٰ لَا. Also, similar to the case of کَيْ, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. In fact, حَتَّىٰ, here, can be considered synonymous to إِلَىٰ أَنْ “to [the point] that”. So the above examples can be considered similar in meaning to: قَرَأْتُ ٱلْقُرْآنَ إِلَىٰ أَنْ أَخْتِمَهُ. يَغْضَبُ إِلَىٰ أَنْ يَهْرَبُوا مِنْهُ. غَضِبَ إِلَىٰ أَلَّا يَمْلِکَ نَفْسَهُ. When حَتَّىٰ is used with the meaning “to such a purpose that”. This is a similar meaning to کَيْ “in order that”. For example, أَذْهَبُ إِلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَأْمُرَنِي بِشَيْءٍ. “I go to him to such a purpose that he order me [to do] something.” وَعَظَ ٱلْأَبُ ٱبْنَهُ حَتَّىٰ يَصْلُحَ. “The father admonished his son to such a purpose that he be righteous.” Again, there is an assumed (but mandatorily unexpressed) أَنْ which is the real cause of the following incomplete-action verb being in the a-state. Sometimes, the sentence itself may admit both of the above meanings. For example: يَأْکُلُ حَتَّىٰ يَشْبَعَ. “He eats to the point of being full.” and/or “He eats to the purpose that he be full.” Context would be needed to determine which meaning or whether both meanings are intended. 19.6.2.2 حَتَّىٰ with no effect on the following verb If حَتَّىٰ is not used with any expectation or purpose of a future action of the verb following it, then it has no effect on this verb. (It goes without saying that an implicit أَنْ is not assumed with حَتَّىٰ in this case.) The verb following حَتَّىٰ in this case may even be a completed-action verb. For example: أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ شَبِعْتُ. “I ate the food until I became full.” When used with a following incomplete-action verb, the verb is put in the u-state and the meaning is that the action of the verb before حَتَّىٰ was done to such an extent that it caused the action of the verb following حَتَّىٰ to definitely occur. The action before حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a past action, and the action following حَتَّىٰ must necessarily be a present (not a future) action. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ حَتَّىٰ أَشْبَعُ. “I ate the food to such an extent that I am (being) full.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ يَهْرَبُونَ مِنْهُ. “He became so angry that they are fleeing from him.” غَضِبَ حَتَّىٰ لَا يَمْلِکُ نَفْسَهُ. “He became so angry that he is not controlling himself.” Compare these examples with the corresponding ones in the previous sub-section that have an a-state incomplete action verb. 19.7 After لَنْ lan لَا and أَنْ are combined to form لَنْ lan with the meaning “shall not”. لَنْ is used with the a-state incomplete-action verb to emphatically negate the future. لَنْ تَذْهَبَ. “You1m shall not go.” 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han TODO 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ 19.9.1 As connectors If the connectors وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ occur after an a-state incomplete-action verb, then a second a-state incomplete-action verb (that doesn’t have its own أَنْ, etc.) may be either in the a-state or the u-state. For example, أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعَ. (أَسْمَعَ in a-state) “I desire that I attend the session and [that] I listen.” or أَرْغَبُ أَنْ أَحْضُرَ ٱلْمَجْلِسَ وَأَسْمَعُ. (أَسْمَعَ in u-state) “I desire that I attend the session and I will listen.” 19.9.2 With special meanings وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ also cause the following incomplete-action verb to be in the a-state in their own right, not simply as connectors. This is discussed in more detail in chapter TODO. "],["state-incomplete-action-verbs.html", "20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb 20.8 The verb of command", " 20 ø-state incomplete-action verbs 20.1 Introduction In chapter 17 we mentioned that incomplete action verbs have three states (like nouns). These states are called: The u-state The a-state The ø-state We have already studied the u-state of incomplete-action verbs in chapter 17. And we will defer the study of a-state of incomplete-action verbs to chapter 19. In this chapter we will study the ø-state incomplete-action verb. We will also study the verb of command which is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”: يَفْعَلُ yafɛalu “he does” Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. In order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb, we change the u-mark into a ø-mark ◌ْ, thus: يَفْعَلْ yafɛal This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ. For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the ø-state incomplete-action verb. So, for example, the u-state incomplete-action verb: يَفْعَلَانِ yafɛalāni “they2,m do” becomes, for the ø-state: يَفْعَلَا yafɛalā Here is the complete table of the ø-state incomplete-action verb for all doer participants. Participant Incomplete-action verb doer pronoun u-state incomplete-action verb ø-state incomplete-action verb he invisible يَفْعَلُ يَفْعَلْ she invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,m invisible تَفْعَلُ تَفْعَلْ you1,f ي تَفْعَلِينَ تَفْعَلِي I invisible أَفْعَلُ أَفْعَلْ they2,m ا يَفْعَلَانِ يَفْعَلَا they2,f ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا you2 ا تَفْعَلَانِ تَفْعَلَا they3+,m و يَفْعَلُونَ يَفْعَلُوا they3+,f نَ يَفْعَلْنَ يَفْعَلْنَ (same) you3+,m و تَفْعَلُونَ تَفْعَلُوا you3+,f نَ تَفْعَلْنَ تَفْعَلْنَ (same) we invisible نَفْعَلُ نَفْعَلْ Take note the following: The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants: يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) When the ø-state incomplete-action verb ends with a ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example: يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”: لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ “The man should go!” or “Let the man go!” (“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.) لِنَذْهَبْ! “Let’s go!” The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter. The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples: فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا. “So let us eat our food and drink our drink!” لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “You should sit on the ground!” 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”. For example, لَا تَکْتُبُوا “Don’t write3,m!” يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ! “Don’t1,m enter the house!” The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example: فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ! “So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!” Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example: لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!” By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example: لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu. “The man does not go.” or, “The man is not going.” or, “The man will not go.” 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of negating the past tense In English this can be translated using “did not”. For example, لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ. “The man did not go.” We have already learned in section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example: مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ. mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu. “The man did not go.” or, “The man has not gone.” Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ. Here are some more examples: 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example, لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ. “Zayd did not go yet.” 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb The ø-state incomplete-action verb is also used for consequential actions and in conditional statements. We will deal with these in chapters ?? and ?? respectively 20.8 The verb of command In order to give a direct command to an addressee, Arabic uses the verb of command. The verb of command is very similar to the ø-state incomplete-action verb. The verb of command is only available for the addressee participant. 20.8.1 Forming the verb of command Here is the verb of command for the addressee participants: Participant Verb of command you1,m ٱفْعَلْ you1,f ٱفْعَلِي you2 ٱفْعَلَا you3+,m ٱفْعَلُوا you3+,f ٱفْعَلْنَ In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it. When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria: When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples: Verb Verb of command for “he” عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” Here are some examples of using the verb of command: The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above. لَا تَذْهَبْ “Don’t go!” 20.8.2 The verb of command for roots begin with hamzah Appendix A details the rules for speeling words that contain hamzah generally. In addition to those rules, the verb of command for roots that begin with hamzah warrant additional discussion. Consider the following form 1 verbs and their verbs of command for the singular masculine addressee doer “he”: Root Verb Verb of command «أمل» أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope” ٱؤْمُلْ «أذن» أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit” ٱئْذَنْ Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence: يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ! yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib! “O my mother, permit me to play!” يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ! yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr! “O Zayd, hope for good!” When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples: ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ! ʾūmul not \\(\\times\\) ʾuʾmul ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي! ʾīd͡hanī not \\(\\times\\) ʾiʾd͡hanī As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples: وَأْمُلْ waʾmul “And hope!” فَأْذَنْ faʾd͡han “So permit!” 20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command In addition to the rules states above there are four verbs of command (all containing hamzah) that are irregular. We will discuss them below: 20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular: Root Verb Verb of command «أکل» أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” کُلْ «أخذ» أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” خُذْ «أمر» أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” مُرْ As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”. Then, it becomes وَأْمُرْ waʾmur and فَأْمُرْ faʾmur This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs. Here are some examples of these verbs of command: 20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly: Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal Irregular: سَلْ sal If the verb of command is preceded by وَ “and” or فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred. Otherwise, the irregular verb of command سَلْ sal is often preferred. Examples of usage: "],["the-unknown-doer-verb.html", "21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb 21.3 The deputy doer 21.4 Impersonal use 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb", " 21 The unknown-doer verb 21.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: شَرِبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْمَاءَ. s͡hariba zayduni -lmāʾ. “Zayd drank the water.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ “Zayd” is the doer of the verb شَرِبَ “drank”. This construction of the verb, which we have been using so far, is called the known-doer verb construction, because the doer of the verb, in this case “Zayd” is known. Now consider the following sentence: شُرِبَ ٱلْمَاءُ. s͡huriba -lmāʾ. “The water was drunk.” In this sentence, the doer of the verb, i.e. the person who is doing the action of the verb “to drink”, is not mentioned. From the sentence itself it is unknown who the doer is. This construction of the verb is called the unknown-doer verb construction. 21.2 Forming the unknown-doer verb So far we have been studing form 1 verbs, which use only the three root letters. As we know, the vowel on the middle root letter is variable for known-doer verbs, for example: شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ “to drink”. فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ “to open” کَبُرَ يَکْبُرُ “to become big” etc. The pattern of unknown-doer verb for form 1 verbs is always: فُعِلَ يُفْعَلُ fuɛila yufɛalu This is regardless of the vowel on the middle root letter in the known-doer verb. If there is more than one verb from the same root, with different middle root letter vowels for the known-doer verb, then they will share the same unknown-doer verb. For example, the known-doer verbs: حَسَبَ يَحْسُبُ “to reckon” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem” share the same unknown-doer verb: حُسِبَ يُحْسَبُ. The same doer pronouns are used for the unknown-doer verb as for the known-doer verb. And the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb has the same three states as the incomplete-action known-doer verb. For example: فُعِلُوا fuɛilū “they3m” (completed-action) تُفْعَلَانِ tufɛalāni “you2” or “they2f” (u-state incomplete-action) أُفْعَلَ ʾufɛala “I” (a-state incomplete-action) etc. The complete table showing the doer pronouns is given in appendix ??. 21.3 The deputy doer Consider again this sentence with an unknown-doer verb construction: Note that the noun ٱَلْمَاءُ ʾalmāʾu “the water” is in the u-state. This is because, in the absence of the doer, the direct-doee of the known-doer verb (ٱَلْمَاءَ) is deputized to take doer’s place in the u-state. It is then known as the deputy doer. The doer pronouns for the unknown-doer verb shall therefore match the gender and number of the deputy doer. Here are some examples: شُکِرَتِ ٱلأُمَّهَاتُ وَمُدِحْنَ. s͡hukirati -lʾummahātu wamudiḥn. “The mothers were thanked and praised.” أَنْتُمَا تُغْبَنَانِ وَتُخْدَعَانِ. ʾantumā tug͡hbanāni watuk͡hdaɛān. “You2 are being cheated and deceived.” مَا قُطِعَتِ ٱلشَّجَرَةُ. mā quṭiɛati -s͡hs͡hajarah. “The tree was not cut.” 21.3.1 The deputy doer for multiple direct doees Some verbs, in the known-doer construction, take multiple doees. These verbs can be classified into two classes: Verbs that cause the first direct doee to be affected by, or asked for, the second direct doee. Examples: مَلَأَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلدَّلْوَ مَاءً. “The boy filled the bucket (with) water.” مَنَعَ ٱلْمَرَضُ ٱلرَّجُلَ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “Sickness prevented the man (from) work.” سَأَلَ ٱلْفَقِيرُ ٱلْغَنِيَّ دِرْهَمًا. “The poor [man] asked the rich [man] (for) a dirham.” Verbs that siginify an action of the heart or of intention, like thinking, deeming, making, etc. Examples: حَسِبْتُ زَيْدًا صَدِيقًا. “I deemed Zayd [to be] a friend” وَجَدَتِ ٱلطَّالِبَةُ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةَ حَلِيمَةً. “The studentf found the professorf [to be] forbearing.” جَعَلَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمَاءَ بَرَکَةً. “Allāh has made the water a blessing.” When such verbs are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then one, and only one, direct doee shall be chosen to be the deputy doer. It is generally preferred to make the first direct doee the deputy-doer, and leave the second direct doee, as is, in the a-state. Here are the same sentences in the unknown-doer construction: مُلِئَتِ ٱلدَّلْوُ مَاءً. (دَلْو “bucket” is feminine.) “The bucket was filled (with) water.” مُنِعَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْعَمَلَ. “The man was prevented (from) work.” سُئِلَ ٱلْغَنِيُّ دِرْهَمًا. “The rich [man] was asked for a dirham.” حُسِبَ زَيْدٌ صَدِيقًا. “Zayd was deemed [to be] a friend” وُجِدَتِ ٱلْأُسْتَاذَةُ حَلِيمَةً. “The professorf was found [to be] forbearing.” جُعِلَ ٱلْمَاءُ بَرَکَةً. “Water has been made a blessing.” 21.4 Impersonal use When verbs are used without a direct doee, then their unknown-doer construction gives in an impersonal meaning. There are a few such usages that we will explain in the following subsections. 21.4.1 With prepositional phrases Some verbs take no direct doees, but are used with prepositional phrases. For example, جَلَسَ ٱلنَّاسُ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ. “The people sat upon the ground.” Other verbs, which can take a direct doee, may be used without one, and again with a prepositional phrase instead. For example: کَتَبَ ٱلْکَاتِبُ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The scribe wrote with the pen.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction then the prepositional phrase may be taken as the deputy doer. However, the preposition causes the noun following it to remain in the i-state. So the deputy doer is not indicated by an apparent u-mark (or by the other indicators of the u-state). The verb then appears to be in the singular masculine, with its deputy doer following it. For example: کُتِبَ بِٱلْقَلَمِ. “The pen was written with.” 21.4.2 With adverbs of time or place Other verbs don’t take a direct doee but may be used with an adverb of time or place in the a-state. (We will study adverbs of time and place in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) Here is an example: When this sentence is converted to an unknown-doer construction then the adverb of time or place can be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state: سُهِرَتْ لَيلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The Night of Power was stayed up [in].” Note the u-state of لَيْلَةُ laylatu as the deputy doer. 21.4.3 With the verbal noun of doing The verbal noun of doing, because it is the action being done may be considered a kind of direct doee. (We will study the use of the verbal noun of doing as a doee in chapter ??, if Allāh wills.) For example: فَهِمَ ٱلشَّيْخُ فَهْمًا عَمِيقًا. “The old man understood, a deep understanding.” When such sentences are converted to the unknown-doer verb construction, then the verbal noun of doing may be taken as the deputy doer in the u-state. فُهِمَ فَهْمٌ عَمِيقٌ. “A deep understanding was understood.” 21.4.4 Requirement of specialization When a prepositional phrase, or an adverb of time or place, or a verbal noun of doing is to be used as a deputy doer in an unknown-doer verb construction, then it is required that they be specialized in meaning, and not used in a general sense. So for example, if we have the sentence: سَهَرَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ لَيلَةً. “The mother stayed up a night.” then because of the non-specialized meaning of لَيْلَةً, such a sentence is typically not suitable for being converted to a unknown-doer verb construction. 21.4.5 Choosing the deputy doer If a sentence is to be converted to an unknown-doer verb construction and it has more than one of the following: a direct doee a specialized prepositional phrase a specialized adverb of time or place a specialized verbal noun of doing Then only one shall be chosen as the deputy doer. If a direct doee exists, then it is typically chosen. If a direct doee does not exist, then the one desired to be emphasized may be chosen as the deputy doer. For example: سُهِرَ فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ لَيلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ. “The mosque was stayed up in [on] the Night of Power.” In the above sentence the prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَسْجِدِ was chosen as the deputy doer, and the adverb of time لَيْلَةَ remains, as is, in the a-state. 21.5 States of the incomplete-action unknown-doer verb The incomplete-action verb unknown-doer verb has three states, just like the incomplete-action verb known-doer verb: The u-state, the a-state, and the ø-state. The three states are used in the same circumstances, and with the same rules that we have already learned. So the u-state verb is used for making plain statements: تُذْکَرُ قِصَّةُ ٱلْمَلِکِ فِي کُتُبِ ٱلتَّأْرِيخِ. “The story of the king is mentioned in the books of history.” لَا تُرْفَعُ ٱلْأَصْوَاتُ فِي ٱلْمَکْتَبَةِ. “Voices are not raised in the library.” The a-state verb is used for expressing wish or purpose: يَأْمُلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنْ يُغْفَرُ لَهُمْ. “The Muslims hope that they be forgiven.” (Note that يُغْفَرَ has a singular masculine deputy doer because there is no direct doee.) لَنْ تُسْمَعَا. “You2 shall not be heard.” دُفِعَ ٱلْبَابُ حَتَّىٰ يُفْتَحَ. “The door was pushed for the result that it open.” Similarly, the ø-state verb is used in the following cases: With لَمْ “was not”: لَمْ يُؤْذَنْ لِي أَنْ أَدْخُلَ. “It was not permitted for me that I enter.” With لَمَّا “not yet” لَمَّا يُکْتَبْ کِتَابٌ فِي هَـٰذَا ٱلْمَوْضُوعِ. “A book has not yet been written in this subject.” With لِ for indirect commands: لِيُسْمَعْ صَوْتُهُ! “Let his voice be heard!” There is no verb of command for unknown-doer verbs. So while indirect commands are typically not used for the addressee participant for known-doer verbs (see section 20.3), they are the only way to issue commands for the addressee participant in the unknown-doer verb construction: لِتُنْصَرُوا! “Let you3m be aided!” 21.6 Usage of the unknown-doer verb There are cases where it is permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction, and cases where it is not permissible to use of the unknown-doer verb construction. We will explain them below: 21.6.1 Permissible use of the unknown-doer verb There can be a number of reasons why a speaker is forced to, or chooses to, use the unknown-doer verb construction. Among these reasons are: When the doer is actually unknown to the speaker. This is the classic use-case, as indicated by the name unknown-doer verb. (But, as we shall see below, it is not the only use case.) So, if we say: کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. “The glass was broken.” then, it may be that we don’t know who broke the glass, and that is why we are expressing it in the unknown-doer verb construction. When the doer is known to the speaker, but he does not wish to make him known to others. So the same sentence above کُسِرَتِ ٱلزُّجَاجَةُ. could be used when the speaker knows that it was actually زَيْد “Zayd”, for example, who broke the glass, but the speaker does not wish that others find out that it was Zayd. This itself could be for any reason, for example: the speaker fears Zayd, for fears for Zayd, etc. When the speaker wishes to draw attention to the act itself rather than the doer of the act. So we might say: مُنِعْنَا ٱلدُّخُولَ. “We have been prevented from entering.” when we wish to focus on the act of our having been prevented, rather than who prevented us. For stylistic reasons, when it is obvious and known who the doer is. For example: خُلِقَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ مِنْ ْعَجَلٍ “Man was created of haste [i.e., impatience].” (Qurʾān 21:37. Trans. Saheeh International) In the above ʾāyah it is known and obvious that Allāh created man. In order to glorify the doer. So we might the unknown-doer verb construction to say: خُلِقَ ٱلْخِنْزِيرُ. “The pig was created.” This could be to distance Allāh from being mentioned next to the name of a particularly dirty animal. When the doer is not mentioned due to contempt for him. For example: قُتِلَ أَمِيرُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عُمَرُ. “The Commander of the believers, Ɛumar, was killed.” In this sentence we chose not to name the killer due to contempt for him. These reasons are not mutually exclusive, and sometimes the unknown-doer verb construction is used for a combination of them. 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb The unknown-doer verb may not be used when the doer is mentioned with the verb. This is different from English which can use the word “by” to indicate the doer in a passive voice construction, as in: “The book was written by Zayd.”. Such a sentence, in Arabic can only be expressed with the known-doer verb construction: کَتَبَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْکِتَابَ. kataba zayduni -lkitāb. “Zayd wrote the book.” It may seem like this rule is broken in sentences like: قُتِلَ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qutila bi-ssayf. “He was killed by the sword.” But such is not the case. The known-doer verb constuction would be something like: قَتَلَهُ فُلَانٌ بِٱلسَّيْفِ. qatalahu fulānun bi-ssayf. “So-and-so killed him with the sword.” As you can see, فُلَان “so-and-so” is actually the doer, and ٱلسَّيْف “the sword” is merely a prepositional phrase indicating the instrument used in the act. "],["إن-and-its-sisters.html", "22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna 22.6 لَيْتَ layta 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ", " 22 إِنَّ and its sisters 22.1 Introduction In the basic subject-information sentence, both the subject and the information are in the u-state. For example: “This man is a teacher.” In the above sentence both the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man”, and the information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” are in the u-state. In this chapter we will study a family of particles, called إِنَّ and its sisters, that modify the subject-information sentence by placing the subject in the a-state instead of the u-state. For example, إِنَّ ٱلرَّجُلَ مُعَلِّمٌ. ʾinna -rrajula muɛallimun. “Indeed the man is a teacher.” Note how, in the above example, the subject ٱَلرَّجُلَ “the man” is now in the a-state. The information مُعَلِّمٌ “a teacher” remains in the u-state. The particles constituting the family of إِنَّ and its sisters are: إِنَّ ʾinna أَنَّ ʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna لَيْتَ layta لَعَلَّ laɛalla We shall now study each of these particles. 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna إِنَّ ʾinna is used to begin independent sentences. It has an emphatic meaning, as if the speaker is asserting the information about the subject. It is often translated into English as “indeed” or “verily”, but it is also often left untranslated. إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). For example, إِنَّ ٱلدِّينَ عِنْدَ ٱللَّـٰهِ ٱلْإِسْلَامُ. ʾinna -ddīna ɛinda -llāhi -lʾislāmu. “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allāh is Islām.” (Qurʾān 3:19, trans. Saheeh International) إِنَّ ʾinna may be preceded by other particles like وَ “and”, فَ “so”, and ثُمَّ “then”. For example, ٱُطْلُبِ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ. فَإِنَّ طَلَبَ ٱلْعِلْمَ ٱلنَّافِعَ عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ. وَإِنَّ تَرْکَهُ غَفْلَةٌ. “Seek the useful knowledge. For indeed the seeking of the useful knowledge is a good deed. And indeed leaving it is a negligence.” The subject of إِنَّ ʾinna may be a noun phrase, in which case, any describers or replacements of the subject are also in the a-state. Examples: إِنَّ هَـٰؤُلَاءِ ٱلرِّجَالَ ٱلْکِرَامَ أَصْدِقَائِي. “Indeed these noble men are my friends.” إِنَّ ʾinna may have multiple subjects, each in the a-state, separated by وَ. Example, إِنَّ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَٱلْمُسْلِمَاتِ يَعْبُدُونَ ٱللَّـٰهَ. “Indeed the Muslim men and Muslim women worship Allāh.” If the information of the first subject has been mentioned before the second subject, then the second subject may optionally be in the a-state or the u-state. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرًا. or إِنَّ زَيْدًا جَالِسٌ وَعَمْرٌو. “Indeed Zayd is sitting and Ɛamr [as well].” إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَابَ لَکَ. or إِنَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ لِي وَذَ ٰلِکَ ٱلْکِتَاکُ لَکَ. “Indeed this book is for me and that book is for you.” إِنَّ ʾinna may be used to begin sentences with an indefinite subject. For example, إِنَّ مَلِکًا مِنَ ٱلْهِنْدِ کَتَبَ إِلَىٰ أَحَدِ وُزَرَائِهِ. “Indeed a king from India wrote to one of his ministers.” Note that in all the above examples that إِنَّ ʾinna is only used to begin subject-information sentences. Verbal sentences cannot be introduced by إِنَّ ʾinna directly. (Later, in section ??, we shall see how to overcome this restriction.). By default, the subject of إِنَّ ʾinna must directly follow it with no intervening words or particles. The only exception is when the information consists of a prepositional or adverbial phrase, it is then allowed to precede the subject. The subject, in any case, shall be in the a-state. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ رَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is a man.” إِنَّ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ کَنْزًا ثَمِينًا. “Indeed, under the tree, is a precious treasure.” This reverse order is permitted even when the subject is definite. For example, إِنَّ مَعَکَ صَاحِبَکَ. “Indeed, with you, is your companion.” This puts the logical accent on the subject صَاحِبَکَ “your companion”. If the subject is placed first then this puts the logical accent on the information: إِنَّ صَاحِبَکَ مَعَکَ. “Indeed your companion is with you.” If the subject contains a pronoun that refers to a noun in the information then the information must precede the subject. For example, إِنَّ فِي ٱلْمَصْنَعِ عُمَّالَهُ. “Indeed, in the factory, are its workers.” إِنَّ أَمَامَ ٱلدَّارِ حَارِسَهَا. “Indeed, in front of the door, is its guard.” 22.2.1 Pronoun subjects The subject of إِنَّ may be a pronoun instead of a noun. For this the attached pronouns are used. For example, لَا تَقْطَعْ تِلْکَ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَإِنَّهَا ظَلِيلَةٌ. “Don’t cut that tree, for it is shady.” إِنَّکُمَا صَدِيقَايَ. “You2 are my friends.” The speaker pronouns, both singular and plural, may optionally keep or drop their ن. So for the singular speaker pronoun both إِنَّنِي ʾinnanī and إِنِّي ʾinnī may be used. And for the plural speaker pronoun both إِنَّنَا ʾinnanā and إِنَّا ʾinnā may be used. Examples: إِنِّي مُسْلِمٌ. or إِنَّنِي مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed I am a Muslim.” إِنَّنَا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. or إِنَّا کَاتِبُو هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ. “Indeed we are the writers of this book.” إِنَّ with the speaker pronouns are often used with doer verbal nouns to signify that the speaker intends to to the action of the verb. For example, إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ. “I’m going to the mosque.” We also mentioned this point in section 23.4.2. 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ The strengthening particle لَ adds extra emphasis and may optionally be used between the subject of إِنَّ and its information. If the subject occurs first (as is the default) then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the information. For example: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَقَائِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is definitely standing.” If the information precedes the subject, then then لَ is connected to and placed directly before the subject. For example: إِنَّ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ لَرَجُلًا. “Indeed, in the house, is definitely a man.” The strengthening particle لَ is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters (إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, لَـٰکِنَّ, لَيْتَ, and لَعَلَّ). 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters Unless otherwise noted, the rules we have presented above for إِنَّ, for example, the subject being in the a-state, the order of the subject and the predicate, the use of attached pronouns for the subject, etc., apply also to its other sisters. The strengthening particle لَ, as mentioned above, is only used with إِنَّ and not for any of its other sisters. 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna The particle أَنَّ ʾanna can be translated as “that”. It is similar to إِنَّ in that it is asserts the information about the subject. But أَنَّ is different from إِنَّ in that إِنَّ, its subject, and its information together constitute a complete sentence. Whereas the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ , its subject, and its information together) does not constitute a complete sentence. For example, consider the expression: زَيْدٌ صَادِقٌ. “Zayd is truthful.” This is a complete sentence. But if we add أَنَّ “that” to its beginning, it no longer remains a complete sentence: أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ “that Zayd is truthful” We need to additional words, external to the أَنَّ clause to complete the sentence. We will see examples of this below. 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee “I know that Zayd is truthful.” Note how, in the example above the أَنَّ clause (أَنَّ زَيْدًا صَادِقٌ) has occupied the place of the direct doee of the verb أَعْلَمُ. In a similar manner, أَنَّ clauses can be placed where one would expect other noun positions, such as: a subject, an information, a doer, and more. Here are some examples: 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer Example: “That you are sick has reached me.” (“It has reached me that you are sick.”) 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject Example (with information before subject in sentence word order): “From his characteristeics is that he is noble.” 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information Example: “The truth is that he went.” 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ As you know, کَانَ’s doer is also its subject, and its doee is also its information. The أَنَّ clause can occur in either the subject or the information of کَنَ. For example, the أَنَّ clause as the information: “The matter was that he didn’t do his obligation.” Now, the أَنَّ clause as the subject: “That he didn’t do his obligation was the matter.” Note that in the latter case, the information precedes the subject. 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state base noun in an annexation. Example: “The highway robbers (literally: the cutters of the way) have increased to the degree that the journey is dangerous.” The أَنَّ clause can occur in place of an i-state noun directly following a preposition. Example: “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.1 Optionally deleting the preposition directlt before an أَنَّ clause If an أَنَّ clause directly follows a preposition, it is permissible to optionally delete the preposition as long as the meaning remains clear. So the previous example can be expressed without the preposition مِنْ with the same meaning: عَجِبْتُ أَنَّ زَيْدًا نَائِمٌ. “I wondered at that Zayd is asleep.” 22.3.6.2 لِأَنَّ “because” The combination of the preposition لِ “for” and أَنَّ is used to mean “because”. For example, أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لِأَنَّنِي کُنْتُ جَائِعًا. “I ate the food because I was hungry.” 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing As a matter of grammatical theory, the أَنَّ clause, i.e. (أَنَّ itself, its subject, and its information) is considered equivalent to a verbal noun of doing (typically in an annexation, and possibly with a doee as well). It is this equivalalence that allows it to thake the place of a doer, direct doee, and the other categories we have given above. For instance, consider the example: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب. “I wondered at that Zayd went.” Here, the clause أَنَّ زَيْدًا ذَهَب is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ “Zayd’s going”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: عَجِبْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٍ. “I wondered at Zayd’s going.” Similarly, in the example, مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ. “From his characteristics is that he is generous.” the clause أَنَّهُ کَرِيمٌ is equivalent to the verbal noun phrase کَرَامَتِهِ “his generosity”. So the grammatically equivalent sentence with this verbal noun phrase is: کَرَامَتِهِ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ. “His generosity is from his characteristics.” This grammatical equivalence is more a matter of theory than of practical usefulness to us. And you have seen this grammatical equivalence before with أَنْ and a-state incomplete action verbs in chanpter ??. 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna کَأَنَّ kaʾanna may be translated as “[It is] as if”. It is actually simply the preposition کَ “like” attached to أَنَّ. But it is treated separately because, unlike أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ kaʾanna, its subject, and its information constitute a complete sentence. For example, کَأَنَّ ٱلْأُمُّ مَدْرَسَةٌ. “[It is] as if the mother is a school.” TODO: add more info 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna TODO 22.6 لَيْتَ layta TODO 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla TODO 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact 22.8.1 Topic-comment sentences There is a sub-type of subject-information sentence called a topic-comment sentence. Here is an example: “The tree: its branches are long.” In these kinds of sentences, the subject introduces a topic, and the information is itself a sentence which comments on the topic/subject. We have, in fact, already seen sentences like this in section 6.9.1, when we take a verbal sentence and convert it to a subject-information sentence. This is the example we discussed there: ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. “The man: he wrote a book.” 22.8.1.1 The linker pronoun A topic-comment sentence typically requires a pronoun in the comment that links back to the comment. In the example ٱَلشَّجَرَةُفُرُوعُهَا طَوِيلَةٌ., the attached pronoun هَا “it” in فُرُوعُهَا “its tree” is the linker pronoun that links back to the topic ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ “the tree”. Similarly, in the example ٱَلرَّجُلُ کَتَبَ کِتَابًا. the linker pronoun is the invisible doer pronoun “he” of the verb کَتَبَ “he wrote” that links back to the topic ٱَلرَّجُلُ “the man”. 22.8.1.2 Topic-comment sentences with إِنَّ and its sisters إِنَّ and its sisters are very often used in topic-comment sentences. (With أَنَّ it is, as usual, an incomplete sentence.) Here are some examples: إِنَّ زَيْدًا لَهُ أَخٌ وَأُخْتٌ. “Indeed Zayd: he has a brother and sister.” ٱِعْلَمْ أَنَّ ٱلْعِلْمَ حُصُولُهُ يَتَطَلَّبُ جُهْدًا. “Know that knowledge: its obtaining requires effort.” 22.8.1.3 Topic-comment sentences with a pronoun topic The topic, in a topic-comment sentence, is frequently a pronoun. For example, أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” أَکَلْتُ ٱلطَّعَامَ لَـٰکِنَّکَ لَمْ تَأْکُلْ. “I ate the food but you: you didn’t eat.” 22.8.2 The pronoun of the fact Mostly, pronouns are used in place of nouns when it is already known to whom the noun refers to. So if you say: أَنَا ٱسْمِي زَيْدٌ. “I: my name is Zayd.” the pronoun أَنَا “I” refers to the speaker, who is known. There is a special pronoun, called the pronoun of the fact that begins topic-comment sentences. This pronoun does not refer to any previously known entity, but rather refers to the comment that follows it. It is sometimes translated as “the fact is” but is often left untranslated. Here is an example: “The fact is: the cold is intense.” This pronoun is usually the singular masculine pronoun (as above) but it is also sometimes the singular feminine pronoun هِيَ. It is typically used with statements of import, to which the speaker wishes to draw attention. The comment does not contain a linker pronoun because the whole comment refers back to the topic. The pronoun of the fact is frequently used with إِنَّ and its sisters. Here are some examples: إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ ٱلْکَافِرُونَ. “Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.” (Qurʾān 23:117, trans. Saheeh International) Sometimes, one can choose between using the pronoun of the fact and a pronoun matching the participant resulting in different emphasis. For example, إِنِّهُ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, the fact is: they are the doers.” إِنِّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْفَاعِلُونَ “Indeed, they are the doers.” 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ The particles إِنَّ, أَنَّ, کَأَنَّ, and لَـٰکِنَّ, because of the doubled نّ are considered heavy. There exist lightened versions of these particles that are: إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ. These lightened versions have similar meanings to their heavy counterparts but they have somewhat different rules. We will discuss them below. In terms of their usage إِنْ and کَأَنْ are not very commonly used except in the Qurʾān, poetry, and other rhetorical texts. أَنْ and لَـٰکِنْ are relatively more common. 22.9.1 The lightened إِنْ The lightened إِنْ is used in two different ways. In the more common way, the subject is not put in the a-state but is rather in the u-state. However, the strengthening لَ (see section 22.2.2 above), that was optional with the heavy إِنَّ, is now mandatory with the lightened إِنْ. For example, إِنْ زَيْدٌ لَمُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” The other notable difference between the lightened إِنْ and the heavy إِنَّ is that the heavy إِنَّ is only used to introduce subject-information sentences. The lightened إِنْ, however, can be used to introduce verbal sentences, but only those that begin with the verbs: کَانَ and its sisters, کَادَ and its sisters, and ظَنَّ and its sisters. For example, قَرَأْتُ ٱلْکِتَابَ وَإِنْ کَانَ ٱلْکِتَابُ لَجَيِّدًا. “I read the book and indeed the book was good.” The second, less common way, of using the lightened إِنْ is following the same rules as the the heavy إِنَّ. Where the subject is in the a-state and the use of the strengthening لَ is optional. For example, إِنْ زَيْدًا مُسْلِمٌ. “Indeed Zayd is a Muslim.” 22.9.2 The lightened أَنْ As we know, the heavy أَنَّ is an emphatic particle and is frequently used with the pronoun of the fact, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the fact is: the cold is intense.” When we wish not to use much emphasis, we may replace the heavy أَنَّ along with its following pronoun of the fact (أَنَّهُ/أَنَّهَا) with a lightened أَنْ, thus: أَعْلَمُ أَنِ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدٌ. “I know that the cold is intense.” Note that the lightened أَنْ replaces أَنَّهُ, which is the combination of heavy أَنَّ and the pronoun of the fact هُ. So the pronoun of the fact (هُ) does not appear with the lightened أَنْ. In the above example, the lightened أَنْ introduces a comment which is a subject-predicate sentence. But the more common use of the lightened أَنْ is to introduce comments that are verbal sentences. When the comment of the lightened أَنْ is a verbal sentence, then it is preferred to separate the verb from أَنْ with one of the following: قَدْ. Example: أَظُنُّ أَنْ قَدْ غَرَبَتِ ٱلشَّمْسُ. “I think that the sun has set.” سَ or سَوْفَ. Example: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ سَيَذْهَبُ. “I know that he will go.” A negative particle like لَا, لَنْ, or لَمْ. أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَا يَذْهَبُ. “I know that he does/will not go.” Note that, in writing, we have not combined the lightened أَنْ and لَا to form أَلَّا, as is done for the a-state-verbal أَنْ (for example: أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ “that he not go”) in chapter ??. This distinction in spelling is not obligatory, but some authorities recommend it. In any case, they are both pronounced the same: ʾallā. More examples: أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَنْ يَذْهَبَ. “I know that he shall not go.” أَعْلَمُ أَنْ لَمْ يَذْهَبْ. “I know that he did not go.” Note that the لَنْ and لَمْ, even when after the lightened أَنْ, change the state of the following incomplete-action verb to the a-state and ø-state respectively. The conditional particle لَوْ. We will study conditional sentences in chapter ??. TODO: add example. Rigid verbs like لَيْسَ and verbs expressing supplications are exempted from needing to be separated from the lightened أَنْ. Example: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ لَيْسَ ٱلْبَرْدُ شَدِيدًا. “I thought that the cold is not intense.” 22.9.2.1 Distinguishing between the lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ Although they are similar in meaning, care must be taken to distinguish between this lightened أَنْ and the a-state-verbal أَنْ (that we learned in chapter ??), The a-state-verbal أَنْ puts the following incomplete action verb in the a-state. Whereas the incomplete action verb directly after the lightened أَنْ remains in the u-state. The following guidelines can help to distinguish between these two أَنْs: If the verb before أَنْ signifies certainty then only أَنَّ and its lightened version أَنْ is used. For example, أَعْلَمُ أَنْ قَدْ ذَهَبَ وَأَنْ سَيَرْجِعُ. “I know that he has gone and that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ signifies wanting, hoping, or expecting, then the أَنْ puts the following verb in the a-state. For example, أَطْمَعُ أَلَّا يَذْهَبَ. “I hope that he not go.” Note that the verb يَذْهَبَ is in the a-state. If the verb before أَنْ reflects a view of something going to occur, and signifies neither certainty nor expectation, but rather doubt or neutrality, then either of the أَنْs may be used, depending on the intended meaning. Such verbs include ظَنَّ يَظُنُّ “to think” and حَسِبَ يَحْسِبُ “to deem”. For example, a-state-verbal أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ. “I thought that he should return.” lightened أَنْ: ظَنَنْتُ أَنْ يَرْجِعُ. “I thought that he will return.” If the verb before أَنْ does not reflect a view of something going to occur then the أَنْ is typically the a-state-verbal أَنْ. For example, سَرَّنِي أَنْ تَنْجَحَ “That you succeed [will have] gladdened me.” Remember from chapter ??), that the a-state-verbal أَنْ can occur with completed-action verbs as well. Example: سَرَّنِي أَنْ نَجَحْتَ “That you have succeeded [has] gladdened me.” 22.9.3 The lightened کَأَنْ The lightened کَأَنْ is similar to the lightened أَنْ in that it introduces a topic-comment sentence and the topic is usually a deleted pronoun of the fact. For example, کَأَنْ ٱلْبَرْدُ ذَهَبَ. “[It is] as if the cold has gone.” Also similar to the lightened أَنْ, the lightened کَأَنْ may introduce a verbal sentence but it must be separated from کَأَنْ by either قَدْ or لَمْ. For example, ذَهَبَ کَأَنْ لَمْ يَسْمَعْ. “He went as if he did not hear.” 22.9.4 The lightened لَـٰکِنْ The lightened لَـٰکِنْ has the same meaning as the heavy لَـٰکِنَّ but it has no grammatical effect on the word or sentence after it. It may introduce either subject-information or verbal sentences. For example, نَجَحَ زَيْدٌ لَـٰکِنْ صَدِيقُهُ لَمْ يَنْجَحْ. “Zayd succeeded but his friend did not succeed.” "],["the-verbal-nouns-of-the-doer-and-the-doee.html", "23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb 23.5 The doee verbal-noun 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns", " 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee FIXME: move to later chapter, after استفهام because شروط إعمال اسم الفاعل relies on it. add الصفة المشبهبة verb-like descriptive noun and its عمل add difference in إعمال اسم الفاعل when it has ال and when without. add اسم المفعول acting as verb with نائب الفاعل See + Wright vol. ii. p. 65+, and p. 195. + النحو الوافي vol 3, p. 246+ + Howell vol. 4, p 1606+ 23.1 Introduction In the previous chapter we studied the verbal-noun of doing. In this chapter we shall study two more kinds of verbal-nouns. These are the doer verbal-noun and the doee-verbal noun. These, too, are nouns that can give the meaning of the verb they are derived from. In places, they may even replace the verb, thereby adding some nuances in meaning. The doer verbal-noun gives the meaning of the doer, that is the person doing the action of the verb. For example, for the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”, the doer verbal-noun is قَارِئ qāriʾ “a reader”. 23.2 Pattern of the doer verbal-noun We saw in the previous chapter that the pattern for the doing verbal-noun for form 1 verbs was very variable. In contrast, the pattern for the doer verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is fixed. It is always on the pasttern فَاعِل fāɛil. Also, the doer verbal-noun is modified for gender and number. Its forms its feminine by appending ة thus: فَاعِلَة. It takes sound plurals: the -ūn for the masculine, and the -āt plural for the feminine. In many case, it may also have broken plurals. Here is a table showing these modifications for the u-state. You should be able to extend them for the a-state and i-state. Number Masculine Feminine singular فَاعِلٌ fāɛilun فَاعِلَةٌ fāɛilatun dual فَاعِلَانِ fāɛilāni فَاعِلَتَانِ fāɛilatāni plural فَاعِلُونَ fāɛilūna فَاعِلَاتٌ fāɛilātun 23.3 The doer verbal-noun as a noun Like the doing verbal-noun, the doer verbal noun occupies a place that is between a noun and a verb. The basic, most essential, meaning of the doer verbal noun is that of a noun which denotes the doer of the verb. So, for example, consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question”. Its doer verbal-noun is سَائِل. Since it refers to the doer of this verb, we can translate it as “a questionerm.”. By itself, the word سَائِل “a questioner” just denotes a noun. It does not indicate when the doer does the action of the verb: has the questioner already asked the question, is he asking it at present, or will he ask it in the future? So, for example, we can say: سَيَقْدَمُ سَائِلٌ وَسَيَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا. sayaqdamu sāʾilun wasayaqdamu suʾālan. “A questionerm. will arrive and he will ask a question.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as performing the action of the verb in the future. Here is another example: سَأَلَتِ ٱلْفَقِيهَ سَائِلَةٌ عَنْ أَمْرٍ. saʾalati -lfaqīha sāʾilatun ɛan ʾamrin. “A questionerf. asked the jurist about a matter.” In the above sentence, the doer verbal-noun is being described as having performed the action of the verb in the past. Doer verbal-nouns of form 1 verbs, when used with this nounal meaning, often have broken plurals, in addition to their sound plurals. Generally, either could be used in most cases, but the usage of the broken plurals is preferred. For example, consider the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)”. Its doer verbal-noun is قَاتِل “a killerm.”. Its sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and its broken plurals are قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. Any of these could be used but the broken plural is often preferred. هَرَبَ قَتَلَةُ ٱلرَّجُلِ إِلَىٰ مَخْبَئِهِمْ. haraba qatalatu -rrajuli ʾilā mak͡hbaʾihim. “The killers of the man fled to their hideout.” 23.4 The doer verbal-noun as a verb We have learned that the essential meaning of the doer verbal-noun is the doer of the action of the verb from which it is derived. In addition to this essential meaning, the doer verbal-noun can also be used in place of the verb from which it is derived. This is only done when the verb to be replaced is the incomplete-action verb. The doer verbal-noun does not replace the completed-action verb. We will now explain this usage. 23.4.1 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a present tense verb Consider the following sentence: يَذْهَبُ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd goes to school.” The above sentence does not explicitly specify whether Zayd is actually going to school at present, or that he goes to school habitually and not necessarily right now. If we wish to indicate that Zayd is actually going to school at present we can replace the incomplete-action verb with the indefinite doer verbal-noun. So we get: زَيْدٌ ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. yad͡h·habu zaydun ʾila -lmadrasati. “Zayd is going to school.” Note that the same preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” is used with the doer verbal-noun as is used with the verb. Also note that this is now a subject-information sentence instead of a verbal sentence. زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the subject, and ذَاهِبٌ d͡hāhibun is part of the information. This usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate that the action of the verb is ocurring at present is mostly done for what we call verbs of posture and verbs of motion. Verbs of posture denote a static position or activity of the doer’s body and include verbs like sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, etc. Verbs of motion denote a moving action of the doer’s body and include verbs like going, coming, running, etc. So, if, for example, we say, زَيْنَبُ جَالِسَةٌ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. zaynabu jālisatun ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab is sitting on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab is sitting on this chair at present. And if we say, تَجْلِسُ زَيْنَبُ عَلَى هَـٰذَا ٱلْکُرْسِيِّ. tajlisu zaynabu ɛala hād͡ha -lkursiyyi. “Zaynab sits on this chair.” this indicates that Zaynab usually sits on this chair. If this usage of the doer verbal-noun to indicate a present action is mostly only for verbs of posture and motion, how then do we indicate this distinction for other verbs? We have answered this in section [TODO: add section to incomplete-action verb] where we said that in order to give the meaning that the action of the verb is happening right now, a verbal sentence can be converted to a subject-information sentence. 23.4.2 Usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb The doer verbal-noun may be used in place of the verb it is derived from to indicate an intent on the part of the doer, or to indicate that the action will occur in the future. This usage of the doer verbal-noun is not just for verbs of posture and motion like the present tense usage. Rather, it is for all verbs in general. And since intention is something that is mostly expressed by the speaker for himself, rather than for someone else, we will often find this usage with the subject أَنَا ʾana “I”. 23.4.2.1 With an indirect doee Here is an example of the usage of the doer verbal-noun as a future tense verb with an indirect doee: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ. ʾana d͡hāhibun ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī fi -ṣṣabāḥi. “I’m going to go to my friend’s house in the morning.” In the above sentence it is possible for the phrase فِي ٱلصَّبَاحِ fi -ṣṣabāḥi “in the morning” to be ommitted for the same meaning. In that case, surrounding context could tell us that the person is intending to go in the future, and is not actually in the process of going there at present. Here is another example (by a female speaker): عِنْدِي کُرَةٌ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ فَأَنَا رَاجِعَةٌ إِلَى ٱلْبَيْتِ وَلَاعِبَةٌ بِهَا. ɛindī kuratun fi -lbayti faʾana rājiɛatun ʾila -lbayti walāɛibatun bihā. “I have a ball at home, so I’m going to go home and play with it.” 23.4.2.2 Difference with the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa We have already learned a method to express a future action using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa with the incomplete-action verb. So we could also have said: سَأَذْهَبُ إِلَىٰ بَيْتِ صَدِيقِي. saʾad͡h·habu ʾilā bayti ṣadīqī. “I will to go to my friend’s house.” The difference between using the particles سَـ sa- and سَوْفَ sawfa and using the doer verbal-noun is that using the doer verbal-noun signifies more emphasis, or, as a possible consequence of the emphasis, that the action is more imminent. That is: أَنَا ذَاهِبٌ … ʾana d͡hāhibun … “I will [definitely] go …” or “I’m going to go …” سَأَذْهَبُ … saʾad͡h·habu … “[Soon] I will go …” 23.4.2.3 With a direct doee If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s doer verbal-noun when the doer verbal-noun is acting as a verb, then we may deal with it in one of three ways: The direct doee in a-state following the doer verbal-noun The most basic method of dealing with a direct doee of a doer verbal noun is by placing it in the a-state right after the doer verbal-noun. Here is an example, قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلٌ سُكَّانَهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilun sukkānahā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” The direct doee in i-state annexed to the doer verbal-noun The combination of the doer verbal-noun and following direct doee in the a-state is often replaced with an annexation of the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee. So, for example, instead of the above example, we can say: قَدْ دَخَلَ ٱلْمَدِينَةَ رَجُلٌ شَرِيرٌ. هُوَ قَاتِلُ سُكَّانِهَا. qad dak͡hala -lmadīnata rajulun s͡harīrun. hua qātilu sukkānihā. “An evil man has entered the city. He is going to kill its residents.” Note that قَاتِلُ سُکَّانِهَا qātilu sukkānihā. can also support the non-verbal meaning of the doer verbal-noun: “killer of its residents”, i.e., he has already killed its residents in the past. So, when an annexation is used with a doer verbal-noun, we will often need surrounding context to tell us whether the verbal (incomplete-action) meaning is intended, or the noun meaning. This usage of annexing the doer verbal-noun to the i-state direct doee instead of employing the more basic usage of the doer verbal-noun and a following a-state direct doee is optional, but fairly common. In fact, when the doer-verbal noun is indefinite and nūnated, and the direct doee begins with ٱَلْ ʾal, then the annexation usage becomes predominant over the basic a-state usage. So we will be more likely to see: أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ. ʾana fāɛiluhu. instead of: أَنَا فَاعِلٌ إِيَّاهُ. ʾana fāɛilun ʾiyyāhu. for the meaning: “I will do it.” Note again, that the latter sentence could also support the nounal meaning of the doer-verbal noun: “I am its doer.”, i.e., “the one who did it.” Similarly, it will be more common to find: هُوَ قَاتِلُ ٱلنَّاسِ. huwa qātilu -nnāsi. instead of: هُوَ قَاتِلٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. huwa qātiluni -nnāsa. for the meaning: “He is going to kill the people.” Note, once again, that the former sentence also supports the meaning: “He is the people’s killer.”, i.e., “the one who killed them”, and that context would be needed to tell us which of the two meanings is intended. The annexation of a doer verbal-noun to its direct doee in the i-state is not the kind of “proper” annexation that we have learned so far. In fact, it is called an improper annexation and we shall study it in more detail in chapter TODO, if Allāh wills. Quite similar to what we learned in section @ref(the-direct-doee-in-i-state-preceded-by-the-preposition-%D9%84-li) for doing verbal-nouns, the direct doee can follow the doer verbal-noun in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is often optional, as an alternative to the above two methods. For example, هُوَ قَاتِلٌ لَهُمْ. huwa qātilun lahum. “He will kill them.” Using لِ li in this manner is also a technique to move the direct doee before the doer verbal-noun for effect, if desired. For example, هُوَ لَهُمْ قَاتِلٌ. huwa lahum qātilun. “He will kill them.” 23.4.3 The definite doer verbal-noun as a verb So far we have seen only an indefinite doer verbal-noun being used with the meaning of an incomplete-action verb. However, the definite doer verbal-noun, too, can give this meaning. The meaning is often in the present tense. Here are some examples: With an indirect doee: قَدِمَ زَيْدٌ ٱلذَّاهِبُ إِلَى ٱلْجَامِعَةِ. qadima zayduni -d͡hd͡hāhibu ʾila -ljāmiɛati. “Zayd, the one who goes to the university, has arrived.” With a direct doee in the a-state: هَرَبْتُ مِنَ ٱلْأَسَدِ ٱلْآکِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانَ. harabtu mina -lʾasadi -lʾākilu -lʾinsāna. “I fled from the lion, the one that eats man.” With a direct doee in the i-state preceded by the preposition لِ li: سَيَنْجَحُ ٱلطَّالِبُ ٱلتَّارِکُ لِلَّهْوِ. sayanjaḥu -ṭṭālibu -ttāriku lillahwi. “The student, the one who leaves idle amusement, will succeed.” 23.4.4 Plurals of the doer verbal-noun when used as a verb We mentioned in section 23.3 that doer-verbal nouns when used with their nounal meaning often have broken plurals along with their sound plural. We gave the example of the doer verbal-noun قَاتِل qātil “a killerm.” with the sound plural is قَاتِلُونَ qātilūna and the broken plurals قُتَّال quttāl and قَتَلَة qatalah. When the doer verbal-noun is used as a verb, only the sound plural is permitted to be used, and the broken plurals, if any are not used. So we can only say: هُمْ قَاتِلُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ. hum qātilūna -nnāsa. and هُمْ قَاتِلُو ٱلنَّاسِ. hum qātilu -nnāsi. for “They will kill the people.” not, for example \\(\\times\\) هُمْ قُتَّالٌ ٱلنَّاسَ. (In the second sentence, the ن of قَاتِلُونَ is ommitted because it is an annexe noun). 23.5 The doee verbal-noun The doee verbal-noun for form 1 verbs is on the pattern مَفْعُول mafɛūl. It carries the meaning of the person or thing to whom the action of the verb has been done. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا “to kill (ه s.o.)” is مَقْتُول maqtūl and means “a killed person”. 23.5.1 The plural of the doee verbal noun The doee verbal-noun almost always takes the sound plurals -ūn for masculine intelligent beings, and -āt otherwise. Therefore the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُول maqtūl “a killed personm.” is مَقْتُولُونَ maqtūlūna “killed personsm.”. and the plural of the doee verbal-noun مَقْتُولَة maqtūlah “a killed personf.” is مَقْتُولَات maqtūlāt “killed personsf.”. There are a only a few doee verbal-nouns that, as an exception, have broken plurals. The broken plural for these exceptions is than always on the pattern 2مَفَاعِيل mafāɛīl2. For example, the doee verbal-noun for the verb لَعَنَ يَلْعَنُ لَعْنًا “to curse (ه s.o.)” is مَلْعُون malɛūn “accursed” and its plural is 2مَلَاعِين malāɛīn2. 23.5.2 Usage of the doee verbal-noun Much of what has been said regarding the doer verbal-noun applies to the doee verbal-noun as well: The doee verbal-noun may be used with a verbal meaning for the incomplete-action verb only. So if we say: هُوَ مَقْتُولٌ. huwa maqtūl with a verbal meaning, then it means “He will be killed.” And if we say it using its nounal meaning, then it means “He is the person killed.” Unlike the doer verbal-noun which can take doees, since the doee verbal-noun is itself the doee, there is no question of it taking other doees. So this does simplify matters. 23.5.3 The doee verbal-nouns of indirect doee verbs Consider the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. Here it is used in a sentence: سَأَلَ زَيْدٌ زَيْنَبَ عَنْ حَادِثَةٍ. saʾala zaydun zaynaba ɛan ḥādit͡hah. “Zayd questioned Zaynab about an accident.” In this sentence, زَيْدٌ zaydun “Zayd” is the doer. The corresponding doer verbal-noun that refers to him is سَائِل sāʾil “a questionerm.”. Next, زَيْنَبَ zaynaba “Zaynab” is the direct doee. The corresponding doee verbal-noun that refers to her is مَسْؤُولَة masʾūlah “a questioned personf.”. But how, now, do we refer to the indirect doee: حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”? The answer is that the doee verbal-noun referring to this indirect doee is مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thingf. questioned about”. Let’s analyze this term مَسْؤُول عَنْهَا masʾūl ɛanhā “a thing questioned about” carefully. The first word is مَسْؤُول masʾūl which shall always be singular masculine, regardless of the gender and number of the indirect doee. The second word is عَنْهَا ɛanhā “about it”. Here عَنْ ɛan is the same preposition that has been used with the verb. And هَا hā is the pronoun that refers to the indirect doee حَادِثَةٍ ḥadit͡hatin “an accident”. If the number or gender of the indirect doee were to change then this would be reflected in this pronoun. So, for example, if we say, نَظَرَ زَيْدٌ إِلَى ٱلرِّجَالِ. naḍ͡hara zaydun ʾila -rrijāli. “Zayd looked at the men.” then, the doee verbal-noun that refers to ٱلرِّجَالِ ʾarrijāli “the men” is مَنْظُور إِلَيْهِمْ manḍ͡hūr ʾilayhim “personsm. looked at”. If doee verbal-nouns of indirect doees are used in sentences then it is the first word (in this case مَنْظُور manḍ͡hūrun) that changes for definiteness and state (but not for gender or number, as already discussed). Here are some examples: From the verb لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)”: هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْکُرىٰ هِيَ ٱلْمَلْعُوبُ بِهَا. hād͡hi -lkurā hiya -lmalɛūbu bihā. “These balls are the ones played with.” From the verb أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order (ه s.o. ب to do s.th.)”: فَعَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ ٱلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ. faɛala -lg͡hulāmu -lmaʾmūra bihinna. “The boy did the [things] ordered to do.” (Remember that the feminine plural pronouns may be used to refer to plural non-intelligent beings, regardless of their grammatical gender, in order to indicate plurality.) Having said all this, in practice, you may find that indirect doees are sometimes treated as direct doees when forming their doee verbal-noun. This is especially common when forming plurals for terms that are very common. So instead of referring to “[things] ordered to do” in the above example as ٱَلْمأمُورَ بِهِنَّ ʾalmaʾmūra bihinna, you may find the word ٱَلْمَأْمُورَاتِ ʾalmaʾmūrāti used instead. TODO: The doee verbal noun for indirect doees may have some ambiguity with the doee verbal for direct doees. مسؤول عنه can also be “the person who is asked about it” where the pronoun has been substituted for a noun, for example مسؤول عن الأمر . In this case it is the word مسؤول which will be feminized and pluralized. المسؤولون عنه “the persons asked about it.” For that matter ساءل عنه is also valid as “the questioner about it”. 23.6 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as adjectival-nouns Doer and doee verbal-nouns are often re-used as adjectival-nouns with meanings that are directly formed from their doer and doee meaning respectively. Here are some examples: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Adjectival-noun meaning نَعُمَ يَنْعُمَ نُعُومَةً “to be soft” نَاعِم “soft” يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَةً “to be dried up” يَابِس “dried up” حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ حُضُورًا “to be present” حَاضِر “present (attending)” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع “comprehensive” لَمَعَ يَلْمَعُ لَمْعًا وَلَمَعَانًا “to be shiny” لَامِع “shiny” فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)” مَفْتُوح “open” شَهَرَ يَشْهَرُ شَهْرًا “to make famous (ه، هـ s.o., s.th.)” مَشْهُور “famous” 23.6.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as adjectival-nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as an adjectival-noun, then it generally retains its genderizability. For example, بَابٌ مَفَتُوحٌ bābun maftūḥun “an open door” and نَافِذَةٌ مَفَتُوحَةٌ nāfid͡hatun maftūḥatun “an open window” If, however, the adjectival-noun is only applicable to females, then, only a female adjectival-noun is formed but, peculiarly, without the feminine marker ة. The most common example is from the verb: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلٌ حَمْلًا “to carry (هـ s.th.)”. The doer verbal-noun is حَامِل ḥāmil “a carrier”. The adjectival-noun formed from the doer verbal-noun is “pregnant”, but because it is only applicable to females, it does not get the feminine marker ة. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلٌ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmil. “The woman is pregnant.” This does not affect the doer verbal-noun when it is not used with this adjectival-noun meaning. For example, ٱَلْمَرْأَةُ حَامِلَةُ ٱلْمَاءِ. ʾalmarʾatu ḥāmilatu -lmāʾ. “The woman will carry the water.” or “The woman is the water-carrier.” 23.6.2 Corresponding with English adjectives Sometimes both the doer verbal-noun and the doee verbal-noun are used in Arabic with distinct meanings where we would use the same word in English. For example, the verb عَقَلَ يَعْقِلُ عَقْلًا ɛaqala yaɛqilu ɛaqlan means “to make sense (هـ of s.th.)”. Its doer verbal-noun عَاقِل ɛāqil means “one who makes sense (of something)” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a person who makes sense of something. For example, زَيْدٌ غُلَامٌ عَاقِلٌ. zaydun g͡hulāmun ɛāqil. “Zayd is a sensible boy.” Its doee verbal-noun مَعْقُول maɛqūl means “something which makes sense” and may be re-used as an adjectival noun meaning “sensible” when it refers to a something which makes sense. For example, هَـٰذَا مَنْهَجٌ مَعْقُولٌ. hād͡hā manhajun maɛqūl. “This is a sensible approach.” 23.7 Doer and doee verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns The doer verbal-noun is often re-used as a common noun with a meaning that is either directly, or indirectly related to the meaning of the verb. For example, the doer verbal-noun of the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا saʾala yasʾalu suʾālan is سَائِل “a questioner” with the sound plural سَائِلُونَ sāʾilūna and the broken plurals سُؤَّال suʾʾāl and سَأَلَة saʾalah. The word سَائِل sāʾil “a questioner” is re-used with the meaning “a beggar”. The association in meaning is that a beggar continually asks people for money. The re-use of a doer verbal-noun or doee verbal-noun as a common noun does not prevent it from being used with its doer/doee or verbal meaning any more. سَائِل sāʾil may be used to mean both “a questioner” and “a beggar”, and context will help us determine which of the meanings is intended. When a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun then only the broken plural, if it exists, may be used. The sound plural is only permitted to be used if no broken plurals exist. Here are some more examples of doer verbal-nouns re-used as common nouns: Verb Doer/doee verbal-noun Plural Common noun meaning عَلِمَ يَعْلَمُ عِلْمًا “to know (هـ s.th.)” عَالِم 2عُلَمَاء “a scholar” طَلَبَ يَطْلُبُ طَلَبًا “to seek (هـ s.th.)” طَالِب طُلَّاب، طَلَبَة “a student” لَعِبَ يَلْعَبُ لَعِبًا “to play (هـ s.th.)” لَاعِب لَاعِبُونَ “a player” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِعَة جَامِعَات “a university” جَمَعَ يَجْمَعُ جَمْعًا “to gather (هـ s.th.)” جَامِع 2جَوَامِع “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)” حَدَثَ يَحْدُثُ حُدُوثًا “to happen” حَادِثَةٌ 2حَوَادِث “an accident” شَرِبَ يَشْرَبُ شُرْبًا “to drink (هـ s.th.)” شَارِب 2شَوَارِب “a moustache” سَحَلَ يَسْحَلُ سَحْلًا “to abrade (هـ s.th.)” سَاحِلٌ 2سَوَاحِل “a seashore” ضَمِنَ يَضْمَنُ ضَمَانًا “to guarantee (هـ s.th.)” مَضْمُوxk 2مَضَامِين “a content (of a letter, etc.)” دَخَلَ يَدْخُلُ دُخُولًا “to enter” دَاخِل none “inside” خَرَجَ يَخْرُجُ خُرُوجًا “to exit” خَارِج none “outside” The last two دَاخِلٌ “inside” and خَارِجٌ “outside” are notable. Here, for example, is how they can be used: غَسَلَ ٱلْکُوبَ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ. g͡hasala -lkūba min dāk͡hilin. “He washed the tumbler from inside.” 23.7.1 Genderizability of doer and doee verbal-nouns when re-used as common nouns When a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, then it loses its genderizability. For example, if we wish to say “The building is a university.” we will say: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعَةٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛah. “The building is a university.” We cannot masculinize جَامِعَة jāmiɛah “a university” to جَامِع jāmiɛ in order to make it match the gender of بِنَاء bināʾ (masc.) “a building”. Were we to do so, then جَامِع jāmiɛ would get interpreted with either: Its doer verbal-noun meaning “a gatherer”: “The building is a gatherer.” which doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Or, with the common noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed)”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is a mosque (in which the Friday prayers are performed).” Or, with the adjectival noun meaning of جَامِع jāmiɛ, if one happens to exist. There is such a meaning in this case: “comprehensive”. So then we would get: ٱَلْبِنَاءُ جَامِعٌ. ʾalbināʾu jāmiɛun. “The building is comprehensive.” None of these give the original meaning we intended: “The building is a university.” So, in summary, once a doer or doee verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun, it loses its genderizability. Having said this, when a doer verbal-noun is re-used as a common noun that applies to humans, both the masculine and feminine common-noun typically exist together. So for example, عَالِم ɛālim is re-used as the common-noun for “a (male) scholar” with the plural 2عُلَمَاء ɛulamāʾ. And عَالِمَة ɛālimah is re-used as the common-noun for “a (female) scholar” with the plural عَالِمَات ɛālimāt. In such cases, i.e., when applicable to humans, the dictionary will generally only list, and supply the definition for the masculine common-noun. The reader is expected to know that its feminine exists and how to form it. There are exceptions, however. The verb جَرَىٰ يَجْرِي جَرْيًا jarā yajrī jaryan “to run” is formed from the root «جري». This is a weak root because of the letter ي in it, and we will study it in more detail later in chapter ??. In any case, its feminine doer verbal-noun is جَارِيَة jāriyah and is re-used for the common noun meaning “a girl”. The masculine doer verbal noun is not re-used as a common noun for the meaning “a boy”. "],["nouns-of-superiority.html", "24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction 24.2 Comparing two nouns 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” 24.8 The word “other”", " 24 Nouns of superiority 24.1 Introduction Consider the sentence: “The book is heavier than the pen.” In this sentence a relationship of superiority is established between the two nouns: “the book” and “the pencil”. The book is being described as being superior in heaviness. By the way, we are using the “superiority” in a technical sense. For example, we can say “The donkey is weaker than the horse.” Here the donkey is being described as superior in weakness. In order to express a superiority relationship between nouns, for example, , Arabic uses qualitative nouns with a distinct form. Here is a table of some common qualitative nouns and their corresponding nouns of superiority. Root Qualitative noun Noun of superiority «کبر» کَبِيرٌ kabīrun “big” أَکْبَرُ ʾakbaru “biger” «صغر» صَغِيرٌ ṣag͡hīrun “small” أَصْغَرُ ʾaṣg͡haru “smaller” «حسن» حَسَنٌ ḥasanun “good” أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu “better” «سوء» سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun “bad” أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu “worse” «قدم» قَدِيمٌ qadīmun “old” أَقْدَمُ ʾaqdamu “older” «جد» جَدِيدٌ jadīdun “new” أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer” «سهل» سَهْلٌ sahlun “easy” أَسْهَلُ ʾas·halu “easier” «صعب» صَعْبٌ ṣaɛbun “difficult” أَصْعَبُ ʾaṣɛabu “more difficult” «طول» طَوِيلٌ ṭawīlun “long” أَطْوَلُ ʾaṭwalu “longer” «قصر» قَصِيرٌ qaṣīrun “short” أَقْصَرُ ʾaqṣaru “shorter” «ثقل» ثَقِيلٌ t͡haqīlun “heavy” أَثْقَلُ ʾat͡hqalu “heavier” «خف» خَفِيفٌ k͡hafīfun “light” أَخَفُّ ʾak͡haffu “lighter” «وسع» وَاسِعٌ wāsiɛun “wide” أَوْسَعُ ʾaswaɛu “wider” «ضيق» ضَيِّقٌ ḍayyiqun “narrow” أَضْيَقُ ʾaḍyaqu “narrower” «سرع» سَرِيعٌ sarīɛun “fast” أَسْرَعُ ʾasraɛu “faster” «بطء» بَطِيءٌ baṭīʾun “slow” أَبْطَأُ ʾabtaʾu “slower” «قوي» قَوِيٌّ qawiyyun “strong” أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger” «ضعف» ضَعِيفٌ ḍaɛīfun “weak” أَضْعَفُ ʾaḍɛafu “weaker” «کثر» کَثِيرٌ kat͡hīrun “many” أَکْثَرُ ʾakt͡haru “more” «قل» قَلِيلٌ qalīlun “few/less” أَقَلُّ ʾaqallu “fewer/lesser” Note the following points regarding the form of the noun of superiority: Nouns of superiority are regularly of the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu using the template root «فعل». Nouns of superiority are non-fully changing nouns, so they are not nūnated and the indefinite noun in the i-state will have an a-mark on the last letter. If a root’s last two letters are the same, it is shown as a two-letter root and the noun of superiority is formed by doubling the last letter. Example: «جد»: أَجَدُّ ʾajaddu “newer”. If a root’s last letter is و or ي, then the noun of superiority’s last letter will be ىٰ. Example: «قوي»: أَقْوَىٰ ʾaqwā “stronger”. You may remember that the pattern of the identical is identical to the pattern of colors and physical characteristics. For example أَحْمَرُ ʾaḥmaru “red”. However, this similarity is largely superficial. We will see that nouns of superiority are feminized differently and sometimes not at all. 24.2 Comparing two nouns Nouns of superiority can be used to compare a qualitative quality between two nouns. Here is an example sentence: ٱَلْغُلَامُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْجَارِيَةِ. ʾalg͡hulāmu ʾaṭwalu mina -ljāriyati. “The boy is taller than the girl.” Here you can see that the preposition مِنْ min is used to mean “than”. If we wish to say: “The girl is taller than the boy.”, we will use the same أَطْوَل ʾaṭwalu even though the subject “the girl” is now feminine: ٱَلْجَارِيَةِ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلْغُلَامُ. ʾaljāriyati ʾaṭwalu mina -lg͡hulāmu. “The girl is taller than the boy.” Similarly, if the subject noun to be compared is a plural, whether masculine or feminine, rational or non-rational, the same noun of superiority is used. Examples: ٱَلرِّجَالُ أَطْوَلُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ وَهُنَّ أَقْصَرُ مِنْهُمْ. ʾarrijālu ʾatwalu mina -nnisāʾi wa hunna ʾaqṣaru minhum. “The men are taller than the women and theyfem. are shorter than themmasc..” ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثُقَلُ مِنَ ٱلْأَقْلَامِ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu mina -lʾaqlāmi. “The books are heavier than the pens.” 24.2.1 Nouns of superiority without a second noun The above example compared one noun to another. Often, the second noun need not be mentioned. For example, ٱلْکُتُبُ أَثْقَلُ. ʾalkutubu ʾat͡hqalu. “The books are heavier.” 24.3 Conveying the meaning of the highest degree The same nouns of superiority are also used in Arabic to convey the meaning of the highest degree of a quality, like “the biggest house”, “the weakest link”, “the best book”, etc. This can be done in a number of ways. 24.3.1 With indefinite noun-chains The most common way to express this in Arabic is using a noun-chain with the noun of superiority and an indefinite noun. Here is an example: هُوَ أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ. huwa ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin fi -lmadrasati. “He is the fastest boy in the school.” An important point to note is that while in English we used the definite in the translation: “the fastest boy”, in Arabic the noun-phrase أَسْرَعُ غُلَامٍ ʾasraɛu g͡hulāmin is technically indefinite. It is just hard to find a suitable translation in English where the noun-phrase could be indefinite. The same noun of superiority is used with feminine and dual/plural nouns. Examples: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” 24.3.2 With definite noun-chains The noun of superiority can also be used in definite noun-chains with a slightly different meaning. However, the second noun of the noun-chain will need to be in the plural. Examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” 24.4 Feminine, dual, and plural forms So far we have used only one form of the noun of superiority: أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. Technically, this is the masculine singular form, although it can be used for feminine, dual, and plural nouns as we have seen above. However, when the meaning of the highest degree is to be conveyed for definite nouns without using noun-chains, then we will use new feminine, dual, and plurals forms for the noun of superiority. We will give these forms below: Number Masc. Fem. sing. أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu فُعْلَىٰ fuɛlā dual أَفْعَلَانِ ʾafɛalāni فُعْلَيَانِ fuɛlayāni sound plur. أَفْعَلُونَ ʾafɛalūna فُعْلَيَاتٌ fuɛlayātun broken plur. أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu فُعَلٌ fuɛalun These forms are to be used when the noun of superiority is usually definite and either: by itself, or a describer. We will give some examples below: هُوَ ٱلرَّجُلُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُ. huwa -rrajulu -lʾaṭwalu. “He is the tallest man.” هِيَ ٱلْمَرْأَةُ ٱلطُّولَىٰ. hiya -lmarʾatu -ṭṭūlā. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا ٱلرَّجُلَانِ ٱلْأَطْوَلَانِ. huma -rrajulāni -lʾaṭwalāni. “Theymasc. dual are the two tallest men.” هُمَا ٱلْمَرْأَتَانِ ٱلطُّولَيَانِ. huma -lmarʾatāni -ṭṭūlayāni. “Theyfem. dual are the two tallest women.” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُمُ ٱلرِّجَالُ ٱلْأَطْوَلُونَ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُمُ ٱلأَقَاصِرُ. hāʾulāʾi humu -rrijālu -lʾaṭwalūna waʾulāʾika humu -lʾaqāṣiru. “These are the tallest men and those are the shortest [men].” هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلنِّسَاءُ ٱلطُّولَيَاتُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. hāʾulāʾi hunna -nnisāʾu -ṭṭūlayātu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “These are the tallest women and those are the shortest [women].” 24.4.1 Plural forms with non-rational beings If a noun of superiority is to be used with a definite plural noun for (masculine or feminine) non-rational beings, either by itself or as a describer, then it will usually be the feminine singular form. This is consistent with what we have learned so far regarding the use of feminine singular qualitative nouns and pronouns for non-rational beings. Here is an example: ٱَلْکُتُبُ ٱلْکَبِيرَةُ هِيَ ٱلثُّقْلَىٰ. ʾalkutubu -lkabīratu hiya -t͡ht͡huqlā. “The big books are the heaviest.” Sometimes, however, if the plural noun is not mentioned in a sentence we can use the broken plural of the feminine noun of superiority to convey the meaning of plurality. For example, قَسَمْتُ ٱلْأَقْلَامَ. هَـٰؤُلَاءِ هُنَّ ٱلطُّوَلُ وَأُولَـٰئِکَ هُنَّ ٱلقُصَرُ. qasamtu -lʾaqlāma. hāʾulāʾi hunna -ṭṭuwalu waʾulāʾika hunna -lquṣaru. “I divided the pens. These are the tallest and those are the shortest.” 24.4.2 Dual and plural forms in definite noun-chains In section X above we learned that that definite noun-chains use the form أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu. We gave the following examples: هُوَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. huwa ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “He is the tallest of the men.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ ٱلنِّسَاءِ humā ʾaṭwalu -nnisāʾi. “They (two) are the tallest of the women.” We now modify this rule to state that dual and plural forms of the noun of superiority can be used as well, especially when no other indication of number is present. For example, in the sentence, هُمْ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. hum ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “Theymasc. plur. are the tallest of the men.” the pronoun هُمْ tells us that we are talking about multiple persons who are the tallest of the men. But if we have a sentence like: ذَهَبَ أَطْوَلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭwalu -rrijāli. “The tallest of the men went.” Here we cannot say that one man had gone or more than one. To remove this ambiguity we can use the plural form أَطَاوِلُ ʾaṭāwilu thus: ذَهَبَ أَطَاوِلُ ٱلرِّجَالِ. d͡hahaba ʾaṭāwilu -rrijāli. “The tallestplur. of the men went.” 24.5 Comparing a noun with itself A noun can be compared with itself in a different respect. For example, we can say: “The tree is closer to Zayd than it is to Muḥammad.” Here the tree is being compared with itself with respect to its position near Zayd and its position near Muḥammad. We will use the appropriate attached pronoun for the object being compared and attach it tp the preposition of comparison مِنْ min “than”. So the above sentence can be expressed as: ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَىٰ زَيْدٍ مِنْهَا إِلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu ʾaqrabu ʾilā zaydin minhā ʾilā muḥammadin. The attached pronoun ـهَا -hā refers to ٱَلشَّجَرَةُ ʾas͡hs͡hajaratu “the tree”. The preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā is used with the noun of superiority أَقْرَبُ ʾaqrabu to express “nearer to”. 24.6 Attention to the definiteness and plurality of noun-chains We have seen that if a noun of superiority is used in an indefinite noun-chain, it conveys the idea of the highest degree, and the singularity or plurality of second noun in the noun-chain conveys the number of object whose superiority is being expressed. The examples we gave were: هِيَ أَطْوَلُ ٱمْرَأَةٍ. hiya ʾaṭwalu -mraʾatin. “She is the tallest woman.” هُمَا أَطْوَلُ رَجُلَيْنِ. humā ʾaṭwalu rajulayni. “They are tallest (two) men.” هُنَّ أَطْوَلُ نِسَاءٍ. hunna ʾaṭwalu nisāʾin. “They are the tallest women.” Here we would like to stress that second-noun of the noun chain must be indefinite. So, for example, we can have a sentence: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin. “This is the biggest house.” If we would like to express “This is the biggest house of the city” then we cannot simply extend the noun-chain by adding ٱلْمَدِينَةِ -lmadīnati “of the city” to it thus: هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru bayti -lmadīnati. This is because the noun-chain is now definite. This sentence can now only mean “This is the biggest [part] of the house of the city.” In order to express the desired meaning, we have a few options with similar meanings: هَـٰذَا بَيْتُ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْأَکْبَرُ. hād͡hā baytu -lmadīnati -lʾakbaru. “This is the biggest house of the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بَيْتٍ فِي ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru baytin fi -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest house in the city.” هَـٰذَا أَکْبَرُ بُيُوتِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ. hād͡hā ʾakbaru buyūti -lmadīnati. “This is the biggest of the houses of the city.” 24.7 Expressing “better than” and “worse than” To express the meaning “better” Arabic can use أَحْسَنُ ʾaḥsanu from حَسَنٌ ḥasanun. There is also the word أَفْضَلُ ʾafḍalu is very commonly used. Technically it means “more preferred” but it is often used where in English we would say “better”. Similarly, to express worse we can use أَسْوَأُ ʾaswaʾu from سَيِّئٌ sayyiʾun. In addition, there are two words: خَيْرٌ k͡hayrun and شَرٌّ s͡harrun, which are really designative nouns meaning “goodness” and “evil” respectively. These same words, although they not in the pattern أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu, are used with مِنْ min “than” to express “better” and “worse” respectively. Here are some examples: 24.8 The word “other” The word آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru is a qualitative noun meaning “other”. It is actually on the pattern of the noun of superiority أَفْعَلُ ʾafɛalu with the root «ءخر» but is somewhat of an anomaly because it does not have a meaning of superiority and is not used for comparison. That is to say: we cannot say that something is more “other” than something else. It shares some of the qualities of the noun of superiority in the formation of its feminine and plurals. We will describe these and their usages below. Number Masc. Fem. sing. آخَر ʾāk͡haru أُخْرَىٰ ʾuk͡hrā dual آخَرَانِ ʾāk͡harāni أُخْرَيَانِ ʾuk͡hrayāni sound plur. آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna أُخْرَيَاتٌ ʾuk͡hrayātun broken plur. أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru Note that the masculine broken plural أَوَاخِرُ ʾawāk͡hiru (on the pattern أَفَاعِلُ ʾafāɛilu) has replaced the ء in the root with a و. This is a regular replacement in order to avoid two ءs next to one another in أَءَاخِرُ ʾaʾāk͡hiru. This broken plural is given here for completeness but it is actually very rarely used. The sound ūn plural آخَرُونَ ʾāk͡harūna is used instead. Also note that the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru is non-fully changing. This is irregular because the broken plural pattern فُعَلٌ fuɛalun is usually fully-changing. We use آخَرُ ʾāk͡haru just like any other qualitative noun and we will give some examples below. جَاءَ زَيْدٌ وَرَجُلٌ آخَرُ. jāʾa zaydun warajulun ʾāk͡haru. “Zayd and another man came.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ ٱلْأُخْرَىٰ. d͡hahabat zaynabu ʾila -lmadrasati -lʾuk͡hrā. “Zaynab went to the other school.” قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکِتَابَيْنِ آخَرَيْنِ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakitābayni ʾāk͡harayni. “I read this book and two other books.” ذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ آخَرُونَ. d͡hahaba rijālun ʾāk͡harūna “Other men went.” ذَهَبَتْ زَيْنَبُ مَعَ ٱلنِّسَاءِ ٱلْأُخْرَيَاتِ. d͡hahabat zaynabu maɛa -nnisāʾi -lʾuk͡hrayāti. “Zaynab went with the other women.” With non-rational nouns, just like other qualitative nouns, the feminine singular is usually used. Example: قَرَأْتُ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَکُتُبًا أُخْرَىٰ. qaraʾtu hād͡ha -lkitāba wakutuban ʾuk͡hrā. “I read this book and other books.” However, the feminine broken plural أُخَرُ ʾuk͡haru can also be used, especially if there is no other indication of plurality. Examples: هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابُ خَفِيفٌ وَٱلْأُخَرُ ثَقِيلَةٌ. hād͡ha -lkitābu k͡hafīfun wa-lʾuk͡haru t͡haqīlatun. “This book is light and the others are heavy.” قَرَأَ هَـٰذَا ٱلْکِتَابَ وَقَرَأَ أُخَرَ. qaraʾa -lkitāba waqaraʾa ʾuk͡hara. “He read this book and and he read others.” "],["hamzarules.html", "A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.3 Why so complicated? A.4 Typographical limitations", " A Rules for writing hamzah A.1 Seats of hamzah Hamzah is written in four different ways: Seated on an alif: أ or إ Seated on an wāw: ؤ Seated on an yāʾ: ئ Unseated: ء Here are some of notes about writing hamzah in the above four methods: When unseated hamzah comes between two letters that are joined, then it is written above the line that joins them, for example: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In this word, the yāʾ ي joins to the tāʾ marbūṭah ة. As a special case, when unseated hamza comes between joined lām and alif (لا), then it is positioned between them thus: لءا. (In most cases, this is replaced with لآ as we will explain in the next point below.) And this is different from hamzah on the alif following the lām: لأ. When unseated hamzah is followed by an alif: ءا, the combination of hamzah and alif is usually written as آ as a convention. Examples: آمَنَ ʾāmana, ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān, شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān. However, when the alif is a suffix or part of a suffix, or the hamzah is doubled, or there is an alif before the hamzah then we will write ءا, not آ. Examples: شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni, سَءَّال saʾʾāl, قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt. When hamzah is seated on alif, if it has an i-mark, it is written below the alif: إِ. Otherwise, it is written above the alif: أَ, أُ, أْ. When hamzah is seated on yāʾ ئ the dots of the yāʾ are no longer written. Here’s how it will appear in different positions: Isolated End Middle Beginnning ئ ـئ ـئـ ئـ Note that hamzah is seated on yāʾ in the middle position ـئـ is different from unseated hamzah between two joining letters ـءـ. So how do we know when to write hamzah unseated and when seated? And how do we choose between its three different seats? There are a set of rules that we need to follow in order to correctly write hamzah. A.2 Rules for determining the seat of hamzah A.2.1 Without prefixes and suffixes We will first learn how to determine the seat of hamzah for a word without any prefix or suffix. Hamzah can occur in three positions in a word: At the beginning of the word In the middle of the word At the end of the word We will treat each of these positions below. A.2.1.1 At the beginning of the word When hamzah occurs in the beginning of a word, then: If the hamzah carries a long-ā vowel, it is written unseated followed by an alif and written as آ, for example آمَنَ ʾāmana. If the hamzah carries any other vowel, it is written seated on an alif, and is marked with the appropriated vowel mark, for example أَسْلَمَ ʾaslama, أُرِيدُ ʾurīdu, إِسْلَام ʾislām, إِيمَان ʾīmān, أُوخِذَ ʾūk͡hid͡ha. A.2.1.2 In the middle of the word The most general case is when hamzah is in the middle of a word. Arabic has three short vowels, three long vowels, two semi-vowels, and a zero-vowel indicated by a ø-mark ◌ْ. Each of these has an order of precedence and a hamzah seat, that we have shown in the table below: Precedence Vowel Seated hamzah 1. ī/ay ء 2. i ئ 3. ū/aw ء 4. u ؤ 5. ā ء 6. a أ 7. ◌ْ ء Main rule: Disregard any doubling mark ◌ّ. Consider the vowel on the consonant before the hamzah and the shortened vowel on the hamzah itself. Determine which of the two vowels wins by being higher in precedence in the above table. The winning vowel’s seat will be the seat of the hamzah. Sub-rule: If the main rule determines that hamzah is to be seated on alif, and there is a long ā vowel on the hamzah using an alif, then hamzah shall be unseated. And the combination of ءَا will usually be written as آ. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah ay a ay ء خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah ī a ī ء اسْتِيءَاس ʾistīʾās ī a ī ء (Exception: ءَا is not written as آ when the preceding vowel is ī.) تَوْءَم tawʾam aw a aw ء سَائِل sāʾil ā i i ئ تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul ā u u ؤ تَسَاءَلَ tasāʾala ā a ā ء قِرَاءَات qirāʾāt ā a ā ء نُوآنٌ nūʾānun ū a ū ء مَسْؤُول masʾūl ◌ْ u u ؤ تَرْئِيس tarʾīs ◌ْ i i ئ مِرْآة mirʾāh ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) ظَمْآن ḍ͡hamʾān ◌ْ a a ء (Using sub-rule.) مَسْأَلَة masʾalah ◌ْ a a أ الْمَرْأَة almarʾah ◌ْ a a أ بِئْسَ biʾsa i ◌ْ i ئ سُؤْل suʾl u ◌ْ u ؤ کَأْس kaʾs a ◌ْ a أ سُئِلَ suʾila u i i ئ يَئِسَ yaʾisa a i i ئ رَئِيس raʾīs a i i ئ سُؤَال suʾāl u a u ؤ رُؤُوس ruʾūs u u u ؤ لُؤَيّ luʾayy u a u ؤ شَنَآن s͡hanaʾān a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) سَأَلَ saʾala a a a أ رَأَىٰ raʾā a a a أ (Sub-rule doesn’t apply because ā vowel at end represented by ىٰ, not alif.) رَأَّسَ raʾʾasa a a a أ يُرَئِّسُ yuraʾʾisu a i i ئ رُئِّسَ ruʾʾisa u i i ئ تَفَؤُّل tafaʾʾul a u u ؤ سَءَّال saʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) لَءَّال laʾʾāl a a a ء (Using sub-rule.) A.2.1.3 At the end of the word When hamzah occurs at the end of a word, disregard the vowel on hamzah itself, and consider only the vowel on preceding consonant. Plug it into the precedence table as above to determine the seat of hamzah. Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Seated hamzah دُعَاءُ duɛāʾu ā ء سُوءُ sūʾu ū ء جِيءَ jīʾa ī ء ضَوْءَ ḍawʾa aw ء شَيْءَ s͡hayʾa ay ء بُطْءُ buṭʾu ◌ْ ء عِبْءُ ɛibʾu ◌ْ ء شَطْءُ s͡haṭʾu ◌ْ ء يُهَدِّئُ yuhaddiʾu i ئ سَيِّئُ sayyiʾu i ئ بَطُؤَ baṭuʾa u ؤ يَهْدَأُ yahdaʾu a أ مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi a إ The exception to this rule is when the previous letter is a doubled wāw with an u-mark. In this case the hamzah will again be unseated. Example تَبَوُّءُ tabawwuʾu. Note also that مُبْتَدَإِ mubtadaʾi can be written with the hamzah below the alif because of the i-mark on the hamzah. But it is also common to write it as مُبْتَدَأ mubtadaʾ, especially when the hamzah is unvoweled. A.2.2 With prefixes and suffixes A.2.2.1 Prefixes If hamzah is in the beginning of a word, adding a prefix to the word will not alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah will continue to be seated on an alif. Here are some examples of words with beginning hamzahs and prefixes. Word without prefix Prefix Word with prefix أُسْتَاذِ لِ لِأُسْتَاذِ آخِرَة الْ الْآخِرَة A.2.2.2 Suffixes If hamzah is at the end of a word, adding a suffix to the word can, in general, alter the writing of the hamzah. Hamzah is now, generally, treated as if it is in the middle of the word, and the rules for hamzah in the middle of a word apply. Examples: Word Vowel on consonant before hamzah Shortened vowel on hamzah Winning vowel Seated hamzah بَرِيءُونَ barīʾūna ī u ī ء بَرِيءَانِ barīʾāni ī a ī ء بَرِيءِينَ barīʾīna ī i ī ء بَرِيءَيْنِ barīʾayni ī a ī ء شَيْءُهُ s͡hayʾuhu ay u ay ء شَيْءَهُ s͡hayʾahu ay a ay ء شَيْءِهِ s͡hayʾihi ay i ay ء شَيْءَانِ s͡hayʾāni ay a ay ء شَيْءَيْنِ s͡hayʾayni ay a ay ء مَجِيءُهُ majīʾuhu ī u ī ء مَجِيءَهُ majīʾahu ī a ī ء مَجِيءِهِ majīʾihi ī i ī ء سُوئِهِ sūʾihi ū i i ئ ضَوْئِهِ ḍawʾihi aw i i ئ يَسُوءُونَ yasūʾūna ū u ū ء سُوءُهُ sūʾuhu ū u ū ء سُوءَهُ sūʾahu ū a ū ء سُوءَانِ sūʾāni ū a ū ء ضَوْءَهُ ḍawʾahu aw a aw ء ضَوْءَانِ ḍawʾāni aw a aw ء مُتَّکِئِينَ muttakiʾīna i i i ئ يُبَرِّئُونَ yubarriʾūna i u i ئ يُبَرَّؤُونَ yubarraʾūna a u u ؤ There are some exceptions: If the letter before the hamzah has a ø-mark and is not wāw or yāʾ, then the hamzah will be written unseated. Examples: جُزْءَانِ juzʾāni عِبْءَانِ ɛibʾāni عِبْءَيْنِ ɛibʾayni بُطْءَهُ buṭʾahu بُطْءُهُ buṭʾuhu بُطْءِهِ buṭʾihi (انِ, يْنِ, هُ, and هِ are suffixes.) Note that the combination ءا is not written as آ when the alif is part of the suffix. A.2.3 Nūnation on final hamzah Nūnation on final hamzah does not affect the writing of the hamzah except in the case of a nūnated a-mark ◌ً. When writing a nūnated a-mark ◌ً on a hamzah at the end of a word: If there is an alif before a unseated hamzah اء, then we don’t add a silent alif when writing the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. For example دَاء becomes دَاءً dāʾan, not دَاءًا. Otherwise, we add the silent alif after the hamzah so that the hamzah is now in the middle of the word with a suffix alif after it. We now pretend that the hamzah has an a-mark and that the alif after it is a long-ā vowel. Then we go through the rules for writing hamzah in the middle of a word (given above) to determine how hamzah will be written. We then write the nūnated a-mark ◌ً on the hamzah. Examples: مُبْتَدَأ becomes مُبْتَدَأٌ، مُبْتَدَءًا، مُبْتَدَإٍ مَلْجَأ becomes مَلْجَأٌ، مَلْجَءًا، مَلْجَإٍ جُزْء becomes جُزْءٌ، جُزْءًا، جُزْءٍ شَيْء becomes شَيْءٌ، شَيْءًا، شَيْءٍ سَيِّئ becomes سَيِّئٌ, سَيِّئًا, سَيِّئٍ A.2.4 Variants There are some historical and regional variants to the above rules. The main one is when the letter before hamzah has a ø-mark, the hamzah is generally written unseated. So with this variant, we write: مَسْءُول instead of مَسْؤُول أَسْءِلَة instead of أَسْئِلَة مَسْءَلَة instead of مَسْأَلَة However, this rule appears to be not consistently followed. For example, nas͡hʾah is generally always written نَشْأَة never نَشْءَة. A second variant is to avoid the repetition of vowel letters like و and ي. So they write: رُءُوس instead of رُؤُوس. رَءِيس instead of رَئِيس. A.3 Why so complicated? Hamzah was originally not pronounced everywhere in some Classical Arabic dialects. So, for many words, speakers of these dialects would typically only pronounce hamzah in the beginning of a word. When hamzah would occur in the middle of a word, they would replace it with an a, u, or i vowel. So they would adjust their pronunciation as follows: Proununciation with hamzah Proununciation without hamzah هَيْءَة hayʾah هَيَّة hayyah خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah خَطِيَّة k͡haṭiyyah تَوْءَم tawʾam تَوَّم tawwam تَسَاؤُل tasāʾul تَسَاوُل tasāwul بِئْسَ biʾsa بِيسَ bīsa سُؤْل suʾl سُول sūl کَأْس kaʾs کَاس kās When the Classical Standard Arabic variety emerged, then, for reasons that are beyond the scope of this text, the pronunciation with hamzah and the consonantal spelling without hamzah became standardized. So ء is now added as a pronunciation mark on top of the various seats that would instead have been dialectally pronounced without hamzah. A.4 Typographical limitations Unfortunately, most digital fonts do not currently allow for correctly typing an unseated hamzah between two joined letters (ـءـ), as in خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. In most fonts, the hamzah character (Unicode u+0621) will break the joining between the two letters surrounding it, and the output will be rendered incorrectly: خَطِيءَة k͡haṭīʾah. Two typefaces which allow for the correct typesetting are Amiri from Alif Type (amirifont.org) Naskh™ from DecoType (decotype.com) We have used the Amiri font for typesetting this appendix chapter. For most other fonts, an unseated hamzah between two joined letters would have to be approximated in one of two ways: Hamzah superscript on a taṭwīl character: ـٔ. Example: خَطِيـَٔة. The Unicode input sequence is: u+0640 arabic tatweel u+0654 arabic hamza above This is a more accurate approximation, but some fonts may not position the hamzah correctly on the taṭwīl, or position vowel marks on the superscript hamzah correctly. Hamzah seated on yāʾ: ئ. Example: خَطِيئَة. This is a reprehensible, yet more prevalent, and better supported, approximation. Beware, though, that neither of these approximations would allow for the correct rendering of a complex (but thankfully rare) word like لَءَّال laʾʾāl “pearl seller”, where the hamzah is not allowed to disturb the lām-alif ligature لا. "],["usage-and-style.html", "B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences.", " B Usage and style B.1 “There is a …” sentences. In English the plain existence of an indefinite subject is expressed using the word “there”. For example: “There is a gloom in the house” “There is a type of anger which is liked and [there is] a type of anger which is disliked. “There are reasons.” “There is a god.” “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food” The word “there” in these examples does not indicate a specific place. Rather it signifies the existence of the subject of the sentence. This use of “there” is called the existential “there”. Expressing such sentences in Arabic can sometimes be tricky. There is a modern tendency to use the ḍ͡harf makan هُنَاکَ and the majhūl verb يُوجَدُ. So one might find: هُنَاکَ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. or يُوجَدُ حَزَنٌ فِي ٱلْبَيتِ. هناک غضب يستحب وهناک غصب يکره. or يوجد غضب يستحب ويوجد غصب يکره. هُناک أسباب. or تُوجَدُ أسباب. هناک إله. or يوجد إله. هَل هناک طعام؟ or هل يوجد طعام؟ نَعَمْ هناک طعام. or نَعَمْ يوجد طعام. Sometimes in place of هُنَاکَ, its synonym, ثَمَّةَ is used. These usages of هُنَاکَ, ثَمَّةَ, and يُوجَدُ are foreign to Arabic and should generally be avoided. In Classical Arabic, expressing such sentences falls under the category of sentences with indefinite subjects. We have discussed this topic in chapter ??. There are various strategies for expressing such sentences: If, for example, there is a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah then it can readily be used as a k͡habar that precedes the mubtadaʾ. For example: فِي ٱلْبَيتِ حَزَنٌ. “In the house is gloom.” Sometimes, a jārr wa-majrūr, or other s͡hibh jumlah is not original, but can readily be manufactured. For example, in the sentence, “There are reasons.” the reasons must be for something, and that something can be used as a k͡habar: لِلْوَضْعِ أَسْبَابٌ. “For the situation, are reasons.” Similarly, a introductory sentence or s͡hibh jumlah can be manufactured to pave the way for the main sentence. For example: الغَضَبُ غَضَبَانِ: غَضَبٌ مُسْتَحَبٌّ وَغَضَبٌ مَکْرُوهٌ. “Anger is (actually) two angers: an anger that is liked, and an anger that is disliked.” مَنَ ٱلْغَضَبِ مَا يٌسْتَحَبُّ وَمَا يٌکْرَهُ. “From anger is that which is liked, that which is disliked.” Sometimes it hard to come up with any of the above solutions, as in the sentence: “There is a god.” Such sentences, if they are able to be converted to an interjection, may be expressed with the subject itself as a one word sentence: إِلَـٰهٌ! “[There is] a god!” This solution should only be considered if the sentence makes sense as an interjection, and can not be used as a blanket solution. For example, in the exchange: “Is there food?” “Yes, there is food.” One way to express this in Arabic is: هَلْ مِنْ طَعَامٍ؟ نَعَمْ، عِنْدَنَا طَعَامٌ. English also uses the word “there” with this existential meaning for sentences like: “There was a king.” “There is no hope.” These sentences can be expressed in Arabuc without indefinite subjects. For example: کَانَ مَلِکٌ. This uses the self-sufficient کَانَ. (See section ??.) لَا أَمَلَ. This uses the nāfiyah lil-jins لَا. (See section ??.) B.1.1 Legitimate use of هُنَاکَ and يُوجَدُ If, of course, a place is intended by “there” then there is no problem using هُنَاکَ or its synonyms. For example: أَثَمَّ زَيْدٌ؟ “Is Zayd there?” Similarly, يُوجَدُ may be used with no problem if the meaning “is (to be) found” is intended. For example: من قتل معاهدا لم يرح رائحة الجنة، وإن ريحها توجد من مسيرة أربعين عاماً B.1.2 Technical and scientific use of يوجَد Our above directive to avoid the use of يوجد to mean “there is” holds for normal sentences. Sometimes, however, a more technical meaning of “exists” is intended, especially in the language of science. In this case, يوجد and its ism mafɛūl موجود may be used when needing to discuss the existence of something in a scientific text. But such usage should be restricted to its domain, and should not, ideally, spill over to normal sentences, where a simple “there is” is intended. While this concession can be granted to يوجد, we find no such justifying circumstance for using هناک existentially. "],["404.html", "Page not found", " Page not found The page you requested cannot be found (perhaps it was moved or renamed). You may want to try searching to find the page's new location, or use the table of contents to find the page you are looking for. "]]
diff --git a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
index 508a9d13..44f43f88 100644
--- a/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
+++ b/docs/semi-flexible-nouns.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,24 +706,24 @@ 8.1 Introduction
u-state
-رَجُلٌ
-ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+رَجُلٌ
+ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+
ʾiltaqaṭat ʾummu ṭalḥata wa-lḥasani waraqata -s͡hs͡hajarah.
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
+As you can see, when صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ is indefinite, it is not nūnated. Also, when it is indefinite and in the i-state, the vowel mark on its final letter is not ◌ِ, as you might expect but ◌َ . And so the noun looks identical in the a-state and i-state when it is indefinite.
When it is definite, however, it looks just like fully-flexible nouns.
So there are two differences between fully-flexible and semi-flexible nouns:
-
@@ -761,7 +761,7 @@
- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. -
- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. -
- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah. +
- The noun must be a adjectival-noun on the pattern فَعْلَان. So the common noun ثُعْبَان t͡huɛbān “a serpent” of the root «ثعي» is a common noun and therefore, not a semi-flexible noun. +
- The ان must be extrinsic to the word’s root. So جَبَان jabānun “cowardly”, an adjectival noun of the root «جبن», is not a semi-flexible noun. +
- The feminine of the adjectival noun shall not be formed by adding ة to the masculine noun. So نَدْمَان nadmān “regretful”, an adjectival-noun from the root «ندم», is not a semi-flexible noun, because its feminine is نَدْمَانَة nadmānah.
- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” -
- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys” +
- 2مَسَاجِد masājid2 “mosques” +
- 2مَفَاتِيح mafātīḥ2 “keys”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
- 4.5 A definite noun as the information
- 4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject -
- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or” +
- 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
- 5 Prepositions @@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
- 6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
- 6.10 Negating completed-action verbs -
- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad +
- 6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
- 6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
- 6.13 TODO @@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
- 8.2 Feminine markers
- 8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
- 9 Duals @@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
- 9.1 Introduction
- 9.2 Forming the dual
- 9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
- 9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences @@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
- 10.3 The āt sound plural
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
- 10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural @@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
- 12.12 Usage of the annexation
- 13 Irregular nouns @@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
- 13.1 Introduction
- 13.2 The five nouns
- 13.3 Other irregular nouns
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
- 14 Proper nouns @@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
- 14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
- 14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns -
- 14.5 The name فُلَان +
- 14.5 The name فُلَان
- 14.6 The Replacement
- 14.7 Annexed names
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
- - 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ +
- 14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
- 14.9 Place names
- 14.10 Names of tribes
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons -
- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā -
- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my” +
- 15.4 Omitting يَا yā +
- 15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
- 15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
- 16 Pointing nouns @@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
- 17.8 Future
- 17.9 Negation
- 18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
- 23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee @@ -654,8 +654,8 @@ @@ -731,8 +731,8 @@
u-state:
-ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
+ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah
“The teachers are in the school.”a-state:
-سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
+سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr.
“The boy asked some teachers about a matter.”i-state:
-طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
+طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā.
“The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.”- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. -
- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. -
- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”. +
- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”. +
- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”. +
- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. -
- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state. +
- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural. +
- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
u-state:
-فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
+فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun.
“In the school are teachers.”a-state:
-نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
+نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna.
“Allāh aided the Muslims.i-state:
-نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
+نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti.
“The boy looked at the animals.”If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
-
-
- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. -
- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. -
- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt. +
- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt. +
- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt. +
- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
+If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
-
-
- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. -
- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt. +
- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt. +
- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
-If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
+If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
- be retained,
- be converted to an a mark, or @@ -1037,11 +1037,11 @@
10.3.4 Common nouns of the patter
For example:
-
-
- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. -
- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”. +
- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”. +
- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1092,25 +1092,25 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns -
ٱِبْن ʾibn +ٱِبْن ʾibn a son - طِفْل ṭifl +طِفْل ṭifl a child - إِنْسَان ʾinsān +إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being - حُرّ ḥurr +حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition.
-Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
+Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
@@ -1146,31 +1146,31 @@@@ -1121,24 +1121,24 @@ 10.4.1.1 Common nouns -
مُعَلِّم +مُعَلِّم a teacherm -مُعَلِّمُونَ +مُعَلِّمُونَ - مُسْلِم +مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) -مُسْلِمُونَ +مُسْلِمُونَ - کَافِر +کَافِر a disbelieverm -کَافِرُونَ +کَافِرُونَ - لَاعِب +لَاعِب a playerm -لَاعِبُونَ +لَاعِبُونَ 10.4.1.1 Common nounsحُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: -حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. +حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: +حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural.
In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills.
- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” +
- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one” +
- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. -
- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2. +
- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2. +
- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Feminine markers
-Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
+Before we discuss semi-flexible nouns in more detail, we will discuss feminine markers. We already know of one feminine marker: the ة. When a singular noun ends with ة, then that is an indication, with very few exceptions, that it is a feminine noun. Examples are:
| «جري» | -جَارِيَة “a girlf” | +«جري» | +جَارِيَة “a girlf” | – | |
| «علم» | -عَالِمَة “a scholarf” | -عَالِم “a scholarm” | +«علم» | +عَالِمَة “a scholarf” | +عَالِم “a scholarm” |
| «کلب» | -کَلْبَة “a dogf” | -کَلْب “a dogm” | +«کلب» | +کَلْبَة “a dogf” | +کَلْب “a dogm” |
| «شجر» | -شَجَرَة “a tree” | +«شجر» | +شَجَرَة “a tree” | – | |
| «صغر» | -صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” | -صَغِير adj. “smallm” | +«صغر» | +صَغِيرَة adj. “smallf” | +صَغِير adj. “smallm” |
As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
-It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
-Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
+As you can see, the feminine marker ة is never part of the noun’s root. It is thus considered extrinsic to the root. Also, sometimes, but not always, the feminine noun is formed by adding the feminine marker ة to the end of a masculine noun.
+It is also important to note that ة is only a feminine marker for singular nouns. When we learn plurals, if Allāh wills, we will see that ة is used frequently with masculine plurals.
+Now we will learn of two more feminine markers: اء and ىٰ.
Here are some examples of nouns that end with these two feminine markers:
| «صحر» | -صَحْرَاء “a desert” | +«صحر» | +صَحْرَاء “a desert” | – | |
| «حمر» | -حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” | -أَحْمَر adj. “redm” | +«حمر» | +حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” | +أَحْمَر adj. “redm” |
| «ذکر» | -ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” | +«ذکر» | +ذِکْرَىٰ “a remembrance” | – | |
| «غضب» | -غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” | -غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” | +«غضب» | +غَضْبَىٰ adj. “very angryf” | +غَضْبَان adj. “very angrym” |
When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes -اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
+When extrinsic to the word’s root, اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, just like ة. However, one important difference from ة is that sometimes +اء and ىٰ may not be extrinsic to the word’s root. In this case, they will not be feminine markers, and the noun will regularly be a masculine noun. Examples:
| Root | Noun | -Pattern using paradigm «فعل» | +Pattern using paradigm «فعل» | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| «هدي» | -ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” | -ٱَلْفُعَل | +«هدي» | +ٱلْهُدَىٰ (masc.) “the guidance” | +ٱَلْفُعَل |
| «خبء» | -خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” | -فِعَال | +«خبء» | +خِبَاء (masc.) “a tent” | +فِعَال |
These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
+These cases will become more clear, if Allāh wills, when we study weak roots (roots that contain a weak letter like ء، و، ي).
Otherwise, -when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة.
-Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
-By the way, another difference from ة is that when -اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun -حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” -is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun -أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
+when extrinsic to the word’s root, اء, and ىٰ are consistently feminine markers, just like ة. +Also, just like ة, اء and ىٰ are only feminine markers for singular nouns. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they are used frequently with masculine plurals.
+By the way, another difference from ة is that when +اء and ىٰ are feminine markers, and a masculine counterpart exists, then the feminine noun is not formed by simply adding the feminine marker to the end of the masculine noun. The masculine and feminine nouns are different internally as well. For example, the feminine noun +حَمْرَاء adj. “redf” +is not formed simply by adding the feminine marker اء to the end of the masculine noun +أَحْمَر adj. “redm”.
We will discuss this in more detail below.
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
We now return to our discussion of semi-flexible nouns. Semi-flexible nouns, in terms of their formation, fall under different categories. We will discuss them below.
When discussing semi-flexible nouns in isolation we will add the numeral 2 as a superscript to their ending, thus: -2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility. +2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2. This is to indicate their semi-flexibility.
-
8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
-Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
+8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+If a noun ends with an اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We have already seen an example of such a noun above: 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert”. The root of this noun is «صحر». You can see that the ending اء is not part of the root. Therefore it is a semi-flexible noun.
+Furthermore, we have also learned that this اء, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns, just like ة, except that ة does not generally make a noun semi-flexible.
Here is an example sentence with this noun:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ إِلَىٰ صَحْرَاءَ وَاسِعَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -rrajulu ʾilā ṣaḥrāʾa wāsiɛah.
“The man went to a wide desert.”
Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
-2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence -is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
-Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee -2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
-Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee -2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 +
Note that the vowel mark on the final letter of صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa is ◌َ, not ◌ٍ, even though it is indefinite and in the i-state (because it is preceded by the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to”). This is because it is a semi-flexible noun.
+2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 in this sentence +is also a describee, whose describer is وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. The final vowel mark ◌َ on the describee صَحْرَاءَ ṣaḥrāʾa has no effect on the final vowel mark on the describer وَاسِعَةٍ wāsiɛatin “wide”. All that matters in this regard is the state of the describee.
+Note, also, that the describer وَاسِعَة is feminine to match the gender of the describee +2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2.
+Note, as well, that the describer وَاسِعَةٍ is nūnated as it is indefinite and fully-flexible. The inability of its describee +2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 to be nūnated (because of its semi-flexibility) does not affect the describer.
-Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example -خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. +
Also, beware, as we’ve already mentioned, that there are some words where the اء ending may be part of the word’s root, for example +خِبَاء k͡hibāʾ “a tent” from the root «خبء» on the pattern خِبَاء. Such words will be fully flexible. -Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Also, for the same reason, اء in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-
8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
-We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
-We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
-Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
+8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+If a noun ends with an ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root, then it shall be a semi-flexible noun.
+We’ve already seen an example of such a word: 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance”. The root of this word is «ذکر» and it is on the pattern فِعْلَىٰ.
+We’ve also learned that, similar to اء, this ىٰ, which is extrinsic to the word’s root, is a feminine marker for singular nouns.
+Since 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 already ends with the vowel-mark ◌ٰ, the last letter won’t have any additional vowel markers and therefore the word will appear the same in all states:
| u-state | -ذِکْرَىٰ | -ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ | +ذِکْرَىٰ | +ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ | ||||||||||
| a-state | -ذِکْرَىٰ | -ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ | +ذِکْرَىٰ | +ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ | ||||||||||
| i-state | -ذِکْرَىٰ | -ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ | +ذِکْرَىٰ | +ٱَلذِّکْرَىٰ |
Therefore, the state of such nouns cannot be determined by the vowel mark on their final letter, and has to be deduced otherwise by their function in the sentence. Nevertheless, these nouns are still included in the category of semi-flexible nouns, and not rigid nouns. This is because rigid nouns are closed set consisting only of pronouns and other similar words.
Here is an example of this word in a sentence:
-ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
+
ٱَلْکِتَابُ ذِکْرَىٰ جَمِيلةٌ.
ʾalkitābu d͡hikrā jamīlah.
“The book is a beautiful remembrance.”
Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
-Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
+Note, again how the describer جَمِيلَة jamīlah is feminine and in the u-state, in order to match the gender and state of the describee 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2.
+Beware also that, just like in the case of اء, there are some words where ىٰ may be part of the word’s root, e.g. ٱَلْهُدَىٰ ʾalhudā “the guidance” whose root is «هدي». Because here the ىٰ in ٱلْهُدَىٰ is part of the word’s root, therefore it shall not be a semi-flexible noun. So, when it is indefinite, it will be nūnated: هُدًى hudan “a guidance”. Also, for the same reason, ىٰ in this word is not a feminine marker, and the word is masculine.
-
8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
-Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
+8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+If a noun is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal then it shall be a semi-flexible noun. By the way, there is no feminine marker on such words, so they will be masculine by default.
+Most colors and many physical characteristics fall into this pattern. Colors and physical characteristics are adjectival nouns. The masculine noun for such adjectival-nouns is on the pattern أَفْعَل ʾafɛal. And the feminine adjectival noun is on the pattern فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern because of the extrinsic اء ending). Here are some examples of such adjectival nouns:
| «حمر» | -2أَحْمَر | -2حَمْرَاء | +«حمر» | +2أَحْمَر | +2حَمْرَاء | red | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| «سود» | -2أَسْوَد | -2سَوْدَاء | +«سود» | +2أَسْوَد | +2سَوْدَاء | black | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| «بيض» | -2أَبْيَض | -2بَيْضَاء | +«بيض» | +2أَبْيَض | +2بَيْضَاء | white | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| «عرج» | -2أَعْرَج | -2عَرْجَاء | +«عرج» | +2أَعْرَج | +2عَرْجَاء | lame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| «حور» | -2أَحْوَر | -2حَوْرَاء | +«حور» | +2أَحْوَر | +2حَوْرَاء | beautiful eyed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| «بکم» | -2أَبْکَم | -2بَکْمَاء | +«بکم» | +2أَبْکَم | +2بَکْمَاء | mute |
Example:
-لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
+
لَبِسَ ٱلرَّجُلُ قَمِيصًا أَبْيَضُ.
labisa -rrajulu qamīṣan ʾabyaḍ.
“The man wore a white shirt.”
-
8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
-This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
+8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+The letters ان may be an extrinsic ending for nouns. This ending is not a feminine marker so the noun would typically be masculine. This ending may cause the noun to be semi-flexible.
+This category is more complicated than the previous ones. The following conditions must be satisfied for a word that ends with ان to be a semi-flexible noun:
-
-
It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
+It is rare that this last condition fails. Most adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان are of the pattern فَعْلَان faɛlān and their feminine is of the pattern فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā (which is itself a semi-flexible noun pattern). These adjectival-nouns typically have an emphatic meaning. The following are examples of semi-flexible adjectival-nouns that fall into this category:
| «غضب» | -2غَضْبَان | -2غَضْبَىٰ | +«غضب» | +2غَضْبَان | +2غَضْبَىٰ | very angry |
| «عطش» | -2عَطْشَان | -2عَطْشَىٰ | +«عطش» | +2عَطْشَان | +2عَطْشَىٰ | very thirsty |
| «جوع» | -2جَوْعَان | -2جَوْعَىٰ | +«جوع» | +2جَوْعَان | +2جَوْعَىٰ | very hungry |
-10.1 Introduction
-
10.2.1 Applicability of the
8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
+8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+Nouns that are of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف are also semi-flexible nouns. Here each letter ف could be any letter of the alphabet.
Here are some examples of these nouns:
-
-
These patterns are only used for plurals and we will study them in more detail in chapter 11 , if Allāh wills.
diff --git a/docs/sound-plurals.html b/docs/sound-plurals.html index 603ab5cd..338662b5 100644 --- a/docs/sound-plurals.html +++ b/docs/sound-plurals.html @@ -97,7 +97,7 @@10.1 Introduction
10.2 The ūn sound plural
-The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
-Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
+The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
+Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
| u-state | -مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna | +مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna |
| a- and i-states | -مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna | +مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna |
Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
-The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
+Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
+The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
| u-state | -مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni | +مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni |
| a- and i-states | -مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni | +مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni |
Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences:
10.2.1 Applicability of the
The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include:
-
10.3 The āt sound plural
-The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
-Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
+The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
+Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
| u-state | -حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu | +حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu |
| a- and i-states | -حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti | +حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
Note that:
-
-
| u-state | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu |
| a-state | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
| i-state | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni | -ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni | +ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
-
10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. -Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
+10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. +Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
| u-state | -مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu | +مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu |
| a- and i-states | -مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin | -ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti | +مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin | +ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti |
Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences:
There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
+There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
-
10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, -if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. +if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example:
| «صحر» | -2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” | -صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt | +«صحر» | +2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” | +صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt |
-
@@ -1013,23 +1013,23 @@
10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, -If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
+If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:| «ذکر» | -2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” | -ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt | +«ذکر» | +2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” | +ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt |
10.3.3 Nouns ending with
-
10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
-Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
-If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
+10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
+If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
There are two separate rules to consider:
-
-
Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
+Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
@@ -1079,10 +1079,10 @@10.4.1.1 Common nouns10.2.1), -the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below: +the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds:
-
-
10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns
-If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
+If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun:
-
-
It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
+It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
-
-
The above condition is satisfied; therefore, -کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
-By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
-We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
+کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”. +By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
+We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
-
-
Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
+Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
@@ -1180,7 +1180,7 @@ 10.4.2 Conditions for the āt
10.4.2 Conditions for the āt
10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker
Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like
-ة, اء, and ىٰ
+ة, اء, and ىٰ
are able to form an āt plural.
Examples:
-سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahumu -rrajul.
“The man asked them3,m.”
-سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
saʾaltukum
“I asked you3,m.”
-سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
+
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
saʾalatkunn.
“She asked you3,f.”
-سَأَلَانَا.
+
سَأَلَانَا.
saʾalānā.
“They2,m asked us.”
-سَأَلَتَاهُ.
+
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
saʾalatāh.
“They3,m asked him.”
@@ -1542,24 +1542,24 @@ 10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns10.7 Verbs with plural doers
10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn.
“The teacherm3,m went.”
-ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
d͡hahabat muɛallimāt.
“Teachers3,f went.”
@@ -1586,43 +1586,43 @@ 10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee sing. masc.
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker
Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like -ة, اء, and ىٰ +ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples:
-سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahumu -rrajul.
“The man asked them3,m.”
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
+
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
saʾaltukum
“I asked you3,m.”
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
+
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
saʾalatkunn.
“She asked you3,f.”
سَأَلَانَا.
+
سَأَلَانَا.
saʾalānā.
“They2,m asked us.”
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
+
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
saʾalatāh.
“They3,m asked him.”
10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer
-We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
+ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn.
“The teacherm3,m went.”
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
+
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
d͡hahabat muɛallimāt.
“Teachers3,f went.”
10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee sing. masc.
invisible
“he”
-فَعَلَ faɛala
+فَعَلَ faɛala
10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
Absentee pl. masc.
-و
+و
“they3,m”
-فَعَلُوا faɛalū
+فَعَلُوا faɛalū
Absentee pl. fem.
-نَ -na
+نَ -na
“they3,f”
-فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
+فَعَلْنَ faɛalna
Addressee pl. masc.
-تُمْ -tum
+تُمْ -tum
“youm,3”
-فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
+فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum
Addressee pl. fem.
-تُنَّ -tunna
+تُنَّ -tunna
“youf,3”
-فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
+فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna
Speaker pl.
-نَا -nā
+نَا -nā
“we”
-فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
+فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā
Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns:
-
-
The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
+The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
-
-
- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went” +
- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
+This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
-
-
- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went” +
- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
-The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
+The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
-
-
- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
+ - أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
ʾakaltum k͡hubzā.
“You3,m ate some bread.”
- - أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
+ - أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz.
“You3,m ate the bread.”
-- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-
-
- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabu -rrajul.
“They3,m hit the man.
- - ضَرَبُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبُوهُ.
ḍarabūh.
“They3,m hit him.”
-- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
+The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
-
-
- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabtumu -rrajul.
“You3,m hit the man.”
- - ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
+ - ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
ḍarabtumūh.
“Youpl. masc. hit him.”
-- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
-سَأَلْنَا.
+The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
+سَأَلْنَا.
-
saʾalnā.
“We asked.”سَأَلَنَا.
+سَأَلَنَا.
saʾalanā.
“He asked us.”
10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the do
10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah.
“They3,m went to a school.”
-لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f played in the house.”
-لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“They3,f played in the house.”
The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.”
= “The teachers3,m went to a school.”
-ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.”
= “The friends3,f played in the house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
Similarly,
-أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
and
-ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
= “The players3,f ate and drank and went.”
@@ -1886,33 +1886,33 @@ 10.7.3 Sentence word order with p
10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually
If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage.
If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples:
-ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu.
“The mother and the boy went.”
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu.
“The boy and the mother went.”
If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example:
-ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa.
“I, you, and he went.”
-Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
+Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples:
-أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
+
أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā.
“You1,m and he, you2 went.”
-أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
+
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā.
“I and Muḥammad, we went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā.
“The mother and the girl went.”
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna.
“The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.”
If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example:
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū.
“The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.”
diff --git a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
index 0fd332cc..80bd11cb 100644
--- a/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
+++ b/docs/state-incomplete-action-verbs.html
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word
-- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
+- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām
@@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
-- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
-- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
-- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
-- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
-- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
+- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء
+- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ
+- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل
+- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان
+- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
-- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
-- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
-- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
-- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
+- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
+- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
+- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
+- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
-- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
-- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
-- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
-- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
-- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
-- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
-- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
-- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
+- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt
+- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm
+- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah
+- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ
+- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah
+- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint
+- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās
+- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
+
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
-- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
-- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
-- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
-- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
+- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb
+- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun
+- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ
+- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ
+- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
-- 19.4 After لِ li
+
- 19.4 After لِ li
-- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
-- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
+
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay
+- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā
-- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
-- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
-- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
+
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan
+- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han
+- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings
@@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
-- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
-- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
+
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction
-- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
+
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna
-- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
-- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
-- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
-- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
-- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
-- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
-- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
-
-- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
-- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
-- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
-- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
+- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ
+- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters
+
+- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
+- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee
+- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer
+- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject
+- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information
+- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ
+- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun
+- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing
+
+- 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna
+- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna
+- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta
+- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact
-- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -708,29 +708,29 @@ 20.1 Introduction
20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”:
-يَفْعَلُ
+
يَفْعَلُ
yafɛalu
“he does”
-Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
In order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb,
we change the u-mark into a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
-يَفْعَلْ
+ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
+يَفْعَلْ
yafɛal
-This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
-For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
+
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb.
So, for example, the u-state
incomplete-action verb:
-يَفْعَلَانِ
+
يَفْعَلَانِ
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
becomes, for the
ø-state:
-يَفْعَلَا
+
يَفْعَلَا
yafɛalā
Here is the complete table of the
ø-state
@@ -755,80 +755,80 @@
20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
he
invisible
-يَفْعَلُ
-يَفْعَلْ
+يَفْعَلُ
+يَفْعَلْ
she
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,m
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ي
-تَفْعَلِينَ
-تَفْعَلِي
+ي
+تَفْعَلِينَ
+تَفْعَلِي
I
invisible
-أَفْعَلُ
-أَفْعَلْ
+أَفْعَلُ
+أَفْعَلْ
they2,m
-ا
-يَفْعَلَانِ
-يَفْعَلَا
+ا
+يَفْعَلَانِ
+يَفْعَلَا
they2,f
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
you2
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
they3+,m
-و
-يَفْعَلُونَ
-يَفْعَلُوا
+و
+يَفْعَلُونَ
+يَفْعَلُوا
they3+,f
-نَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
you3+,m
-و
-تَفْعَلُونَ
-تَفْعَلُوا
+و
+تَفْعَلُونَ
+تَفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-نَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
we
invisible
-نَفْعَلُ
-نَفْعَلْ
+نَفْعَلُ
+نَفْعَلْ
10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers:
-ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m went to a school.”
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah.
“They3,m went to a school.”
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f played in the house.”
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“They3,f played in the house.”
The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
-ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
+
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.”
= “The teachers3,m went to a school.”
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
+
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.”
= “The friends3,f played in the house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
-أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
-ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
Similarly,
-أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
and
-ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
= “The players3,f ate and drank and went.”
10.7.3 Sentence word order with p
10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually
If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage.
If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples:
-ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
+
ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu.
“The mother and the boy went.”
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
+
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu.
“The boy and the mother went.”
If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example:
-ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
+
ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa.
“I, you, and he went.”
Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
+Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples:
-أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
+
أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā.
“You1,m and he, you2 went.”
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
+
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā.
“I and Muḥammad, we went.”
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā.
“The mother and the girl went.”
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna.
“The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.”
If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example:
-ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
+
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū.
“The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
20.1 Introduction
20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb
Here is the u-state incomplete action verb for the singular masculine absentee participant doer “he”:
-يَفْعَلُ
+
يَفْعَلُ
yafɛalu
“he does”
-Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+
Note that, because it is in the u-state, the its final letter ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
In order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb,
we change the u-mark into a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
-يَفْعَلْ
+ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
+يَفْعَلْ
yafɛal
-This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
-For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
+
This is done for all participants whose doer pronoun is invisible and u-state verb ends with a u-mark ◌ُ.
+For participants whose doer pronoun is followed by an extra ن in the u-state verb, this final ن is dropped in order to form the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb.
So, for example, the u-state
incomplete-action verb:
-يَفْعَلَانِ
+
يَفْعَلَانِ
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
becomes, for the
ø-state:
-يَفْعَلَا
+
يَفْعَلَا
yafɛalā
Here is the complete table of the
ø-state
@@ -755,80 +755,80 @@
20.2 Forming the ø-state incompl
he
invisible
-يَفْعَلُ
-يَفْعَلْ
+يَفْعَلُ
+يَفْعَلْ
she
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,m
invisible
-تَفْعَلُ
-تَفْعَلْ
+تَفْعَلُ
+تَفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ي
-تَفْعَلِينَ
-تَفْعَلِي
+ي
+تَفْعَلِينَ
+تَفْعَلِي
I
invisible
-أَفْعَلُ
-أَفْعَلْ
+أَفْعَلُ
+أَفْعَلْ
they2,m
-ا
-يَفْعَلَانِ
-يَفْعَلَا
+ا
+يَفْعَلَانِ
+يَفْعَلَا
they2,f
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
you2
-ا
-تَفْعَلَانِ
-تَفْعَلَا
+ا
+تَفْعَلَانِ
+تَفْعَلَا
they3+,m
-و
-يَفْعَلُونَ
-يَفْعَلُوا
+و
+يَفْعَلُونَ
+يَفْعَلُوا
they3+,f
-نَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ
-يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ
+يَفْعَلْنَ (same)
you3+,m
-و
-تَفْعَلُونَ
-تَفْعَلُوا
+و
+تَفْعَلُونَ
+تَفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-نَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ
-تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
+نَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ
+تَفْعَلْنَ (same)
we
invisible
-نَفْعَلُ
-نَفْعَلْ
+نَفْعَلُ
+نَفْعَلْ
+
yafɛalu
“he does”
+ø-mark ◌ْ, thus:
yafɛal
+
yafɛalāni
“they2,m do”
+
yafɛalā
- The u-state and ø-state verbs are the same for the feminine plural absentee and addressee participants:
-
-
- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) -
- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f) +
- يَفْعَلْنَ (they3+,f) +
- تَفْعَلْنَ (you3+,f)
- - The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف: +
- The u-state and ø-state verbs for the masculine plural absentee and addressee participants have a final silent أَلِف:
-
-
- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) -
- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m) +
- يَفْعَلُوا (they3+,m) +
- تَفْعَلُوا (you3+,m)
- When the
ø-state
incomplete-action verb
ends with a
-ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
-ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
+ø-mark ◌ْ, and the next word begins with a connecting hamzah ٱ then the
+ø-mark ◌ْ is converted to an i mark ◌ِ. For example:
-
-
- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ +
- يَفْعَلْ + ٱلرَّجُلُ = يَفْعَلِ ٱلرَّجُلُ
-
20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
-The particle لِ when connected to the front of a +
20.3 With لِ for indirect commands
+The particle لِ when connected to the front of a incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state and gives it the meaning of an indirect command. In English this can be translated using “should” or “let”:
-لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
+
لِيَذْهَبِ ٱَلرَّجُلُ
“The man should go!”
or
“Let the man go!”
(“Let” is being used here as a command for the man, not for the addressee of this speech.)
لِنَذْهَبْ!
+
لِنَذْهَبْ!
“Let’s go!”
The indirect command is only rarely used for the addressee participant. Instead, the verb of command is used which we will study in section 20.8 later in this chapter.
-The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. -The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a +
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” are frequently used before this لِ. +The لِ then loses its i-mark and gets a ø-mark. Examples:
-فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
+
فَلْنَأْکُلْ طَعَامَنَا وَلْنَشْرَبْ شَرَابَنَا.
“So let us eat our food and drink our drink!”
لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
+
لِتَجْلِسُوا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ.
“You should sit on the ground!”
-
20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
-The word لَا when in front of a +
20.4 With لَا for prohibitions
+The word لَا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning of a prohibition. In English this can be translated using “Don’t”.
For example,
-لَا تَکْتُبُوا
+
لَا تَکْتُبُوا
“Don’t write3,m!”
يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ، لَا تَدْخُلِ ٱلْبَيْتَ!
“Don’t1,m enter the house!”
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. +
The particles فَ “so” and وَ “and” may be used before this لَا. Example:
-فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
+
فَلَا تَأْکُلْ وَلَا تَشْرَبْ!
“So don’t eat1,m and don’t drink1,m!”
Such prohibitions are generally for the addressee participant. However, rarely, they may be issued for the absentee participant as well. Example:
-لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
+
لَايَمْنَعْ زَيْدًا ٱلدُّخُولَ.
“Let him not prevent Zayd from entering!”
By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state +
By the way, لَا does not force a verb to be in the u-state ø-state. We have already seen in section 17.9.2 -that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. +that لَا can be used to negate a u-state incomplete-action verb for the present and future tense. Example:
-لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
+
لَا يَذْهَبُ ٱلرَّجُلُ
lā yad͡h·habu -rrajulu.
“The man does not go.” or,
“The man is not going.” or,
“The man will not go.”
-20.5 With لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
-The particle لَمْ when in front of an +
20.5 With لَمْ for “did not”
+The particle لَمْ when in front of an incomplete-action verb causes it to be in the ø-state @@ -939,27 +939,27 @@
20.5 With لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+
لَمْ يَذْهَبِ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
“The man did not go.”
We have already learned in -section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
-مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
+section 6.10 that the completed-action verb is negated using the particle مَا. For example:
مَا ذَهَبَ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
mā d͡hahaba -rrajulu.
“The man did not go.”
or,
“The man has not gone.”
Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. -مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
+Both لَمْ and مَا are used commonly to negate the past tense. +مَا has a more emphatic meaning than لَمْ.
Here are some more examples:
-
20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
-The word لَمَّا when in front of a +
20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
+The word لَمَّا when in front of a ø-state incomplete-action verb gives the meaning “did not yet”. For example,
-لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
+
لَمَّا يَذْهَبْ زَيْدٌ.
“Zayd did not go yet.”
@@ -988,30 +988,30 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
you1,m
-ٱفْعَلْ
+ٱفْعَلْ
you1,f
-ٱفْعَلِي
+ٱفْعَلِي
you2
-ٱفْعَلَا
+ٱفْعَلَا
you3+,m
-ٱفْعَلُوا
+ٱفْعَلُوا
you3+,f
-ٱفْعَلْنَ
+ٱفْعَلْنَ
-
In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
+In order to form the verb of command, we remove the initial ت from the addressee particpant verb. The verb then begins with an ø-mark so we place a connecting hamzah in front of it.
When the verb of command occurs in the beginning of a sentence, then the vowel mark for the connecting hamzah is selected according to the following criteria:
-
-
When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
+When the middle root letter of the verb of command has an u-mark ◌ُ, then the connecting hamzah gets an u-mark too. Examples:
@@ -1021,20 +1021,20 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
- نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا -ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” +نَظَرَ يَنْظُرُ نَظَرًا +ٱُنْظُرْ “Look!” - قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا -ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” +قَتَلَ يَقْتُلُ قَتْلًا +ٱُقْتُلْ “Kill!” - مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا -ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!” +مَکَثَ يَمْکُثُ مُکُوثًا +ٱُمْکُثْ “Stay!”
-Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
+Otherwise, when the middle root letter of the verb of command has an a-mark ◌َ or an i-mark ◌ِ, then the connecting hamzah gets an i-mark ◌ِ. Examples:
@@ -1044,16 +1044,16 @@ 20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
- عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا -ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” +عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا +ٱِعْمَلْ “Work!” - ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا -ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” +ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا +ٱِذْهَبْ “Go!” - جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا -ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!” +جَلَسَ يَجْلِسُ جُلُوسًا +ٱِجْلِسْ “Sit!”
@@ -1064,11 +1064,11 @@
20.8.1 Forming the verb of comman
Here are some examples of using the verb of command:
The verb of command is not used to issue negative commands, like “Don’t go!”. Instead, the -ø-state verb is used with لَا +ø-state verb is used with لَا as described in section 20.4 above.
-لَا تَذْهَبْ
+
لَا تَذْهَبْ
“Don’t go!”
@@ -1087,44 +1087,44 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
@@ -1132,7 +1132,7 @@ 20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
-«أمل»
-أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
-ٱؤْمُلْ
+«أمل»
+أَمَلَ يَأْمُلُ أَمَلًا “to hope”
+ٱؤْمُلْ
-«أذن»
-أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
-ٱئْذَنْ
+«أذن»
+أَذِنَ يَأذَنُ أَذَنًا “to permit”
+ٱئْذَنْ
Here are examples of these verbs of commands in the middle of a sentence:
-يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
+
يَا أُمِّي ٱئْذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ!
yā ʾummi -ʾd͡hanī li -llaɛib!
“O my mother, permit me to play!”
يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
+
يَا زَيْدُ ٱؤْمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ!
yā zaydu -ʾmuli -lk͡hayr!
“O Zayd, hope for good!”
When these verbs of command occur in the beginning of the sentence, then there would be two hamzahs occuring next to each other which is not permitted. So the second hamzah is pronounced as a long vowel, though it may still be written as a hamzah. Examples:
-ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
+
ٱُؤمُلِ ٱلْخَيْرَ يَا زَيْدُ!
ʾūmul
not
\(\times\) ʾuʾmul
ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
+
ٱِئذَنِي لِي ٱللَّعِبَ يَا أُمِّي!
ʾīd͡hanī
not
\(\times\) ʾiʾd͡hanī
As a further complication, when the verb of command is preceded by -وَ “and” +وَ “and” or -فَ “so” +فَ “so” then the connecting hamza is not written -and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. +and the hamzah of the first root letter is written seated on an أَلِف. Examples:
-وَأْمُلْ
+
وَأْمُلْ
waʾmul
“And hope!”
فَأْذَنْ
+
فَأْذَنْ
faʾd͡han
“So permit!”
20.8.2 The verb of command for ro
20.8.3 Irregular verbs of command
20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
+20.8.3.1 The verbs أَکَلَ , أَخَذَ , and أَمَرَ
The verbs of command for the following three verbs are irregular:
| «أکل» | -أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” | -کُلْ | +«أکل» | +أَکَلَ يَأْکُلُ أَکْلًا “to eat” | +کُلْ |
| «أخذ» | -أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” | -خُذْ | +«أخذ» | +أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take” | +خُذْ |
| «أمر» | -أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” | -مُرْ | +«أمر» | +أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا “to order” | +مُرْ |
As you can see, the initial hamzah has been completely deleted for the verbs of command. However, of these verbs, the verb of command for -أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا +أَمَرَ يَأْمُرُ أَمْرًا is permitted to retain its initial hamzah when preceded by -وَ “and” +وَ “and” or -فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
-وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
+فَ “so”. Then, it becomes
وَأْمُرْ waʾmur
and
-فَأْمُرْ faʾmur
This retaining of the initial hamzah is not done for the other two verbs.
Here are some examples of these verbs of command:
20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
-The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
+20.8.3.2 The verb سَأَلَ
+The verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا “to question” forms its verb of command both regularly, and irregularly:
-
-
- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal -
- Irregular: سَلْ sal +
- Regular: ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal +
- Irregular: سَلْ sal
If the verb of command is preceded by -وَ “and” +وَ “and” or -فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command -ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.
+فَ “so”, then the regular verb of command +ٱسْأَلْ ʾisʾal is often preferred.Otherwise, the irregular verb of command -سَلْ sal is often preferred.
+سَلْ sal is often preferred.Examples of usage:
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
+
ʾalbaytu bināʾ.
“The house is a building.”
+
ʾalbināʾu madrasah.
“The building is a school.”
+
ʾalmadrasatu bināʾ.
“The school is a building .”
The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The subject: “the mother”: ٱَلْأُمُّ ʾalʾummu (fem.) (u-state).
The information: “a teacher”. We have two words for “a teacher” in Arabic:
-
-
- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” -
- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”. +
- مُعَلِّم muɛallium (masc.) “a (male) teacher” +
- مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah (fem.) “a (female) teacher”.
Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun +
Obviously, مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah would apply here so we put it in the u-state: مُعَلِّمَةٌ muɛallimatun (u-state).
+
ʾalʾummu muɛallimah.
“The mother is a teacherf.”
+
ʾalmuɛallimatu ʾumm.
“The teacherf is a mother.”
+
ʾarrujulu ʾab.
“The man is a father.”
+
ʾalʾummu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The mother is a person.”
+
ʾas͡hs͡hak͡hṣu muɛallimah.
“The person is a (female) teacher.”
+
ʾalmuɛallimatu s͡hak͡hṣ.
“The (female) teacher is a person.”
+
ʾalḥayawānu hirr.
“The animal is a (male) cat.”
+
ʾalḥayawānu hirrah.
“The animal is a (female) cat.”
+
ʾarrajulu huwa -lmuɛallim.
“The man is the teacherm.”
+
ʾalbaytu -lbināʾu.
“The house is the building.”
+
ʾalḥayawānu hiya -lhirratu.
“The animal is the cat.”
4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
-
4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
-Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
-وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
+
4.7.1 وَ wa- “and”
+Arabic uses the particle وَ wa to mean “and”. Being a one-letter particle, it is joined to the word after it without any space between it and the next word.
+وَمَدْرَسَةٌ
wamadrasatun
“and a school”
وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
+
وَ wa meaning “and” does not change the state of the noun following it. Examples:
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu masjidun wamadrasah.
“The building is a mosque and a school.”
If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
If there are more than two words, then in English, only the final word usually has “and” and the rest are separated by commas in writing. In Arabic, however, each must have وَ and commas are not typically used.
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ وَمَدْرَسَةٌ وَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun wamadrasatun wamaktabah
“The building is a mosque, a school, and a library.”
We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
-وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
We can also use وَ to begin and connect sentences. The following example is tehcnically two sentences, both beginning with وَ:
+وَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
warrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“And the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: +
Unlike as in English, this is not considered poor style. When translating such sentences to English, the first وَ is often left out, thus: “The man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
-4.5 A definite noun as the information
4.6 An indefinite noun as the subject
-4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
+ 4.7 وَ wa- “and”, فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, and أَوْ ʾaw “or”
5 Prepositions
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@
6.9.2 Verbs pull definite nouns towards them
6.10 Negating completed-action verbs
-6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
+6.11 The particle قَدْ qad
6.12 Separating doee pronouns from the verb
6.13 TODO
@@ -231,11 +231,11 @@
8.2 Feminine markers
8.3 Categories of semi-flexible nouns
9 Duals
@@ -243,8 +243,8 @@
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Forming the dual
9.3 Dual describers and describees in descriptive noun-phrases
9.4 Duals in subject-information sentences
@@ -269,10 +269,10 @@
10.3 The āt sound plural
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
@@ -353,11 +353,11 @@
12.12 Usage of the annexation
13 Irregular nouns
@@ -365,20 +365,20 @@
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The five nouns
13.3 Other irregular nouns
14 Proper nouns
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@
14.4.1 Fully-flexible proper nouns
14.4.2 Semi-flexible proper nouns
-14.5 The name فُلَان
+14.5 The name فُلَان
14.6 The Replacement
14.7 Annexed names
-14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
+14.8 Names beginning with ٱَلْ
14.9 Place names
14.10 Names of tribes
15.3 Calling out to unspecified persons
-15.4 Omitting يَا yā
-15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
+15.4 Omitting يَا yā
+15.5 Shortening the attached pronoun ي ī “my”
15.6 Calling out to Allāh by name
16 Pointing nouns
@@ -460,8 +460,8 @@
17.8 Future
17.9 Negation
18 The verbal-noun of doing
@@ -484,28 +484,28 @@
23 The verbal-nouns of the doer and the doee
@@ -654,8 +654,8 @@
@@ -706,210 +706,210 @@ 2.1 The Arabic alphabet
4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
-The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. -فَ fa- “so”/“and then” -gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
-ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
+
4.7.2 فَ fa- “so”/“and then”
+The word فَ fa- “so”/“and then” is comparable to وَ wa- “and”. +فَ fa- “so”/“and then” +gives a meaning of ordering, consequence, and subsequence that is missing in وَ wa- “and”. For example,
+ٱَلْبِنَاءُ مَسْجِدٌ فَمَدْرَسَةٌ فَمَکْتَبَةٌ.
ʾalbināʾu baytun famadrasatun famaktabah
“The building is a mosque, and then a school, and then a library.”
فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
-فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
+
فَ fa- “so”/“and then”, too, is used to begin and connect sentences. Example,
+فَٱلرَّجُلُ إِنْسَانٌ وَٱلْکَلْبُ حَيَوَانٌ
farrujulu ʾinṣānun wa-lkalbu ḥayawānun
“So the man is a human and the dog is an animal.”
- 2.2.1 Letters in different positions
- 2.2.2 Joining the different forms to make a word -
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ) +
- 2.2.3 ة (rounded tāʾ)
- 2.2.4 Writing hamzah
- 2.2.5 Disambiguating letters that look similar
- 2.2.6 Joining alif after lām @@ -148,10 +148,10 @@
-
-
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء -
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ -
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل -
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان -
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف +
- 8.3.1 Nouns that end with an extrinsic اء +
- 8.3.2 Nouns that end with an extrinsic ىٰ +
- 8.3.3 Nouns on the pattern أَفْعَل +
- 8.3.4 Adjectival nouns that end with an extrinsic ان +
- 8.3.5 Nouns of the patterns فَفَافِف and فَفَافِيف
-
-
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة -
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء -
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ -
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة +
- 10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة +
- 10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء +
- 10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ +
- 10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
- 10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
-
-
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt -
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm -
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah -
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ -
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah -
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint -
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās -
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة +
- 13.3.1 أُولُو ʾulū and أُولَات ʾulāt +
- 13.3.2 أُمّ ʾumm +
- 13.3.3 سَنَة sanah +
- 13.3.4 مَاء māʾ +
- 13.3.5 شَفَة s͡hafah +
- 13.3.6 ٱِبْن ʾibn, ٱِبْنَة ʾibnah, and بِنْت bint +
- 13.3.7 نَاس nās, and أُنَاس ʾunās +
- 13.3.8 The nouns ٱِمْرَأ and ٱِمْرَأَة
-
@@ -400,7 +400,7 @@
- 14.7.3 “Son of” names
- 14.7.4 Other annexed names
-
@@ -427,8 +427,8 @@
- 15.2.4 Using multiple words
- 19.1 Introduction
- 19.2 Forming the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan +
- 19.3 After أَنْ ʾan
-
-
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb -
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun -
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ -
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ -
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ +
- 19.3.1 Basic usage of أَنْ ʾan with the a-state incomplete-action verb +
- 19.3.2 Grammatical equivalence of أَنْ clause with a doing verbal noun +
- 19.3.3 Option to drop the preposition before أَنْ +
- 19.3.4 Uncommon usages of أَنْ +
- 19.3.5 Other types of أَنْ
- - 19.4 After لِ li +
- 19.4 After لِ li -
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay -
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā +
- 19.5 After کَيْ kay +
- 19.6 After حَتَّىٰ ḥattā -
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan -
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han -
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ +
- 19.7 After لَنْ lan +
- 19.8 After إِذَنْ ʾid͡han +
- 19.9 After وَ, فَ, أَوْ, and ثُمَّ
- 19.9.1 As connectors
- 19.9.2 With special meanings @@ -515,10 +515,10 @@
- 20.1 Introduction
- 20.2 Forming the ø-state incomplete-action verb -
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands -
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions -
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” -
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet” +
- 20.3 With لِ for indirect commands +
- 20.4 With لَا for prohibitions +
- 20.5 With لَمْ for “did not” +
- 20.6 With لَمَّا for “did not yet”
- 20.7 Other uses of the ø-state incomplete-action verb
- 20.8 The verb of command
-
@@ -550,40 +550,40 @@
- 21.6.2 Impermissible use of the unknown-doer verb
- - 22 إِنَّ and its sisters +
- 22 إِنَّ and its sisters
- 22.1 Introduction -
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna +
- 22.2 إِنَّ ʾinna -
- 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
-
-
-
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee -
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer -
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject -
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information -
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ -
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun -
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing -
- - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna -
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna -
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta -
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla +
- 22.2.2 إِنَّ ʾinna with a strengthening لَ +
- 22.2.3 Commonality of rules for إِنَّ and its sisters +
+ - 22.3 أَنَّ ʾanna
+
-
+
- 22.3.1 The أَنَّ clause in place of the direct doee +
- 22.3.2 The أَنَّ clause in place of the doer +
- 22.3.3 The أَنَّ clause in place of the subject +
- 22.3.4 The أَنَّ clause in place of the information +
- 22.3.5 أَنَّ with کَانَ +
- 22.3.6 The أَنَّ clause in place of an i-state noun +
- 22.3.7 Equivalence of the أَنَّ clause with a verbal noun of doing +
+ - 22.4 کَأَنَّ kaʾanna +
- 22.5 لَـٰکِنَّ lākinna +
- 22.6 لَيْتَ layta +
- 22.7 لَعَلَّ laɛalla
- 22.8 Topic-comment sentences and the pronoun of the fact -
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ +
- 22.9 The lightened versions إِنْ, أَنْ, کَأَنْ, and لَـٰکِنْ
