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A1 Arabic Grammar — 74 Topics & Common Mistakes

Every A1 topic below gives you the key rule, real correct-vs-incorrect examples, and the mistakes learners actually make — covering phonology script, gender number, prepositions and more.

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A1Gender number

Grammatical Gender

الْمُذَكَّرُ وَالْمُؤَنَّثُ

Every Arabic noun is either masculine (مُذَكَّر) or feminine (مُؤَنَّث). There is no neuter. The most reliable signal of a feminine noun is the ending ة, called تاء مربوطة (tā' marbūṭa), seen in words like مُعَلِّمَة (female teacher) and سَيَّارَة (car). Nouns without ة are usually masculine — مُعَلِّم, بَيْت, كِتَاب. Gender is not just about people: objects have grammatical gender too, and it controls agreement of adjectives, verbs, pronouns and demonstratives. So when you learn a new noun, learn its gender with it, exactly as you learn the word itself.

Key rule

Arabic nouns are masculine or feminine (no neuter); the ة (tā' marbūṭa) ending is the main feminine marker, and gender controls all agreement.

Examples

  • هَذَا وَلَدٌ.
    هَذِهِ وَلَدٌ.

    وَلَد 'boy' is masculine, so the masculine demonstrative هَذَا is used.

  • هَذِهِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
    هَذَا مُعَلِّمَةٌ.

    مُعَلِّمَة ends in ة and is feminine, so it takes هَذِهِ.

  • السَّيَّارَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ.
    السَّيَّارَةُ جَدِيدٌ.

    سَيَّارَة is feminine, so the adjective is feminine جَدِيدَة as well.

Common mistakes

  • Treating an object noun as masculine because it is not a person

    السَّيَّارَةُ كَبِيرٌ.
    السَّيَّارَةُ كَبِيرَةٌ.

    سَيَّارَة is grammatically feminine (ة), so its adjective must be feminine regardless of meaning.

  • Choosing the demonstrative by meaning instead of by gender

    هَذَا مَدِينَةٌ.
    هَذِهِ مَدِينَةٌ.

    مَدِينَة is feminine, so the feminine demonstrative هَذِهِ is required.

A1Gender number

Forming the Feminine

تَأْنِيثُ الِاسْمِ وَالصِّفَةِ

Many feminine words are built from a masculine base by adding ة (tā' marbūṭa). This is the regular way to make the feminine of nouns that refer to people and of adjectives: مُعَلِّم → مُعَلِّمَة (teacher), كَبِير → كَبِيرَة (big), طَوِيل → طَوِيلَة (tall). The masculine form has no ending; the feminine form simply adds -a written as ة. This rule is the engine of adjective agreement: when a noun is feminine, you usually make its adjective feminine by adding ة. Learn the masculine and feminine pair together so the contrast becomes automatic.

Key rule

Add ة (tā' marbūṭa) to the masculine base to form the regular feminine of nouns and adjectives: كَبِير → كَبِيرَة.

Examples

  • مُعَلِّم → مُعَلِّمَة
    مُعَلِّم → مُعَلِّمِيّ

    The feminine of مُعَلِّم is made by adding ة, not by another suffix.

  • الْبِنْتُ كَبِيرَةٌ.
    الْبِنْتُ كَبِيرٌ.

    بِنْت is feminine, so كَبِير becomes feminine كَبِيرَة.

  • طَالِبَةٌ جَدِيدَةٌ
    طَالِبَةٌ جَدِيدٌ

    The feminine noun طَالِبَة needs the feminine adjective جَدِيدَة.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to add ة to the adjective of a feminine noun

    الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرٌ.
    الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةٌ.

    A feminine noun requires the feminine adjective, formed by adding ة.

  • Writing the ة as an open ت where it should be tā' marbūṭa

    مُعَلِّمَت
    مُعَلِّمَة

    Word-final feminine -a is written as tā' marbūṭa ة, not as an open ت.

A1Gender number

Irregular & Natural Gender

الْمُؤَنَّثُ الْمَعْنَوِيُّ وَالسَّمَاعِيُّ

Not every feminine word has ة. Some nouns are feminine 'by meaning' because they name females — أُمّ (mother), أُخْت (sister) — even with no ending. Others are feminine 'by convention' (سَمَاعِيّ): you simply have to learn them, like شَمْس (sun), أَرْض (earth), نَار (fire), حَرْب (war), and the wind رِيح. A useful group is the paired body parts, which are usually feminine: يَد (hand), عَيْن (eye), رِجْل (leg), أُذُن (ear). Because these words look masculine, learners often mismatch them; check the gender when there is no ة.

Key rule

Some nouns are feminine without ة — by meaning (أُمّ, أُخْت) or by convention (شَمْس, أَرْض, يَد) — so check gender when no ة is present.

Examples

  • هَذِهِ أُمِّي.
    هَذَا أُمِّي.

    أُمّ is feminine by meaning, so it takes هَذِهِ despite having no ة.

  • الشَّمْسُ سَاطِعَةٌ.
    الشَّمْسُ سَاطِعٌ.

    شَمْس is feminine by convention, so the adjective is feminine سَاطِعَة.

  • يَدِي صَغِيرَةٌ.
    يَدِي صَغِيرٌ.

    يَد is a paired body part and is feminine, so the adjective adds ة.

Common mistakes

  • Treating an unmarked feminine as masculine

    الشَّمْسُ كَبِيرٌ.
    الشَّمْسُ كَبِيرَةٌ.

    شَمْس is feminine by convention even without ة, so the adjective is feminine.

  • Using the masculine demonstrative with أُمّ or أُخْت

    هَذَا أُمِّي.
    هَذِهِ أُمِّي.

    أُمّ and أُخْت are feminine by meaning and require هَذِهِ.

A1Agreement

Noun–Adjective Gender Agreement

مُطَابَقَةُ الصِّفَةِ لِلْمَوْصُوفِ فِي النَّوْعِ

An adjective in Arabic must match its noun in gender. If the noun is masculine, the adjective is masculine; if the noun is feminine, the adjective takes ة. So you say وَلَدٌ كَبِيرٌ (a big boy) but بِنْتٌ كَبِيرَةٌ (a big girl). The adjective comes after the noun and copies its gender. This is one of the most frequent agreement rules in the language, so it pays to make it automatic: pick the noun's gender first, then shape the adjective to match.

Key rule

The adjective copies its noun's gender: masculine noun → masculine adjective; feminine noun → adjective with ة.

Examples

  • وَلَدٌ كَبِيرٌ
    وَلَدٌ كَبِيرَةٌ

    وَلَد is masculine, so the adjective stays masculine كَبِير.

  • بِنْتٌ كَبِيرَةٌ
    بِنْتٌ كَبِيرٌ

    بِنْت is feminine, so the adjective takes ة.

  • الْبَيْتُ جَمِيلٌ.
    الْبَيْتُ جَمِيلَةٌ.

    Predicative adjective also agrees: بَيْت is masculine.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the adjective masculine after a feminine noun

    مَدِينَةٌ كَبِيرٌ
    مَدِينَةٌ كَبِيرَةٌ

    The adjective must copy the feminine gender of مَدِينَة.

  • Adding ة to the adjective of a masculine noun

    وَلَدٌ صَغِيرَةٌ
    وَلَدٌ صَغِيرٌ

    وَلَد is masculine, so the adjective must not take ة.

A1Agreement

Noun–Adjective Definiteness Agreement

مُطَابَقَةُ الصِّفَةِ فِي التَّعْرِيفِ وَالتَّنْكِيرِ

An attributive adjective must match its noun in definiteness as well as in gender. If the noun has الـ (definite), the adjective also takes الـ: الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ (the big house). If the noun is indefinite, the adjective is indefinite too: بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ (a big house). This is what distinguishes a noun phrase from a full sentence: الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ is 'the big house', but الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ (definite noun + indefinite adjective) is the sentence 'the house is big'. Watch this contrast carefully — it changes the whole meaning.

Key rule

Attributive adjectives match the noun in definiteness: الـ on the noun → الـ on the adjective; otherwise both indefinite. A definite noun + indefinite adjective is a sentence ('X is Y').

Examples

  • الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ
    الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ — (as a phrase for 'the big house')

    For the phrase 'the big house', both words take الـ.

  • بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ
    بَيْتٌ الْكَبِيرُ

    An indefinite noun takes an indefinite adjective; الـ on the adjective is wrong here.

  • الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.
    الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ.

    To say 'the house is big' (a sentence), the adjective must be indefinite.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping الـ from the attributive adjective after a definite noun

    الْكِتَابُ جَدِيدُ (intending 'the new book')
    الْكِتَابُ الْجَدِيدُ

    For an attributive phrase the adjective must also take الـ; without it the string becomes a sentence.

  • Adding الـ to an adjective after an indefinite noun

    بَيْتٌ الْكَبِيرُ
    بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ

    An indefinite noun requires an indefinite adjective.

A1Agreement

Verb–Subject Agreement (Basics)

إِسْنَادُ الْفِعْلِ إِلَى الضَّمَائِرِ

An Arabic verb changes its shape to agree with its subject in person (I/you/he/she), gender, and number. In the present, prefixes and sometimes suffixes do this: أَكْتُبُ (I write), تَكْتُبُ (you-masc / she write), يَكْتُبُ (he writes), تَكْتُبِينَ (you-fem write), نَكْتُبُ (we write). In the past, suffixes mark the subject: كَتَبْتُ (I wrote), كَتَبْتَ (you wrote), كَتَبَ (he wrote), كَتَبَتْ (she wrote). Because the verb already carries the subject, you often do not need a separate pronoun. Pick the form that matches who is doing the action.

Key rule

The verb's prefix/suffix encodes its subject's person, gender and number; choose the form that matches the subject (هُوَ يَكْتُبُ vs هِيَ تَكْتُبُ).

Examples

  • أَنَا أَدْرُسُ.
    أَنَا يَدْرُسُ.

    First person 'I' takes the أَ- prefix: أَدْرُسُ.

  • هُوَ يَكْتُبُ.
    هُوَ تَكْتُبُ.

    Third-person masculine 'he' uses the يَـ- prefix.

  • هِيَ تَكْتُبُ.
    هِيَ يَكْتُبُ.

    Third-person feminine 'she' uses the تَـ- prefix.

Common mistakes

  • Using the 'he' form for a feminine subject

    هِيَ يَدْرُسُ.
    هِيَ تَدْرُسُ.

    A feminine third-person subject requires the تَـ- prefix.

  • Dropping the feminine 'you' ending

    أَنْتِ تَكْتُبُ.
    أَنْتِ تَكْتُبِينَ.

    The second-person feminine present needs the suffix -īna.

A1Dual

The Dual (Introduction)

الْمُثَنَّى

Arabic has a special form for exactly two of something, called الْمُثَنَّى (the dual). You make it by adding -ān (ـَانِ) to the singular: كِتَاب → كِتَابَانِ (two books), طَالِبَة → طَالِبَتَانِ (two female students). Notice that with a feminine noun the ة turns into ت before the ending (طَالِبَة → طَالِبَتَانِ). The dual is used wherever English would say 'two ...' — you do not use the number 'two' plus a plural; the noun itself shows duality. Adjectives and verbs also have dual forms to match.

Key rule

For exactly two, add -ān (ـَانِ) to the singular — the noun itself means 'two'; feminine ة becomes ت first (سَيَّارَة → سَيَّارَتَانِ).

Examples

  • كِتَابَانِ
    اثْنَانِ كِتَابٌ

    The dual ending -ān already means 'two books'; no separate number is added.

  • سَيَّارَتَانِ
    سَيَّارَةَانِ

    The feminine ة becomes an open ت before the dual ending.

  • عِنْدِي وَلَدَانِ.
    عِنْدِي وَلَدُونَ.

    For two boys, use the dual وَلَدَانِ, not a plural.

Common mistakes

  • Using 'two' + a plural instead of the dual

    اثْنَانِ كُتُبٌ
    كِتَابَانِ

    Arabic marks 'two' on the noun with the dual ending, not with the number plus a plural.

  • Forgetting to convert ة to ت before the dual ending

    مُعَلِّمَةَانِ
    مُعَلِّمَتَانِ

    The tā' marbūṭa opens to ت when a suffix follows.

A1Gender number

Sound Masculine Plural

جَمْعُ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمُ

The 'sound masculine plural' (جَمْعُ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِم) is made by adding -ūn (ـُونَ) to the singular, and it is used for groups of male human beings: مُعَلِّم → مُعَلِّمُونَ (teachers), مُهَنْدِس → مُهَنْدِسُونَ (engineers). It is called 'sound' because the singular stays intact and you just add an ending. This plural is mostly limited to people, especially men and professions; it does NOT apply to objects, which usually take a broken plural. The ending -ūn changes to -īn (ـِينَ) in some sentence positions, but at first focus on the basic -ūn form.

Key rule

Add -ūn (ـُونَ) to make the sound masculine plural, used mainly for groups of male humans (مُعَلِّم → مُعَلِّمُونَ); objects usually take broken plurals.

Examples

  • مُعَلِّمُونَ
    مُعَلِّمَات (for male teachers)

    Male humans take -ūn; -āt is the feminine plural.

  • الْمُهَنْدِسُونَ مُجْتَهِدُونَ.
    الْمُهَنْدِسُونَ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    The adjective agrees as a sound masculine plural too.

  • اللَّاعِبُونَ فِي الْمَلْعَبِ.
    اللَّاعِبُونَ فِي الْمَلْعَبُ.

    The plural -ūn is correct here; note the genitive on the following noun.

Common mistakes

  • Using -ūn for inanimate objects

    بَيْتُونَ
    بُيُوتٌ

    Objects normally form a broken plural; -ūn is for male humans.

  • Using the masculine plural for women

    مُعَلِّمُونَ (for a group of female teachers)
    مُعَلِّمَاتٌ

    Female humans take the sound feminine plural -āt.

A1Gender number

Sound Feminine Plural

جَمْعُ الْمُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمُ

The 'sound feminine plural' (جَمْعُ الْمُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِم) is made by dropping the ة of the feminine singular and adding -āt (ـَات): مُعَلِّمَة → مُعَلِّمَات (female teachers), طَالِبَة → طَالِبَات (female students), سَيَّارَة → سَيَّارَات (cars). It is used for groups of females and for many feminine and abstract nouns. Unlike English, you remove the ة first, then add -āt — you never keep both. This plural also includes many object words ending in ة. Its ending stays -āt and never takes the masculine -ūn.

Key rule

Drop the ة and add -āt (ـَات) for the sound feminine plural: مُعَلِّمَة → مُعَلِّمَات; never keep the ة.

Examples

  • مُعَلِّمَات
    مُعَلِّمَةَات

    Drop the ة of the singular before adding -āt.

  • الطَّالِبَاتُ مُجْتَهِدَاتٌ.
    الطَّالِبَاتُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ.

    A plural of female humans takes a feminine-plural adjective.

  • السَّيَّارَاتُ سَرِيعَةٌ.
    السَّيَّارَاتُ سَرِيعَاتٌ.

    A non-human -āt plural takes feminine-singular agreement.

Common mistakes

  • Keeping the ة and adding -āt

    طَالِبَةَات
    طَالِبَات

    The ة of the singular is dropped before the plural ending -āt.

  • Using -ūn for a feminine noun

    مُعَلِّمُونَ (for female teachers)
    مُعَلِّمَات

    Females and ة-nouns take the feminine plural -āt.

A1Gender number

Broken Plurals (Introduction)

جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيرِ

Many Arabic nouns — especially everyday objects — form their plural not by adding an ending but by changing their internal shape. This is the 'broken plural' (جَمْعُ التَّكْسِير): كِتَاب → كُتُب (books), رَجُل → رِجَال (men), بَيْت → بُيُوت (houses), قَلَم → أَقْلَام (pens). The consonants stay, but the vowel pattern is 'broken' and rebuilt. There are several common patterns, and at first you simply memorize the plural with each noun. Broken plurals are very frequent, so learn them as part of the vocabulary, just like the gender.

Key rule

Broken plurals change the word's internal vowel pattern instead of adding an ending (كِتَاب → كُتُب); memorize each plural and apply non-human (feminine-singular) agreement to object plurals.

Examples

  • كِتَاب → كُتُب
    كِتَاب → كِتَابُونَ

    كِتَاب is an object and forms a broken plural, not a sound -ūn plural.

  • بَيْت → بُيُوت
    بَيْت → بَيْتَات

    بَيْت takes the broken plural بُيُوت, not an -āt ending.

  • الْكُتُبُ جَدِيدَةٌ.
    الْكُتُبُ جُدُدٌ — (at A1, prefer feminine-singular agreement)

    A broken plural of things takes feminine-singular agreement: جَدِيدَة.

Common mistakes

  • Adding a sound-plural ending to a noun that has a broken plural

    كِتَابُونَ
    كُتُبٌ

    Many objects take an internal-pattern (broken) plural, not a suffix.

  • Forcing -āt onto an object that takes a broken plural

    بَيْتَات
    بُيُوتٌ

    بَيْت's plural is the broken بُيُوت.

A1Agreement

Demonstrative Agreement

مُطَابَقَةُ اسْمِ الْإِشَارَةِ

Demonstratives ('this', 'that', 'these', 'those') agree with their noun in gender and number. For 'this': هَذَا for a masculine noun, هَذِهِ for a feminine noun, and هَؤُلَاءِ for a plural of people. For 'that': ذَلِكَ (masc.), تِلْكَ (fem.), أُولَئِكَ (plural of people). Importantly, the plural of NON-human things is treated as feminine singular, so you point to many books with هَذِهِ الْكُتُبُ ('these books'), using the feminine هَذِهِ. Match the demonstrative to the noun's gender and number, with this special rule for object plurals.

Key rule

Demonstratives agree in gender and number; هَؤُلَاءِ/أُولَئِكَ are only for people, while non-human plurals take the feminine-singular هَذِهِ/تِلْكَ.

Examples

  • هَذَا الْكِتَابُ
    هَذِهِ الْكِتَابُ

    كِتَاب is masculine, so the near demonstrative is هَذَا.

  • هَذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ
    هَذَا السَّيَّارَةُ

    سَيَّارَة is feminine, so the demonstrative is هَذِهِ.

  • هَؤُلَاءِ الطُّلَّابُ
    هَذِهِ الطُّلَّابُ

    For a plural of people, the demonstrative is هَؤُلَاءِ.

Common mistakes

  • Using the human plural demonstrative for objects

    هَؤُلَاءِ الْكُتُبُ
    هَذِهِ الْكُتُبُ

    Non-human plurals are feminine singular and take هَذِهِ.

  • Mismatching gender in the singular

    هَذَا الْمَدِينَةُ
    هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةُ

    مَدِينَة is feminine, so the demonstrative is هَذِهِ.

A1Definiteness

The Indefinite Noun

النَّكِرَةُ

Arabic has **no separate word for "a/an."** A bare noun is automatically indefinite. In fully vowelled MSA, an indefinite noun usually carries **tanwīn** — a doubled final vowel written ـٌ (-un), ـً (-an) or ـٍ (-in) — which is the spoken marker of indefiniteness, roughly the job English does with "a/an." So كِتَابٌ means "a book," بَيْتٌ means "a house." You do not add any article; you simply leave the noun bare (and, when vowelling, add the tanwīn). The accusative tanwīn ـً is special: it is normally written on an added alif, e.g. كِتَابًا. In everyday unvowelled writing the tanwīn is invisible, but you must still think of the noun as indefinite.

Key rule

There is no word for "a/an": a bare noun is indefinite, and in vowelled MSA it carries tanwīn (ـٌ / ـً / ـٍ); a noun with الـ never takes tanwīn.

Examples

  • هَذَا كِتَابٌ.
    هَذَا الْكِتَابٌ.

    "This is a book." An indefinite noun takes tanwīn (-un); it cannot have both الـ and tanwīn.

  • عِنْدِي قَلَمٌ.
    عِنْدِي أَ قَلَمٌ.

    "I have a pen." There is no separate word for "a" — the bare noun with tanwīn already means "a pen."

  • رَأَيْتُ وَلَدًا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.
    رَأَيْتُ وَلَدٌ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.

    "I saw a boy in the park." As the direct object the indefinite noun takes accusative tanwīn ـً on a supporting alif.

Common mistakes

  • Inventing an indefinite article

    أُرِيدُ وَاحِد كِتَاب.
    أُرِيدُ كِتَابًا.

    Arabic has no "a/an"; do not use وَاحِد to translate the English article. A bare noun is already indefinite.

  • Combining الـ with tanwīn

    هَذَا الْبَيْتٌ.
    هَذَا بَيْتٌ.

    A noun is either indefinite (tanwīn) or definite (الـ), never both. الـ and tanwīn are mutually exclusive.

A1Definiteness

The Definite Article al-

أَدَاةُ التَّعْرِيفِ (الْ)

"The" in Arabic is **الـ (al-)**, a prefix that attaches directly to the front of the noun: بَيْت "a house" → الْبَيْت "the house." It is written as part of the word, never separated, and it works for masculine, feminine, singular and plural alike — there is only this one form. When you add الـ, the noun becomes **definite**, so it **loses its tanwīn**: كِتَابٌ "a book" → الْكِتَابُ "the book" (single ḍamma, no -n). The alif of الـ is a connecting hamza (hamzat al-waṣl): after a vowel it is not pronounced, so فِي الْبَيْتِ is read "fil-bayti."

Key rule

الـ is the one invariable prefix for "the," written joined to the noun; adding it makes the noun definite and removes its tanwīn (كِتَابٌ → الْكِتَابُ).

Examples

  • الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.
    بَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.

    "The house is big." To mean "the house" you must prefix الـ; the bare بَيْتُ is not a normal form here.

  • قَرَأْتُ الْكِتَابَ.
    قَرَأْتُ الْكِتَابًا.

    "I read the book." With الـ the definite noun takes a single fatḥa (-a), never the tanwīn -an.

  • الْبِنْتُ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
    الْبِنْتٌ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

    "The girl is at the school." A definite noun has no tanwīn, so the ending is a single ḍamma (-u), not -un.

Common mistakes

  • Writing الـ as a separate word

    ال بيت كبير.
    الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.

    الـ is a prefix written joined to the following noun, never spaced apart.

  • Keeping tanwīn after adding الـ

    الْكِتَابٌ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
    الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.

    Definiteness and tanwīn are mutually exclusive; a noun with الـ takes a single case-vowel, not nunation.

A1Definiteness

Sun & Moon Letters

الْحُرُوفُ الشَّمْسِيَّةُ وَالْقَمَرِيَّةُ

The article الـ is always **written** the same way — alif-lām — but the **lām is not always pronounced**. The 28 letters split into two groups. Before a **moon letter** (الْحُرُوف الْقَمَرِيَّة), the lām is pronounced: الْقَمَر = "al-qamar." Before a **sun letter** (الْحُرُوف الشَّمْسِيَّة), the lām assimilates into the next consonant, which is doubled (a šadda): الشَّمْس = "ash-shams," not "al-shams." The 14 sun letters are the "tip-of-tongue" ones: ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن. The 14 moon letters are the rest, including the back/throat sounds: أ ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م ه و ي. The spelling never changes — only the pronunciation, marked by the šadda on the sun letter.

Key rule

The article is always spelled الـ, but before a sun letter (ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن) the lām is silent and the sun letter doubles (šadda): الشَّمْس = "ash-shams."

Examples

  • الشَّمْسُ مُشْرِقَةٌ. (تُقْرَأُ: اَشْ شَمْسُ)
    الْشَمْسُ مُشْرِقَةٌ. (تُقْرَأُ: اَلْ شَمْسُ)

    ش is a sun letter, so the lām assimilates and ش doubles (šadda); it is read "ash-shams," never "al-shams."

  • الْقَمَرُ جَمِيلٌ. (تُقْرَأُ: اَلْ قَمَرُ)
    الْقَّمَرُ جَمِيلٌ.

    ق is a moon letter, so the lām is pronounced (sukūn on the lām) and there is NO šadda on ق.

  • الرَّجُلُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.
    الْرَجُلُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.

    ر is a sun letter (doubled, "ar-rajul"); ب is a moon letter (lām pronounced, "al-bayt").

Common mistakes

  • Pronouncing the lām before a sun letter

    الْشَمْس (read "al-shams")
    الشَّمْس (read "ash-shams")

    Before sun letters the lām is silent and the following consonant doubles with a šadda.

  • Adding a šadda on a moon letter

    الْقَّمَر
    الْقَمَر

    Moon letters do not double; the lām keeps its own sound and the moon letter stays single.

A1Idafa

The Construct State (Iḍāfa)

الْإِضَافَةُ

To say "X of Y" or "Y's X," Arabic puts **two nouns side by side**: بَابُ الْبَيْتِ = "the door of the house" (literally "door the-house"). This noun-noun chain is the **iḍāfa (construct state)**. The first noun (the **muḍāf**, the thing possessed) comes first; the second noun (the **muḍāf ilayhi**, the possessor) comes right after. There is **no word for "of"** — the relationship is shown just by the word order. Two key rules follow: the first noun takes **no article الـ and no tanwīn** (بَابُ, not الْبَابُ, not بَابٌ), and the second noun is always **genitive** (الْبَيْتِ, with kasra). Examples: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ "the student's book," مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِ "the car key."

Key rule

Possession is two nouns in a row (muḍāf + muḍāf ilayhi): the first takes no الـ and no tanwīn, the second is always genitive — بَابُ الْبَيْتِ "the door of the house."

Examples

  • بَابُ الْبَيْتِ مَفْتُوحٌ.
    الْبَابُ الْبَيْتِ مَفْتُوحٌ.

    "The door of the house is open." The muḍāf بَابُ must be bare — no الـ — and the muḍāf ilayhi الْبَيْتِ is genitive.

  • هَذَا كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ.
    هَذَا كِتَابُ الطَّالِبُ.

    "This is the student's book." The second term must be genitive (kasra), not nominative.

  • مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِ فِي حَقِيبَتِي.
    مِفْتَاحٌ السَّيَّارَةِ فِي حَقِيبَتِي.

    "The car key is in my bag." The muḍāf takes no tanwīn (no -un on مِفْتَاح).

Common mistakes

  • Putting الـ on the first term

    الْبَابُ الْبَيْتِ
    بَابُ الْبَيْتِ

    The muḍāf is made definite by the construct; it must never carry الـ.

  • Keeping tanwīn on the first term

    مِفْتَاحٌ السَّيَّارَةِ
    مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِ

    The muḍāf drops its tanwīn; it takes only the bare case-vowel.

A1Idafa

No al- on the First Term

تَجَرُّدُ الْمُضَافِ مِنْ أَلْ

In an iḍāfa, the **first noun (the muḍāf) can never carry الـ, and it can never carry tanwīn.** It is always "bare": بَابُ الْبَيْتِ (not *الْبَابُ الْبَيْتِ*, not *بَابٌ الْبَيْتِ*). This feels strange because بَابُ الْبَيْتِ means "**the** door of the house" even though there is no الـ on "door" — the definiteness comes from the second term. Why no tanwīn? Because the muḍāf is leaning on the next word; its ending is "open," so it shows only a single short vowel for its case (-u, -a, -i), never the doubled nunation. This is the single most common mistake learners make with iḍāfa, so it gets its own rule: keep the first term naked.

Key rule

The first term of an iḍāfa is always bare: it takes neither الـ nor tanwīn, only a single case-vowel — بَابُ الْبَيْتِ, never الْبَابُ / بَابٌ.

Examples

  • سَيَّارَةُ الْمُدِيرِ جَدِيدَةٌ.
    السَّيَّارَةُ الْمُدِيرِ جَدِيدَةٌ.

    "The manager's car is new." No الـ on the muḍāf سَيَّارَة, even though the phrase is definite.

  • مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِ مَعِي.
    مِفْتَاحٌ السَّيَّارَةِ مَعِي.

    "The car key is with me." No tanwīn on the muḍāf; the ending is a single ḍamma.

  • بَيْتُ الْجَدِّ قَدِيمٌ.
    الْبَيْتُ الْجَدِّ قَدِيمٌ.

    "Grandfather's house is old." The definiteness is carried by الْجَدِّ; بَيْت stays bare.

Common mistakes

  • Putting الـ on the muḍāf

    السَّيَّارَةُ الْمُدِيرِ
    سَيَّارَةُ الْمُدِيرِ

    Definiteness comes from the last term; the first term never carries الـ.

  • Keeping tanwīn on the muḍāf

    مِفْتَاحٌ الْبَابِ
    مِفْتَاحُ الْبَابِ

    The muḍāf is annexed to the next noun, so it drops nunation and shows only a single case-vowel.

A1Idafa

Second Term is Genitive

جَرُّ الْمُضَافِ إِلَيْهِ

The **second noun of an iḍāfa is always in the genitive case (majrūr)** — it ends in **kasra**. If it is definite: a single kasra (الْبَيْتِ). If it is indefinite: the genitive tanwīn -in (بَيْتٍ). This never changes, no matter what role the whole phrase plays in the sentence. In بَابُ الْبَيْتِ "the door of the house," the first word بَابُ changes its ending with its job in the sentence (بَابُ / بَابَ / بَابِ), but الْبَيْتِ stays genitive every single time: رَأَيْتُ بَابَ الْبَيْتِ, فِي بَابِ الْبَيْتِ — الْبَيْتِ keeps its kasra throughout. So: muḍāf ilayhi = always kasra.

Key rule

The second term of an iḍāfa is always genitive (kasra -i if definite, tanwīn -in if indefinite), no matter the role of the whole phrase: بَابُ / بَابَ / بَابِ الْبَيْتِ — always الْبَيْتِ.

Examples

  • نَوَافِذُ الْبَيْتِ مَفْتُوحَةٌ.
    نَوَافِذُ الْبَيْتُ مَفْتُوحَةٌ.

    "The windows of the house are open." The second term must be genitive (kasra), not nominative.

  • فَتَحْتُ نَوَافِذَ الْبَيْتِ.
    فَتَحْتُ نَوَافِذَ الْبَيْتَ.

    "I opened the windows of the house." Even when the muḍāf is accusative (نَوَافِذَ), the muḍāf ilayhi stays genitive.

  • نَظَرْتُ مِنْ نَوَافِذِ الْبَيْتِ.
    نَظَرْتُ مِنْ نَوَافِذِ الْبَيْتُ.

    "I looked from the windows of the house." The genitive of الْبَيْتِ holds even when the whole phrase follows مِنْ.

Common mistakes

  • Putting the second term in the nominative

    بَابُ الْبَيْتُ
    بَابُ الْبَيْتِ

    The muḍāf ilayhi is always genitive; it cannot copy the nominative of the first term.

  • Making the second term match the case of the whole phrase

    فَتَحْتُ نَوَافِذَ الْبَيْتَ
    فَتَحْتُ نَوَافِذَ الْبَيْتِ

    Only the muḍāf takes the sentence's case; the second term is invariably genitive.

A1Definiteness

Proper Nouns & Definiteness

الْعَلَمُ وَالتَّعْرِيفُ

A **proper name (عَلَم)** — a person, city or country name — is **already definite by itself**, so it usually takes **no الـ**: مُحَمَّدٌ، فَاطِمَةُ، دِمَشْقُ، مِصْرُ. Because they are definite, when a name is the subject and an adjective describes it as a SEPARATE word, the adjective takes الـ to agree (مُحَمَّدٌ الطَّوِيلُ "Muhammad the tall"). Some names DO contain الـ as part of their fixed spelling — الْقَاهِرَة (Cairo), الْأُرْدُنّ (Jordan), and names like الرَّشِيد — but you don't add or remove it; it's just how the name is written. Many female names and foreign place-names are also **diptote**: they take no tanwīn and use fatḥa (not kasra) in the genitive (فِي مَكَّةَ, not مَكَّةِ).

Key rule

Proper names are definite on their own and usually take no الـ (مُحَمَّدٌ، مِصْرُ); some names are spelled with a frozen الـ (الْقَاهِرَة), and many are diptote (no tanwīn, genitive in fatḥa: إِلَى مَكَّةَ).

Examples

  • مُحَمَّدٌ طَالِبٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ.
    الْمُحَمَّدُ طَالِبٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    "Muhammad is a diligent student." A personal name is already definite; do not add الـ.

  • زُرْتُ الْقَاهِرَةَ.
    زُرْتُ قَاهِرَةَ.

    "I visited Cairo." Cairo's name is lexically spelled WITH الـ; it cannot be dropped.

  • ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى مَكَّةَ.
    ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى مَكَّةِ.

    "I went to Mecca." مَكَّة is diptote, so its genitive is marked with fatḥa, not kasra.

Common mistakes

  • Adding الـ to a personal name

    الْأَحْمَدُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.
    أَحْمَدُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.

    Personal names are inherently definite and reject the article.

  • Dropping the frozen الـ of a place name

    أَسْكُنُ فِي قَاهِرَةِ.
    أَسْكُنُ فِي الْقَاهِرَةِ.

    الْقَاهِرَة is spelled with an inseparable الـ that is part of the name.

A1Negation

Negating the Present with lā

نَفْيُ الْمُضَارِعِ بِـ لَا

To say 'does not' or 'is not doing' in the present, put the particle لَا directly before the present-tense verb. The verb stays in its normal indicative form (it does NOT change): لَا أَفْهَمُ = 'I do not understand', لَا يَعْمَلُ = 'he does not work'. There is no helping verb like English 'do/does'; لَا alone carries the negation. لَا is written as a separate word and is never attached to the verb. This is the most common everyday negation a beginner needs for habits, facts and ongoing actions.

Key rule

لَا + indicative present verb = 'does not / is not …ing'; لَا is invariable and the verb keeps its normal present endings.

Examples

  • لَا أَفْهَمُ الدَّرْسَ.
    لَا أَفْهَمَ الدَّرْسَ.

    After لَا the present verb stays indicative (final ḍamma -u), not subjunctive -a.

  • هُوَ لَا يَعْمَلُ الْيَوْمَ.
    هُوَ لَيْسَ يَعْمَلُ الْيَوْمَ.

    لَا negates a present verb; لَيْسَ negates a nominal predicate, not a plain verb here.

  • نَحْنُ لَا نَسْكُنُ فِي الْقَاهِرَةِ.
    نَحْنُ مَا نَسْكُنُ فِي الْقَاهِرَةِ.

    Standard present negation uses لَا; مَا negates the past, not the ordinary present.

Common mistakes

  • Using mā for the ordinary present

    مَا أَفْهَمُ.
    لَا أَفْهَمُ.

    لَا negates the plain present; مَا is a past-tense negator.

  • Changing the verb to subjunctive after lā

    لَا أَدْرُسَ.
    لَا أَدْرُسُ.

    Negating لَا leaves the verb indicative (final -u), unlike لَنْ.

A1Negation

Negating the Past with mā

نَفْيُ الْمَاضِي بِـ مَا

A simple way to say 'did not' is to put مَا directly before a past-tense verb: مَا فَهِمْتُ = 'I did not understand', مَا ذَهَبَ = 'he did not go'. The past verb keeps its normal form and suffixes; مَا simply negates it. This is the easiest past negation for a beginner. (Later you will learn the more formal لَمْ + jussive, but at A1 مَا + past is enough and is very common in speech and writing.) مَا is written as a separate word before the verb.

Key rule

مَا + past verb (with its normal suffix) = 'did not'; the past verb form is unchanged and مَا precedes it.

Examples

  • مَا فَهِمْتُ السُّؤَالَ.
    مَا أَفْهَمُ السُّؤَالَ.

    مَا negates the PAST; with the present you would use لَا instead.

  • هُوَ مَا ذَهَبَ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ أَمْسِ.
    هُوَ لَا ذَهَبَ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ أَمْسِ.

    لَا does not negate the past; use مَا (or لَمْ + present).

  • مَا شَرِبَتْ هِيَ الْحَلِيبَ.
    مَا شَرِبَ هِيَ الْحَلِيبَ.

    Feminine subject needs the past suffix -at (شَرِبَتْ); مَا is invariable.

Common mistakes

  • Using lā to negate the past

    لَا ذَهَبَ أَمْسِ.
    مَا ذَهَبَ أَمْسِ.

    لَا negates the present; the past is negated by مَا (or لَمْ).

  • Using mā with a present verb

    مَا أَفْهَمُ الْآنَ.
    لَا أَفْهَمُ الْآنَ.

    مَا is for the past; the present indicative takes لَا.

A1Negation

Negation with laysa

النَّفْيُ بِـ لَيْسَ

لَيْسَ means 'is not / are not'. It is used to negate a nominal (equational) sentence — the kind with no verb 'to be' in the present, like 'the house is big'. To negate it you start with لَيْسَ and the subject: لَيْسَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا = 'the house is not big'. Notice the predicate ('big') ends in -an (accusative tanwīn): لَيْسَ makes its predicate accusative. لَيْسَ changes with the subject's gender: لَيْسَ for masculine, لَيْسَتْ for feminine. It is the everyday word for 'not' before a noun or adjective.

Key rule

لَيْسَ / لَيْسَتْ negates a nominal sentence ('is/are not') and puts the predicate in the accusative (e.g. كَبِيرًا).

Examples

  • لَيْسَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا.
    لَيْسَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.

    The predicate of لَيْسَ is accusative: كَبِيرًا, not nominative كَبِيرٌ.

  • لَيْسَتِ الْغُرْفَةُ نَظِيفَةً.
    لَيْسَ الْغُرْفَةُ نَظِيفَةً.

    A feminine subject needs لَيْسَتْ, not لَيْسَ.

  • أَنَا لَسْتُ مُتْعَبًا.
    أَنَا لَيْسَ مُتْعَبًا.

    With a first-person subject the form is لَسْتُ ('I am not').

Common mistakes

  • Nominative predicate after laysa

    لَيْسَ الْوَلَدُ صَغِيرٌ.
    لَيْسَ الْوَلَدُ صَغِيرًا.

    لَيْسَ makes its predicate accusative (صَغِيرًا).

  • Masculine laysa with a feminine subject

    لَيْسَ الْبِنْتُ كَبِيرَةً.
    لَيْسَتِ الْبِنْتُ كَبِيرَةً.

    Feminine subject requires لَيْسَتْ.

A1Negation

"I don't / he doesn't" Patterns

نَفْيُ الْأَفْعَالِ فِي الْمُضَارِعِ

This is practice in negating the present across all the persons. The rule is the same as before — لَا comes before a present verb — but here you drill the agreement: لَا أَعْرِفُ ('I don't know'), لَا تَعْرِفُ ('you/she don't/doesn't know'), لَا يَعْرِفُ ('he doesn't know'), لَا نَعْرِفُ ('we don't know'), لَا يَعْرِفُونَ ('they don't know'). لَا never changes; only the verb's prefix and ending change to match the subject. Mastering this lets you make any present sentence negative correctly for I/you/he/she/we/they.

Key rule

Keep لَا fixed and change ONLY the verb's prefix/ending to match the person; indicative endings (-īna, -ūna) stay.

Examples

  • أَنَا لَا أَعْرِفُ الْجَوَابَ.
    أَنَا لَا يَعْرِفُ الْجَوَابَ.

    First person needs the أ- prefix (أَعْرِفُ), not ي-.

  • أَنْتِ لَا تَعْرِفِينَ الطَّرِيقَ.
    أَنْتِ لَا تَعْرِفُ الطَّرِيقَ.

    Feminine 'you' keeps the -īna ending (تَعْرِفِينَ).

  • هُوَ لَا يَأْكُلُ اللَّحْمَ.
    هُوَ لَا تَأْكُلُ اللَّحْمَ.

    Masculine 'he' takes the ي- prefix (يَأْكُلُ).

Common mistakes

  • Wrong person prefix on the negated verb

    أَنَا لَا يَدْرُسُ.
    أَنَا لَا أَدْرُسُ.

    First person uses the أ- prefix.

  • Dropping -īna for feminine 'you'

    أَنْتِ لَا تَكْتُبُ.
    أَنْتِ لَا تَكْتُبِينَ.

    Feminine singular addressee keeps the -īna ending.

A1Connectors

Coordinators wa- and fa-

حَرْفَا الْعَطْفِ الْوَاوُ وَالْفَاءُ

وَ means 'and'; فَ means 'and then / and so'. Both are written attached to the FRONT of the next word, with no space: قَهْوَةٌ وَحَلِيبٌ = 'coffee and milk'; دَخَلَ فَجَلَسَ = 'he came in and (then) sat down'. وَ simply joins two things without order; فَ joins them while signalling that the second follows the first quickly or as a result. They are the two most common connectors in Arabic and appear constantly. Because they attach to the next word, the joined word never starts a new written token.

Key rule

Attach وَ ('and') and فَ ('and then/so') to the front of the next word; use فَ for sequence or result, وَ for plain joining.

Examples

  • أَكَلْتُ الْخُبْزَ وَالْجُبْنَ.
    أَكَلْتُ الْخُبْزَ وَ الْجُبْنَ.

    وَ is written attached to the next word, with no space.

  • دَخَلَ الْبَيْتَ فَجَلَسَ.
    دَخَلَ الْبَيْتَ وَجَلَسَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مُبَاشَرَةً.

    فَ already conveys immediate sequence, so it is the natural connector here.

  • شَرِبْتُ الْقَهْوَةَ وَالشَّايَ.
    شَرِبْتُ الْقَهْوَةَ فَالشَّايَ.

    There is no sequence between the two drinks listed, so use وَ, not فَ.

Common mistakes

  • Writing a space after wa/fa

    الْخُبْزُ وَ الْجُبْنُ
    الْخُبْزُ وَالْجُبْنُ

    وَ and فَ are prefixed; they attach to the next word.

  • Using wa where sequence/result is meant

    ضَرَبَهُ وَبَكَى (intending 'so he cried')
    ضَرَبَهُ فَبَكَى

    فَ signals the second event follows/results from the first.

A1Connectors

Sequencing with thumma

الْعَطْفُ بِـ ثُمَّ

ثُمَّ means 'then / afterwards'. Use it to connect actions that happen one after another with a gap of time in between: اسْتَيْقَظْتُ ثُمَّ شَرِبْتُ الْقَهْوَةَ = 'I woke up, then I drank coffee'. Unlike فَ ('and then', immediately), ثُمَّ suggests a bigger pause between the two events. It is a separate word (written with a space) and the action after it usually has its own subject ending and case. ثُمَّ is perfect for telling the steps of a story or routine in order.

Key rule

Use the standalone word ثُمَّ ('then, afterwards') to sequence events with a time gap; coordinated nouns after it keep the same case.

Examples

  • اسْتَيْقَظْتُ ثُمَّ شَرِبْتُ الْقَهْوَةَ.
    اسْتَيْقَظْتُ ثُمَّشَرِبْتُ الْقَهْوَةَ.

    ثُمَّ is a separate word, written with a space before the next word.

  • دَرَسْتُ ثُمَّ نِمْتُ.
    دَرَسْتُ وَثُمَّ نِمْتُ.

    Do not combine وَ with ثُمَّ; ثُمَّ already coordinates on its own.

  • قَرَأْتُ الْكِتَابَ ثُمَّ الْمَجَلَّةَ.
    قَرَأْتُ الْكِتَابَ ثُمَّ الْمَجَلَّةُ.

    The coordinated noun keeps the same (accusative) case: الْمَجَلَّةَ.

Common mistakes

  • Attaching thumma to the next word

    ثُمَّذَهَبَ
    ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ

    ثُمَّ is a separate word and needs a space after it.

  • Combining wa with thumma

    وَثُمَّ نِمْتُ
    ثُمَّ نِمْتُ

    ثُمَّ is itself a coordinator; do not add وَ.

A1Numbers dates time

Cardinal Numbers 1–10

الْأَعْدَادُ مِنْ ١ إِلَى ١٠

Learn to read, write and say the numbers 1–10. Arabic uses Eastern Arabic numerals ١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ١٠, written LEFT-to-right even though the text runs right-to-left. The spoken words are: وَاحِد (1), اثْنَان (2), ثَلَاثَة (3), أَرْبَعَة (4), خَمْسَة (5), سِتَّة (6), سَبْعَة (7), ثَمَانِيَة (8), تِسْعَة (9), عَشَرَة (10). At this stage just count them as words and recognise the digits; the special agreement rules for counting nouns come a bit later. Zero is صِفْر (٠).

Key rule

Numerals are ٠–٩ written left-to-right; the words 1–10 are وَاحِد، اثْنَان، ثَلَاثَة، أَرْبَعَة، خَمْسَة، سِتَّة، سَبْعَة، ثَمَانِيَة، تِسْعَة، عَشَرَة.

Examples

  • ثَلَاثَة، أَرْبَعَة، خَمْسَة.
    ثَلَاثَة، أَرْبَع، خَمْس.

    The citation forms here keep the tāʾ marbūṭa: أَرْبَعَة، خَمْسَة.

  • الرَّقْمُ سَبْعَة هُوَ ٧.
    الرَّقْمُ سَبْعَة هُوَ ٨.

    The numeral for seven is ٧, not ٨.

  • نَعُدُّ: وَاحِد، اثْنَان، ثَلَاثَة.
    نَعُدُّ: وَاحِد، اثْنَين، ثَلَاثَة.

    The base counting form of 'two' is اثْنَان (nominative), not اثْنَين.

Common mistakes

  • Using the masculine short form in the citation list

    ثَلَاث، خَمْس
    ثَلَاثَة، خَمْسَة

    The base counting word for 3–10 carries the tāʾ marbūṭa (ثَلَاثَة…).

  • Writing multi-digit numbers right-to-left

    writing ٠١ for ten
    ١٠

    Eastern Arabic numerals are written left-to-right inside RTL text.

A1Numbers dates time

"One" & "Two" as Adjectives

الْعَدَدَانِ وَاحِدٌ وَاثْنَانِ

The numbers 'one' and 'two' work differently from the others: they behave like ADJECTIVES. They come AFTER the noun and AGREE with it in gender. For 'one': كِتَابٌ وَاحِدٌ ('one book', masc.), سَيَّارَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ ('one car', fem.). For 'two' you usually do not need a number word at all — the dual ending -ān already means 'two': كِتَابَانِ ('two books'), سَيَّارَتَانِ ('two cars'). You add اثْنَان / اثْنَتَان only for emphasis: كِتَابَانِ اثْنَانِ. So 'one' follows and agrees; 'two' is normally just the dual.

Key rule

'One' (وَاحِد/وَاحِدَة) follows the noun and agrees in gender; 'two' is normally just the dual (كِتَابَانِ), with اثْنَان/اثْنَتَان added only for emphasis.

Examples

  • عِنْدِي كِتَابٌ وَاحِدٌ.
    عِنْدِي وَاحِدٌ كِتَابٌ.

    وَاحِد follows the noun like an adjective; it does not precede it.

  • فِي الْغُرْفَةِ سَيَّارَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ.
    فِي الْغُرْفَةِ سَيَّارَةٌ وَاحِدٌ.

    With a feminine noun, 'one' must be وَاحِدَة (agreement).

  • عِنْدِي كِتَابَانِ.
    عِنْدِي اثْنَانِ كِتَابٌ.

    'Two books' is the dual كِتَابَانِ; you do not put اثْنَان before a singular.

Common mistakes

  • Putting 'one' before the noun

    وَاحِدٌ كِتَابٌ
    كِتَابٌ وَاحِدٌ

    وَاحِد is an adjective and follows its noun.

  • Not agreeing 'one' in gender

    سَيَّارَةٌ وَاحِدٌ
    سَيَّارَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ

    'One' agrees with the noun's gender.

A1Numbers dates time

Days, Months & Seasons

أَيَّامُ الْأُسْبُوعِ وَالشُّهُورُ

Learn the names of the days, months and seasons. The days are: الْأَحَد (Sunday), الِاثْنَيْن (Monday), الثُّلَاثَاء (Tuesday), الْأَرْبِعَاء (Wednesday), الْخَمِيس (Thursday), الْجُمُعَة (Friday), السَّبْت (Saturday). To say 'on Monday' use يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ. The seasons are الرَّبِيع، الصَّيْف، الْخَرِيف، الشِّتَاء. Months: many regions use يَنَايِر، فِبْرَايِر… while others use كَانُون الثَّانِي، شُبَاط… Both are correct MSA. The days mostly come from the numbers (Monday = 'the second', etc.).

Key rule

Use the day/season names with الـ (e.g. الْجُمُعَة، الصَّيْف); say 'on a day' with يَوْمَ + genitive (يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ); both Gregorian and Levantine month sets are correct MSA.

Examples

  • الْيَوْمَ هُوَ الْأَرْبِعَاءُ.
    الْيَوْمَ هُوَ أَرْبِعَاءُ.

    Day names normally take the article: الْأَرْبِعَاء.

  • عِنْدِي اجْتِمَاعٌ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ.
    عِنْدِي اجْتِمَاعٌ فِي الِاثْنَيْنِ.

    'On Monday' is the adverbial يَوْمَ + genitive, not فِي.

  • أُحِبُّ فَصْلَ الصَّيْفِ.
    أُحِبُّ فَصْلَ صَيْفٌ.

    The season takes الـ and the genitive after فَصْل (idafa): الصَّيْفِ.

Common mistakes

  • Omitting al- on day/season names

    الْيَوْمَ هُوَ جُمُعَة
    الْيَوْمَ هُوَ الْجُمُعَةُ

    These names normally carry the definite article.

  • Using fī instead of yawma for 'on a day'

    فِي الِاثْنَيْنِ
    يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ

    'On (a day)' uses the adverbial accusative يَوْمَ + genitive.

A1Numbers dates time

Telling the Time (Basic)

السَّاعَةُ

To ask the time say كَمِ السَّاعَةُ؟ ('what time is it?'). To tell the hour use السَّاعَةُ + a FEMININE ORDINAL that agrees with it: السَّاعَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ ('one o'clock'), السَّاعَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ ('two o'clock'), السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ ('three o'clock'). Because سَاعَة is feminine, the ordinal is feminine too (ends in -a). For halves and quarters: وَالنِّصْف ('and a half'), وَالرُّبْع ('and a quarter'), إِلَّا الرُّبْع ('quarter to'): السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ وَالنِّصْفُ = 'half past three'.

Key rule

Tell the hour with السَّاعَةُ + a feminine ordinal (السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ); add وَالنِّصْف/وَالرُّبْع or إِلَّا الرُّبْع for half/quarter; ask كَمِ السَّاعَةُ؟

Examples

  • السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ.
    السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثُ.

    سَاعَة is feminine, so the ordinal is feminine: الثَّالِثَة.

  • كَمِ السَّاعَةُ الْآنَ؟
    كَمْ سَاعَةٌ الْآنَ؟

    The set question is كَمِ السَّاعَةُ؟ with the definite السَّاعَة.

  • السَّاعَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ وَالنِّصْفُ.
    السَّاعَةُ الْأُولَى وَالنِّصْفُ.

    'One o'clock' uses الْوَاحِدَة, not the ordinal الأُولَى.

Common mistakes

  • Masculine ordinal with sāʿa

    السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثُ
    السَّاعَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ

    السَّاعَة is feminine, so the ordinal must be feminine.

  • Using 'first' for one o'clock

    السَّاعَةُ الْأُولَى
    السَّاعَةُ الْوَاحِدَةُ

    'One o'clock' uses الْوَاحِدَة (the cardinal-based feminine), not الأُولَى.

A1Numbers dates time

Ordinal Numbers (Introduction)

الْأَعْدَادُ التَّرْتِيبِيَّةُ

Ordinals tell ORDER: first, second, third… They are adjectives, so they FOLLOW the noun and AGREE with it in gender and definiteness. Masculine: الْأَوَّل، الثَّانِي، الثَّالِث، الرَّابِع، الْخَامِس… Feminine: الْأُولَى، الثَّانِيَة، الثَّالِثَة، الرَّابِعَة… So 'the first lesson' = الدَّرْسُ الْأَوَّلُ, and 'the first car' = السَّيَّارَةُ الْأُولَى. Note 'first' is irregular (الْأَوَّل / الْأُولَى); 2nd–10th are built on the number root with the pattern فَاعِل.

Key rule

Ordinals (الْأَوَّل، الثَّانِي، الثَّالِث…) follow the noun and agree in gender/definiteness; 'first' is irregular: الْأَوَّل (m.) / الْأُولَى (f.).

Examples

  • الدَّرْسُ الْأَوَّلُ سَهْلٌ.
    الْأَوَّلُ الدَّرْسُ سَهْلٌ.

    The ordinal follows the noun like an adjective.

  • هَذِهِ هِيَ الْمَرَّةُ الْأُولَى.
    هَذِهِ هِيَ الْمَرَّةُ الْأَوَّلُ.

    With a feminine noun, 'first' is الْأُولَى, not الْأَوَّل.

  • الْفَصْلُ الثَّالِثُ مُهِمٌّ.
    الْفَصْلُ الثَّالِثَةُ مُهِمٌّ.

    Masculine noun فَصْل takes the masculine ordinal الثَّالِث.

Common mistakes

  • Placing the ordinal before the noun

    الْأَوَّلُ الدَّرْسُ
    الدَّرْسُ الْأَوَّلُ

    Ordinals follow the noun as agreeing adjectives.

  • Not agreeing in gender

    الْمَرَّةُ الْأَوَّلُ
    الْمَرَّةُ الْأُولَى

    Feminine noun → feminine ordinal.

A1Phonology script

The Arabic Alphabet

الْحُرُوفُ الْهِجَائِيَّةُ

Arabic is written with 28 letters and runs from RIGHT to LEFT. Every letter stands for a consonant (or a long vowel), and there are no separate capital letters. The script is cursive: letters in a word are normally joined to their neighbours, so each letter can look a little different depending on where it sits. The traditional order is أ ب ت ث ج ح خ … ي. Some sounds are unfamiliar to English speakers, especially the 'heavy' (emphatic) letters ص ض ط ظ and the throat sounds ع ح غ خ ق ء. Learn each letter by its NAME (alif, bāʾ, tāʾ…), its SOUND, and its basic SHAPE before you start joining them.

Key rule

Arabic has 28 letters, is written right-to-left with no capitals, and many letters differ only by the number and position of their dots.

Examples

  • كَلْب
    كلپ

    'Dog' uses ك ل ب; پ is a Persian letter, not part of the 28 Arabic letters.

  • بَيْت
    نَيْت

    بيت 'house' starts with bāʾ (one dot below); نيت changes the first letter to nūn — wrong word.

  • ثَلَاثَة
    تَلَاتَة

    'Three' begins and ends with thāʾ (three dots); writing tāʾ (two dots) loses the th sound.

Common mistakes

  • Writing left to right

    tyb (typing 'بيت' from the left)
    بَيْت

    Arabic words are built right to left; the first letter sits on the right.

  • Wrong number of dots

    تلاتة (for 'three')
    ثَلَاثَة

    ث has three dots and ت has two; the dot count distinguishes the letters and the words.

A1Phonology script

Letter Joining & Position Forms

أَشْكَالُ الْحُرُوفِ وَمَوَاضِعُهَا

Arabic is cursive: most letters connect to the letters around them, so each letter has up to FOUR shapes — isolated, initial, medial and final — depending on its position in the word. The shapes are variations on the same skeleton (the core of the letter is recognisable in all four). Six letters are special: ا د ذ ر ز و NEVER connect to the letter AFTER them. They join from the right but leave a gap on the left, which breaks the word into separate 'chunks'. Knowing which letters connect forwards and which do not is the key to reading and writing real words.

Key rule

Letters take initial/medial/final/isolated shapes by position, but the six letters ا د ذ ر ز و never join to the letter that follows them.

Examples

  • بَيْت
    ب ي ت

    The letters must be joined into one cursive shape, not left isolated and spaced.

  • وَرْد
    وردـ

    و and ر are non-connectors, so 'ward' naturally breaks; you do not add a join after them.

  • مَدْرَسَة
    مدـرسة

    د does not connect forward, so there is a gap after it; you cannot force a join from د to ر.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving connecting letters isolated

    ب ي ت
    بَيْت

    Connecting letters must be joined; spacing them out is not real Arabic writing.

  • Forcing a join after a non-connector

    دـرس
    دَرْس

    د never joins to the following letter, so a break after it is correct, not an error to 'fix' with a stroke.

A1Phonology script

Short Vowels (Ḥarakāt)

الْحَرَكَاتُ الْقَصِيرَةُ

Short vowels in Arabic are not full letters; they are small marks (ḥarakāt) written ABOVE or BELOW a consonant. There are three: FATḤA (a small slash above) = short 'a', KASRA (a small slash below) = short 'i', and ḌAMMA (a small loop above) = short 'u'. A fourth mark, SUKŪN (a small circle above), shows that the consonant has NO vowel. In everyday text (newspapers, books) these marks are usually left out and the reader supplies them, but in textbooks, dictionaries, the Qurʾān and children's books they are written. As a beginner you should add them so you and your teacher can see the exact pronunciation: كَتَبَ (kataba), كُتِبَ (kutiba).

Key rule

Short a/i/u are marks on the consonant — fatḥa above (a), kasra below (i), ḍamma above (u) — and sukūn marks a consonant with no vowel.

Examples

  • كَتَبَ
    كتب

    Vowelled 'kataba' (he wrote) makes the three fatḥas explicit; the bare skeleton كتب is ambiguous.

  • بِنْت
    بَنْت

    'Girl' is bint with kasra on the bāʾ; a fatḥa would give 'bant', which is not the word.

  • كُتُب
    كَتَب

    'Books' is kutub (two ḍammas); reading the skeleton with fatḥas gives the verb instead.

Common mistakes

  • Writing a mark above the letter for 'bi'

    بَ for 'bi'
    بِ

    Short i is kasra, written BELOW the consonant; a mark placed above (here a fatḥa) gives 'ba', not 'bi'.

  • Reading the mark before the consonant

    pronouncing كَ as 'ak'
    كَ = ka

    The vowel is read after its consonant.

A1Phonology script

Long Vowels

حُرُوفُ الْمَدِّ

Long vowels in Arabic ARE written as full letters, using three of the alphabet's letters: ALIF ا = long ā, WĀW و = long ū, and YĀʾ ي = long ī. They are held about twice as long as the short vowels (the marks fatḥa/ḍamma/kasra). So بَاب 'door' has a long ā (alif), نُور 'light' has a long ū (wāw), and كَبِير 'big' has a long ī (yāʾ). A long vowel is normally introduced by its matching short vowel on the previous letter: fatḥa + alif (ـَا), ḍamma + wāw (ـُو), kasra + yāʾ (ـِي). Mixing up a short and a long vowel changes the word, so the contrast matters from day one.

Key rule

Long ā/ū/ī are written with the letters ا/و/ي preceded by the matching short vowel (fatḥa/ḍamma/kasra), and length changes the meaning of the word.

Examples

  • بَاب
    بَب

    'Door' has a long ā written with alif; without the alif it is just 'bab', not a word.

  • نُور
    نُر

    'Light' nūr needs the wāw for long ū; نُر loses the vowel length.

  • كَبِير
    كَبِر

    'Big' kabīr needs yāʾ for long ī; كَبِر reads as a different, short form.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the long-vowel letter

    بَب for 'door'
    بَاب

    The long ā must be written with alif.

  • Using a short vowel where a long one is needed

    كِتَب
    كِتَاب

    The second syllable of 'book' is long ā (alif).

A1Phonology script

Gemination (Šadda)

الشَّدَّةُ

The ŠADDA is a small mark like a tiny 'w' (ّ) written ABOVE a consonant to show that the consonant is DOUBLED — pronounced twice as strong/long. Instead of writing the letter twice, Arabic writes it once with a šadda on top: دَرَّسَ 'he taught' (doubled rāʾ), أُمّ 'mother' (doubled mīm). The doubling is real and changes meaning: دَرَسَ 'he studied' vs دَرَّسَ 'he taught'. A short vowel still goes WITH the šadda: a fatḥa or ḍamma sits above the šadda, but a kasra usually sits below the letter (or just under the šadda). Hearing and writing the doubled consonant is essential because many verb forms and common words depend on it.

Key rule

Šadda (ّ) over a letter means the consonant is doubled; the doubling can change the word's meaning, and the short vowel combines with the šadda.

Examples

  • أُمّ
    أُم

    'Mother' has a doubled mīm marked by šadda; without it the word is incomplete/mispronounced.

  • دَرَّسَ
    دَرَسَ

    With šadda on the rāʾ it means 'he taught' (Form II); without it, 'he studied'.

  • سُكَّر
    سُكَر

    'Sugar' sukkar has a doubled kāf; the single kāf is a different reading.

Common mistakes

  • Writing the doubled letter twice

    أُمم for 'mother'
    أُمّ

    Arabic shows doubling with a šadda, not by repeating the letter.

  • Omitting the šadda

    درس (meaning 'he taught')
    دَرَّسَ

    Without the šadda the verb is darasa 'he studied', a different meaning.

A1Phonology script

Nunation (Tanwīn)

التَّنْوِينُ

TANWĪN ('nunation') is an -n sound added to the END of an INDEFINITE noun or adjective, written by DOUBLING the final short-vowel mark. There are three: ḍammatān (ٌ) = -un, fatḥatān (ً) = -an, and kasratān (ٍ) = -in. So بَيْتٌ means 'a house' (-un), بَيْتًا (-an), بَيْتٍ (-in). The tanwīn is the closest thing Arabic has to the English 'a/an': it marks a word as INDEFINITE. When you add the definite article الـ ('the'), the tanwīn disappears: الْبَيْتُ 'the house'. One spelling rule: fatḥatān is usually written on an extra ALIF at the end — بَيْتًا, كِتَابًا — except after tāʾ marbūṭa or hamza.

Key rule

Tanwīn doubles the final vowel mark to add -un/-an/-in and marks the noun as INDEFINITE ('a/an'); it never co-occurs with the article al-.

Examples

  • هَذَا بَيْتٌ.
    هَذَا الْبَيْتٌ.

    Tanwīn (-un) marks 'a house' as indefinite; you cannot add al- and keep tanwīn.

  • قَرَأْتُ كِتَابًا.
    قَرَأْتُ كِتَابً.

    Accusative fatḥatān is written over an added alif: كِتَابًا.

  • فِي بَيْتٍ كَبِيرٍ
    فِي بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ

    After the preposition the noun is genitive indefinite: kasratān (-in).

Common mistakes

  • Combining al- with tanwīn

    الْبَيْتٌ
    الْبَيْتُ

    Definiteness (al-) and indefiniteness (tanwīn) are mutually exclusive.

  • Omitting the alif with fatḥatān

    كِتَابً
    كِتَابًا

    Accusative tanwīn is normally written on an added final alif.

A1Orthography

Tā' Marbūṭa

التَّاءُ الْمَرْبُوطَةُ

TĀʾ MARBŪṬA (ة / ـة, the 'tied tāʾ') is a special letter that appears ONLY at the END of a word. It looks like a hāʾ (ه) with two dots on top, and it is the main marker of the FEMININE: مُعَلِّمَة 'female teacher', مَدِينَة 'city'. Its pronunciation depends on the situation: in pause (at the end of a phrase) it sounds like a soft '-a' (madīna); but when the word is the FIRST term of an iḍāfa or carries a clear case ending, the tāʾ is pronounced '-at' (مَدِينَةُ الْقَاهِرَة, madīnatu l-Qāhira). It never connects to anything after it because it is always final.

Key rule

Tā' marbūṭa (ة) is a word-final feminine ending, pronounced -a in pause but -at in iḍāfa/with suffixes, and is rewritten as open ت when a suffix follows.

Examples

  • مُعَلِّمَة
    مُعَلِّمه

    The feminine ending needs the two dots (ة); without them it is hāʾ and not the feminine marker.

  • مَدِينَةُ الْقَاهِرَةِ
    مَدِينَهُ الْقَاهِرَةِ

    As a muḍāf the tāʾ is pronounced -at and must be written ة, not ه.

  • سَيَّارَتُهُ
    سَيَّارَةهُ

    Before a suffix the tāʾ marbūṭa becomes the open tāʾ ت: sayyāratuhu.

Common mistakes

  • Writing hāʾ instead of tāʾ marbūṭa

    مدرسه
    مَدْرَسَة

    The feminine ending requires the two dots; ه is a different letter.

  • Keeping ة before a suffix

    سَيَّارَةهُ
    سَيَّارَتُهُ

    When a suffix follows, the tied tāʾ opens to ت.

A1Orthography

Hamzat al-Waṣl vs al-Qaṭʿ

هَمْزَةُ الْوَصْلِ وَهَمْزَةُ الْقَطْعِ

Arabic has two kinds of initial hamza. HAMZAT AL-QAṬʿ ('the cutting hamza') is a real, stable glottal stop that is ALWAYS pronounced and written on an alif as أ or إ: أَكَلَ 'he ate', إِلَى 'to'. HAMZAT AL-WAṢL ('the connecting hamza') is a helper at the start of a word that is pronounced only when you START on that word; if a word comes before it, the hamza is ELIDED (skipped) and you slide straight to the next consonant. The most important one is the definite article الـ: on its own al-bayt, but after a word it just blends — fī l-bayt. Hamzat al-waṣl is usually written as a bare alif ا (sometimes with a small ṣād-sign ٱ).

Key rule

Hamzat al-qaṭʿ (أ/إ) is always pronounced; hamzat al-waṣl (bare alif, e.g. the article الـ) is pronounced only utterance-initially and elides after a preceding word.

Examples

  • فِي الْبَيْتِ (read: fi l-bayti)
    فِي أَلْبَيْتِ

    The article's hamza is waṣl; it is not a qaṭʿ on أ and is elided after fī.

  • أَكَلَ الْوَلَدُ
    اَكَلَ الْوَلَدُ

    'He ate' begins with a stable qaṭʿ hamza, written أ, always pronounced.

  • إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ
    اِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ

    إلى 'to' has a qaṭʿ hamza under the alif (إ); it is not the bare waṣl alif.

Common mistakes

  • Writing the article with a seated hamza

    أَلْبَيْت
    الْبَيْت

    The article's hamza is waṣl, written as a bare alif.

  • Pronouncing a glottal stop on the article after a word

    saying fī ʾal-bayt
    fi l-bayt

    Hamzat al-waṣl elides after a preceding word.

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A1Orthography

Alif Maqṣūra

الْأَلِفُ الْمَقْصُورَةُ

ALIF MAQṢŪRA ('the shortened alif', ى) is a special way of writing a final long ā at the end of certain words. It looks exactly like a yāʾ but WITHOUT the two dots, and it is ALWAYS pronounced as a long ā — never as ī. You see it in common words like عَلَى 'on', إِلَى 'to', مَتَى 'when', and in verbs like مَشَى 'he walked', رَمَى 'he threw'. The rule of thumb: some words end their long ā with a normal alif ا (دَعَا), others with alif maqṣūra ى (مَشَى). When you add a suffix, the ى usually turns back into a normal alif or yāʾ: مَشَى → مَشَيْتُ.

Key rule

Alif maqṣūra (ى) is a final long ā written like a dotless yāʾ; it sounds like ā (never ī) and reverts to alif/yāʾ when a suffix is added.

Examples

  • عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ
    عَلَي الطَّاوِلَةِ

    'On' ends in alif maqṣūra (dotless), pronounced ʿalā, not ʿalay.

  • إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ
    إِلَي الْمَدْرَسَةِ

    'To' ends in maqṣūra; the dotted yāʾ would wrongly suggest -ī.

  • مَشَى الْوَلَدُ
    مَشَا الْوَلَدُ

    'He walked' (root م-ش-ي) takes alif maqṣūra ى, not plain alif.

Common mistakes

  • Reading ى as ī

    pronouncing عَلَى as 'ʿalī'
    عَلَى = ʿalā

    Alif maqṣūra is always a long ā, never ī.

  • Adding dots to the maqṣūra

    عَلَي، إِلَي
    عَلَى، إِلَى

    These words end in the dotless maqṣūra, not a dotted yāʾ.

A1Phonology script

Lām-Alif Ligature

لَامُ أَلِفٍ

When the letter LĀM (ل) is immediately followed by an ALIF (ا), the two letters fuse into a single, obligatory shape: لا (called lām-alif). You do NOT write them as separate ل + ا; the combined ligature is the only correct form. It reads simply as 'lā' (l + long ā). You meet it constantly: لا 'no/not', the article الـ before alif-initial words doesn't apply, but words like سَلَام، كَلَام، غُلَام contain a lām followed by alif inside them and use the ligature. Like a normal alif, the lām-alif does NOT connect to the letter after it, so a break follows it.

Key rule

Lām + alif always fuse into the single ligature لا (read 'lā'); never write them apart, and nothing connects after it.

Examples

  • لا أَعْرِفُ
    لاأعرف بحرفين منفصلين (ل + ا)

    Lām and alif must merge into the ligature لا; they are never written as two separate letters.

  • سَلَام
    سَلام written with ل and ا apart

    Inside 'peace' the lām + alif also form the ligature.

  • غُلَام
    غُلام بحرفين منفصلين (ل + ا)

    Inside 'boy' the lām + alif fuse into the ligature; the alif then breaks before mīm.

Common mistakes

  • Writing lām and alif separately

    ل ا for 'no'
    لا

    Lām + alif must form the single ligature.

  • Trying to connect after a lām-alif

    لاـ + next letter
    لا (break after it)

    The alif component is a non-connector; nothing joins after it.

A1Orthography

Writing Initial Hamza on Alif

كِتَابَةُ الْهَمْزَةِ فِي أَوَّلِ الْكَلِمَةِ

When a word begins with a real (qaṭʿ) hamza, the hamza is written ON an alif as a 'seat', and the seat tells you the FOLLOWING short vowel. The rule is simple: if the first vowel is fatḥa (a) or ḍamma (u), the hamza sits ABOVE the alif → أ (أَكَلَ 'he ate', أُمّ 'mother'); if the first vowel is kasra (i), the hamza sits BELOW the alif → إ (إِلَى 'to', إِسْلَام). A plain alif with no hamza (ا) at the start usually means hamzat al-waṣl, the elidable helper (اسْم، الـ). So أ/أُ = a/u, إ = i, bare ا = waṣl.

Key rule

Initial qaṭʿ hamza sits ABOVE the alif (أ) before fatḥa or ḍamma, and BELOW the alif (إ) before kasra; a bare initial alif is usually hamzat al-waṣl.

Examples

  • أَكَلَ
    إَكَلَ

    First vowel is fatḥa → hamza above the alif (أ).

  • أُمّ
    إُمّ

    First vowel is ḍamma → hamza stays above the alif (أُ).

  • إِلَى
    أِلَى

    First vowel is kasra → hamza below the alif (إ).

Common mistakes

  • Hamza below alif before fatḥa/ḍamma

    إَكَلَ، إُمّ
    أَكَلَ، أُمّ

    Fatḥa and ḍamma keep the hamza above the alif.

  • Hamza above alif before kasra

    أِلَى، أِسْلَام
    إِلَى، إِسْلَام

    Kasra requires the hamza below the alif.

A1Orthography

Spelling & Connecting Words

وَصْلُ الْحُرُوفِ فِي الْكَلِمَةِ

This brings together everything you have learned about the script to spell whole words correctly. To write a real Arabic word you must: (1) put the letters in the right ORDER (right to left); (2) choose the right SHAPE for each letter by position (initial/medial/final); (3) JOIN connecting letters and leave a break after the six non-connectors (ا د ذ ر ز و); (4) add the correct VOWEL marks, šadda, and tanwīn; and (5) handle special pieces — tāʾ marbūṭa at the end, the lām-alif ligature, the article الـ, and seated hamzas. With these in place, you can spell words like مَدْرَسَة، طَالِبَة، الْكِتَاب، سَلَام correctly and read them back.

Key rule

Correct spelling = right letter order + positional shapes + proper joining/breaks + ḥarakāt/šadda/tanwīn + special pieces (ة، لا، الـ، seated hamza).

Examples

  • مَدْرَسَة
    مدرسه

    Correct spelling needs the breaks after د/ر AND the tāʾ marbūṭa (two dots), not hāʾ.

  • الْكِتَاب
    ال كتاب

    The article الـ attaches to the noun with no space and joins onto it.

  • طَالِبَة
    طالبت

    The feminine ending in pause is the tied ة, not an open ت.

Common mistakes

  • Inserting a space after the article

    ال بيت
    الْبَيْت

    The article is a prefix written joined to its noun, no space.

  • Writing hāʾ for the feminine ending

    مدرسه
    مَدْرَسَة

    Tāʾ marbūṭa needs its two dots.

A1Prepositions

Basic Prepositions

حُرُوفُ الْجَرِّ الْأَسَاسِيَّةُ

Prepositions (ḥurūf al-jarr) are short words that link a noun to the rest of the sentence and tell you where, when, with whom or by what means. The most common A1 ones are: فِي (in), عَلَى (on), مِنْ (from), إِلَى (to), مَعَ (with), عَنْ (about/away from), and the two prefixed ones بِـ (with/by) and لِـ (for/to). They sit BEFORE the noun, never after it. The noun that follows is always in the genitive case (majrūr), most often shown by a kasra: فِي الْبَيْتِ (in the house), عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ (on the table), مِنَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ (from the school). Learn each preposition together with a typical noun so the genitive ending becomes automatic.

Key rule

A preposition (فِي، عَلَى، مِنْ، إِلَى، مَعَ، عَنْ، بِـ، لِـ) comes before its noun and puts that noun in the genitive (majrūr), usually shown by a kasra.

Examples

  • الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
    الْكِتَابُ الطَّاوِلَةِ عَلَى.

    The preposition عَلَى comes before its noun, never after it.

  • أَنَا فِي الْبَيْتِ.
    أَنَا فِي الْبَيْتُ.

    After فِي the noun is genitive (الْبَيْتِ with kasra), not nominative.

  • ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
    ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةُ.

    إِلَى governs the genitive, so it is الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

Common mistakes

  • Putting the preposition after the noun (English-style stranding)

    الْبَيْتِ فِي
    فِي الْبَيْتِ

    Arabic prepositions always precede their noun; they are never stranded at the end.

  • Leaving the noun in the nominative after a preposition

    فِي الْمَكْتَبُ
    فِي الْمَكْتَبِ

    Any noun governed by a preposition must be genitive (kasra), not nominative (ḍamma).

A1Prepositions

Prepositions Take the Genitive

الْجَرُّ بِحَرْفِ الْجَرِّ

Every noun that comes directly after a preposition is in the genitive case (majrūr). For most nouns this means the ending changes to a kasra: definite nouns take a single kasra (الْبَيْتِ), and indefinite nouns take tanwīn kasr (بَيْتٍ). So 'the house' on its own is الْبَيْتُ, but 'in the house' is فِي الْبَيْتِ — the ḍamma becomes a kasra because of the preposition. This is one of the clearest places where Arabic case endings (i'rāb) actually change the way a word sounds and is written with full vowels. The rule applies to فِي، عَلَى، مِنْ، إِلَى، عَنْ، بِـ، لِـ and every other preposition.

Key rule

A noun directly governed by a preposition is genitive (majrūr): definite → kasra (الْبَيْتِ), indefinite → tanwīn kasr (بَيْتٍ).

Examples

  • جَلَسْتُ عَلَى الْكُرْسِيِّ.
    جَلَسْتُ عَلَى الْكُرْسِيُّ.

    The preposition عَلَى forces the genitive: الْكُرْسِيِّ with kasra, not ḍamma.

  • نَامَ الطِّفْلُ فِي سَرِيرٍ.
    نَامَ الطِّفْلُ فِي سَرِيرٌ.

    An indefinite noun after a preposition takes tanwīn kasr (سَرِيرٍ), not tanwīn ḍamm.

  • تَحَدَّثْنَا عَنِ الْكِتَابِ.
    تَحَدَّثْنَا عَنِ الْكِتَابُ.

    عَنْ governs the genitive, so the noun ends in kasra.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the noun in the nominative (ḍamma) after a preposition

    فِي الْبَيْتُ
    فِي الْبَيْتِ

    A preposition triggers the genitive, so the final ḍamma must become a kasra.

  • Using tanwīn ḍamm instead of tanwīn kasr on an indefinite noun

    إِلَى مَدْرَسَةٌ
    إِلَى مَدْرَسَةٍ

    Indefinite genitive is shown by tanwīn kasr (ـٍ), not tanwīn ḍamm (ـٌ).

A1Prepositions

Prefixed bi- and li-

حَرْفَا الْجَرِّ بِـ وَلِـ

بِـ and لِـ are two very common prepositions made of a single letter, so they are written attached to the next word with no space: بِالْقَلَمِ (with the pen), لِلطَّالِبِ (for the student). بِـ means 'with / by means of / in' (كَتَبْتُ بِالْقَلَمِ = I wrote with the pen). لِـ means 'for / to / belonging to' (هَذَا لِأَحْمَدَ = this is Ahmad's). Like all prepositions, both put the following noun in the genitive (kasra). Two small spelling points: لِـ + الْ usually loses the alif of the article and is written لِلْ (لِـ + الْبَيْت → لِلْبَيْتِ), and بِـ + الْ keeps the alif: بِالْبَيْتِ.

Key rule

بِـ ('with/by') and لِـ ('for/to') attach directly to the next word and govern the genitive; بِالْ keeps the alif, but لِـ + الْ is written لِلْ.

Examples

  • كَتَبْتُ الرِّسَالَةَ بِالْقَلَمِ.
    كَتَبْتُ الرِّسَالَةَ بِ الْقَلَمِ.

    بِـ is written attached to the next word, with no space.

  • هَذَا الْكِتَابُ لِلْمُعَلِّمِ.
    هَذَا الْكِتَابُ لِالْمُعَلِّمِ.

    لِـ + الْ drops the article's alif and is written لِلْ.

  • أَشْرَبُ الْقَهْوَةَ بِالْحَلِيبِ.
    أَشْرَبُ الْقَهْوَةَ بِالْحَلِيبُ.

    After بِـ the noun is genitive (kasra), not nominative.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving a space after بِـ or لِـ

    بِ الْقَلَمِ
    بِالْقَلَمِ

    Single-letter prepositions are written attached to the following word.

  • Keeping the article's alif after لِـ

    لِالْبَيْتِ
    لِلْبَيْتِ

    لِـ + الْ drops the alif and the lāms combine, written لِلْ.

A1Prepositions

Expressing "I have" with ʿinda / li-

التَّعْبِيرُ عَنِ الْمِلْكِيَّةِ بِـ عِنْدَ وَلِـ

Arabic has no verb 'to have'. Instead it uses a preposition with a pronoun suffix. The two most common are عِنْدَ ('at/by/with') and لِـ ('to/for'). 'I have a book' is عِنْدِي كِتَابٌ (literally 'at me a book') or لِي كِتَابٌ ('to me a book'). The thing you possess comes after and stays in the nominative because it is really the subject; the preposition + suffix sits in front like 'there-is-with-me'. The suffixes are the usual ones: عِنْدِي (I have), عِنْدَكَ/عِنْدَكِ (you have), عِنْدَهُ (he has), عِنْدَهَا (she has), عِنْدَنَا (we have). عِنْدَ is the everyday choice for ownership and availability; لِـ leans toward belonging and relationships.

Key rule

Arabic has no verb 'to have': use عِنْدَ or لِـ + a pronoun suffix (عِنْدِي / لِي = 'I have'); the possessed noun follows and stays nominative.

Examples

  • عِنْدِي كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ.
    أَنَا عِنْدِي أَمْلِكُ كِتَابًا.

    Possession is shown by عِنْدِي alone; there is no extra verb 'to have' and the noun is nominative.

  • هَلْ عِنْدَكَ وَقْتٌ؟
    هَلْ عِنْدَكَ وَقْتًا؟

    The possessed noun is the subject, so it is nominative (وَقْتٌ), not accusative.

  • لَهَا أُخْتٌ فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.
    لِهَا أُخْتٌ فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.

    Before ـهَا the preposition becomes لَهَا (fatḥa), not لِهَا.

Common mistakes

  • Inventing a verb 'to have'

    أَنَا أَهَافُ سَيَّارَةً
    عِنْدِي سَيَّارَةٌ

    Arabic has no verb 'to have'; use عِنْدَ or لِـ + a pronoun suffix.

  • Putting the possessed noun in the accusative

    عِنْدِي كِتَابًا
    عِنْدِي كِتَابٌ

    The possessed noun is the subject of a nominal sentence, so it is nominative.

A1Prepositions

Place Adverbs & Locatives

ظُرُوفُ الْمَكَانِ

To say exactly where something is, Arabic uses locative words such as أَمَامَ (in front of), خَلْفَ / وَرَاءَ (behind), تَحْتَ (under), فَوْقَ (above/on), بَيْنَ (between), بِجَانِبِ (beside), and قُرْبَ (near). These behave like prepositions: they come before the noun, and the noun that follows is in the genitive (kasra): الْكِتَابُ تَحْتَ الطَّاوِلَةِ (the book is under the table). The locative word itself ends in a fixed fatḥa (أَمَامَ، خَلْفَ، فَوْقَ، تَحْتَ، بَيْنَ) because it is an adverb of place (ẓarf makān) standing in the accusative. بِجَانِبِ and قُرْبَ form an iḍāfa with the next noun. بَيْنَ needs two things: بَيْنَ الْبَابِ وَالنَّافِذَةِ (between the door and the window).

Key rule

Place adverbs (أَمَامَ، خَلْفَ، تَحْتَ، فَوْقَ، بَيْنَ، بِجَانِبِ) end in a fixed fatḥa and put the following noun in the genitive; بَيْنَ needs two referents.

Examples

  • السَّيَّارَةُ أَمَامَ الْبَيْتِ.
    السَّيَّارَةُ أَمَامُ الْبَيْتِ.

    The locative أَمَامَ ends in a fixed fatḥa (it is an adverb of place), not a ḍamma.

  • الْقِطُّ تَحْتَ الطَّاوِلَةِ.
    الْقِطُّ تَحْتَ الطَّاوِلَةُ.

    The noun after تَحْتَ is genitive (الطَّاوِلَةِ), as the second term of an iḍāfa.

  • الْمِصْبَاحُ فَوْقَ الْمَكْتَبِ.
    الْمِصْبَاحُ فَوْقَ الْمَكْتَبُ.

    فَوْقَ governs the genitive: الْمَكْتَبِ.

Common mistakes

  • Putting a ḍamma on the locative word

    أَمَامُ الْبَيْتِ
    أَمَامَ الْبَيْتِ

    Place adverbs are in the accusative with a fixed fatḥa: أَمَامَ، خَلْفَ، تَحْتَ، فَوْقَ.

  • Leaving the noun after the locative in the nominative

    تَحْتَ الطَّاوِلَةُ
    تَحْتَ الطَّاوِلَةِ

    The locative forms an iḍāfa, so the following noun is genitive.

A1Prepositions

from / to: min & ilā

مِنْ وَإِلَى

The pair مِنْ ('from') and إِلَى ('to') marks the start point and the end point of movement: ذَهَبْتُ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ (I went from the house to the school). مِنْ shows the source/origin (where you start, where you are from), إِلَى shows the goal/destination (where you are heading). Both are prepositions, so the noun after each one is in the genitive (kasra). Remember the spelling rule for مِنْ: before the article ال it takes a helping fatḥa and is written مِنَ الْ. مِنْ also means 'from' for origin in general (أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ = I am from Egypt) and 'made of' (كُوبٌ مِنْ زُجَاجٍ = a glass cup).

Key rule

مِنْ marks the source/origin and إِلَى marks the goal/destination; both are prepositions, so the following noun is genitive, and مِنْ takes a helping fatḥa before ال (مِنَ الْ).

Examples

  • ذَهَبْتُ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
    ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ مِنَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

    مِنْ marks where you start (the house) and إِلَى where you end (the school); swapping them reverses the journey.

  • خَرَجَ مِنَ الْغُرْفَةِ.
    خَرَجَ مِنْ الْغُرْفَةِ.

    Before the article مِنْ takes a helping fatḥa: مِنَ الْغُرْفَةِ.

  • سَافَرْنَا إِلَى دُبَيَّ.
    سَافَرْنَا إِلَى دُبَيِّ.

    دُبَيّ is a diptote proper noun, so its genitive is a fatḥa (دُبَيَّ), not a kasra.

Common mistakes

  • Swapping مِنْ and إِلَى (origin vs destination)

    ذَهَبْتُ مِنَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ إِلَى الْبَيْتِ (intended: from home to school)
    ذَهَبْتُ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ

    مِنْ is the source you leave; إِلَى is the goal you reach.

  • Writing مِنْ with sukūn before the article

    مِنْ الْبَيْتِ
    مِنَ الْبَيْتِ

    مِنْ takes a helping fatḥa before ال to avoid two unvowelled letters.

A1Particles

Basic Particles: yā, naʿam, lā

حَرْفُ النِّدَاءِ وَأَدَوَاتُ الْجَوَابِ

A few short particles let you call to someone and answer questions. يَا is the vocative particle 'O / hey', placed before the name or title of the person you address: يَا أَحْمَدُ! (Ahmad!), يَا أُسْتَاذُ! (Teacher!). To answer a yes/no question you use نَعَمْ ('yes') or لَا ('no'): هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ – نَعَمْ. / لَا. There is also بَلَى, a special 'yes' that contradicts a negative question (أَلَسْتَ طَالِبًا؟ – بَلَى = 'Yes, I am!'). These particles are very frequent in spoken-style MSA and in dialogue. After يَا a single proper name takes a ḍamma with no tanwīn (يَا مُحَمَّدُ), which is a small but useful detail.

Key rule

يَا calls someone (يَا أَحْمَدُ! — a single name takes a final ḍamma, no tanwīn); نَعَمْ = 'yes', لَا = 'no', and بَلَى = 'yes' in reply to a negative question.

Examples

  • يَا أَحْمَدُ، تَعَالَ هُنَا!
    يَا أَحْمَدًا، تَعَالَ هُنَا!

    A single called name takes a ḍamma with no tanwīn: يَا أَحْمَدُ, not يَا أَحْمَدًا.

  • هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ – نَعَمْ، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
    هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ – بَلَى، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.

    An affirmative yes/no question is answered with نَعَمْ; بَلَى is only for negative questions.

  • أَلَسْتَ مُتْعَبًا؟ – بَلَى، أَنَا مُتْعَبٌ.
    أَلَسْتَ مُتْعَبًا؟ – نَعَمْ، أَنَا مُتْعَبٌ.

    بَلَى reverses a negative question and affirms it; نَعَمْ here would wrongly agree with the negation.

Common mistakes

  • Putting tanwīn on a single called name after يَا

    يَا أَحْمَدًا
    يَا أَحْمَدُ

    A single definite munādā takes a ḍamma with no tanwīn.

  • Using the article ال after يَا

    يَا الرَّجُلُ
    يَا رَجُلُ / أَيُّهَا الرَّجُلُ

    يَا is not used directly with ال; for a noun with ال you use أَيُّهَا/أَيَّتُهَا.

A1Pronouns

Detached Subject Pronouns

الضَّمَائِرُ الْمُنْفَصِلَةُ

Detached (independent) subject pronouns are the standalone words for 'I, you, he, she, we, they'. The core singular set is أَنَا (I), أَنْتَ (you, m.), أَنْتِ (you, f.), هُوَ (he/it), هِيَ (she/it), plus نَحْنُ (we). Because Arabic is a pro-drop language, these are mostly used in equational (nominal) sentences with no verb — أَنَا طَالِبٌ ('I am a student') — or for emphasis. With a conjugated verb the subject is already inside the verb, so the independent pronoun is normally dropped: you say أَكْتُبُ ('I write'), not أَنَا أَكْتُبُ unless you want to stress 'I'.

Key rule

Use أَنَا، أَنْتَ/أَنْتِ، هُوَ، هِيَ، نَحْنُ as standalone subjects of verbless sentences or for emphasis; with a conjugated verb the pronoun is normally dropped because the verb already shows the subject.

Examples

  • أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
    أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ. (said by a male)

    أَنَا is gender-neutral, but the predicate must match the speaker's gender — a male says طَالِبٌ, not طَالِبَةٌ.

  • أَنْتَ مُهَنْدِسٌ.
    أَنْتِ مُهَنْدِسٌ. (to a man)

    أَنْتَ is the masculine 'you'; أَنْتِ would address a woman and would need مُهَنْدِسَةٌ.

  • أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
    أَنْتَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. (to a woman)

    For a female addressee use the feminine أَنْتِ to agree with مُعَلِّمَةٌ.

Common mistakes

  • Using the masculine 'you' for a female addressee

    أَنْتَ جَمِيلَةٌ.
    أَنْتِ جَمِيلَةٌ.

    The 2nd-person pronoun is gendered: أَنْتَ for males, أَنْتِ for females.

  • Mixing up هُوَ and هِيَ

    مَرْيَمُ؟ هُوَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.
    مَرْيَمُ؟ هِيَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ.

    A feminine referent (Maryam) requires هِيَ, not هُوَ.

A1Pronouns

Attached Possessive Pronouns

ضَمَائِرُ الْمِلْكِيَّةِ الْمُتَّصِلَةُ

Arabic shows possession by attaching a pronoun suffix directly to the end of a noun — there is no separate word for 'my, your, his'. كِتَاب ('book') becomes كِتَابِي ('my book'), كِتَابُكَ ('your book', m.), كِتَابُهُ ('his book'), كِتَابُهَا ('her book'), كِتَابُنَا ('our book'). The core suffixes are: ـِي (my), ـكَ/ـكِ (your m./f.), ـهُ (his), ـهَا (her), ـنَا (our). A noun with a possessive suffix is automatically definite, so it never takes الـ or tanwīn at the same time.

Key rule

Attach the suffix directly to the noun (ـِي، ـكَ، ـكِ، ـهُ، ـهَا، ـنَا); a noun with a possessive suffix is definite, so it never also takes الـ or tanwīn.

Examples

  • كِتَابِي جَدِيدٌ.
    الْكِتَابِي جَدِيدٌ.

    A possessive suffix already makes the noun definite, so you cannot add الـ on top of it.

  • هَذَا بَيْتُكَ. (to a man)
    هَذَا بَيْتُكِ. (to a man)

    ـكَ is the masculine 'your'; ـكِ would address a woman.

  • أَيْنَ سَيَّارَتُكِ؟ (to a woman)
    أَيْنَ سَيَّارَتُكَ؟ (to a woman)

    For a female addressee use ـكِ, and the tāʾ marbūṭa becomes a hard /t/: سَيَّارَتُـ.

Common mistakes

  • Keeping the article with a possessive suffix

    الْبَيْتِي كَبِيرٌ.
    بَيْتِي كَبِيرٌ.

    A noun with a possessive suffix is already definite; الـ and a suffix cannot coexist.

  • Keeping tanwīn before the suffix

    صَدِيقٌكَ مُجْتَهِدٌ.
    صَدِيقُكَ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    The suffix replaces the indefinite tanwīn; only the case vowel remains.

A1Determiners

Near Demonstratives

أَسْمَاءُ الْإِشَارَةِ لِلْقَرِيبِ

Near demonstratives mean 'this / these' — pointing to something close. The core forms are هَذَا (this, masculine), هَذِهِ (this, feminine), and هَؤُلَاءِ (these, for people). The demonstrative agrees in gender with the thing it points to: a masculine noun takes هَذَا, a feminine noun takes هَذِهِ. Note the spelling oddity: هَذَا and هَذِهِ are pronounced with a long ā (hādhā, hādhihi) but written without a long-alif letter — you just have to remember it.

Key rule

هَذَا = this (m.), هَذِهِ = this (f.), هَؤُلَاءِ = these (people); the demonstrative agrees in gender with its noun, and the long ā in هَذَا/هَذِهِ is pronounced but not written.

Examples

  • هَذَا كِتَابٌ.
    هَذِهِ كِتَابٌ.

    كِتَاب is masculine, so it takes the masculine هَذَا, not هَذِهِ.

  • هَذِهِ سَيَّارَةٌ.
    هَذَا سَيَّارَةٌ.

    سَيَّارَة is feminine (tāʾ marbūṭa), so it takes هَذِهِ.

  • هَؤُلَاءِ طُلَّابٌ.
    هَذَا طُلَّابٌ.

    'These (people)' uses the human-plural هَؤُلَاءِ, not the singular هَذَا.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong gender on the demonstrative

    هَذَا مَدْرَسَةٌ.
    هَذِهِ مَدْرَسَةٌ.

    مَدْرَسَة is feminine, so it needs هَذِهِ.

  • Using هَؤُلَاءِ for non-human plurals

    هَؤُلَاءِ بُيُوتٌ.
    هَذِهِ بُيُوتٌ.

    Non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular and take هَذِهِ; هَؤُلَاءِ is only for people.

A1Determiners

Far Demonstratives

أَسْمَاءُ الْإِشَارَةِ لِلْبَعِيدِ

Far demonstratives mean 'that / those' — pointing to something distant. The core forms are ذَلِكَ (that, masculine), تِلْكَ (that, feminine), and أُولَئِكَ (those, for people). Like the near demonstratives, they agree in gender with their noun: a masculine noun takes ذَلِكَ, a feminine noun takes تِلْكَ. The ـكَ at the end is the deictic 'particle of distance', not the 'your' suffix. ذَلِكَ also hides an unwritten long ā (dhālika) — there is no alif letter in the spelling.

Key rule

ذَلِكَ = that (m.), تِلْكَ = that (f.), أُولَئِكَ = those (people); they agree in gender with the noun, and ذَلِكَ has an unwritten long ā plus a distance-kāf that is not the 'your' suffix.

Examples

  • ذَلِكَ رَجُلٌ.
    تِلْكَ رَجُلٌ.

    رَجُل is masculine and takes ذَلِكَ.

  • تِلْكَ مَدْرَسَةٌ.
    ذَلِكَ مَدْرَسَةٌ.

    مَدْرَسَة is feminine and takes تِلْكَ.

  • أُولَئِكَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.
    ذَلِكَ مُعَلِّمُونَ.

    A human plural takes أُولَئِكَ, not the singular ذَلِكَ.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong gender on the far demonstrative

    ذَلِكَ نَافِذَةٌ.
    تِلْكَ نَافِذَةٌ.

    نَافِذَة is feminine, so it takes تِلْكَ.

  • Using أُولَئِكَ for non-human plurals

    أُولَئِكَ أَشْجَارٌ.
    تِلْكَ أَشْجَارٌ.

    Non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular and take تِلْكَ.

A1Determiners

Demonstrative + Definite Noun

اسْمُ الْإِشَارَةِ مَعَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ

To say 'this book / that house' (a noun phrase, not a full sentence), the noun after the demonstrative MUST carry the article الـ: هَذَا الْكِتَابُ ('this book'), تِلْكَ الْمَدِينَةُ ('that city'). If the noun has NO الـ, the demonstrative and the noun become a complete sentence instead: هَذَا كِتَابٌ means 'this is a book'. So the article is what turns 'this is a book' into 'this book'. The demonstrative still agrees in gender, and it normally comes before the definite noun.

Key rule

Demonstrative + الـ-noun = a noun phrase ('this book'); demonstrative + indefinite noun = a sentence ('this is a book'). The noun after a demonstrative must take الـ to mean 'this/that X'.

Examples

  • هَذَا الْكِتَابُ مُفِيدٌ.
    هَذَا كِتَابُ مُفِيدٌ.

    To mean 'this book', the noun needs الـ; without it the sentence would mean 'this is a book' and كِتَاب could not be bare.

  • هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةُ جَمِيلَةٌ.
    هَذِهِ مَدِينَةٌ جَمِيلَةٌ. (intended: 'this city is beautiful')

    Without الـ the sentence means 'this is a beautiful city', not 'this city is beautiful'.

  • ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ طَبِيبٌ.
    ذَلِكَ رَجُلُ طَبِيبٌ.

    'That man' needs الـ on رَجُل; the bare noun cannot serve as 'that man'.

Common mistakes

  • Omitting الـ and accidentally forming a sentence

    هَذَا كِتَابٌ كَبِيرٌ. (meaning 'this big book ...')
    هَذَا الْكِتَابُ الْكَبِيرُ ...

    Without الـ the words make a complete sentence 'this is a big book', not the phrase 'this big book'.

  • Putting tanwīn on a noun after a demonstrative phrase

    هَذَا الْكِتَابٌ.
    هَذَا الْكِتَابُ.

    A noun with الـ is definite and never carries tanwīn; it shows a single case vowel.

A1Pronouns

Object Pronoun Suffixes (Basic)

ضَمَائِرُ النَّصْبِ الْمُتَّصِلَةُ

To say 'me, you, him, her, us' as the object of a verb, Arabic attaches a pronoun suffix to the end of the verb — there is no separate object word. رَأَى ('he saw') + ـهُ = رَآهُ ('he saw him'); رَأَيْتُ ('I saw') + ـهَا = رَأَيْتُهَا ('I saw her'). The object suffixes are almost the same as the possessive ones, with one big exception: 'me' as an object is ـنِي (with an extra nūn), not ـِي. Core set: ـنِي (me), ـكَ/ـكِ (you m./f.), ـهُ (him), ـهَا (her), ـنَا (us).

Key rule

Attach the object suffix to the verb (ـنِي، ـكَ، ـكِ، ـهُ، ـهَا، ـنَا); 'me' as an object is ـنِي with a protective nūn, not the possessive ـِي.

Examples

  • رَأَيْتُهُ فِي السُّوقِ.
    رَأَيْتُهَ فِي السُّوقِ.

    The masculine object 'him' is ـهُ; *ـهَ is not a valid suffix.

  • سَاعَدَنِي أَخِي.
    سَاعَدِي أَخِي.

    'He helped me' needs the protective nūn: ـنِي, not the possessive ـِي.

  • زُرْنَاهُمْ أَمْسِ.
    زُرْنَاهُم أَمْسِ. (intended 'we visited him')

    ـهُمْ means 'them'; for 'him' it would be زُرْنَاهُ — choose the suffix that matches the intended object.

Common mistakes

  • Using the possessive ـِي for 'me' as an object

    زَارِي صَدِيقِي.
    زَارَنِي صَدِيقِي.

    The object 'me' takes the protective nūn: ـنِي.

  • Wrong gender on the object suffix

    رَأَيْتُهُ (about a woman).
    رَأَيْتُهَا.

    A feminine object requires ـهَا.

A1Determiners

kull & baʿḍ

كُلٌّ وَبَعْضٌ

كُلّ means 'all / every / each' and بَعْض means 'some / a few'. Both work like nouns that head an iḍāfa (a possessive-style construction): they are followed by a genitive noun. كُلّ + indefinite singular = 'every' (كُلُّ يَوْمٍ 'every day'); كُلّ + definite plural = 'all' (كُلُّ الطُّلَّابِ 'all the students'); بَعْض + definite plural = 'some of' (بَعْضُ النَّاسِ 'some people'). The word after كُلّ/بَعْض is always majrūr (genitive, with kasra).

Key rule

كُلّ ('all/every') and بَعْض ('some') head an iḍāfa, so the following noun is always genitive: كُلُّ يَوْمٍ ('every day'), كُلُّ الطُّلَّابِ ('all the students'), بَعْضُ النَّاسِ ('some people').

Examples

  • أَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ.
    أَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ كُلَّ يَوْمَ.

    The noun after كُلّ is genitive with tanwīn kasr (يَوْمٍ), not accusative.

  • كُلُّ الطُّلَّابِ حَاضِرُونَ.
    كُلُّ الطُّلَّابُ حَاضِرُونَ.

    The noun in the iḍāfa after كُلّ is genitive (الطُّلَّابِ), not nominative.

  • بَعْضُ النَّاسِ يُحِبُّونَ الْقَهْوَةَ.
    بَعْضُ النَّاسُ يُحِبُّونَ الْقَهْوَةَ.

    النَّاس after بَعْض must be genitive: النَّاسِ.

Common mistakes

  • Not putting the noun after كُلّ/بَعْض in the genitive

    كُلُّ يَوْمٌ.
    كُلُّ يَوْمٍ.

    كُلّ heads an iḍāfa, so the following noun is majrūr (kasra/tanwīn kasr).

  • Adding الـ to the singular noun after كُلّ for 'every'

    كُلُّ الْيَوْمِ (intended 'every day').
    كُلُّ يَوْمٍ.

    'Every' uses كُلّ + indefinite singular; كُلّ + definite singular means 'the whole day'.

A1Pronouns

Plural Address Pronouns

ضَمَائِرُ الْجَمْعِ وَالْخِطَابِ

Arabic has separate plural pronouns split by gender. For 'you (plural)': أَنْتُمْ addresses a group of men (or a mixed group), أَنْتُنَّ addresses a group of women only. For 'they': هُمْ refers to men (or a mixed group), هُنَّ refers to women only. 'We' is just نَحْنُ for any group. The rule of thumb: a group with at least one man uses the masculine plural (أَنْتُمْ / هُمْ); an all-female group uses the feminine plural (أَنْتُنَّ / هُنَّ).

Key rule

Plural pronouns are gendered: أَنْتُمْ/هُمْ for masculine or mixed groups, أَنْتُنَّ/هُنَّ for all-female groups; نَحْنُ ('we') is gender-neutral. A mixed group always uses the masculine plural.

Examples

  • أَنْتُمْ طُلَّابٌ مُجْتَهِدُونَ. (men or mixed)
    أَنْتُنَّ طُلَّابٌ مُجْتَهِدُونَ. (men or mixed)

    A masculine/mixed group takes أَنْتُمْ, not the feminine أَنْتُنَّ.

  • أَنْتُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. (women only)
    أَنْتُمْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. (women only)

    An all-female group takes أَنْتُنَّ with the feminine plural predicate.

  • هُمْ مِنْ مِصْرَ. (men or mixed)
    هُنَّ مِنْ مِصْرَ. (men or mixed)

    هُمْ is the masculine/mixed 'they'.

Common mistakes

  • Using the feminine plural for a mixed group

    أَنْتُنَّ (a class of boys and girls).
    أَنْتُمْ.

    A mixed-gender group takes the masculine plural by taghlīb.

  • Using a singular pronoun to address several people

    أَنْتَ طُلَّابٌ.
    أَنْتُمْ طُلَّابٌ.

    A plural addressee requires the plural pronoun أَنْتُمْ.

A1Vocabulary usage

Greetings & Set Phrases

عِبَارَاتُ التَّحِيَّةِ

Arabic greetings are fixed, memorized formulas, and most come in a question–response pair where the reply is almost scripted. The all-purpose greeting is السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ ("peace be upon you"), answered with وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّلَامُ. Time-based greetings work the same way: to صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ ("good morning") you answer صَبَاحُ النُّورِ. To ask how someone is, men hear كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ and women كَيْفَ حَالُكِ؟ — the suffix on حَال changes for the addressee's gender. Typical replies are بِخَيْرٍ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ("fine, praise be to God"). Learn these as whole chunks first; you can analyze their grammar later.

Key rule

Greetings are fixed formulas with scripted replies; the addressee-suffix (ـكَ for a man, ـكِ for a woman) on words like حَالُكَ/حَالُكِ must match the person you are speaking to.

Examples

  • السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ.
    السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ.

    The standard greeting uses the plural عَلَيْكُمْ even to one person; the singular عَلَيْكَ is not the conventional form.

  • — صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ. — صَبَاحُ النُّورِ.
    — صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ. — صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ.

    The scripted reply to صَبَاحُ الْخَيْرِ replaces الْخَيْر with النُّور; echoing the same phrase is not the conventional response.

  • كَيْفَ حَالُكَ يَا أَحْمَدُ؟
    كَيْفَ حَالُكِ يَا أَحْمَدُ؟

    Speaking to a man (أَحْمَد) requires the masculine suffix ـكَ, not the feminine ـكِ.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong addressee gender on the greeting suffix

    كَيْفَ حَالُكِ يَا سَمِيرُ؟
    كَيْفَ حَالُكَ يَا سَمِيرُ؟

    The attached pronoun on حَال agrees with the person addressed; سَمِير is male, so use ـكَ.

  • Echoing a paired greeting instead of the scripted reply

    — مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ. — مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ.
    — مَسَاءُ الْخَيْرِ. — مَسَاءُ النُّورِ.

    The conventional response swaps الْخَيْر for النُّور rather than repeating the same words.

A1Vocabulary usage

Introducing Yourself

التَّعْرِيفُ بِالنَّفْسِ

To introduce yourself in Arabic you chain a few simple nominal-sentence frames. Your name: اسْمِي أَحْمَدُ ("my name is Ahmad") — اسْم plus the possessive suffix ـِي. Where you are from: أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ ("I am from Egypt"); the country is genitive after مِنْ. Your nationality uses a nisba adjective: أَنَا مِصْرِيٌّ (man) / أَنَا مِصْرِيَّةٌ (woman). Your job uses a present-tense verb or a noun: أَعْمَلُ مُهَنْدِسًا / أَنَا مُهَنْدِسٌ. None of these need a verb 'to be' in the present — Arabic simply juxtaposes topic and comment. Adjust the feminine ending (ـة, ـِيَّة) when the speaker is a woman.

Key rule

Introduce yourself with verbless nominal frames — اسْمِي…، أَنَا مِنْ…، أَنَا + nisba — using no present 'to be', the genitive after مِنْ, and feminine endings (ـة/ـِيَّة) when the speaker is a woman.

Examples

  • اسْمِي كَرِيمٌ، وَأَنَا مِنْ سُورِيَا.
    اسْمِي هُوَ كَرِيمٌ، وَأَنَا مِنْ سُورِيَا.

    Arabic does not insert a copula هُوَ between اسْمِي and the name; the two simply form a nominal sentence.

  • أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ.
    أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرُ.

    After the preposition مِنْ the country is genitive; مِصْر is a diptote, so its genitive ending is fatḥa مِصْرَ.

  • أَنَا مُهَنْدِسٌ.
    أَنَا أَكُونُ مُهَنْدِسًا.

    A present 'to be' is not used; the predicate noun is simply nominative after أَنَا.

Common mistakes

  • Inserting a copula like English 'is/am'

    اسْمِي هُوَ سَامِي
    اسْمِي سَامِي

    The Arabic nominal sentence has no present-tense 'to be'; topic and comment are simply juxtaposed.

  • Country in the nominative after مِنْ

    أَنَا مِنْ لُبْنَانُ
    أَنَا مِنْ لُبْنَانَ

    Nouns after a preposition are genitive; لُبْنَان is a diptote, so the genitive shows fatḥa (لُبْنَانَ).

A1Syntax

The Nominal Sentence

الْجُمْلَةُ الِاسْمِيَّةُ

A nominal sentence (jumla ismiyya) begins with a noun, not a verb. It has two parts: the mubtadaʾ (the topic, what we talk about) and the khabar (the comment, what we say about it). In the present tense there is no word for 'is/are' — the two parts simply sit side by side: الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ means 'the student (is) hard-working'. Normally the topic is definite (with al-) and the comment is indefinite (with tanwīn). Both default to the nominative case (ḍamma -u / -un). This is the most common simple-statement pattern in Arabic, used for descriptions, identities and states.

Key rule

A nominal sentence = mubtadaʾ (definite topic) + khabar (indefinite comment), both nominative, with NO word for 'is/are' in the present.

Examples

  • الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.
    الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ.

    Topic definite + comment indefinite = a full sentence 'the house is big'. Adding al- to كبير turns it into the phrase 'the big house' (no sentence).

  • الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ.
    الطَّالِبُ هُوَ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    No copula is needed in the present. Inserting هو here is unnecessary at this level; the bare topic + comment already means 'the student is hard-working'.

  • الطَّالِبَةُ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ.
    الطَّالِبَةُ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    The khabar must agree in gender with the mubtadaʾ: a feminine topic needs a feminine comment (مُجْتَهِدَةٌ).

Common mistakes

  • Adding a 'to be' word in the present

    الْبَيْتُ يَكُونُ كَبِيرًا.
    الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ.

    Arabic has no present-tense copula; the topic and comment stand alone with both in the nominative.

  • Making the comment definite by mistake

    الطَّالِبُ الْمُجْتَهِدُ.
    الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ.

    A definite comment turns the sentence into a noun-adjective phrase. The khabar must stay indefinite.

A1Syntax

Zero Copula in the Present

الْجُمْلَةُ الِاسْمِيَّةُ بِلَا رَابِطٍ

Arabic has NO word for 'is/am/are' in the present tense. To say 'X is Y' you simply put the two words next to each other: أَنَا طَالِبٌ ('I (am) a student'), هُوَ مَرِيضٌ ('he (is) sick'), الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ ('the house (is) big'). This 'zero copula' applies to identities, descriptions, locations and states. A 'to be' verb (كَانَ) is only used for the PAST ('was/were') or the future. In the present, leaving out the verb is not lazy — it is the correct grammar.

Key rule

There is NO present-tense 'to be' in Arabic: 'X is Y' = X followed directly by Y. كَانَ is used only for past/future.

Examples

  • أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
    أَنَا أَكُونُ طَالِبًا.

    'I am a student' needs no verb in the present. أكون would wrongly add a copula.

  • هُوَ فِي الْبَيْتِ.
    هُوَ يَكُونُ فِي الْبَيْتِ.

    A locative predicate ('he is at home') also takes no present verb.

  • الطَّقْسُ حَارٌّ.
    الطَّقْسُ هُوَ حَارٌّ يَكُونُ.

    'The weather is hot' is just topic + adjective; no copula and no extra words.

Common mistakes

  • Inserting a present 'to be' verb

    أَنَا أَكُونُ سَعِيدًا.
    أَنَا سَعِيدٌ.

    The present tense uses no copula; just place the predicate after the topic.

  • Using يكون / تكون for present states

    الْبَابُ يَكُونُ مَفْتُوحًا.
    الْبَابُ مَفْتُوحٌ.

    In the present, the predicate stands alone and stays nominative.

A1Syntax

Adjective Follows the Noun

تَأْخِيرُ الصِّفَةِ عَنِ الْمَوْصُوفِ

In Arabic the adjective comes AFTER the noun it describes, never before it: بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ ('a big house', literally 'house big'), الْمَدِينَةُ الْجَمِيلَةُ ('the beautiful city'). The adjective also has to agree with its noun in gender, number, case and definiteness. So 'the big house' is الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ — both words carry al- and both are nominative. This order is the opposite of English, where the adjective comes first.

Key rule

The attributive adjective ALWAYS follows its noun and agrees with it in gender, number, case and definiteness.

Examples

  • بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ
    كَبِيرٌ بَيْتٌ

    The adjective follows the noun: 'a big house', not the English order 'big house'.

  • الْمَدِينَةُ الْجَمِيلَةُ
    الْجَمِيلَةُ الْمَدِينَةُ

    Adjective after the noun, and both carry al- for definiteness agreement.

  • بِنْتٌ طَوِيلَةٌ
    بِنْتٌ طَوِيلٌ

    A feminine noun needs a feminine adjective (طَوِيلَةٌ).

Common mistakes

  • Putting the adjective before the noun (English order)

    الْكَبِيرُ الْبَيْتُ
    الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ

    Arabic places the attributive adjective after its noun, not before it.

  • Not matching definiteness

    الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ (intending 'the big house')
    الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ

    A definite noun requires a definite (al-) adjective for an attributive phrase; otherwise it reads as a full sentence.

A1Interrogation

Yes/No Questions: hal & a-

الِاسْتِفْهَامُ بِـ هَلْ وَالْهَمْزَةِ

To turn a statement into a yes/no question, Arabic puts a question particle at the FRONT of the sentence — the word order does not change. The two particles are هَلْ (hal) and the prefix أَ (a-). هَلْ is the everyday one: هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ ('Are you a student?'). The hamza أَ attaches to the first word: أَأَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ / أَتَتَكَلَّمُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ؟ ('Do you speak Arabic?'). Both simply ask 'yes or no?', and you answer with نَعَمْ ('yes') or لَا ('no').

Key rule

Add هَلْ or the prefix أَ at the FRONT to make a yes/no question; the rest of the sentence keeps statement order, with no inversion.

Examples

  • هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟
    أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ هَلْ؟

    هَلْ goes at the very front of the sentence, never at the end.

  • هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ؟
    تَتَكَلَّمُ هَلْ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ؟

    The particle precedes the whole sentence; it is not inserted in the middle.

  • أَتَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ؟
    أَ تَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ؟

    The interrogative hamza is written JOINED to the next word (أَتَذْهَبُ), not as a separate letter.

Common mistakes

  • Placing هَلْ at the end of the sentence

    أَنْتَ مِنْ مِصْرَ هَلْ؟
    هَلْ أَنْتَ مِنْ مِصْرَ؟

    The interrogative particle is always sentence-initial in Arabic.

  • Writing the interrogative hamza as a separate word

    أَ تُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ؟
    أَتُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ؟

    The hamzat al-istifhām is a prefix joined to the following word.

A1Interrogation

Common Question Words

أَدَوَاتُ الِاسْتِفْهَامِ

These are the 'wh-' words of Arabic, used for open questions. The core set: مَنْ ('who'), مَا/مَاذَا ('what'), أَيْنَ ('where'), مَتَى ('when'), كَيْفَ ('how'), كَمْ ('how many'), لِمَاذَا ('why'), and أَيّ ('which'). They go at the FRONT of the question, with the rest of the sentence in normal order: أَيْنَ الْكِتَابُ؟ ('Where is the book?'), مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ ('Who are you?'), مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ؟ ('What are you doing?'). One key split: مَا asks 'what' before a noun/nominal sentence, while مَاذَا asks 'what' before a verb.

Key rule

Put the question word (مَنْ، مَا، مَاذَا، أَيْنَ، مَتَى، كَيْفَ، كَمْ، لِمَاذَا، أَيّ) at the FRONT; use مَا before a noun and مَاذَا before a verb.

Examples

  • أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟
    تَسْكُنُ أَيْنَ؟

    The question word goes first; it does not stay at the end as in casual English.

  • مَا اسْمُكَ؟
    مَاذَا اسْمُكَ؟

    Before a noun ('your name') use مَا, not مَاذَا.

  • مَاذَا تَفْعَلُ؟
    مَا تَفْعَلُ؟

    Before a verb ('what are you doing') use مَاذَا (مَا تَفْعَلُ is possible in higher registers but مَاذَا is the standard learner form).

Common mistakes

  • Placing the question word at the end

    تَسْكُنُ أَيْنَ؟
    أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟

    Arabic interrogatives are sentence-initial.

  • Confusing مَا and مَاذَا

    مَاذَا اسْمُكَ؟
    مَا اسْمُكَ؟

    مَا is used before a noun/nominal predicate; مَاذَا before a verb.

A1Syntax

"There is": hunāka / yūjad

التَّعْبِيرُ عَنِ الْوُجُودِ (هُنَاكَ)

To say 'there is / there are', Arabic uses هُنَاكَ (hunāka, literally 'there') or يُوجَدُ (yūjad, 'is found'). The thing that exists comes after it, usually indefinite: هُنَاكَ كِتَابٌ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ ('there is a book on the table'), يُوجَدُ مَطْعَمٌ قَرِيبٌ ('there is a nearby restaurant'). To say 'there is NOT', use لَا يُوجَدُ or لَيْسَ هُنَاكَ: لَا يُوجَدُ مَاءٌ ('there is no water'). Do not confuse this with the description هُوَ هُنَاكَ ('he is over there').

Key rule

Use هُنَاكَ or يُوجَدُ + an indefinite noun for 'there is/are'; negate with لَا يُوجَدُ or لَيْسَ هُنَاكَ.

Examples

  • هُنَاكَ كِتَابٌ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.
    هُنَاكَ الْكِتَابُ عَلَى الطَّاوِلَةِ.

    The existing thing is indefinite (كِتَابٌ). With al- it would describe a known book's location, not assert existence.

  • يُوجَدُ مَطْعَمٌ قَرِيبٌ.
    يُوجَدُ مَطْعَمًا قَرِيبًا.

    What 'is found' is the grammatical subject of the verb, so it is nominative (مَطْعَمٌ), not accusative.

  • هَلْ هُنَاكَ مَاءٌ؟
    هَلْ هُنَاكَ مَاءً؟

    The existing thing stays nominative; only the particle هَلْ is added for the question.

Common mistakes

  • Making the existing noun definite

    هُنَاكَ الْمُشْكِلَةُ.
    هُنَاكَ مُشْكِلَةٌ.

    Existential 'there is' introduces a new, indefinite thing; al- changes the meaning.

  • Putting the existing noun in the accusative after يُوجَدُ

    يُوجَدُ كِتَابًا.
    يُوجَدُ كِتَابٌ.

    The noun is the subject of يُوجَدُ and must be nominative.

A1Relative clauses

Relative Pronoun (Basic)

الِاسْمُ الْمَوْصُولُ (الَّذِي/الَّتِي)

To say 'the man WHO...' or 'the book THAT...', Arabic uses a relative pronoun that agrees in gender with what it describes: الَّذِي for a masculine singular noun, الَّتِي for a feminine singular noun. الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ هُنَا ('the man who works here'), الْبِنْتُ الَّتِي تَدْرُسُ ('the girl who studies'). The key rule: the relative pronoun is used ONLY when the noun it describes is DEFINITE (with al-). If the noun is indefinite, no relative pronoun is used at all.

Key rule

Use الَّذِي (masc. sg.) / الَّتِي (fem. sg.) after a DEFINITE antecedent; after an indefinite antecedent use NO relative pronoun.

Examples

  • الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ هُنَا صَدِيقِي.
    الرَّجُلُ الَّتِي يَعْمَلُ هُنَا صَدِيقِي.

    A masculine antecedent (الرَّجُلُ) takes the masculine الَّذِي, not the feminine الَّتِي.

  • الْبِنْتُ الَّتِي تَدْرُسُ مَعِي ذَكِيَّةٌ.
    الْبِنْتُ الَّذِي تَدْرُسُ مَعِي ذَكِيَّةٌ.

    A feminine antecedent (الْبِنْتُ) takes الَّتِي.

  • هَذَا هُوَ الْكِتَابُ الَّذِي قَرَأْتُهُ.
    هَذَا هُوَ الْكِتَابُ قَرَأْتُهُ.

    After a definite antecedent (الْكِتَابُ) the relative الَّذِي is required.

Common mistakes

  • Using a relative pronoun after an indefinite noun

    رَجُلٌ الَّذِي يَعْمَلُ هُنَا
    رَجُلٌ يَعْمَلُ هُنَا

    The relative pronoun appears only after a definite antecedent; an indefinite one attaches the clause directly.

  • Wrong gender of the relative pronoun

    الْبِنْتُ الَّذِي تَدْرُسُ
    الْبِنْتُ الَّتِي تَدْرُسُ

    الَّذِي/الَّتِي must agree with the antecedent's gender.

A1Syntax

Answering Questions: naʿam / lā

الْإِجَابَةُ بِنَعَمْ وَلَا

To answer a yes/no question, Arabic uses نَعَمْ ('yes'), لَا ('no'), and the special word بَلَى. نَعَمْ confirms and لَا denies a positive question: هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ — نَعَمْ ('Yes') / لَا ('No'). The tricky one is بَلَى: it means 'yes' as a CONTRADICTION of a negative question. If someone asks أَلَسْتَ جَائِعًا؟ ('Aren't you hungry?') and you ARE, you answer بَلَى ('Yes, I am'), not نَعَمْ. You often follow with a short full sentence.

Key rule

نَعَمْ = yes (to a positive question), لَا = no; use بَلَى to say 'yes' when contradicting a NEGATIVE question.

Examples

  • هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ — نَعَمْ، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
    هَلْ أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ؟ — بَلَى، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.

    بَلَى is only for negative questions; a positive question is confirmed with نَعَمْ.

  • أَلَسْتَ جَائِعًا؟ — بَلَى، أَنَا جَائِعٌ.
    أَلَسْتَ جَائِعًا؟ — نَعَمْ، أَنَا جَائِعٌ.

    To affirm against a negative question ('Aren't you hungry?'), use بَلَى; نَعَمْ here would agree with the negation ('right, I'm not').

  • هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ الْفَرَنْسِيَّةَ؟ — لَا، لَا أَتَكَلَّمُهَا.
    هَلْ تَتَكَلَّمُ الْفَرَنْسِيَّةَ؟ — لَا، لَيْسَ أَتَكَلَّمُهَا.

    A present verb is negated with لَا, not لَيْسَ; the expanded answer must use the right negator.

Common mistakes

  • Using نَعَمْ to affirm a negative question

    أَلَسْتَ طَالِبًا؟ — نَعَمْ، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
    أَلَسْتَ طَالِبًا؟ — بَلَى، أَنَا طَالِبٌ.

    بَلَى, not نَعَمْ, contradicts a negative question to affirm the positive.

  • Using بَلَى for a positive question

    هَلْ أَنْتَ هُنَا؟ — بَلَى.
    هَلْ أَنْتَ هُنَا؟ — نَعَمْ.

    بَلَى is reserved for negative questions; positives take نَعَمْ.

A1Syntax

Basic Word Order Overview

تَرْتِيبُ الْكَلِمَاتِ الْأَسَاسِيُّ

Arabic has two basic sentence shapes. A NOMINAL sentence starts with a noun/pronoun: الطَّالِبُ يَكْتُبُ ('the student writes'). A VERBAL sentence starts with the verb: يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ ('writes the student' = the student writes). Both are correct; the difference is emphasis and style. One key rule for the verbal (verb-first) sentence: when the verb comes BEFORE its subject, it stays SINGULAR even if the subject is plural — يَكْتُبُ الطُّلَّابُ ('the students write'), not يَكْتُبُونَ الطُّلَّابُ. Modifiers like adjectives still follow their noun.

Key rule

Arabic uses both verb-first (verbal) and subject-first (nominal) order; a FRONTED verb stays singular and agrees only in gender, while a verb after its subject shows full number agreement.

Examples

  • يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ.
    يَكْتُبُ الدَّرْسَ الطَّالِبُ.

    In the verbal sentence the doer (fāʿil) comes right after the verb, then the object: V–S–O.

  • الطَّالِبُ يَكْتُبُ الدَّرْسَ.
    الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ يَكْتُبُ.

    In the nominal sentence the subject is first, then the verb, then the object.

  • يَلْعَبُ الْأَوْلَادُ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.
    يَلْعَبُونَ الْأَوْلَادُ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.

    A fronted verb stays singular even with a plural subject; it agrees only in gender.

Common mistakes

  • Making a fronted verb plural

    يَلْعَبُونَ الْأَوْلَادُ.
    يَلْعَبُ الْأَوْلَادُ.

    A verb before its subject stays singular and agrees only in gender.

  • Dropping number agreement in subject-first order

    الْأَوْلَادُ يَلْعَبُ.
    الْأَوْلَادُ يَلْعَبُونَ.

    When the subject precedes the verb, the verb shows full number agreement.

A1Verb tenses

Present Tense (Form I)

الْفِعْلُ الْمُضَارِعُ

The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) describes an action happening now or done habitually — it covers both English 'I write' and 'I am writing'. Unlike the past tense, which adds endings to the back of the verb, the present tense works mainly by adding a PREFIX to the front. For the basic Form I verb, you take the three root letters (like ك-ت-ب 'write') and build the pattern yaCCuCu: يَكْتُبُ 'he writes'. The first letter of the verb tells you WHO is doing it. There is no separate word for 'do' or 'am' — the prefix and the vowel pattern carry all the meaning. The same verb can mean a habit, a general truth, or an action in progress; the context decides.

Key rule

The present-tense Form I verb adds a person prefix to the front (يَكْتُبُ 'he writes') and ends in ـُ in the plain indicative; there is no separate word for 'am' or 'do'.

Examples

  • يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ.
    كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ الْآنَ.

    For an action happening now you need the present يَكْتُبُ, not the past كَتَبَ ('wrote'), which contradicts 'now'.

  • أَدْرُسُ اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ.
    دْرُسُ اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ.

    The 'I' form needs the prefix أَـ: أَدْرُسُ. A present verb cannot start with a bare cluster.

  • تَشْرَبُ مَرْيَمُ الْقَهْوَةَ.
    يَشْرَبُ مَرْيَمُ الْقَهْوَةَ.

    Maryam is feminine, so the 'she' prefix تَـ is required, not the masculine يَـ.

Common mistakes

  • Using the infinitive/maṣdar instead of a conjugated verb

    أَنَا كِتَابَة رِسَالَة.
    أَنَا أَكْتُبُ رِسَالَةً.

    Arabic needs a conjugated present verb (أَكْتُبُ), not the verbal noun, to say 'I am writing'.

  • Dropping the person prefix

    كْتُبُ الْوَاجِبَ.
    أَكْتُبُ الْوَاجِبَ.

    Every present verb begins with a person prefix (أ/ن/يـ/تـ); without it the form is impossible.

A1Verb tenses

Present-Tense Person Prefixes

عَلَامَاتُ الْمُضَارِعِ (أ ن ي ت)

In the present tense, the letter at the FRONT of the verb tells you who is doing the action. There are just four prefix letters to learn, easy to remember by the made-up word 'أَنَيْتُ' (a-na-ya-ta): أَـ for 'I' (أَكْتُبُ), نَـ for 'we' (نَكْتُبُ), يَـ for 'he / they (masc.)' (يَكْتُبُ), and تَـ for 'you' and 'she' (تَكْتُبُ). The same prefix تَـ covers both 'you (masc.)' and 'she', which is why endings are sometimes added to tell them apart. Get these four letters right and you already know how to point the present verb at the correct person.

Key rule

Memorise أَنَيْتُ: أَـ = I, نَـ = we, يَـ = he, تَـ = you/she — the front letter of a present verb tells you the person.

Examples

  • أَنَا أَكْتُبُ.
    أَنَا يَكْتُبُ.

    'I' takes the prefix أَـ (أَكْتُبُ), never the 'he' prefix يَـ.

  • نَحْنُ نَدْرُسُ.
    نَحْنُ أَدْرُسُ.

    'We' takes نَـ (نَدْرُسُ); أَـ is only the 'I' prefix.

  • هُوَ يَلْعَبُ.
    هُوَ تَلْعَبُ.

    'He' takes يَـ (يَلْعَبُ); the تَـ prefix would mean 'she' or 'you'.

Common mistakes

  • Using يَـ for 'I'

    أَنَا يَشْرَبُ الْمَاءَ.
    أَنَا أَشْرَبُ الْمَاءَ.

    The 'I' prefix is أَـ; يَـ marks the third-person masculine.

  • Using أَـ for 'we'

    نَحْنُ أَذْهَبُ.
    نَحْنُ نَذْهَبُ.

    'We' is marked by نَـ (نَذْهَبُ), not أَـ.

A1Verb tenses

Past Tense (Form I)

الْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي

The past tense (al-māḍī) describes a completed action — 'I wrote', 'she went'. It is the simplest verb form in Arabic: it is the bare three-letter root with short vowels, and it is the form dictionaries list. For the root ك-ت-ب the basic 'he' form is كَتَبَ ('he wrote') — just the three letters with fatḥa on each. Unlike the present, which adds a prefix to the FRONT, the past adds endings to the BACK of the verb to mark the person (كَتَبْتُ 'I wrote', كَتَبَتْ 'she wrote'). The third-person masculine كَتَبَ has no ending at all, which is why it is the citation form you learn first.

Key rule

The past-tense Form I verb is the bare root with vowels (كَتَبَ 'he wrote') and marks other persons by adding suffixes to the END of the verb.

Examples

  • كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الْوَاجِبَ أَمْسِ.
    يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ الْوَاجِبَ أَمْسِ.

    'Yesterday' (أَمْسِ) requires the past كَتَبَ, not the present يَكْتُبُ.

  • ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى السُّوقِ.
    ذَهَبَ إِلَى السُّوقِ أَنَا.

    'I went' is ذَهَبْتُ with the suffix ـتُ; the bare ذَهَبَ means 'he went'.

  • شَرِبَتْ مَرْيَمُ الْعَصِيرَ.
    شَرِبَ مَرْيَمُ الْعَصِيرَ.

    A feminine singular subject takes the ـَتْ suffix: شَرِبَتْ.

Common mistakes

  • Using the present for a finished past action

    أَمْسِ يَذْهَبُ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ.
    أَمْسِ ذَهَبَ إِلَى الْعَمَلِ.

    A completed past action with 'yesterday' needs the past ذَهَبَ.

  • Leaving the 'he' form vowelless

    كَتَبْ الرَّجُلُ رِسَالَةً.
    كَتَبَ الرَّجُلُ رِسَالَةً.

    The third-person masculine past ends in fatḥa: كَتَبَ.

A1Verb tenses

Past-Tense Person Suffixes

ضَمَائِرُ الْفِعْلِ الْمَاضِي

In the past tense, the ending tells you who did the action. You start from the base form (كَتَبَ 'he wrote') and add a suffix: ـتُ for 'I' (كَتَبْتُ), ـتَ for 'you (m.)' (كَتَبْتَ), ـتِ for 'you (f.)' (كَتَبْتِ), ـنَا for 'we' (كَتَبْنَا), ـَتْ for 'she' (كَتَبَتْ), and ـُوا for 'they (m.)' (كَتَبُوا). Notice that 'he' (كَتَبَ) and 'they (m.)' (كَتَبُوا) are the only past suffixes that keep a vowel before the ending; 'I', 'you' and 'we' put a sukūn on the last root letter (كَتَبْـ). Because the ending shows the person, you usually don't need the pronoun.

Key rule

Add a subject suffix to the past stem: ـتُ (I), ـتَ/ـتِ (you m./f.), ـنَا (we), ـَتْ (she), ـُوا (they m.) — the ending replaces the need for a pronoun.

Examples

  • كَتَبْتُ رِسَالَةً.
    كَتَبْتَ رِسَالَةً أَنَا.

    'I wrote' is كَتَبْتُ (ـتُ); كَتَبْتَ with fatḥa means 'you (m.) wrote'.

  • أَنْتِ ذَهَبْتِ إِلَى السُّوقِ.
    أَنْتِ ذَهَبْتَ إِلَى السُّوقِ.

    'You (f.)' takes ـتِ (kasra): ذَهَبْتِ, not the masculine ـتَ.

  • شَرِبْنَا الْعَصِيرَ.
    شَرِبْتُ الْعَصِيرَ نَحْنُ.

    'We drank' is شَرِبْنَا (ـنَا); ـتُ is the 'I' suffix.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing the ـتُ / ـتَ / ـتِ suffixes

    أَنَا كَتَبْتَ.
    أَنَا كَتَبْتُ.

    'I' takes ـتُ (ḍamma); ـتَ is 'you (m.)'. The final vowel decides the person.

  • Using the masculine 'you' for a female

    أَنْتِ سَافَرْتَ.
    أَنْتِ سَافَرْتِ.

    'You (f.)' takes ـتِ (kasra): سَافَرْتِ.

A1Verb mood

The Imperative

فِعْلُ الْأَمْرِ

The imperative (fiʿl al-amr) is how you give an order or instruction to someone you are talking to — 'write!', 'read!', 'sit down!'. You make it from the 'you' form of the present verb: drop the تَـ prefix and the final vowel. If what remains starts with two consonants, you add a helping hamza (أ or ا) at the front so it can be pronounced. So تَكْتُبُ ('you write') → اكْتُبْ! ('write!'), and تَجْلِسُ → اجْلِسْ! ('sit!'). For a female, you add ـِي: اكْتُبِي! Because the imperative is always aimed at 'you', you never use it with 'I', 'he' or 'we'.

Key rule

Make the imperative from the 'you' present: drop the تَـ prefix, end in sukūn, and add a helping hamza if a cluster results (تَكْتُبُ → اكْتُبْ!).

Examples

  • اكْتُبِ الدَّرْسَ!
    كْتُبِ الدَّرْسَ!

    A starting cluster needs a helping hamza: اكْتُبْ, not كْتُبْ.

  • اجْلِسْ هُنَا، مِنْ فَضْلِكَ.
    تَجْلِسْ هُنَا، مِنْ فَضْلِكَ.

    The imperative drops the تَـ prefix: اجْلِسْ, not تَجْلِسْ.

  • اقْرَئِي الْكِتَابَ يَا مَرْيَمُ!
    اقْرَأْ الْكِتَابَ يَا مَرْيَمُ!

    A female addressee takes the ـِي ending: اقْرَئِي.

Common mistakes

  • Keeping the present prefix

    تَكْتُبْ الْوَاجِبَ!
    اكْتُبِ الْوَاجِبَ!

    The imperative drops تَـ and adds a helping hamza: اكْتُبْ.

  • Omitting the helping hamza

    كْتُبْ رِسَالَةً!
    اكْتُبْ رِسَالَةً!

    When the stem starts with a cluster, a hamzat al-waṣl is required: اكْتُبْ.

A1Verb tenses

kāna "was" (Introduction)

كَانَ (تَمْهِيدٌ)

Arabic has no word for 'is' in the present — 'the house is big' is simply الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ. But to say it in the PAST ('the house was big') you add the verb كَانَ ('was/were') at the front: كَانَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا. So كَانَ is the past-tense 'to be' that turns a present description into a past one. It conjugates like an ordinary past verb (كُنْتُ 'I was', كَانَتْ 'she was', كُنَّا 'we were'). One important change: the describing word (the predicate) that was nominative in the present (كَبِيرٌ) becomes accusative after كَانَ (كَبِيرًا). At A1 you mainly need to recognise كَانَ and use it to put simple sentences into the past.

Key rule

Use كَانَ at the front of a nominal sentence to put it in the past ('was/were'); the predicate then becomes accusative (كَانَ الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرًا).

Examples

  • كَانَ الْجَوُّ جَمِيلًا أَمْسِ.
    الْجَوُّ جَمِيلٌ أَمْسِ.

    To say it was nice 'yesterday', you need كَانَ; the verbless sentence is only present.

  • كُنْتُ طَالِبًا فِي الْجَامِعَةِ.
    كَانَ طَالِبًا فِي الْجَامِعَةِ أَنَا.

    'I was' is كُنْتُ (hollow-verb stem كُنْـ + ـتُ), not كَانَ ('he was').

  • كَانَتِ الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةً.
    كَانَ الْبِنْتُ صَغِيرَةً.

    A feminine subject takes the ـَتْ ending: كَانَتْ.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the predicate nominative after kāna

    كَانَ الطَّقْسُ بَارِدٌ.
    كَانَ الطَّقْسُ بَارِدًا.

    Kāna puts its predicate (xabar) in the accusative: بَارِدًا.

  • Using kāna in the present sense

    كَانَ الْجَوُّ جَمِيلًا الْآنَ.
    الْجَوُّ جَمِيلٌ الْآنَ.

    The present 'is' is zero copula; كَانَ means 'was'. 'Now' cannot take كَانَ.

A1Derivation

The Nisba Adjective

النِّسْبَةُ (ـِيّ)

The nisba is how Arabic turns a noun (especially a place or thing) into an adjective meaning 'relating to / belonging to that'. You add ـِيّ to a man and ـِيَّة to a woman or feminine thing. So مِصْر ('Egypt') → مِصْرِيّ ('Egyptian man'), مِصْرِيَّة ('Egyptian woman'); عَرَب ('Arabs') → عَرَبِيّ / عَرَبِيَّة ('Arabic/Arab'). If the base noun ends in ة or a long vowel, you drop it first: سُورِيَا → سُورِيّ. The nisba is the everyday way to say someone's nationality (أَنَا مِصْرِيّ 'I am Egyptian') and to make adjectives like 'national' (وَطَنِيّ) or 'daily' (يَوْمِيّ). It always carries a šadda on the yāʾ.

Key rule

Add ـِيّ (m.) / ـِيَّة (f.) to a noun to make a 'relating-to' adjective: مِصْر → مِصْرِيّ / مِصْرِيَّة, dropping any final ة or long vowel first.

Examples

  • أَنَا طَالِبٌ مِصْرِيٌّ.
    أَنَا طَالِبٌ مِصْرٌ.

    To say 'Egyptian' you need the nisba مِصْرِيّ, not the bare place-name مِصْر.

  • هِيَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ عَرَبِيَّةٌ.
    هِيَ مُعَلِّمَةٌ عَرَبِيٌّ.

    A feminine noun needs the feminine nisba عَرَبِيَّة with tāʾ marbūṭa.

  • اللُّغَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ جَمِيلَةٌ.
    اللُّغَةُ الْعَرَبِيُّ جَمِيلَةٌ.

    اللُّغَة is feminine, so the nisba is الْعَرَبِيَّة.

Common mistakes

  • Using the bare noun instead of the nisba

    أَنَا لُبْنَان.
    أَنَا لُبْنَانِيٌّ.

    Nationality needs the nisba adjective لُبْنَانِيّ, not the country name.

  • Missing the šadda on the yāʾ

    هُوَ مِصْرِي.
    هُوَ مِصْرِيٌّ.

    The nisba ends in a doubled yāʾ written with šadda: ـِيّ.

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