Arabic grammar glossary

Madinah Book 1 gives its rules under Arabic headings. Here is what the terms of the first five lessons mean, with examples from the book.

اِسْمُ الْإِشَارَةِ Demonstrative

Lessons 1, 2

The pointing word, here for a masculine singular noun: هَذَا for something or someone near, ذَلِكَ for something or someone far. In the present, no verb “to be”: the demonstrative and the noun side by side.

• هَذَا كِتَابٌ. This is a book.
• ذَلِكَ نَجْمٌ. That is a star.

النَّكِرَةُ Indefinite noun

Lesson 3

A noun without ال that does not point to one thing: “a book”. It ends with a tanwin.

• كِتَابٌ a book
• بَيْتٌ a house

الْمَعْرِفَةُ Definite noun

Lesson 3

A noun made definite by ال, like “the”. With ال the tanwin drops and a single vowel remains. Never ال and tanwin together.

• كِتَابٌ ← الْكِتَابُ a book, the book

اللَّامُ الْقَمَرِيَّةُ Moon lam

Lesson 3

Before these 14 letters, the lam (ل) of ال is pronounced and carries a sukun: أ ب ج ح خ ع غ ف ق ك م و ه ي.

• الْقَمَرُ the moon
• الْبَيْتُ the house

اللَّامُ الشَّمْسِيَّةُ Sun lam

Lesson 3

Before these 14 letters, the lam of ال is silent and has no sukun: the next letter is doubled (shadda). ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.

• النَّجْمُ the star
• الرَّجُلُ the man

حُرُوفُ الْجَرِّ Prepositions

Lesson 4

Small words placed before the noun: فِي “in”, عَلَى “on”, مِنْ “from”, إِلَى “to”. The noun after them takes a kasra on its last letter. Before ال, مِنْ is written مِنَ.

• فِي الْبَيْتِ in the house
• عَلَى الْمَكْتَبِ on the desk
• مِنَ الْبَيْتِ from the house
• إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ to the mosque

الْمَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ Diptote (no tanwin)

Lesson 4

A noun that never takes a tanwin. In the book's examples, a girl's name ends with a single damma, while a boy's name takes the tanwin.

• زَيْنَبُ، آمِنَةُ Zaynab, Amina
• مُحَمَّدٌ، خَالِدٌ Muhammad, Khalid (with tanwin)

الْمُضَافُ وَالْمُضَافُ إِلَيْهِ Annexation (idafa)

Lesson 5

To say “Muhammad's book”, two nouns are placed one after the other, with no word for “of”. The 1st noun (الْمُضَافُ) takes neither ال nor tanwin. The 2nd (الْمُضَافُ إِلَيْهِ) ends in a kasra; without ال, a tanwin kasra.

• كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ Muhammad's book
• مَكْتَبُ الْمُدَرِّسِ the teacher's desk

النِّدَاءُ Vocative

Lesson 5

يَا is used to call someone. In lesson 5, the name or noun called loses its tanwin and takes a damma.

• مُحَمَّدٌ ← يَا مُحَمَّدُ Muhammad, O Muhammad
• وَلَدٌ ← يَا وَلَدُ boy, O boy

هَمْزَةُ الْوَصْلِ Connecting hamza (hamzat al-wasl)

Lesson 5

The alif at the start of اِسْمٌ and اِبْنٌ is said at the start of a sentence, but not after another word.

• اِسْمُ الْوَلَدِ مُحَمَّدٌ وَاسْمُ الْبِنْتِ زَيْنَبُ. The boy's name is Muhammad and the girl's name is Zaynab.
• مَا اسْمُ الْمُدِيرِ؟ What is the director’s name?