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Tuesday, March 4th, 2008In Arabic grammar, the fa’il can be a clear noun, pronoun, or even something attached at the end of a verb conjugation! In this post, we discuss the fa’il in a maadi (past-tense) verb, and point out the fa’il. In the past-tense, all conjugations except for the third-person singulars (he and she) have a fa’il.
The Number System From 21-99
Sunday, February 24th, 2008The number system from 21-99 is fairly simple. The ‘adad can take any case, and the single digit is like that of 1-9 or 11-19. The tens-digit is the same regardless of gender. The ma’duwd is, like the number system from 11-19, singular and mansoob and mabani.
Inna and It’s Sisters
Sunday, February 3rd, 2008Inna and it’s sisters–lakinna, li’anna, ka’anna, anna, and la’ala–all follow the same grammatical parttern: the mubtada (which becomes ismu-inna, or ismu-sister) becomes mansoob, and the khabr (which becomes khabru-inna, or khabru-sister) remains untouched. Inna is a form of emphasis, used to draw attention to something–the same way you say “indeed” or “verily” in English.
Non-Human Plurals Act Like Feminine Singulars
Saturday, January 19th, 2008In Arabic grammar, the non-human plural acts like feminine singular grammatically–in terms of pronouns, adjectives, verb conjugation, every aspect. (Human plural are unaffected–it’s only non-human plurals.)
The Calling Ya
Saturday, January 12th, 2008The “calling ya” is the ya you use to call someone–eg. “ya Ahmad,” or “ya Allah.” The one called either becomes mansoob (in the possessive case), or marfoo’ in the regular case.
Amma and Fa
Saturday, December 15th, 2007In Arabic, how do you mention a group, but also talk about specific individuals (or sub-groups) within that group? Enter amma (أمَّا) and fa (فَ). Amma singles out a sub-group or individual, and fa mentions something about them. You can translate amma as “as for,” and fa as “then,” or “therefore,” or “thus.”
The Number System From 3-10
Saturday, December 8th, 2007The Arabic number system from 3 to 9 follows a few simple rules: the ‘adad (number) can take any case, and is opposite in gender to the ma’duwd (counted object); the ma’duwd is plural and majruwr. Some examples clarify these rules. The opposite-gender applies to all numbers with 3-9 (eg. 13-19, 233-239) and not just 3-9.
Thahaba and Kharaja
Saturday, November 24th, 2007Two common verbs in Arabic are thahaba (he travelled) and kharaja (he exited). You use thahaba with ila (to), and kharaja with min (from). Unlike English, you can’t mix and match the two prepositions.
Prepositions (Huruwf-ul-Jarr)
Saturday, November 17th, 2007Prepositions–Huruwf-ul-Jarr–cause the word that follows them to become majruwr. In Arabic, the prepositions are: fiy, ila, ‘ala, min, li, ma’a, bi, hatta, mundhu, ‘an, and ka; the meaning varies, depending on the context, but we’ve listed the common meanings, as well as some examples to clarify usage. Prepositions cannot occur back-to-back.
Possessive Case (Mudaf and Mudaf Ilayh)
Saturday, November 10th, 2007The possessive case is when you have something or someone that owns/has something else. For example, “the book of Allah”–Allah is the possessor, and the book is the possessed. Or, in “her pen,” she (someone) is the possessor, and the pen is the possessed.
In Arabic, the possessor is called the mudaf ilayh, and [...]