EZ Arabic - a course to help you learn arabic

[Muhaba]

Ordinal numbers 1 - 10
First الأول
Secondالثاني
Thirdالثالث
Fourthالرابع
Fifthالخامس
Sixthالسادس
Seventhالسابع
Eighthالثامن
Ninthالتاسع
Tenthالآشر

 

[Muhaba]

Supplement – Words that don’t contain a hamza ء) ( on the alif.

There are 10 nouns that don’t contain a hamza on the alif these have to be memorized. When using them in the middle of the sentence, the beginning alif isn’t pronounced and the word is attached to the word before it.

These words are:
الله
Son - ابن
Daughter - ابنة
Name - اسم
Two - اثنان
Two (feminine) - اثنتان
ايم
اَيمن
اُمرؤ
امرأة
اُبنم

for example, when saying وَ الله ِ (wa Allahi) you say wallahi and not wa Allahi.

Apart from these words, there are verbs as well as their nouns that don’t contain the hamza on the alif. More about those words in a supplement on hamza al qatta ( همزة القطة ) and hamza al wasl ( الوصل همزة ).

 

[Muhaba]

Week 23
اسم الموصول – الذي , التي
الذي and التي are called ism al mawsool اسم الموصول .
These words can be used with animate as well as inanimate objects, that is humans, animals and things, so they mean both “who” and “that” (or “which”). They take both the masculine and feminine forms.
الذي is for masculine.
التي is for femanine.
Note: in Arabic, not just humans and animals but also objects take the gender. That is, even objects are either masculine or feminine, so it’s necessary to use the appropriate word for each. While you will have to learn whether a word is masculine or feminine, however there are rules that make it easier to learn this. For example, most words containing the feminine ة are feminine. Additionally, plurals of inanimate objects are all feminine, even if the singular is masculine.

هذا البيت الذي كلمتك عنه.
This is the house about which I spoke to you. Or, this is the house that I spoke to you about.

هذه السيارة التي أخبرتك عنها.
This is the car I informed you about. (Note that when the noun is feminine, all words that refer to it are feminine.)

هذا الأخبار الذي سمعته
This is the news that I heard. (note that the word after the ism al mawsool contains a pronoun referring to the subject. Here the pronoun is visible but it may be invisible as well, as in the following two sentences.)

هذه الطفلة التي ولدتْ يومين قبل.
This is the child who was born two days ago.

هذا الولد الذي أخذ كتابي.
This is the child who took my book.

وجدتُ الكتاب الذي فقدته I found the book that I had lost.

These words also take the plural forms:
الذينَ for masculine plural. (it is the plural of الذي )
الّوَاتي for feminine plural. (it is the plural of التي )
جاء المدرسون الذين يدرسون في الجامعة The teachers who teach at the university came.
قابلتُ المدرسات الواتي يدرّسْنَ في الجامعة I met the (female) teachers who teach at the university.

Practice tip: make sentences of your own using connecting words.

 

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Vocabulary (Verbs) 3

Lend يُقْرِضُ

Let يترك

Lie (lie down)يضطجع

Lie (tell a lie)يكذب

Loseيفقد

Makeيصنع

Meanيعني

Meetيقابل

Payيدفع

Quitيتصرف

Readيقرأ

Rideيقود

Ringيرن

Riseيرتفع

Sayيقول

Seeيرى

Sellيبيع

Sendيرسل

Setيضع

Shakeيرج


Practice tip: conjugate the verbs with pronouns and use them in sentences.
Write the conjugated verb forms for the following pronouns:

أنا I
أنتَ you
أنتِ you
أنتما you dual
أنتم you plural
أنتنّ you plural fem
هو he
هي she
هما they dual masc
هما they dual fem
هم they plural
هنّ they plural fem

For example, some conjugated forms for the verb يقرض are:
أنا أقْرِضُ
أنتَ تقرض
أنتِ تقرضين
هو يقرض
هيّ تقرض
هم يقرضون
هنّ يقْرِضْنَ

 

[Muhaba]

Supplement – Numbers 11 to 19
11.أحد عشر – إحدى عشرة
12. اثنا عشر - اثنتا عشرة
13ثلاثة عشر -. ثلاث عشرة .
14. أربعة عشر - أربع عشرة
15. خمسة عشر - خمس عشرة
16. ستة عشر - ست عشرة
17. سبعة عشر - سبع عشرة
18. ثمانة أشر - ثمان أشرة
19. تسعة عشر - تسع عشرة

Grammar rules regarding numbers.
As you learned in the previous lesson on numbers, there are special grammar rules regarding using numbers in sentences. Learning these rules gradually one at a time and practicing using numbers correctly in your spoken and written Arabic will make it easier and less daunting.
Rules regarding the numbers 11 – 19:
1. The numbers eleven to nineteen are compound words (each is made of two words).
2. The numbers 11 to 19 precede the quantified noun. Also, the quantified noun (معدود) is in the mansoob case (ends a fathha when it is singular, and in ya+nun when masculine plural, and in a kasra when feminine plural .)
3. The numbers 11 – 19 (أحدَ عشرَ – تسعَة عشرَ), excluding the number twelve, always contain a fathha on the last letter of both words in the compound word. That is, they are mabny (مَبْني علي فتح). For example, .أحدَ عشرَ
4. The number twelve (اثنا عشر – اثنتا عشر) has the form similar to the dual noun, depending on its position in the subject (whether it is marfoo, mansoob, or majroor). That is, it ends in an alif in the subject position (اثنا - اثنتا) and in a ya (اثني - اثنتي) in the object position or when it follows a preposition. (note that the ending nun ن from the word is omitted. This is because the word is modaf. (if a word ends in ن , the nun is omitted if the word is modaf.
5. In the numbers 11 and 12, both parts of the compound number word agree with the gender of the معدود ma’dood (quantified noun). On the other hand, in numbers 13 – 19, the second part of the compound word agrees with the ma’dood in gender but the first part does not. (That is, in numbers 13 to 19, the word for “ten” (عشرة - عشر) agrees with the gender of the quantified noun ( معدود ) but the other part of the number word doesn’t. That is, the first word in the number word has the gender opposite the معدود.

For example:
ثلاثَ عشْرَةَ طالبَة ً and ثلاثةَ عشَرَ طالباً
As you can see in the above example, طالب is masculine while ثلاثة is feminine. طالبة is feminine while ثلاث is masculine. Additionally, the معدود (quantified noun) is singular and in the mansoob case (مفرد منصوب ).
Special Thanks to Sister Yanoora of Islamicboard for her help on this lesson.
Note: the rules for numbers in Arabic are pretty complicated and requires constant practice. In order to learn them, I suggest getting a list containing numbers at least from 1 to 100 along with masculine and feminine nouns and then reading them often to get used to the correct usage.
Practice tip: practice using numbers in your sentences.

 

[Muhaba]

The six special nouns أسماء الستة

The six special nouns are nouns whose ending do not change in the same way as the normal nouns. These nouns end in a و in the marfoo case, and in an alif in the mansoob case and in a ya in the majroor case.

The six nouns are: هن , ذو , فو,حمو , أخ , أب



Noun....Defination………….............majroor case….....Mansoob Case....marfoo case
أب .........Father…………….…………………..…..أبو ……………………أبا…………….……… أبي
أخ………..Brother……………………………..……..أخو…………………..أخا………………….. أخي
حمو…….. Father-in-law……………………..…….حمو…….. …………..حما…………………. حمي
ذو……….Owner of, holder of, having……… ذو……………………. ذا……………………. ذي
فو………..Mouth ……………………………………….فو………………………فا…………………. فَيْ
هن………………………………………………………… هنُ or …………. هنَ or …………. هن ِ or



As you can see in the above list, the word هن can have the normal vowel ending or the special letter ending. Commonly, this word ends with the normal vowel endings and not the special endings. However, some people do use the special ending although it is rare.

As for the remaining five words, the special letter ending is more common while the vowel ending is used less but is acceptable.

Note: there are some conditions that these words must meet to have these special grammatical endings. One of those conditions is that the word must not be conjugated to the pronoun ي. If conjugated to this pronoun, these words don’t have these grammatical endings. For example, if the word أب is conjugated with the pronoun ي the word becomes أبي in all cases , whether it is in the marfoo postion or in the mansoob position or in the majroor position. Saying أبوي is incorrect. The correct word is أبي .

Another condition is that the word must be attached to another noun or pronoun other than ي in a possessive relationship (modaf). For example, أبو زيد . for example, you can say جاء أبو زيد , رأيت أبا زيد , and مررت بأبي زيد but it is incorrect to say: جاء أبو . The correct way when the word is used alone is: أب, for example: جاء أبٌ . in that case, the grammatical ending is the same as normal nouns, that is with a damma in the marfoo position, a fathha in the mansoob case, and a kasra in the majroor case.

You will learn the remaining conditions and more about these special words in books of Arabic grammar.


Prevented from sarf الممنوع من الصرف

Sarf is the part of Arabic language study that contains information about changes within a word depending on its position in the sentence.

ممنوع من الصرف are nouns whose grammatical endings don’t change in the same way as the normal Arabic words.

If you come across such words and see that the word has a grammatical ending different from its normal grammatical ending, you should know that most probably it is because these words are of the words prevented from grammatical changes.

The ممنوع من الصرف words end in a damma in the marfoo case, a fathha in both the mansoob and majroor case if they are not preceded by the proper article ال or if they are not followed by a modaf ilaih in a possessive relationship. If they are, then they end in the normal way. Another thing is that these words don’t accept tanwin vowels.

Some Words that are ممنوع من الصرف :
Feminine proper nouns and proper nouns that end in the feminine ة .
Non-Arabic proper nouns. Such as Ibrahim ابراهيم
Names whose structure is like verbs, such as أحمد or يزيد .
Words that have the structure وزن of مفاعل such as masaajid مساجد .

This was only an introduction to these types of words. There are many more which you will learn in more detailed grammar books.

 

[Muhaba]

Week 24 - Adjectives
Vocabulary:
نظيف clean
كبير big
جميل beautiful
صغير small

In Arabic the adjectives come after the noun it describes.
Here are some examples:
طالب ٌ زكيّ ٌ – intelligent student
الطلبات نشيطات – the energetic (female) students
بَيْتٌ نظيفٌ – clean house
البيتُ الكبير – the big house
القطة الجميلة – the beautiful
سيارة صغيرة – small car
حقائب جميلات – beautiful handbags

As you can see from the above examples, the adjective changes form depending on the noun it describes. If the noun is proper, the adjective is also proper, that is, it contains ال at the start. But if the noun is improper, then the adjective is also improper.
Additionally, if the noun is masculine, the adjective is masculine and if the noun is feminine, then the adjective is also feminine.
And if the noun is singular, then the adjective is also singular, but if the noun is plural, then the adjective is also plural. . And if the noun is dual, then the adjective is also dual.


Additionally, the adjective’s ending vowel (grammatical ending) depends on the vowel on the noun it describes, that is depending on the noun’s position in the sentence as shown in the following sentences.
I like clean houses. أحبُّ بيوتٌ نظيفةٌ
The big house is for sale. البيتُ الكبير للبيع
The beautiful cat is sitting under the tree. القطة الجميلة جالسةً تحت الشجرةِ
The man is in a small car. الرجلُ في سيارةٍ صغيرةٍ
I saw beautiful (hand)bags in the market. رأيتُ حقائب جميلات في السوق

As you can see from the above examples, the adjective’s grammatical ending depends on the noun it describes. The adjective’s grammatical case (whether it is marfoo, mansoob, or majroor), is the same as the noun it describes. So, if the noun is marfoo مرفوع, the adjective that describes it will be marfoo. If the noun is mansoobمنصوب , the adjective will be mansoob. And if the noun is majroor مجرور then the adjective will be majroor.

Revision:
As you may remember, a noun is marfoo if it is the subject (مبتدأ or فاعل) or the خبر of the sentence or if it follows a word that makes it marfoo (such as كان ). A noun is mansoob if it is the object of the sentence (مفعول به) or if it follows a word that makes it mansoob (such as إنَّ). And a noun is majroor if it follows a preposition or if it is the modaf ilaih.
A noun in the marfoo case contains a damma on the last letter if it is singular, irregular noun or feminine plural. It contains a ون at the end if it is masculine plural. And it contains ان at the end if it is a dual noun.
A noun in the mansoob case contains a fathha on the last letter if it is singular or irregular. It contains a ينَ with a kasra under the ya if it is masculine plural. And it contains a يَن ِ with a fathha on the ya if it is a dual noun. If it is a feminine plural noun, it contains a kasra on the last letter.
A noun in the majroor case contains a kasra on the last letter if it is singular, irregular, or feminine plural. And like the mansoob case, it contains a a ya + nun with a kasra on the ya if it is masculine plural and a ya + nun with a fathha on the ya if it is a dual noun.

Note: proper nouns (those containing the proper article ال ) don’t contain tanwin. They contain only a single vowel on the last letter. improper nouns on the other hand contain the tanwin.

More Examples of adjectives:
صخير small
كبير big
جميل beautiful
طويل tall
قصير short
واسِع spacious
نظيف clean
وسخ dirty
خفيف thin
ثقيل heavy
هاديءcalm
مسرور happy
حزين sad
سريع fast
بطيء slow

Practice tip: use adjectives in your sentences. Make sure the adjective’s case is the same as the noun it describes, whether it is singular or plural, masculine or feminine, proper or improper, and whether it is subject, object, etc.

 

[Muhaba]

Supplement 24: hamza al qatta ( همزة القطة ) and hamza al wasl ( همزة الوصل )

Hamza tul qatta (همزة القطة ) إ , أ is an alif with the hamza(ء) on it. It is pronounced whether the word comes in the beginning of the sentence or in the middle or end.

Hamza tul wasl (همزة الوصل ) (ا) is an alif that doesn’t have a hamza (ء)on it. It is pronounced if the word comes at the beginning of a statement but if it comes in the middle, that is with other words preceding it, then it is not pronounced but is attached to the word preceding it.

For example, the word ism ( اسم ) , meaning name, starts with the hamza al wasl. It is pronounced ism when said alone or at the start of a sentence. For example: Ismee Jameela ( اسمي جميلة ) (meaning “my name is Jameela”). However, in the middle of a statement, it is attached to the preceding word. For example, ما اسمك (what is your name) is pronounced masmuk. That is, the hamza at the start of ism ( اسم ) isn’t pronounced. Another example: باسم الله is pronounced bismillah and not bi ismi Allah.

The hamza al wasl is written simply as an alif without a hamza ( ء ) on it.

The following start with hamza tul wasl:
1. The 10 nouns:
Allah - الله
Name - اسم
Son - ابن
Daughter - ابنة
Two - اثنان and Two (feminine) - اثنتان
Man - اُمرؤ
Woman - امرأة
ايم
اَيمن
اُبنم

2. The imperative of the three-letter verb ( الفعل الثلاثي ), that is the verb whose root form (past tense form) only has three letters.

For example, the imperative form of ذهب is اذْهب . Note that it doesn’t have the hamza on the alif.
3. The past tense, imperative, and noun ( مصدر ) of the five and six letter verbs ( الفعل الخماسي and الفعل السداسي ). That is, those verbs whose root forms (the past tense form) have 5 letters or 6 letters. For example, استقبلَ - استقبال

4. in the proper article ( ال ). This is pronounced when the word comes at the beginning of a statement. If it comes in the middle of a statement, however, the laam ( ل ) is attached to the word before it and the alif in ال isn’t pronounced.

Practice tip: practice reading a paragraph containing both hamzas. Try to pronounce the words properly.

 

[Muhaba]

Week 25 - Using more than one verb in a sentence

To place two verbs in one sentence, use أنْ between the verbs. The second verb must be in the present infinitive form (present tense form of the verb).

Remember, when the present tense verb is preceded by أنْ , it ends in the mansoob case. That is, if it is masculine singular, then it ends in a fathha (َ ) on the last letter. If it is a dual verb or masculine plural verb or second person feminine singular, then the ending ن is omitted from the verb. This is known as نصب . (that is, the verb is منصوب with أنْ . If the present tense verb is feminine plural, the huroof nasb do not affect it. It remains the same in all cases because it is مبني. That is, its form does not change.

Some Examples of two words in one sentence:
أريدُ أنْ أشربَ قهوى. I want to drink coffee.
هل تريد أنْ تزورَ صديقك؟ Do you want to visit your friend?
هل تريدين أنْ تزوري صديقتك ِ؟ Do you (feminine) want to visit your (female) friend?
هل تريدون أنْ تذهبوا إلى بلدكم؟ Do you (plural) want to go to your country?
أترغبون أنْ تذهبوا إلى شاطيء البحر؟ Would you like to go to the beach? (Note: In this sentence, the first word is preceded by أ which is the hamza of inquiry حمزة الإستفهام. Like the word هل , the حمزة الإستفهام turns the sentence into a question, except that it is used with the present tense verb.
هنّ يردْنَ أنْ يدرسْنَ. – They want to study. (Note: In this sentence, the verb used is the feminine plural present tense verb. As you may recall, the feminine plural present tense verb is مبني . That is, it’s form doesn’t change. It always remains the same. The feminine plural present tense verb always has a sukun on the last letter of the verb while the nun at the end of the verb is the feminine plural pronoun. This nun always contains a fathha.)

More examples: (Note the ending of the verbs)
Verbs in the marfoo case verbs in the mansoob case
يشربُ he drinks أنْ يشربَ
تشرَبُ you drink أنْ تشربَ
تشربينَ you (feminine) drinks أنْ تشربيْ
هُمْ يشربون they drink أنْ يشربوا
أنتمْ تشربُون you (plural ) drink أنْ تشرَبُوا
هما يشربان they (two) drink أنْ يشرَبا
أنتما تشربان you (two) drink أنْ تشرَبا
أنْتنَّ تشرَبْنَ you (feminine plural) drink أن تشرَبْنَ

As you can see from the last example, both feminine plural present tense verbs are the same. This is because the feminine plural present tense verb is mabny مَبْنِي meaning it is structured this way and doesn’t change in any case. (Revise Lesson 10 - Words that make the Present Tense Verb Mansoob and Supplement 18.>>> أفعال الخمسة for more information about Present Tense Verbs in different Grammatical cases.)

Practice tip: make sentences using two verbs.

 

[Muhaba]

Jan. 16, 2011
Supplement: Qad قَدْ
Qad is a word that may be used with the present tense verb and the past tense verb. It’s meaning differs depending on which verb type it is used

When قَدْ is used with the past tense verb, it means certainly.
She certainly went. قد ذهبتْ
He certainly studied.قد درسَ

However, when قَدْ is used with the present tense verb, it means maybe/possibly.
It may rain. قد يمطر
I may travel. قد أسافر

To use this word in sentences, just precede the verb with qad.
Practice tip: use قد in your sentences to show certainty or possibility.

 

[Muhaba]

Vocabulary (Verbs) 4


Shootيقذف

Showيعرض

Shutيغلق

Singيغني

Sitيجلس

Sleepينام

Speakيتكلم

Spendينفق

Spreadينشر

Standيقف

Stealيسرق

Stickيلصق

Swimيسبح

Takeيأخذ

Teachيعلم

Tellيخبر \ يقول

Thinkيفكر

Throwيرمي

Understandيفهم \ يدرك

Wearيلبس

Winيفوز

Writeيكتب


Practice tip: conjugate the verbs with pronouns and use them in sentences.
Write the conjugated verb forms for the following pronouns:

أنا I
أنتَ you
أنتِ you
أنتما you dual
أنتم you plural
أنتنّ you plural fem
هو he
هي she
هما they dual mas
هما they dual fem
هم they plural
هنّ they plural fem


For example, some conjugated forms for the verb ينام are:
أنا أنام
أنت َ تنام
أنت ِ تنامينَ
هو ينام
هي تنام
هم ينامون
هن ينمْنَ

 

[Muhaba]

Week 26 – Introduction to the passive verb and passive sentences

(Introduction to the Mabny lil majhool verb فعل مبني للمجهول and the Mabny lil majhool sentence جملة مبني للمجهول .)


The فعل مبني للمجهول (Mabny lil majhool verb) is the passive verb. It is used in passive sentences. It has a special form and the normal verb (active verb) is not used in passive sentences.

The mabny lil majhool verb can be in the past tense or the present tense. Each tense has its own form and there are rules for making each type of verb. The mabny lil majhool verb is also known as mabny lil maf’ool verb.


The mabny lil majhool sentence.

The mabny lil majhool مبني للمجهول sentence (“Sentence structured for the unknown”), is the passive sentence. It is also known as mabny lil maf’oolمبني للمفعول sentence (“Sentence structured for the object”).

As you may know, a passive sentence is a sentence in which the object becomes the subject of the sentence. For example: the ball was thrown رُمِيَ الكُرَّة ُ.

Unlike the English passive sentence where the doer may be mentioned at the end of the sentence (as in the sentence: “the ball was thrown by someone”), in Arabic, the doerفاعل is completely invisible. The object, like in the English passive sentence, becomes the subject of the sentence. In the Arabic passive sentence, the object is called the naaib ul faailنائب الفاعل as it takes the place of the faa’il فاعل (doer) in the subject position. Therefore, like the faa’il, the naib ul faa’il is also marfooمرفوع .

((Revision of the marfoo case of the noun:

In the marfoo case, the singular noun and the irregular noun (singular or plural) both have a damma on the last letter. Example: المدرسُ - الطالبُ

The masculine plural noun ends in a waw + nun ون in the marfoo case. Example: مدرسون

The dual noun ends in an alif + nun ان in the marfoo case. Example: مدرسان

The feminine plural noun ends in a damma on the ending ت . example: مدرساتُ

If the noun is irregular (singular or plural,) it ends in a damma on the last letter in the marfoo case.) example: الطلابُ – الطالبُ ))


The mabny lil majhool مبني للمجهول sentence is a verbal sentence الجملة الفعلية. That is, it starts with a verb and not a noun. The verb in this sort of sentence has its own form and the normal verb is not used in the mabny lil majhool sentence.

The verb is known as fa’il mabny lil majhool فعل مبني للمجهول (verb structured for the unknown) or fa’il mabny lil maf’ool فعل مبني للمفعول (verb structured for the object) and may be in the past tense or present tense. Each tense has its own rules.


Rules for the past tense mabny lil majhool verb (fa’il maad mabny lil majhool فعل ماض مبني للمجهول ):

To make a past tense verb passive, use the following rule:

Place a damma on the first letter of the past tense verb and a kasra on the letter before the last.

Use this rule for past tense verbs that don’t begin with hamza-tul-wasl.

Examples of past tense mabny lil majhool verbs:

سُئلَ – asked , the normal verb is: سأل – he asked

Example passive sentence: سُئل السؤالُ – a question was asked.

(Normal i.e. active sentence: سَألَ الرجلُ السُؤالَ - the man asked the question.)

Note that in the passive sentence سؤال has a damma on it while in the active sentence it has a fathha on it. this is because in the passive sentence, سؤال is the subject of the sentence while in the active sentence it is the object.

The subject of the passive sentence is known as the na’ib al faa’il نائب الفاعل and is always marfoo like the فاعل because it takes the place of the فاعل.


كُسِرَ – broke , the normal verb was كسَرَ (with a fathha on the first letter)
كُسِرَ الزجاجُ – the glass was broken
(normal active sentence: كَسَرَ الولدُ الزجاج َ the boy broke the glass.)

فُتِحَ - opened
فُتِحَ البابُ – the door was opened.
Active sentence: فَتحَ الطالبُ البابَ - the student opened the door. As you can see in this sentence, the object باب has a fathha on the last letter because it is mansoob.


As you can see in the above examples, each of the passive past tense verb has a damma on the first letter and a kasra on the letter before the last letter of the verb. The last letter contains its normal vowel, a fathha.

This is the form if the past tense doesn’t start with the hamza-tul-wasl.

If the past tense verb starts with hamza-tul-wasl, use the following rule to make the passive verb:
Place a damma on the first and third letter of the past tense verb and a kasra on the letter before the last letter.

Examples:
Passive verb - active verb
اُسْتُفهِمَ ostofhima اِسْتفْهَمَ istafhama
اُستُغفِرَ ostoghfira اِسْتَغْفَرَ istaghfira
Note: in the active verb, the first and third letter contain a damma and the letter before the last contains a kasra.

Rules for present tense mabny lil majhool verb فعل مضارع مبني للمجهول
To make the present tense verb passive, use the following rule:
Place a damma on the first letter of the present tense verb and a fathha on the letter before the last.


Examples of some present tense mabny lil majhool verbs.
يُسْألُ – (The active form is: يَسْألُ )
يُسألُ السؤالُ – the question is asked
يُفتحُ - (the active form is: يَفتحُ )
يُفتحُ البابُ – the door is opened
يُؤْكَلُ – (the active form is: يَأكَلُ )
يُؤْكَلُ الطُعَامُ - the food is eaten.



Hint: If you memorize an example of each type of verb, it will make it easier for you to remember the rules for making the verb mabny lil majhool.
As you can see, it is fairly easy to learn to make the passive sentence. All you need to remember is that the object مفعول به takes the place of the subject, the doer فاعل is invisible, and the verb has a special form. Making the passive form of the verb is easy if you learn the rules and one example.
This is only an introduction to the passive verb and passive sentence. Further in your studies you can learn more about these types of sentences and use them in your speaking and writing.
Example sentences (Past Tense):
دُرِسَ الدَرْسُ – the lesson was studied.
The active verb is: دَرَسَ
بُنِيَ البناءُ – the building was built.
The active verb is: بَنأ
سُمِعَ الكلامُ – the saying was heard.
The active verb is: سَمِعَ

Example sentences (Present Tense):
يُدْرَسُ الدرسُ – the lesson is (being) studied.
يُبْنعُ البناءُ – the building is (being) built.
يُسْمعُ الكلامُ – the talk is (being) listened to.

Note that in each of the passive sentences, the object has taken the position of the doer and has become the subject of the sentence. Therefore, it is marfoo and not mansoob. The subject of the passive sentence is known as نائب الفاعل and is marfoo.

Practice tip – make sentences using passive verbs

Revision:
Past Tense Verbs:
The first letter of the passive past tense verb contains a damma and the letter before the last contains a kasra if it doesn’t start with hamza-tul wasl.
If a past tense verb starts with hamza – tul wasl, then in the passive form, the first and third letter of the verb contain a damma and the letter before the last contains a kasra.

Present Tense Verbs:
The first letter of the present tense verb contains a damma and the letter before the last contains a fathha.

Revision of hamza-tul wasl:
It is the hamza that is pronounced when you start the statement with it but not if it comes in the middle of a statement. For example, the hamza in اِستقبال – reception - is pronounced if you start a statement with it but isn’t pronounced if a word precedes it. so if it comes at the start of a statement, it would be pronounced istiqbaal. But in the middle of a statement (for example غرْفة استقبال – ghurfatu istiqbaal – is pronounced as ghurfatustiqbaal.)
See Supplement 24 for more information.

 

[Muhaba]

W26 Supplement – Middle Hamza, special cases
August 15, 2011

As you learned before, when the hamza is in the middle of the word همزة المتوسطة , the letter the hamza is placed on depends on the vowel on the hamza and the vowel on the letter preceding it.

Vowels have different strengths. The kasra is the strongest. The damma is the second strongest. The fathha, the third strongest. and the sukun is the weakest. Normally, the middle hamza is placed on the letter (yah, waw, or alif) depending on the vowel on the hamza and the vowel on the letter preceding it. the hamza being placed on the vowel appropriate for the stronger of the two vowels.

However, in some cases the middle hamza is not placed on the letter appropriate for the stronger vowel. This is so in the following cases:
1. The hamza is placed on the line if, as ء:
If it has a fathha on it and the letter preceding it is a waw (وْ ) or an alif ( ا ْ ) with a sukun on it.
If it has a damma on it and the letter preceding it is a waw with a sukun ( وْ ) on it.

If on the other hand, if the hamza has a kasra on it, then it is placed on a nabira ئ , as normal.

Some examples:
قراءَة – reading – in this word, the alif is a madd letter. it elongates the vowel preceding it but isn’t pronounced in itself. The hamza after the alif has a fathha on it. therefore, the hamza is placed on the line.

توْءَم – twin – in this word, the hamza has a fathha and is preceded by a waw sakin (waw with sukun on it) so the hamza is placed on a line.

موْءُودة - - in this word, the hamza has a damma and is preceded by waw sakin وْ (waw with sukun on it) so the hamza is placed on the line.



What if the hamza has a sukun on it and the letter before it is a waw or alif with a sukun on it? This never happens as in Arabic two letters with sukun on it never come together. If two letters with sukun on them ever come in one word, then one of them is omitted.

2. if the hamza comes after a ya sakin يْ (ya with a sukun on it), the hamza is written on a nabira no matter what vowel is on the hamza. That is, whether the hamza has a kasra, a damma, or a fathha, in all cases it is written on a nabira if it follows a yah sakin.

Some examples:
هيئة – appearance – the hamza has a fathha on it. since it is preceded by a ya with sukun on it يْ, it is placed on a nabira, although the letter appropriate for the stronger vowel (fathha) is an alif.

تجزيئها – its parts – in the marfoo position, this word has a damma on the last letter of the noun, which is the hamza ( the ha being an added pronoun). Since the letter before the hamza is a ya sakin يْ , the hamza is placed on a nabira, although the letter appropriate for the stronger vowel (damma) is a waw و .

تجزيئها – its parts – in the majroor position, this word has a kasra on the hamza. Since the letter preceding the hamza is a ya sakin يْ , therefore the hamza is placed on a nabira.

Learn the rules related to the hamza so it is easier to use the proper spelling in your writing.

 

[Muhaba]

Week 27 – introduction to Conditional words and sentences containing conditions
August 14, 2011

Conditional sentences take the form “if…then.” For example, “if you study (then) you will pass.”
Such sentences contain conditional words. Conditional words may be nouns أسماء or prepositionsحروف . Some conditional words make the verb majzoom. They are known as أدوات الشرط الجازمة . Other conditional words, known as أدوات الشرط غير الجازمة , do not make the verb majzoom.

(Revision of the majzoom case of the present tense verb: as you may recall, present tense verbs are normally marfoo. In the marfoo case, when masculine singular, the verb contains a damma on the last letter. When masculine plural, dual, or second person feminine, the verb contains a nun at the end.
Certain words make the verb mansoob or majzoom.
In the majzoom case, the singular verb’s damma is replaced with a sukun. That is, the singular verb ends in a sukun in the majzoom case. The dual, masculine plural, and second person feminine verb’s ending nun is omitted in the majzoom case. (That is, if the verb is one of the 5 verbs known as أفعال الخمسة, their ending nun is omitted in the majzoom case.)
If the verb is the feminine plural present tense verb, its form doesn’t change. It is مبني . Its form always remains the same and is not affected by the huroof nasb or huroof jazm.)
If the present tense verb ends in one of the sick lettersحروف العلة , its ending sick letterحرف العلة is omitted in the majzoom case.)

Conditional words that make the verb majzoom أدوات الشرط الجازمة
Some conditional words make the verb majzoom.
Conditional words that make the verb majzoom affect two verbs. That is, they make two verbs majzoom: the conditional verb and the answer to the condition (answering verb).
For example, the word إنْ (with sukun on the nun) is a conditional word meaning “if”. It makes two verbs majzoom.
Analyze the following sentence:
إنْ تدرُسْ تنجحْ - if you study you will succeed.
In this sentence, the conditional word إنْ has made the two present tense verbs (تدرس and تنجح) majzoom. (Note that the two present tense verbs in this sentence contain a sukun on the last letter).
Other conditional words that make the present tense verb majzoom
The following is a list of words that make the verb majzoom along with some sample sentences.
إنْ – if
إن تدرسْ تنجحْ – If you study you will pass.

إذما - if
مَن ْ – whoever
منْ يدرسْ يَنجَحْ – Whoever studies passes (or succeeds).

ما – whatever
ما تفعلْ ترَ نتيجته – whatever you do, you will see its results. – in this sentence, the answering verb is a verb that ends in حرف العلة. The original verb is: ترى which means “you see.” In the majzoom case, the ending حرف العلة (ى) is omitted.

مهما - whatever

متي – whenever
متى تسافرْ أسافرْ – Whenever you travel I travel.

أيان - whenever
أينما – wherever
أينما تذهبْ يذهبْ أخوكَ – wherever you go, your brother goes.
حيثما – wherever
أنّى – wherever
كيفما – however
كيفما تعاملْ الناس يعاملْ معك – however you treat people, they treat you

أيّ – whichever – this word can be used for whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever, and however. See following examples:

أيّ إنسان – whichever person = مَنْ
أيّ شيء – whichever thing = ما
أيّ وقت – whichever time = متى
أيّ مكان – whichever place =أينما
أيّ حال – whichever condition = كيفما


Conditional Words which do not make the verb majzoom أدوات الشرط غير الجازمة
The following words do not make the verb majzoom. The verbs after these words are in their normal case. Additionally, they may be used with the present tense verb or the past tense verb.

لوْ – if
لوْ درسْت نجحت – if you had studied you would have succeeded (passed).
لوْلا – if not (or had it not been for)
لولا المطر لمات الناس - had it not been for the rain, all people would have died.

إذا – if
إذا رأيتك فرحت – when I saw you I became happy.
كلما – whenever
كُلما زرتك فرحت – whenever I visited you I became happy.

لَمّا – when
لمّا أزورُك أفرحُ – when I visit you I become happy.

This is an introduction to conditional sentences. You will learn more about them in books of Arabic grammar. For now, learn to use them and make your language spicier.

 

[Muhaba]

W27 supplement - verbs that end in the huroof ila حروف علة

Huroof ila are known as “huroof ila” or sick letters because they are removed in certain circumstances. They also make the language more complicated.
Huroof ila حروف العلة are the three letters: alif (not hamza), waw, and ya. ي, و, ا

The huroof al ila حروف العلة are omitted from the end of the verb in the majzoom and mansoob cases of the present tense verb. (Note that the ending of these verbs in the mansoob and majzoom cases are the same because the ending حرف العلة is removed in these cases.) Additionally, the letter before the حرف العلة contains the vowel appropriate for the حرف العلة that was removed. So if the حرف العلة was an alif (ا or ى) the vowel will be a fathha ( َ ). If the حرف العلة was a ya ( ي ) the vowel will be a kasra ( ِ ). If the حرف العلة was a waw ( و ) the vowel will be a damma ( ُ ).
Some examples:
Present Tense Verb Marfoo case فعل مضارع مرفوع Defination Mansoob Case
منصوب Majzoom Case
مجزوم
يرى To see يرَ يرَ
يتقي To fear يتق ِ يثق ِ
يَمْشِي To walk اِمْشِ اِمْشِ
يقضِي To judge اِقضِ اِقضِ
يدعو To pray (or to call) اُدْعُ اُدْعُ

Revision:
As you may recall, the present tense verb is normally marfoo (except the feminine plural present tense verb which is always mabny – unchanging.)
The singular present tense verb contains a damma on the last letter in the marfoo case.
The dual and masculine plural and second person feminine present tense verb (that is, the afaal al khamsa - the 5 verbs) contain a nun at the end of the verb in the marfoo case.
The feminine plural present tense verb’s form doesn’t change. It is always mabny.

The huroof nasb make the present tense verb mansoob. The huroof nasb are: أنْ – لن – ل ِ – إذا ً – كيْ
- The singular present tense verb contains a fathha on the last letter in the mansoob case.
- The dual and masculine plural and second person feminine present tense verbs’ ending nun is omitted in the mansoob case.
- The feminine plural present tense verb’s form doesn’t change. It is always mabny.
- If the present tense verb contains one of the sick letters at the end, the sick letter is omitted in the mansoob case.

The huroof jazm make the present tense verb majzoom.
- The singular present tense verb contains a sukun on the last letter in the majzoom case.
- The remaining present tense verbs end the same way in the majzoom case as in the mansoob case, that is, with the ending nun omitted if it is one of the afaal al khamza and the harf al ila (sick letter) omitted if it ends in the harf al ila.
If the present tense verb is mabny, its ending doesn’t change. In all three cases (marfoo, mansoob, majzoom), the verb remains the same.

For more information, see Extra Practice Lesson: Afaal Al Khamsa. Also, revise the lessons and Supplements on Imperative verbs.

 

[Muhaba]

Dec. 31, 2010
Week 28 - Words used in place of verbs to show action.

There are words that can be used in place of the verb which show action. Examples are اسم الفاعل ismul faa’il (subject), اسم المفعول ism al maf’ool (object), مصدر masdar (verb without tense), اسم الفعل ismul fa’il (verbal noun). In English all of these are called nouns. The difference between normal nouns and these words is that they are derived from verbs. So they have a form similar to the verb.

مصدر Masdar in sentences

To make more complex sentences, you can use the masdar مَصْدَر (plural: مصادر) , which is the infinitive form of the verb (verb without tense). (grammatically, the masdar is a noun). The masdar can be used in place of the verb to show action. (note, in English, the infinitive is the root form of the verb , that is, “to + present tense verb”. This is equivalent to the masdar mo’awal مصدر مؤول that is, أنْ + present tense verb. In Arabic, the normal masdar is the noun of the verb. However grammaticians call it the infinitive form.

The following are examples of مصادر:
Visit - زِيارَة
Going – ذِهاب
Study – دراسَة
Writing - كتابة

The masdar can to be used with a verb, such as أريدُ (I want), أرغبُ (I would like), أتمنّ (I expect) etc. The verb preceding the masdar may be conjugated with any pronoun.

When using the masdar, you don’t use أن . However, أنْ +present tense verb is also a form of masdar, known as masdar mo-awwal مصدر مؤول . The مصدر مؤول is simply the present tense verb preceded by أنْ .

Example of masdar usage in sentences.
أترغبون زيارة؟ - would you like to travel?
أرغبُ رؤيتك – I would like to see you.
Example of masdar mo-awwal in sentences:
أريدُ أنْ أزوركَ. – I want to visit you.
أريدُ أنْ أدرسَ. – I want to study.


As you can see from the above examples, when أنْ is used with a verb, the present tense verb has a fathha at the end instead of the normal damma. This is because أنْ is one of the huruf nasb ( حروف نصب ) which makes the present tense verb mansoob.

Note, the masdar and masdar mo’awal can be used in place of each other. Where you can use the masdar, you can replace it with the masdar mo’awal. An example in the sentence:
أرغبُ رؤيتك – here the masdar is used
أرغب أن أراك – here the masdar mo’awal is used in place of the above masdar.

Note: both sentences mean the same thing: I would like to see you

اسم الفاعل and اسم المفعول
The ism ul faa’il (name of doer) and the ismul mafool (name of object) both do the work of the verb and can be used in place of the verb. Both these words are derived from the verb and therefore, their form is similar to the verb.

اسم الفاعل

Some examples of ism ul faa’il (اسم الفاعل) (name of doer):
ذاهبٌ – ذاهبةٌ - going
مسافرٌ - travelling
راكب - rider


I am going – أنا ذاهبٌ | ذاهبة ٌ
I am travelling (literally, I am a traveller) –أنا مُسافِرٌ
I am travelling today. – أنا مسافر ٌ اليوم

As you can see in the examples above, in many cases, the اسم الفاعل has the structure of the word "فاعل" for example, دارس , كاتب etc. Thus, you can make the verb from the اسم الفاعل and the اسم الفاعل from the verb. To make the اسم الفاعل from the three letter word, just add an alif after the first letter of the past tense verb.



اسم المفعول - name of object
مكتوب – writing or written
مشغول – busy
مفهوم - understood

As can be seen in the examples above, in many cases, the اسم المفعول has the structure of the word " مفعول " for example, مدروس , مكتوب , مفهوم etc. This is especially the case if the verb is a three-letter verb. To make the اسم المفعول from the three letter word, just add a meem (م) to the beginning of the past tense three-letter verb and add a waw و before the last letter. for example, رسم  مرسوم . that is, the اسم المفعول of the three letter verb has the structure of مفعول .

This was just an introduction to these types of words. Further in your study, in more complex Arabic study books and especially in courses of balagha, you can learn more about using such words in sentences in place of the normal verb to make more eloquent sentences. Additionally, in books of Arabic grammar you can learn about making the masdar, ism al faa’il , ism al maf’ool, etc of verbs whose original letters are more than three letters.

 

[Muhaba]

Dec. 31, 2010
Numbers
1. واحد
2.اثنين
3.ثلاثة
4.أربعة
5.خمسة
6.ستة
7.سبعة
8.ثمانية
9.تسعة
10.عشرة
11.إحدى عشرة
12.إثنة عشرة
13ثلاث عشرة .
14. أربع عشرة
15. خمس عشرة
…..
20.عشرون , عشرين
21.واحد و إشرون
22.إثنين و عشرون
…
30. ثلاثون , ثلاثين
31.واحد و ثلاثين
…
40.أربعون , أربعين
50. خمسون , خمسين
60.ستون , ستين
70.سبعون , سبعين
80.ثمانون , ثمانين
90.تسعون , تسعين
100.مائة
101.مائة و واحد
102.مائة و اثنين
110.مائة و عشر
120.مائة و عشرون
200.مئتان , مئتين
201. مائتين و واحد
210.ماتين و عشر
220.مائتين و عشرين
300.ثلاثة مائة
400.أربع مائة
1000ألف .
2000ألفين .
5000خمس آلاف .
10000عشر آلاف .

Practice tip: use numbers in sentences. Talk about age, what you plan to do in the next __ months / years, etc.

 

[Muhaba]

This is the end of the EZ Arabic Course. It is my hope that you have benefited from this course. This course is provided free of charge with the intention of making learning Arabic easier for the English speaker. For this reason, although this work is copyrighted, I give permission for the reproduction of this course for free distribution or non-profit purpose as long as any of the material remains unchanged.

I am hopeful that those who complete this course will find it easier to study books in Arabic. For further study, the following books are recommended:

Sharh Ibn Aqeel ala Alfiah Ibn Malik - شرح ابن عقيل على ألفية ابن مالك - This is a great book and a must-have for those who want to study Arabic seriously. I recommend getting it in Arabic after you have learned the language enough to be able to read and understand it. The book is very simple, although at the beginning you may think that it is a bit hard to understand. I have found the book to be much easier to understand than other grammar books. (The book is actually an explanation of poetry written by Ibn Malik. Ibn Malik wrote the grammar rules in verse and this book explains the grammar verse by verse. It is truly a great book.)

Itihaaf al-tarf fee ‘ilm as-sarf اتحاف الطرف في علم الصرف - for the study of sarf which is the study of changes that take place within a word depending on the position of the word in the sentence.

Fee al-duroos al-nahwiyoon -

 

[Muslim Woman]

O Allah , increase my patience & intellegnce so that I can learn Aarbic and can use it in dawah purpose , Ameen.

 

[Muhaba]

^ameen.

arabic is not a difficult course at all. soon i'll be restarting posting a revised version of the course on facebook. check this page for link. and remind me if i don't do it soon enough.