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Definite and Indefinite
By ArabicTree | November 3, 2007
Arabic has two types of nouns: definite and indefinite. (Definite means it’s something specific–the tree in front of you, your bag, the student’s book, etc. Indefinite means it’s not specific–a tree, a car, a book, a bag.)
Words with double tanween are indefinite, while words with single tanween and alif-lam in front of them) are definite. So if it’s kitaabun, it’s “a book”; if it’s al-kitaabu, it’s “the book.”
Easy as that! No catch! So review the following:
- Al-baabu: the door
- Jamalun: a camel
- Imaamun: an imam
- Al-Najm: the star
- Ash-shajarah: the tree
- qalamuhu: errr…
What’s the deal with qalamuhu? We can see it has single-tanween–tanween dumma–but it doesn’t have alif-lam preceeding it! Is it definite or indefinite?
The answer is, it’s definite–his pen, not just any pen. (It’s a possessive case, so review that if you forgot.) Possessed items are definite–they belong to someone!
That’s it, that’s all … a simple, but very important lesson.
Topics: Beginner, Grammar | No Comments »