Arabic Grammar: A Reference Guide 9781474470452
This book is a reference grammar to support any modern Standard Arabic course. It is particularly useful for those stude
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Arabic Grammar A Revision Guide
Arabic Grammar A Revision Guide
John Mace
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS
©JohnMace, 1998 Edinburgh University Press 22 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LF Transferred to digital print 2007 Typeset by the author in Times, Baghdad and Giza, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Eastbourne Reprinted 2000, 2002,2004 A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN- I 0: 0 7486 I 079 0 ISBN- I 3: 978 0 7486 1079 2
v
Contents Paragraph Page
Chapter
xi
Preface 1. Introduction References Abbreviations and Symbols Transliteration Pointing hamza Measures C;IJ.J~I) Presentation of Verbs Full and Short Pronunciation Verbs with Mixed Radicals Presentation of Nouns and Adjectives
2.
II I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 I7 I8 I9 20 2I
5 5 5 5 7 7 8 9 9 13 I5
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
17 17 I7 18 18 I9 19 21
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
26 26 26 27 27 28 28 30 30
Pronunciation General Consonants Velarised Consonants Double Consonants; Assimilation Vowels; Diphthongs; Nunation (1)-'_~:JI) Velarised Vowels a and a hamzat al-qa( and hamzat al-wa$1 Stress Full, Pause and Short Pronunciation
4.
2 2 2 3 4
Writing General Toothed Letters; Special Forms Variants Orthographic Signs; Pointing Pointing of the Definite Article Weak Letters; Vowels; Diphthongs Prefixed Words Double Letters hamza Handwriting Arabic Transliteration
3.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 IO
22
Verbs - General Roots Classes Government Principal Parts Agreement Voice Table I, Verbal Forms: Derivation and Use Mood Table 2: Perfect (Indicative) Tense, Conjugation
vi
5.
6.
Arabic Grammar
Perfect (Indicative) Tense: Use Table 3, Imperfect (Indicative) Tense: Conjugation Imperfect (Indicative) Tense: Use (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: Conjugation (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: Use (Imperfect) Jussive Tense: Conjugation (Imperfect) Jussive Tense: Use Continuous Perfect Tense Pluperfect Tense Future Perfect Tense Imperative Mood Participles (J.JAll,l ~~.J ~WI ~I): Derivation Participles: Use Verbal Noun (.;~1): Derivation Verbal Nouns: Use Table 4, Passive Voice: Derivation and Use Sound Verbs General Table 5: Active Voice Table 6: Passive Voice Perfect (Indicative) Tense Imperfect (Indicative) Tense (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense (Imperfect) Jussive Tense Imperative Mood Participles Verbal Nouns Hamzated Verbs General Table 7: Verbs with Initial-radical hamza, Active Voice Table 8: Verbs with Initial-radical hamza, Passive Voice Verbs with Initial-radical hamza: Tenses Verbs with Initial-radical hamza: Imperative Verbs with Initial-radical hamza: Participles Verbs with Initial-radical hamza: Verbal Nouns Table 9: Verbs with Middle-radical hamza, Active Voice Table 10: Verbs with Middle-radical hamza, Passive Voice Verbs with Middle-radical hamza: Tenses Verbs with Middle-radical hamza: Imperative Verbs with Middle-radical hamza: Participles Verbs with Middle-radical hamza: Verbal Nouns Table 11: Verbs with Final-radical hamza, Active Voice Table 12: Verbs with Final-radical hamza, Passive Voice Verbs with Final-radical hamza: Tenses Verbs with Final-radical hamza: Imperative Verbs with Final-radical hamza: Participles
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55
31 31 32 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 35 36 37 38 38 39
56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65
41 41 42 43 43 44 44 44 45 45
66 67 68 69 70 71
47 47 48 48 50 50 50 50 51 51 53 53 53 53 54 55 56 56
72
73 74 75 76 77 78
79 80 81 82 83
Contents
Verbs with Final-radical hamza: Verbal Nouns Doubled Verbs General Table 13: Active Voice Table 14: Passive Voice Tenses Imperative Participles Verbal Nouns 8. Assimilated Verbs General Table 15: Verbs with Initial-radical waw, Active Voice Table 16: Verbs with Initial-radical ya', Active Voice Table 17: Verbs with Initial-radical waw and ya', Passive Voice Tenses Imperative Participles Verbal Nouns 9. Hollow Verbs General Table 18: Active Voice Table 19: Passive Voice Tenses Imperative Participles Verbal Nouns 1 0. Defective Verbs General Table 20: Active Voice Table 21: Passive Voice Table 22: Perfect (Indicative) Tense, Active Voice Perfect Tense, Passive Voice Table 23: Imperfect (Indicative) Tense, Active Voice Imperfect (Indicative) Tense, Passive Voice (lmpetfect) Subjunctive Tense (Imperfect) Jussive Tense Imperative Table 24: Participles Verbal Nouns 11. Doubly Weak Verbs General Table 25: Active Voice Table 26: Passive Voice Tenses Perfect (Indicative) Tense
vii
84
56
85 86 87 88 89 90 91
58 58 59 60 62 62 63
92
93 94
65 65 66
95 96 97 98 99
67 68 69 70 70
100 101 102 103 104 105 106
72 72
107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
8I
92
119 120 121 122 123
94 94 96 97 98
7.
74 75 79 79 80
81 82 83 86 86 89 89 90 90 91
Arabic Grammar
viii
Imperfect (Indicative) Tense (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense (Imperfect) Jussive Tense Imperative Participles Verbal Nouns
124 125 126 127 128 129
99 101 101 102 102 103
130 131 132 133 134 135 136
104 105 105 106 106 107 107
137
108
138 139
110 112
140
113
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164
114 117 118 120 122 123 124 128 130 131 132 132 135 136 138 138 139 140 140 141 142 142 143 143
12. Nouns and Adjectives Gender of Nouns Case Definition Number Animate and Inanimate Relative Adjectives (~I) Abstract Nouns Table 27, Regular Nouns and Adjectives: Indefinite Singular and Broken Plural Table 28, Regular Nouns and Adjectives: Definite Singular and Broken Plural Definite Article Table 29: Dual of Nouns and Adjectives, Indefinite and Definite Table 30: Sound Plurals of Nouns and Adjectives, Indefinite and Definite Agreement of Adjectives Broken Plurals of Nouns and Adjectives Table 31: Diptotes Indeclinable Nouns and Adjectives Table 32: Demonstrative Adjectives Table 33: Possessive Adjective Suffixes Construct (li~~l) Collective nouns Negation of nouns and Adjectives Quasi-, SemiAll, Some, Same, Other, Both, Any Comparative Degree of Adjectives Superlative Degree of Adjectives First, Last, Other Better and Worse Nouns of Place, Activity, Instrument Diminutive Nouns and Adjectives 'ab etc. Table 34: dhii etc. Adjectives of Colour and Defect Anomalous Plurals Improper Annexation (~I ..r.&- li~~l) Apposition
Contents
ix
13. Pronouns Table 35: Subject Pronouns Table 36: Direct Object Pronoun Suffixes Table 37: Independent Direct Object Pronouns Table 38: Relative Pronouns Interrogative Pronouns Relative Interrogative Indefinite Pronouns
165 166 167 168 169 170 171
145 146 148 148 151 153 153
172 173 174
155 156 157
175 176 177 178
158 159 159 160
179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189
161 161 162 162 163 164 165 167 167 168 168
190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205
170 172 173 173 174 176 177 178 180 180 181 181 182 182 183 183
14. Prepositions General Prepositional Object Pronoun Suffixes To Have
15. Adverbs Derivation Negation Interrogative Adverbs Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Adverbs
16. Syntax General Equations Statements Nominal Sentences Verbal Sentences Direct Questions Indirect Speech: Statement Indirect Speech: Questions Indirect Speech: Command and Request Conjunction and Particle fa Complemented Verbs Expressions of Purpose, Potential, Obligation, Uncertainty etc. Verbs used as Auxiliaries Participial Verb Simultaneous Verbs Conditional Sentences Concessive Sentences Expressions of Circumstance (Jl:L.I) Clauses of Time Clauses of Reason Topic and Comment (~_.JI ~~~ 41) Categorical Negation (~I~) Exceptive Sentences (~f): Only Expressions with the Verbal Noun Expressions with Indefinite Nouns Absolute Object (Jllz.ll J_,a.UI) Table 39: Uses of the Accusative
X
Arabic Grammar
Table 40: Uses of ma Table 41: Alternative Structures
17. Numbers Numerals Cardinal Numbers- General Table 42: Cardinal Numbers 0 to 10 Table 43: Cardinal Numbers 11 to 19 Table 44: Cardinal Numbers 20 to 99 Table 45: Cardinal Numbers above 99 Colloquial Pronunciation of Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers - General Ordinal Numbers 1st to 1Oth Ordinal Numbers 11th to 19th Ordinal Numbers above 19th Adverbial Ordinals Alphabetical Numbering ( -U:s./~1) Fractions Percentage Nil Time: Complete Hours Time: Incomplete Hours The Year Months and Days Age 18 . Wishes and Exclamations Wishes Exclamations Arabic Index Grammatical Index Glossary of Grammatical Terms
206 207
185 185
208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228
189 189 190 191 192 193 194 196 196 197 198 199 199 199 200 200 200 201 202 202 203
229 230
204 204 207 209 215
XI
Preface The purpose of this grammar book is to act as support for any course of modern written Arabic, and to help students of the language at any point in their studies. With this object in view, each chapter makes the fewest possible assumptions about the student's knowledge. The book does not claim to examine every point in the language, merely to cover the most practical ones. With brevity in mind, no hard line has been drawn between morphology and syntax; wherever it is convenient to treat matters of syntax in the discussion of the most relevant part of speech, this has been done. The terminology has been chosen for maximum intelligibility and familiarity; terms of art used only by phoneticians or grammarians are avoided. Similarly, wherever a point can be clearly described in European fashion or by comparison with grammar nearer home, this has unhesitatingly been done. The commoner Arabic terms (e.g. ~lo:.!) are given in parallel with the English equivalent, but there is no deliberate quest for the exotic. There is a glossary explaining those grammatical terms not fully explored in the text. In this book the Arabic script is pointed, to show pronunciation and to illustrate the working of the rules. The student should, however, never forget that in the outside world pointed text is hardly ever encountered. The Arabic used in the book is not 'literary' in the sense of belles-lettres; rather it is drawn from professional practice; from the office, the public institute, the departmental meeting, the worksite and so on. Nothing of solely academic or historic interest is included. Where useful, transliteration is used, showing both the full formal pronunciation and the corresponding short pronunciation more commonly used in professional life. In the same spirit, the spoken form of the numbers, preferred by almost all Arabs, is offered together with the more complex official system (which many people use wrongly anyway). The indexes supplement the references found in the text, and should, like them, be used fully in the search for the tight form or structure. I take this opportunity to express my great thanks to Viviane Kafrouni for her valuable help in checking the text, and to Marilyn Moore for her tireless support in proof-reading. Any remaining errors are my responsibility.
1. Introduction 1 . References. Numbers in references indicate paragraphs unless shown otherwise. 2.
Abbreviations
and Symbols. The following abbreviations and
symbols are used in the text and tables: ace.
accusative
nom.
nominative
act.
active
obj.
object
adj.
adjective
part.
participle
adv.
adverb
pass.
passive
an.
animate
pers.
person(al)
de f.
definite
prep.
preposition(a!)
dir.
direct
pl.
plural
f., fern.
feminine
quadriliteral
gen.
genitive
Q s., sing.
singular
inan.
inanimate
tr.
transitive
indef.
indefinite
vb.
verb(al)
indir.
indirect
I ... X
Form I ... X of verb
intr.
intransitive
+
and
m., masc.
masculine
/,
\
or
3 . Transliteration. The transliteration of Arabic script used here is based on that of the Encyclopedia of Islam, with certain modifications to assist study. The transliteration in this book follows the pronunciation and not the spelling, e.g.:
-··
Q:.UI ad-dunya (not al-dunya) the world t' ..... ~.r
4.
'arabiyatun (not' arabiyyatun) Arab, Arabian, Arabic
Pointing. Arabic in daily use is not pointed (i.e. marked with short vowels
and other pronunciation guides, see 14); in Arabic language course books it is nowadays only partially pointed. To help reference and revision, the te:t is fully pointed in this book, except that the definite article (JI) is pointed with ... (wa~la) or with : .. (fatl)a) only in passages where the article or the pointing is explained (14, 15, 28 and 139); otherwise the article is left unpointed. 5.
hamza. In this book, ~ indicates hamzat al-qat'. No hamza is written for
hamzat al-wa~l. See 19.
Arabic Grammar
2
6.
(~Q:;~I).
Measures
The structure of words based on a root is represented
in this book, as is usual, with 'measures' or patterns of the model root
Ja.i .
Thus the word ~ is constructed on the measure ~ and ~ll'.o on the measure ~ ll'.o.
7.
'
Presentation of Verbs. Verbs are presented as follows:
'Principal parts' (see 34): • lst principal part: 3rd person masculine singular, perfect tense, full pronunciation (see 30). • 2nd principal part: 3rd person masculine singular, imperfect indicative tense, full pronunciation. Following usual practice, principal parts are translated in this book as English infinitives. Forms I to X are indicated with the appropriate Roman letter.
Thus~ ~ I (either principal part, or both together) is translated as 'to write', the verb being in Form I. Verbs with a prepositional object (see 33) are often quoted with the preposition, thus:
y
~~
IV to inform of
Tenses: -Singular
.~.~.!.. P.~E~.: .. ~.~::!.f:
-...\9........-.~--~-····
Dual
Plural
!-··--··-·····-·--~-~-···~-
.....(~~L················-·········
(both of you)
(you)
2nd pers. m.
(you)
2nd 12ers. f. 3rd pers. m.
jyQU )··~-·-~·····-··~··~ ~-('?2.!.~.9.LY.5?_~_ .J.Y..2~2..~·---~ (he/it) (they**) (both of them*)
3rd pers. f.
(she/it/they***)
(both of them*)
(they**)
* animate and inanimate; ** animate plural; *** inanimate plural. (134) Imperative: masculine singular, affirmative. Participles: indefinite masculine singular, nominative case. Verbal Noun: indefinite singular, nominative case. All reference to verbs implies triliteral, active voice, unless otherwise specified.
8.
Full and Short Pronunciation. See 30. Certain syllables, words and
expressions are transliterated in this book, for clarity. Transliteration in Roman type represents the short pronunciation. Endings in italic are those added in full pronunciation. Where possible, both forms of pronunciation are shown in one
1 - Introduction
3
mixed transliteration:
.~.:Jl:..J ~ yaktubu risalatayni. i.e. full: yaktubu risiilatayni; short: yak:tub risalatayn. Where one transliteration cannot accommodate both, each appears separately:
.~l:.._)l ~ yaktubu r-risiilataynilyaktub ar-risalatayn. (full/short) Where full and short forms are identical, no italics appear:
.l4.:J l:..J ; -.;-:.?
katabat risalataha.
Pausal form is not shown in the fully pointed text, but is easily inferred.
9.
Verbs with Mixed Radicals. Verb roots with radicals of mixed kinds
are found in the following verb chapters: Radical Pattern Middle
Initial
Final
Typical
Verb
Root
Chapter
Two sound radicals, one weak radical: weak
sound
sound
weak
sound
sound*
sound
weak
sound -~--·--
sound
sound
weak
8, Assimilated
~-'
·-- ----~
..
7, Doubled
~..,
I.J~
9, Hollow
c,/'J
10, Defective
--·
Two sound radicals, one radical hamza:
-..~~....,l.~!-~~.~~-~~~~·~·~·---~~ ~-hamza
sound
sound
hamza
:.,.,i
6, Hamzated
JL
6, Hamzated
sound*
1-----+--·-
-·-·
sound
..
t----"'""""1-··-~--~·-·--+-··---···· ~
sound
sound
i;
hamza
-~-..~
.....·-·~---6, Hamzated
One sound radical two weak radicals: sound
weak
weak
'-!_;;
11, Doubly Weak
-~··-4--~-+-~·--·-~----+-----~
weak
sound
weak
J_,
11, Doubly Weak
Three different radicals (one sound one hamza one weak): hamza
weak
sound
·-----
,_,.,
~j 9, Hollow .......-...... ......
·-·~-~---~
~ea~ .l.~~:::~ -~?un~..--~~~ .... :.:.:.:~si~-~ated
... .... hamza
l
sound
--•• : y ~
_.r.> I IV to be informed of; imperfect passive tense: ...
...
'
, .... "'
_.r.>l , .... ,.
~
-· ,
VJ~ , ..... , ~ J ....
J
~
...... ,
~
r-· , r-· , .)~ . r-·. , r-· , .)~ .)~
_u~
...
, .... ,
.J.J~ ........
J
.)~
..
J ....
J
.J.J~
........ , .)~
61. (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense. See 43. Examples: imperfect ~'JJ I, you go, subjunctive ~'JJ -'
'
imperfect ~~~ I, they go, subjunctive ~~~
62. (Imperfect) Jussive Tense. See 45. Examples: subjunctive ~ V you speak, jussive ~ subjunctive and jussive ~ V you speak Form IX has two jussive tenses, derived as for doubled verbs, see 88: subjunctive
:r.:2!
IX ittums yellow, jussive ~-)'
a!\:r .:2!
The jussive resembling the subjunctive is much commoner.
6 3. Imperative Mood. See 50. In the sound class, the affirmative imperative has no prefix in Forms II, III, V and VI:
45
5- Sound Verbs
jussive ~ II you break,
";.;s break, ~ 'i '
do not break
'
Forms I, IV and VII to X have the appropriate prefix in the affirmative: jussive
1;;:.J
1;.).1 drink, 1;;:.J 'i
I, you drink,
jussive (;~ I, you beat, (;~1 beat, (;~ ,.,
...
do not drink
'i
do not beat
"'1
...
, ...
jussive 1_,.,...,..41 IV you (go on) strike, 1_,.,~ I strike, 1_,.,...,..41 '¥ do not strike jussive ~ VII you withdraw,
~I withdraw, ~
'
'
'
'i
do not withdraw
'
Form IX imperative is derived from each jussive form, with the appropriate prefix ... I. The fmm resembling the subjunctive is much commoner:
. .. ' ....... ...
jussive J~\~ IX you blush,
J,~l\~1
~~ 'i\ ~ 'i
blush,
do not blush
64. Participles. See 51 and 52 for derivation and uses, and 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension. Many masculine active participles of Form I sound verbs, when used as animate nouns, have a broken plural: J
~:,..-...
~
...
......
;_;:;5 I, to write,
,
...
~l! clerk, pl.
,
,,
yW'
~ ~ I, to seek, ~Ll, student, pl.
y)U,
A much smaller number of masculine active and passive participles of Form I of sound verbs used as inanimate nouns also have a broken plural:
~~
I, to do:
'
J..G:.
factor, pl. *
J..[,J:.
'
'
' ~~- ' " • ' ~t-''. ' 1;;-' ~ ;_;:;5 I, to write: y~ letter, pl.* ~UI..4
* Diptote: see 144. But most other participles have a sound plural:
~ ~1, to write: active
i;JtS" '
clerk (f.), pl.
==.,ylS" '
u .;AJ.. u .;&- I, to know: passive J .J.,.... famous, pl. 4J_,J.J.,.... J •
• .......... .,.
~........
....
~~
Jo,..
rJ
~
,
II to inspect: active
'
...
... ,
~
,_
...
inspector, pl.
'
Jo,..
~
J
... J
4J~ '
).~ j.lhl VI to demonstrate (politically): '
11.''
'
'
11.''
active _,}IU:Z.:.o demonstrator, pl. 4J.J..}IU:Z.:.o '
'
6 5. Verbal Nouns. Form I and IQ verbal nouns are irregular; see 37 and 53. The verbal nouns of Forms II to X have the measures: IIQ
46
Arabic Grammar IV
.
~WI
VII ~w;l
~~~:.~
~
VI
~ili
~~~
IX
J')i..,JI
v VIII X
~W...:..I
See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension. Most verbal nouns of sound verbs have a sound plural. A few have a broken plural, either instead or in addition:
~ ~ I, to know: ~knowledge, science, pl.~.# J.
~
... J. ... '
...
J-.it J..a.i
.J
....
II to set forth in detail: ~ detail, pl.
* Diptote, see 144.
* ~ili\~~ '
'
47
6. Hamzated Verbs 6 6. General. Hamzated verbs (see 32) are verbs with ,. as one radical and two sound radicals. With few exceptions, they conjugate like sound verbs, if we substitute ,. for one of the sound radicals. See 19 for the writing of ,. . The hamzated class has no verbs in Form IX; further, there are no verbs with initial- or middle-radical ,. in Form VII. Roots with initial-radical ,. and identical sound middle and final radicals are also most conveniently included here. Roots with a mixture of ,. , one sound and one weak radical are examined in other verb chapters, see 9.
6 7. Table 7: Verbs with Initial-radical ,. , Active Voice. Examples of verbs with initial-radical ,. , in the active voice: Form Root Principal Parts Imperative
Participle
Vb. Noun
I j..oi
to ... hope
*~I
capture
*~I
be safe eat
II
..IS"i
confirm nationalise consult believe be sure be established
VI
UJj
VIII
.l>i (i)
be compatible
* ~ *~~
take deliberate
* .)' L...:.,-I
•c~~-.:-1 .
.)
deliberate rent
48
Arabic Grammar
Note: Only the forms marked * differ from those of the sound verbs, if we substitute .. for the sound initial radicaL In particular: • For the imperative of Form I, see 70 below. • Form VIII has three patterns: - pattern (i) applies only to the root
.l>i .
- patterns (ii) (regular) and (iii) apply to all roots except
.l>i.
The perfect measure beginning ··-!I is used only to begin the sentence. See 37 for Forms I to X.
68. Table 8: Verbs with Initial-radical .. , Passive Voice. Examples of verbs with initial-radical .. , in the passive voice (not all increased forms-are found): Form, Root, Principal Parts
Participle
to be ... captured confirmed
II
.l>i
III
blamed '
... J.
u-o..i-! *
.,;i .l>i
v VIII
...
"'
believed
V'".J I
emulated
•.- ., '• ''I
*~*~
taken rented
X
Note: • Only the forms marked * differ from those of the sound verbs, if we substitute .. for the initial sound radical.
"'
• The theoretical initial combination 'u'- becomes ···.J I 'u- (Forms III, IV). • The only common passive of Form VIII is
•.- $, '•
''I , see 67 above.
~~
The diagram showing the vowels of the passive of sound verbs (58) is valid also for initial-radical .. verbs. See 37 for Forms I to X. See 36 and 55 for the passive
6 9. Verbs with Initial-radical .. : Tenses. Stems are formed on the sound pattern (59 and 60). Prefixes and personal endings are shown in 39, 41, 43 and 45. Examples of tenses:
6- Hamzated Verbs
Perfect tense:
. ,,,.. ......
~
~
Root J'" I ; J'" ~ J'" I I, to order; perfect active tense: J.
....
-1.
w-;.1
..::.tr I ... ... ...;. ..::.tr I .......... ..::.tr I
. . 0:,:01
G~l .-.
;J~I ~;.1
...........
c;j
IJ;i
.
.-.
rl
~;.i G;.l ~;i .•I ; •.Root ..\i. ..\i. ~1~•-...\i.J ", III to be blamed; perfect passive tense:
-~:.t>)
u.i>)
~~) ..::,~)
d~) d~)
''4
'4
1;.J I
11;.J I
~~)
li~)
;.;:i>) ~:1;.) •'"
IJ.l>J I
~~)
Imperfect (Indicative) tense: ~
Jll\,.. ...... "1
J
Root J!l; JS'~
JS'I
I, to eat; impetfect active tense:
JS1
J,?'u
J.S''G
4J'jk'G
~JS''~
~'G
4J'jk'G
JS'G
~..~
_4J'jk'~
~)S"'~
4J'jk'G ;)5'~ ...Tfor ( ji) in the 1st person si~gular. See 19 .
J,?'G
Root .l>l• ; ·-~·.1>1~ .l>J 4I III to be blamed; impetfect passive tense:
' ··..\i. ~41 lj
··-..\i.jJ r.
-V!..\i.jJ .- r• ··-..\i.'r.'>!. ··-..\i.jJ r.
•...\i. ~,_y•
C' ~ • 4J..\i.jJ
-4JJ..\i. ··- rjJ•
c- r•
·(~(/ '>!.
-··4J..\i. r. jJ -4JJ..\i. ··- r~•
4J..\i.jJ
.I). Ji.r;' '>!.
4J..\i.jJ I)
c-r.
(Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: J
-~......
...
9. .....
imperfect .irlii V we are sure, subjunctive ~ lii
49
Arabic Grammar
50
, •, ( •
I •.- ( •
imperfect ~u.l>1j.t III they are blamed, subjunctive 'JJ>1j.t (Imperfect) Jussive Tense: "•'
··''...
,,..
subjunctive J>lt I, he takes, jussive J>lt 7 0. Verbs with Initial-radical
~:
imperative of Form I, initial-radical
~
Imperative. See 50. In the affirmative is dropped; two patterns exist:
• In three important roots the initial radical and its syllable are dropped: ~., "•' ~., Roots .l>l , .l;. I, take; JS'I , I, eat; _,..1 , _,.. I, order
J!
• In other roots the first syllable is either .. ) or .. ~I as appropriate: ~
•
..
J!
~
All else is derived regularly:
.,,,..
•
Root.,....l, ..1'""'!1 I, capture
RootJ.ol, J...JI I, hope;
'
'
.,,,.. 'J do not take, ...
jussive .l>lJ I, you take, .l>lJ
I f''' I f''' ' jussive l_y..o lJ I, you hope, l_y..o lJ 'J do not hope
jussive ~~ VIII you take, ~j;J1 take, ~~ ~ do not take
71 . Verbs with Initial-radical
j.S\ JSl I, to eat, active Jsi ,_,,..,,..,~
~:
eating, passive ;J)''t. eaten
~_,
...
,
.;->j.t .;>I II to delay, active .;->.,;... '
Participles. See 51:
~,
...
,
delaying, passive.;>.,;... delayed
'
The plurals are sound. See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension. 72. Verbs with Initial-radical .. : Verbal Nouns. Verbal nouns of all initial-radical .. verbs except those of the pattern of ~I VIII (see 67 above) are constructed on the sound pattern (65). Most have a sound plural; some (especially in Form I) have a broken plural. The verbal nouns have only one pattern in each of Forms II and III, i.e. ,,,,.. ...... -1-
_,.. lt _,..1 I, to order:
J_;;7 and ll&.U:.. respectively:
,,-."C.
,
~
~
Jl"
_,..1 order/affair, pl. * _,.. GI orders, .;_,..I affairs
'.~ ..... ,"'1
rJ
,,..
.u j.t JS'I II to confirm: i.$lJ confirmation '
:.,.~:;.T III to consult:
'
i:;.r;:. consultation
See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension.
* Diptote, see 144 7 3. Table 9: Verbs with
Middle-radical~,
verbs with middle-radical .. , in the active voice:
Active Voice. Examples of
6- Hamzated Verbs
Form Root Principal Parts Imperative Participle
51
Vb. Noun
JL
I
~
..
..,..J.t
~-~·-;-,~
..,.. ~
. '
~
mJL • • -1.
• I
IV it..,
~
...
be miserable ·-··-~~···-
be brave
~~
appoint
il: C:..:.
question
~~"I
f-
to ...
i"""':
weary
JJlli
be optimistic
~ G.:ll
be convened
i ' '
· Ji?l
ask for mercy
Note: Verbal nouns of Forms II and III have only one possible measure each, and one verb
(~ft. ~
Jl:. I) has an alternative jussive and imperative (the latter
marked*); see 75 and 76 below. Otherwise the verbs are of the sound pattern. See 37 for Forms I to X. 7 4. Table 10: Verbs with Middle-radical .. , Passive Voice. No common verbs with middle-radical .. exist in Forms IV to X in the passive. Examples of verbs with middle-radical .. , in the passive voice: Form, Root, Principal Parts I
JL
8t~~
Participle
J~ •. '\J~_;-. •. '
to be ... asked
'
II
..,..i.;
~ , . . ' .. ..,.. .;!.
-t
~.)
~ li.,. ..,..I.,..
appointed as head
'
III
JL
l~~· - ~
J:C:..:.
questioned
The diagram showing the vowels of the passive of sound verbs (58) is valid also for middle-radical .. verbs, except that no common middle-radical .. verbs have four syllables + personal ending. See 37 for Forms I to III. See 36 and 55 for the passive. 7 5. Verbs with Middle-radical .. : Tenses. The perfect stem and tense
52
Arabic Grammar
follow the sound pattern, see 39 and 59. The imperfect stem and tenses follow the sound pattern, see 41, 43, 45 and 60, except for the alternative jussive and imperative ofJ't., ~Jl:~ I (shown below). Examples: Perfect tense: Root Ji.;
; l ~ J: ili VI to be optimistic; perfect active tense: •'\' \.iJ~
~
,
lP~... , ...
,,~
...As
~:ili
~:ili
~ili
'.
~'Y
,-,::.
~'-W
~: ili
1}. ili
GJ:ili
J.ili
,,
Root IJ"' IJ; IJ"' l_r. ~J II to be appointed head; perfect passive tense:
, . -·
~J
·~
~.)
.
' .,,. ... ~.)
. -·. '
~.) '
.
. ... -· ,,.
~,.)
.
~J
.)
"/
...
~ ' G:.J'·~
~.)
,.,,
...
~.)
~.)
-·
~.) ~
1J
~.)
....
'
~
4,)--J.)
'
Imperfect (Indicative) Tense: Root i ~ ; ;~:1~
rl:l}
VIII to be convened; imperfect active tense:
~~ ~ ~:17
~ l)w:lr l)w:lr
' , .:1'
~
!)~
, .:t~
.
~
,t1.• ' ...J::...
Root J L... ; 1.1 l:....t
J.
~J··:-:.17 ~·•.:17
,
' ••:1' ~ ...
...
I, to be asked; imperfect passive tense:
-Jt. .i Jt..s ~~u
5t.~ J~w
tu
;·/w
~Jw
... 1. ,
::lw
!)"JW' , 1-. ,
!)"il:....t ... 1.
J.
!)"JW'
-.;~ .., -
Jt~
53
6- Hamzated Verbs
(Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: imperfect ~): ~ VI you are optimistic, subjunctive
1): ~
J. .r I, to pass; perfect active tense:
61
7- Doubled Verbs
.
" •.::.J.;_r
11.;;.
.::.J.;_r
d~;.
.::.J.;_r
d~;.
.f.J/' ,.. ' ,. vJ.;/'
/'
(;
lJ/' ''
·-
'
,,
......
"..::.J';. G';. ~.;.r "' ....... , ... 1 Root J> ;~ J:> VIII to be occupied; perfect passive tense: :-ll~~
:-1 ,~:.1 '
~1,~:.1
~1
'
--
~1,~:.1
. ~1
~1
~1
1~1
:-1~:.1
,:1~:.1
~1
d.bl '
,:J,~~
'
-
Imperfect (Indicative) tense: "'
, , ... , ... , ...
Root .) ; .;_~ .;.) II to decide or to report; imperfect active tense:
'"' ...
"
,.,,..,
.;.)l
, , ... J.
.;_};
.;.);
~GP
VJ-})J
~GP
·-·
, , .-J
.)~
~)7
' , ... J
~J.;P " • "' .. J.
- r. ~· -~'.)~ '
~.).;;
..
'
, , .-J
~J.)~
~G)7 Root ~ ; ~ ~ l IV to be loved; imperfect passive tense: - '-"' ,_, ~~ ~ ..,
'
.... ,
-1.
·- ,
~
....... ,
i -, ~
'~ -,
.......
J
(Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: ''"'"
, ,
,
... .)~defined
~,
'
'
c::_~
,
...
to define, active .) ~defining, passive
•·-·
III to dispute, active and passive c::_~ disputing, disputed
~~ ~~ III to dispute, active~~ disputing, passive ~~ disputed ,--,,,..."1 ~ ~ .Mot ~I IV to prepare, active
~~-
;,::;
J...
.lAA
......
preparing, passive .lAA prepared
1.)~ VI to oppose ea;h other, active (no passive)
. -· . ' .)c.a:::.
opposing each other
'~.... ,~-~ ... . ........ VII to be solved, active (with passive meaning) ~being solved '~ ....... , .... .... , J.:>._l VIII to occupy, active and passive~ occupying, occupied ...
.
7- Doubled Verbs
..
'~ ..... , ......... ~-1 X to deserve, ""
,
... active~
63
deserving,
.........
,
passive~
deserved
The plurals of all these participles are sound. See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension. 91. Verbal Nouns. In the doubled verbs, the identical middle and final radicals fall together in the following verbal nouns:
·-
··---
• Form I, some examples: ~ ~ I, to doubt, ~ doubt (But Form I verbal nouns are irregular, some having middle and final radicals separated by a long vowel, e.g.:
~,i; J.) I, to indicate, iJY.) indication)
,
_____ _ VI (contracted), measure ~ili: • Form .)~
.
.)W:.J VI (contracted) to oppose each other, ' ' .)W:.J mutual opposition
In the following, the verbal noun has the sound pattern (see 65): • Forms II and V: ,~
....
,......
.)~ .)~II
.....
~
to define,
J.J_~
definition
,.).)~ , .,. . . . . "'.).)_} ,. . . . V to hesitate, #".) .)_} .... '
'
hesitation
• Forms III (contracted/uncontracted) and VI (uncontracted) :
'(~(~III , , ... (contracted) to dispute, ....
'''"''''
.).)~
.).)WzJ
"'
,,..
....
........
,.
(~\~~dispute
VI (uncontracted) to oppose each other, ,, ...... .).)WzJ mutual opposition
• Forms IV, VII, VIII and X: 1'~ ' •• - .-. c..r..r:'-!. .J"'# I
dj ~;;.,~! r'~';; '.....
VII to enrol in,
r.
insistence
~t:_'a:;
enrolment
....
........ ' .......
~
•
.J .J"'#!
"' . t""'..... ! VIII to care for, ~~! care
.... ....
~~ '
IV to insist on,
Jli...} X to be independent,
-'K.,•...
v)\i:;,...,l independence
Some doubled verbal nouns (especially in Forms I and II) have a broken plural or alternative plurals:
.,
....
, , , .....
, ,,
~ I, doubt, pl.~~; ~ I, limit, pl. .)J~
, "'.r..;;.... II report/decision, pl. *.r,..).AJ. . . * Diptote, see 144.
'
. r ·-
reports, ~ _r_); decisions '
Some verbal nouns of Forms I and II, and most verbal nouns of Forms III to X,
Arabic Grammar
64
have sound plurals, e.g.: '
'
~ I,
1!1' '
~
• ! vitI IV to ascertain, active !)i_,.o ascertaining, passive !)i_,.o ascertained 1"... , , ........ , ., , , ., . . , , ~ ~ ~I VIII to agree on/to, active JA:o.o agreeing, passive JA:o.o agreed .... "'!.
-
~·
-
.......
~·
- :&. •....
-
,_.
~~~X to awake: active (no passive) 5_"
J.
• awake
- plurals are-sound. See 137, 138, 140 and 141 -for declension. The
99. Verbal Nouns. Assimilated verbal nouns follow the sound pattern (65) except that: • in Form IV, the theoretical combination 'iw- becomes .. ..~I ..... (see 93): ,
, ... ... • "1
.,
...
~>! ~.J I IV to compel, y~! compulsion
-
-
• in Form VIII, initial-radical.J assimilates to the
~
of the increased form
(see 93):
y
J .•/-! j:.JI VIII to get in touch with, :!WI
contact
There are no initial-radical ..; verbs in Form VIII. The other assimilated verbal nouns follow the sound pattern, including the
8 -Assimilated Verbs
71
irregularity of Form I (see 65): ~
~
... "' ... ...
~ ~.J
I, to find:
'r'''(' J.i '.J-!. J.i'.J
, J.
~Y':.J
existence
·--('' conformity III to conform to: ·..;U.J ,u;,_,... ' The plurals of all these verbal nouns are sound. See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for '
declension.
72
9. Hollow Verbs 100. General. Hollow verbs (see 32) are the second sub-class of the weak verbs. They are those whose root has a weak letter, .J
or~,
as middle radical,
and two sound radicals. The weak middle radical can take different guises: • it can stabilise, i.e. assume its corresponding consonantal form .J or ~ ; • it can vocalise, i.e. assume vocalic form, either long or short; • between two vowels, it can appear as
~.
The effect of a consonantal or a vocalic ending in full pronunciation (see 85, doubled verbs) is felt in hollow verbs when the middle radical is vocalised (in Forms I, IV, VII, VIII and X): • the middle radical becomes a long vowel when the final radical is followed by a vocalic (personal or case) ending or before·(., • the middle radical becomes a short vowel when the final radical is followed by a consonantal ending or : ... Details are given in the notes following Table 18 below. The middle radical has its consonantal form in Forms II, III, V, VI and IX, whereupon the conjugation is sound. Roots with more than one weak radical are not hollow but doubly weak, see 119. Roots with initial-radical
~,
a weak middle radical and sound final radical are
regarded by some as doubly weak; they are treated here with hollow roots.
101. Table 18: Active Voice. Examples of middle-radical.J and middleradical ~ verbs, in the active voice: Form, Root, Principal Parts Imperative Participle
*J'.JAJ..{.- *Jll J_,j , , . . , t.. ... ,. ., ....,) *y.JJ.!\*y.J~ *yl
I
n~n•m••••••n•oo..-..onon..-.Y>nooo.-.ono
o,..on..-.n..-.~mv
* J;u
:f)
>OO . . T0000.-.0
sleep
~-~~~- f-·~·~·····~--~-~-~~
•
' ~
become
~~... • • ...
finance
~
distinguish
•~"b
support
.
......,.....~
·-----
'
'
J.Jbo
J.JG.:-
)~\(,~G.:-
converse
~G:.
~~\iJ:;G:.
abstain
~~...,...,. ...... """·"""""~·
~~
·:
'
r---~ r-~~--~
*•-::
""""'"""'""".....,.~
III
*Jl
*'i G. *-i l3
j.Y
II
....
Verbal Noun
~b.
'
..............,
9- Hollow Verbs
73
organise
IV i_,j
--m~~----~
.
.-. *..UI
need
• •
*~
benefit
v .)..,-
imagine
',. .,...,. . '.,.."' .r-A:4. ~
~
change •'
VI~~
I'~
cooperate
~.JW
increase
. ' .I
*~
VII j_p
*~I
, r:• ,
*r~
, .... ,
.)
'·WI -
be secluded
[~1
need
be paired
j~l be distinguished IX
:~_,....,
...~·-·1
r·~~-~-,~:-.~:~
~
~~ white rest
benefit from See 37 for Forms I to X. In the active voice the vocalised weak middle radical takes the following forms: middle .J
middle..;
Form I
Form I
Forms IV+ X
Forms VII + VIII
perfect
~ .. \ r...
... \L
:.. \L
:.. \L
imperfect+ imperative
•
···'+·· '
:.. \ L.
+··
L.
r...
~-··
•
... '.J···
.
... '-!···
'
participle
..J •••
verbal noun
(irregular)
. '
..J •••
middle .J and ..;
'
Arabic Grammar
74
The forms marked
* in Table
18 above differ from the sound pattern, mainly
because of the vocalisation of the middle radical. Note: o
In a small but important group of anomalous middle-radical.J verbs (e.g.
L
root i _,; above) the middle radical becomes in Form I ... \ and : .. \ o
L
in the imperfect and imperative.
in the perfect
'
In Forms IV, VII, VIII and X, middle-radical.J and
middle-radical~
verbs conjugate identically. o
In Forms IV, VIII and X, a few anomalous middle-radical.J verbs have the sound measure, with a stable (i.e. consonantal) middle radical.
10 2. Table 19: Passive Voice. Examples of hollow verbs in the passive voice (not all increased forms are found)· Form, Root, Principal Parts I
..,..,..,
J~ '
*• ' ~
sold
.)~
depicted
J''
Jy.#
VI
,. '"·' ... "''· J.
1
~-
~·..u U! • '
J.JJ>
:r~
J_,>
.J
J
-
J
-~
J
'
~
V! ."
I)J..Y.
:,.J.)
*:.~ *~.)
J r'
'
,
4
... ,.
driven
changed
~_;...
supported
:t,G.:..
attempted
V!.
• -L::.
opposed
* 'r' :,~
wanted
*~Lt.
benefited
:.__,.&.
*·:.~ ;
C.o) ~~ .~li. I, to fear; perfect active tense:
:-l;.
8;.
...
~
-, ~
~
~
~li.
Gli.
l)li-
::Jli.
8li.
~
.
-
~ ,,.
~
Important verbs also conjugated so:
, "'"'
... ,
• root i..,; , i~
ili I, to sleep
• root ~_j\J.,j, J~
Ju I, to cease (see 189)
Anomalous verb~ I, not to be; see 189. Its full personal endings are always pronounced, even in short pronunciation. Perfect active tense:
w
u
~ ~
~ ; .... ..:Ml ,
u u
.:;:J
Q
I~
t:' ")
~
~
J. .........
Root -4-i; ~ .)U I IV to benefit; perfect active tense: ~
.
,.....;.
..:,.UI .,
....
~
,
Lr~i
~
..:,.UI
Cf~l
~:ill
Q~l
-,)c;j
r,)c;i
:.::/.)Gi
li,)Gi
, ., ,, ... Root iJ~; iJ.Y'-! iJ;!
.
~
.fJ.j,.
~~
'vJ.U ...... ""i l_,',)c;j "' ....... iJ.UI
~~
II to constitute; perfect active tense:
,..::..;.§ ,..::..;.§ ..::..;.§
,
-~ .J
~)"
Wj§ Wj§ tt_,s-
~§
'U:l.l·~'..;! 1})"
9- Hollow Verbs
77
Imperfect !.' . (.J.J. (. ., ' iJ J.J_jj (. ' iJ J.J_jj
1.)
J.J_j.i ,
,
.,.,. J
iJ.JJ.J.J1 ,
.... .,,. , i)J.J.Jj ,
J
.,.,. ,
iJ.JJ.J.J.! ,
.,
' "I.)!,Y.. . J.J. ,
Perfect Tense. Passive:
' ('',
Root J.Jj; J'~..r...) I, to be visited; perfect passive tense:
78
..
Arabic Grammar
..:;.,Jj ,
..:;.,Jj
d~j
..:;.,Jj
d~j
.
~...)
...:;.,..r.J..r.J
, .... ,. . . '1 . 1 ..:;.,_;;> ...:;.,_;;> .. 1
.,,
G'"..r...),
Root~ ; J~ ~ VIII to be selected; perfect passive tense: ~
~ ~
u_,:i.1 , . ,. '1
,
d'~1 ,
. '1 ..:;.,_;;>
d:,:;.1
,_r.:;>~ 1 ...:;.,._r.:;> . 1
W1
1 IJ_r.:;> ' ~1
u-~1 ,
~:,:;.1 ,
~
,
~~
-,y..;;> !• ~
Imperfect (Indicative) Tense. Passive: , (,, Root JJj ; J :.i! ..r.J I, to be visited; imperfect passive tense:
,
,
"
,
JUI
~Gi ,
('
Vo'.J 'j1
Root .lJ_j;
, -... , . ,,.
.lJ~.LJ_j
r~
Jjl
~GGi
,
,
, (, ~JJ ',ji
.:>GGS
~G~
'(.' J'J!
,
~Gi
~GGi
II to be increased; imperfect passive tense:
.... ,... , (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense: imperfect
,.
..
...
,.
-4li IV we benefit, subjunctive -4li , ,. .... , ....... ,.
imperfect J~ VIII it is selected, subjunctive J~ The anomalous
verb~~ ~lS' I, 'to be' has present meaning in the subjunctive:
, imperfect ~,N
~~
,
~~
I, we shall be, subjunctive ~,N we are
9- Hollow Verbs
79
(Imperfect) Jussive Tense: subjunctive
J.,iJ
I, she says, jussive
j.t
subjunctive and jussive ul.,iJ I, you say ........... , .......... subjunctive.;~ X he is consulted, jussive ~
--
,
The anomalous verb~):.:! ~lS' I, 'to be' has present meaning in the jussive:
·.
-
~~ I, we are, jussive ~ ~~ subjunctive ;;_y-.j
Form IX has two jussive tenses. Derive them as for doubled verbs, see 88: ... ... ... ~ ........ subjunctive :J~ IX it turns black, jussive :J:J.J-:! \ :J~
..
-....
104. Imperative. See 50: jussive:):.; I, you are, :)"be, :):.; ~ do not be
.
.
-
-
,.., _,.... "",., ... jussive ~ II you distinguish, .i-!-" distinguish,~~ do not distinguish ~
-
1;v_;::.,1... rest, 1;v~ ~ do not rest
jussive 1;v~ X you rest, ...
....
....
1 0 5. Participles. In Form I participles the sound measures (51) apply except for the middle radical: • in the active participle the middle radical is replaced by
:
A )1 I, to fly, active }U, flying In the passive participle the theoretical-combinations -wu- and--yu- (i.e .
J~ •
~
Jli
I, to say, active J;li saying;
•
the middle radical and its vowel) become ···.J··· and ··-!···respectively:
J~
Jli I,
to say, passive
J.,t.
said
~~ ':Jij I, to increase, passive~_;. increased
-
-
The participles of the increased forms are regularly derived as shown in 51:
•t·-·-1"IJ~ uJ-" J.
,
~
-
•t·-· financing, passive '"''' II to finance, active v_.,...t u_,...t financed
........
~
,
.... J.
:JU I IV to benefit, active~ beneficial, passive :Jll.. benefited
t.~ t.Q!
,1.
~
,.."'1
....
...
....
,
.... ,
VII to be sold, active t.~ being sold
Jj [.~(G.!
VIII to need, active and passive
(~ needing, needed
'~ ....... ' .... ' ... , ~-1 IX to turn white, active~ turning white ~.F (~!
X to rest,
active~-~·....:,
resting, passive
(C,.:".: rested
The plurals of all these participles are sound; see 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension.
Arabic Grammar
80
106. Verbal Nouns. The hollow verbal nouns follow the pattern of the sound verbal nouns (see 65) in Forms II, III and V to IX:
J~ J;.. II to finance, ' '
J ...
J.,..,:l financing '
,. ...... ,. ...... ""
~,
......
iJ.Jl:A::t iJ.JW VI to cooperate, iJ.JW cooperation
j~ jWI VII to be secluded,j~l seclusion j~ j~ I VIII to be distinguished, j~l distinction
'~ ........ ' .... .. . ~I IX to turn white, ~~~ turning white ...
In Forms IV and X the middle radical and i~ vowel become ... L
, and i is
added
after the final radical:
~_;. '.)GI IV to want, i'.)l~! wish '
Jf." ! Jr;:• ~I
'
X to resign, 1m: .1 resignation
The plurals of all these verbal nouns are sound. See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for declension.
81
10. Defective Verbs 107. General. Defective verbs (see 32) are the third sub-class of the weak
verbs. They are those whose root has a weak letter, .J or-! , as final radical, and two sound radicals. The weak final radical can take different guises: • it can stabilise, i.e. assume its corresponding consonantal form;
• it can vocalise, i.e. assume vocalic form:
,
or ... ,
- as the corresponding long or short vowel .J··· , ..; ... , ., - as ..;:.. or L,
- as : .. , combining with .J to form the diphthong ~:.. or with
-!
to
form the diphthong ~:.. ; • it can appear as
~
at the end of some verbal nouns;
• it can be dropped altogether, leaving nothing between the middle radical and the personal ending. Roots with more than one weak radical, or with a weak letter as final radical and ~
as another radical, or vice versa, are classed as doubly weak, see 119.
The defective sub-class has no Form IX. 1 0 8. Table 20: Active Voice. Examples of defective verbs, active voice: Particiole
Form, Root Princioal Parts Imoerat.
,
.
.:; .P.J .P..J! b.' /2 ~J \._,..4J y ;.:.:,-;. ~
Ill
/2
/3
~
'=""J
II
..Jo'J
III
.J~
p
v ~ VI
p
VII~
VIII
~~
. '="".;! I..S""J '
/4~
IV
.....
""'
-!.r!
Jl ,. '
.~
,,
._;.)lit .,
-·
..; oA
'
.,)c::
YJ
~;11\y;.
,)u
-!,)ltll\
..s',)u
-
'
JJJ-
u';.,ii_l
-~
~ L..JI\'.tlL:..
r:', .. '
r..s'J
~~ ~w
-·-
'="" ()I \r G
'"I
~-
~~ -~
.
i~_l
uA-'
..;~I
'G.:.:; ~
~(.,11\vPG ~_)1\~J ... • c...; U""' ~I\__,.. G 1.> - • -
~~-I ~-I
''
Verbal Noun to ...
~(.,11\..(G
(J
''
·-, (,?"'...;!
~
, .1
'
.
.kJ
~~\~ -'
'
.
-jE
expect approve
..'=""J .. ~
strive for
t-- ... ~J
educate
'
'
forget throw
~ r~\ir,)c:: call
=~I
give to
.
receive
:
~1\:;IJ ~~\~ -
~~~\~w Jw ~r:.:'ll\~~ ;. ;.
recover
~}
end
-· I _;:..!
~1\
-··
-~
-
.
,, , ..;;.:ul\ _;;.-!..o
-
:1-;,i:l '
:~1
buy
82
Arabic Grammar
.
•
~J.t. ~·~_I • ,. • .; .... ... 1
• ..
~~·~I
·..... I ~1\ ·.-·. ~
~,:·.:.I I
r~_~
~ us-~~' --
X
~:Lll~
'
_,&.~
-~-
.
-'
allege
' '
forgo
'
'
See 37 for Forms I to X. Note: The measures resemble those of the sound verbs only as far as the middle radical, sometimes the middle radical plus its vowel. Roots with
final-radical~$
are the most numerous. In particular, for the active voice: • Form I has four groups: - Group 1 has only final-radical J verbs; - Group 2 has roots with either final-radical J or l.j , sometimes both in the same root, all conjugating on the pattern of l.j ; - Groups 3 and 4 have only final-radical~$ verbs. • A small number of verbs has one root with final-radical J and another with final-radical~$ , Form I being conjugated in Group 1 or Group 3 as appropriate. The root with final-radical l.j is in each case the commoner. • The masc. sing. participle has different indefinite and definite forms. See 117 below for the declension. • In each of the increased forms, all the root patterns conjugate identically. See Tables 22 (para. 110) and 23 (para. 112) for the conjugation of the tenses. 109. Table 21: Passive Voice. Examples of defective verbs in the passive voice (not all increased forms are found): Form, Root, Principal Parts ...
I/1
.,
....
Participle
,
•
...
~J.t. ~~
_,&.~
•
'
_,&.J.A
. •~/' •~·•4/"/' ·. •~
•
'
'
12 ~J,~J Y~.ft ~J '
..
/2
t.r""'
~
/3
4/"J
""'.;!.
/4
~
II
y.;
III
J,lj
•
'
~
-·. 4/"J• '
Jl.~~ " .' .
·-. .. '
c,F.J
4f..ft.
J~~
'
•
i.S~~
--
'
J:).I\J;. -G.:\ • I\ • G .
i.S~
i.S~
to be ... summoned approved forgotten thrown striven for educated called
10- Defective Verbs
IV
p
v
~
VI
.JJ.j
J -;•' -u"-1 ." ~
~I\~
excused
-~:;ill
Jt:/11\)t:'.
received
-
--
-~' ·-_ -,
!.S~
.......
VIII
"
!.S~.YJ
J
- "1 '''1
!J~
!.S~ ~J_;:...!.
~
~~
...
X
83
........
J"'
--
J~l::'ll\.i~~
assembled
• -· ' ..s:,:::JI\\S_;;..!...
bought
~1\ ~ ··-·'
excepted
See 37 for Forms I to X. See 36 and 55 for the passive. Note: The measures resemble those of the sound verbs only as far as the middle radical, sometimes the middle radical plus its vowel. In particular, for the passive voice: • Throughout the table, the 1st principal part ends in~-·· and the 2nd
--
principal parts ends in I.S: ...
• In Form I, Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 all have the same measures for the principal parts. In addition, Groups 2, 3 and 4 all have the same measure for the participle. • In all the increased forms, final-radical .J verbs and final-radical !J verbs conjugate identically. In the increased forms, the masc. sing. participle has different indefinite and definite forms. See 117. • The 2nd principal part has the same pattern in both Forms I and IV. See 111 and 113 for the conjugation of the tenses.
110. Table 22: Perfect (Indicative) Tense, Active Voice. The personal endings of the perfect tense, active voice, of defective verbs are given below. The symbols (.J) and (!J) in the first column indicate the final radical of the root. See 7 for the arrangement of persons: Form, (!J \.J) I/1 (.J)
Singular
•
Dual
Plural
d'' .J··· d'' .J···
.f.J··· ,. , ,. ,;;.J···
·-
t.J.J: ..
..:.J.J···
,, ' ..:.J.J···
·-
..:.J.J··· r-~~---'"~-~
-~~~~-~~-~
L
c,:..
..:.J•••
lL
.-
...
...
~----~-----~~-~·-
~:..
-·-
~.J···
84
Arabic Grammar
•
I/2 (~\_,)
~-·· ~-··
~-··
.f"'t:·· '
~-·· ' '
~-··
'ir!.;·· '
~-··
1_,'...
~-·· '
V!;··
_, _,
'
,; .,...
.
-
'
~-··
•
I/3, 1/4 (~),
~-··
'
···-
'
~-·· ~-··
~-
~-··
~-
'
II to X (~\_,)
-
,;'...
~: ..
'
G: ..
. ... ~
G:' .f"'t··· ,....
.. , 'irt··· (;...
-V!··· ·-
These endings, which are a combination of weak final radical and personal ending, are added to the perfect stem, which in defective verbs is derived from the 1st principal part by removing everything following the middle radical (the doubled middle radical in Forms II and V). In addition, note: • Wherever the 1st principal part ends in
j. .. or L, then the perfect tense
will have :.. after the middle radical throughout the tense; otherwise it will not. Contrast the endings of Form I Group 2 with those of all the other verbs. • Final -a is written with I : - always before a pronoun suffix, with all verbs (since ..; only ever appears as last letter of the word):
, ",.
... ...
I..S"'.; I, he threw; but: . ~lo.; He threw it.
~ V he received; but:
llalili . He received them.
- in Form I of final-radical_, verbs, with or without a pronoun suffix:
~~ I, he expected; ,;~~ He expected it. • Final -a is wlitten with ..; : - in Form I of final-radical~ verbs when no suffix follows:
.~~;..::,. He walked fast. - in Forms II to X of all verbs when no suffix follows:
.4J~j 4J~W ~ '
J';. ·. 1
-
He did without the cooperation of his colleagues.
• See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final
10- Defective Verbs
85
long vowel or final: .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes. Examples of tenses: Perfect tense. Active: Root y.~; ;..:;.,_ ~-~ I, to summon; perfect active tense:
.--
•
u-~-~
~_,..~
....
,. ...
~_,..~
d~-~
~_,..~
d~-~
~-~
(;':'~
~-~
~~
~~
~_,&.~
-
fY.~
' ...... ,.
~_,&.~
Root~ ; ~ ~ I, to remain; perfect active tense:
--
-
1'.~
_;!
!'~_;!
.;r.-
Root .;..r: ;
.. ~
~'.;: I, to flow; perfect active tense:
•
·--
G:_;..
~....r: ~....r:
~-U':
~....r:
~-U':
~..r:
r-..r:
.......... ~....r:
' ,.... ...
,;?...?.
r-'J.?.
G"
..r: .Y...?. . , . Root p; ~~I IV to give to; perfect active tense: -- :- ·M1.·,1 ~..r: ~
~~
~- )a'cl
r.~·_t:,j
/'-1.',1
"" ~~
I
1: ~·_l.'c ""i
~~·_1.',1
~
~~
~ ~
-
~
~
Arabic Grammar
86
'- ~.)I -' VIII to allege; perfect active tense: Root~.) ; ~J.J_
--
-
~·,)1
:-:_-"'.)1
- • -' I
(, ~·_-c:'.) I
•, ' I
l:~·_-;:.)1
~,) ~,)
-
-
~·,)I
~·,)I
•~,) -• I
~·,)I
?.'c'.)} '
J• ... '
~,)
1
~·,)I ~·,)I
111. Perfect Tense, Passive Voice. All defective verbs, whatever their root, have in the perfect passive, in Forms I to X, the same personal endings as Form I, Group 2 (~.; \_,.;:,.J ) active verbs, i.e. the middle group shown in Table 22 (para. 110) above. Examples:
.... , ... ,
Root ~\_,.A; ; ~ ~ I, to be denied; perfect passive tense:
• -- •
-
,~
.
l:~_;:
•
1'.~_;:
~ •• •
-~
~
1_,1;
.
~
.~ --- . ~r:.' ~f! Root u-iJ ; ~ ~
-
-;
-
_;:
-~
~
M
••
-•
~
-~. V to be received; petfect passive tense: ,:~;;
it7
--
~
'- -i17 - -~ -- -~
-
~
-
~
c..:&-
u-
G...lli---~ ~~ . - i17
l)i;
--
. ~
112. Table 23: Imperfect (Indicative) Tense, Active Voice. The personal endings of the imperfect tense, active voice, of defective verbs are given below. The symbols (__,) and (':?) in the first column indicate the final radical of the root. See 7 for the arrangement of persons:
87
10- Defective Verbs
Form, (~\J)
Singular
Dual
Plural
•
•
I/1 (J)
J···
J···
•
J··· '
V!,···
•
'
•
'
J··· J···
1/2 (~\J),
..;'...
1/4 (~),
..;'...
V and VI (~\J)
'
'
' '
..;...
VII to X (~\J)
V!,···
'
'
•
'
•
;;~..
iJJ···
;;G~..
iJJ···
;;4:.. ;;4:.. ;;4:.. ;;4:..
"' iJJ··· '
·-
V!··· "'
iJJ··· '
·-
V!···
'
lito IV (~\J),
•
iJJ···
'
..; ...
-..; ...
'
;;G~..
..;'...
·-
..; ...
•
iJJ···
'
V!···
I/3 (~),
'
;;G~--
..; ...
--
;;4 ... ;;4 ... ' ;;4 ... ;;4 ...
' '
..; ...
---
'
..; ...
'
'
--•
iJJ···
'
'
V!,··· '
•
iJJ···
'
'
V!,···
'
These endings, which are a combination of weak final radical and personal
.
ending, are added to the imperfect stem, which in defective verbs is derived from the 2nd principal part by removing the personal prefix
'
-! \-! ,
and everything
following the middle radical (the doubled middle radical in Forms II and V). In addition, note: • The imperfect personal prefixes are those of the sound verbs (see 41):
··-
_p.)
--.
tF..;
1/1, we expect
~~ IV they give
II you educate
u ·~:· 7 X she excepts -'
• The only full-form endings curtailed in short pronunciation are those of the dual (-ani). • Wherever the 2nd principal part ends in..;:.. , then the imperfect tense will have: .. after the middle radical throughout the. tense; otherwise it will not. Contrast the endings of Form I Groups 2 and 4, and Forms V and VI, with those of all the other verbs. • Final -a is written with ..; when no pronoun object suffix is attached, and
Arabic Grammar
88
with I before a pronoun suffix, with all verbs (since ,.; only ever appears as last letter of the word): "" ....
~I, he forgets;
J. .......
but: .•L..::.:t He forgets it.
~ V he receives; but: ~(jJ~ He receives them.
·_cj';'ll: !?._~~ ~;. "'i He does not approve of the proposed measure. • See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final long vowel or final : .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes, and the modification of some third-person object pronoun suffixes after the ending ,_; .... -,
Examples: Imperfect (Indicative) tense. Active: Root
p; J~
~ I, to excuse; imperfect active tense:
_,rJ
-!• -; _,A.AJ
,, '
.#
. ~ '
-!• ...
c~·-
~#
I.J'.# '
r~·-
'
'
c·-
_,A.AJ_
I.J~
"' .#
I.J'.#
-!• ...
I.J_,A.AJ_
I.J'.#
~#
r~·-
'
~· ...
I.J_,A.AJ_
Root~ ; J ~ ~ I, to strive for; imperfect active tense:
-
'
-·
~~ cr-J
I.J c:.:..5 - -
I.J_,-.J
~
I.J c:.:..5 - -
~
~
_, ...
,
~
cr-J
-
. G:..:;
"' - -
I.J c:.:..5 - -
......
'
I.J~
'
.'.
'
~
...
Root loSY"' ; ,.;~ loSY"' II to level; imperfect active tense: ..
..,.
,., ... 4
,., ... ,
loSY"' -... I
,.;~ .. ...
.' '
,,
89
10- Defective Verbs ,.. ...
Root J,Aj; loS.)~ I.S.)l:; III to call; imperfect active tense:
--
,.\
-...
-· --
loS.) l:.3
..,· G.)Gi -
-l)t.) G5·-
..,· G.)Gi ..,·G.)~ - ..,· G.)Gi -
-·
':?.)~
- -·
1:?.) l:.3
-
-·
loS.)~ ...
I.S.)l:;l
"
-
J.
,..,
l)J.)l,:j
-l)t.)l,:j-· -I)J . ~.-
. .)
~.)~
113. Imperfect (Indicative) Tense, Passive Voice. All defective verbs, whatever their root, have in the perfect passive, in Forms I to X, the same personal endings as Form I, Group 2 ~J\~J) active verbs, i.e. the middle group shown in 112 above. The personal prefixes are those of the sound verbs
.
(see 41). Example: Root _JS-.);
,
,.. ' ... ~.J.J.. ~.)
-...
I, to be summoned; imperfect passive tense: ...
."'
.... ,
~.)'
..
-
~Jj ....... Jll
..
w-Jj
~.J.J..
-..
~Jj
~,Aj
....... , l)_JS-JJ ....... ,
..,• G' - Jj, ..,• G' - Jj,
w-JJ
!)~~ ..,• G' - Jj,
........ Jl
l)y.J.J_
........ , w-.J.J..
114. (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense. Derive the (imperfect) subjunctive
.
tense of defective verbs from the imperfect (indicative) tense, as follows:
-
• Imperfect (indicative) endings J··· and\:?··· : add ... (dropped in short pronunciation when no object pronoun suffix is attached): , • ...
... J. ....
impeli(xt .P-.r.. I, he expects, subjunctive .P-.r.. imperfect 1:?.) ~ III he calls, subjunctive ~.) ~ • Imperfect personal endings !) ... \ ~-·· , oth~r than the feminine plurals: drop !) ... \ ~-·· and add sile~t I (dropped in writing before an object
-
pronoun suffix) after any resultant final J
:
imperfect ~~- ~~~!. I, they forget, subjunctive ~- ~!. impeti'ect I) ~J II you educate, subjunctive
-... ....-...,
... ...
,
c;,..; ,~
.... ,..,
impcti'cct ~.)lo3 III you (f. sing.) arc called, subjunctive l:?.)lo3 • Leave the rest unchanged:
Arabic Grammar
90
imperfect and subjunctive ;;.-.)L:J III you (f. pl.) are called These rules are different from those valid for verbs with a sound final radical. See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final long vowel or final: .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes, and the modification of some third-person object pronoun suffixes after the endings ..;... and -'
:.s:- .. :
.::(;ail! ~-";l ~ j~ Perhaps they will forget the matter.
115. (Imperfect) Jussive Tense. Derive the (imperfect) jussive tense of defective verbs from the (imperfect) subjunctive tense, as follows:
.
J .. \ L
• For subjunctive endings )~.. ,
,
and ~-·· : substitute the
'
'
corresponding short vowel, ... , ... , .. . respectively: #'
J..,.
......
subjunctive .P.) I, we expect, jussive [.) .......
J.
......
,
subjunctive..;_;;...!; VIII it is bought, jussive _;;...!;
subjunctive~~ I, it flows, jussive ~
-
'
• Leave the rest unchanged: ,., ,.
J.
subjunctive and jussive ~ II they are both levelled These rules are different from those valid for verbs with a sound final radical. See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final long vowel or final: .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes, and the modification of some third-person object pronoun suffixes after the endings ..;... and :.S: .. : -'
-
.~'il ~·(1 Let them stay now.
116. Imperative. The affirmative imperative of defective verbs is regularly derived from the jussive (see 50); the negative imperative is also regularly formed by putting ~ before the unchanged jussive.
,....
'•1
, ......
jussive t..W I, you forgive, ~ forgive, t..W ")/ do not forgive jussive .:;lJ I, you meet, '
.:;}I
jussive ~-. ~7 I, you forget,
meet,
.:;lJ ~ '
r,:J I forget,
do not meet
~- "~7 ~ do not forget
jussive j~ VIII you buy, ~I buy,~~ do not buy ...
,.
...
,.
See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final long vowel or final: .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes, and the modification of some third-person object pronoun suffixes after the endings
91
10- Defective Verbs
..; ... and:;... :
-
-'
.y_,lla:.)l :_.a..~1 (,:..;1 ,. "' 1. """ .~L:.. ~I 1~1 ~ 'i
--
Forget the compensation demanded. Do not forget the basic principle.
_,.
117. Table 24: Participles. The patterns of the participles of the sound verbs (see 51) are all valid for the participles of the defective verbs, except for the masculine singular participle which is anomalous. Table 24 below shows the active participles: Typical Root and Verb
Nom.+ Gen.
Accusative
Indefinite/Definite
Indefinite/Definite
~ I, to expect
Yi':J
expecting
~;! ..;~1 VIII to buy
buying
Note: • The masc. sing. active participle has the endings ... (nominative and • • genitive) and ~-·· (accusative) for the indefinite form; and ..; ... (nominative and genitive) and~-·· (accusative) for the definite form. ., .,
• The stem to which the endings are added is derived as follows: - Form I: take the root. Put radical.
L
after the initial radical. Drop the final
.
•
- Forms II to X : take the second principal part. Substitute .. .-o for the ' .. ~
or .. ~. Drop everything following the middle radicaL The other forms of these active participles (built on the same stem, but regularly declined, see 137, 138, 140 and 141), are (in the nominative): prefix
Root ~J: ~;.~~I, to throw:
-
-'
masc.:
dual
.:,~G
pl.
-~--. G
~;.G
pl. ~~G dual .:,~G ... ,. " A few participles of this type are used principally as nouns. Common examples: fern.:
sing.
...
Root~ ; c.,.s, ;,";~ ~ I, to judge:
.
~Ull\~li judge, pl. ~wJ , regular declension -'
,.
... J.
,
Root c.r> ; ~~ ~~III to defend:
-
-,
~~~'/~ lawyer, pl. ~;.~ (sound)
,.,
......
Root.,J.i, ..;.)~ ..;.)liiii to call: -'
-
92
Arabic Grammar
I.S.)81\ .)~ club, pl. ~_a, regular declension
.
Se~ ~lso i 62 for non-participial nouns following this I.S··· \ ... pattern in the plural.
--
See 147 for the modification of some third-person possessive suffixes after the '
,
ending I.S··· : nom./ gen. y~ his lawyer
--
The passive participles of Form I (all roots) are formed as follows. Declension is regular: ~-~
.,.,
..
~...
Final-radical J : .P.J! ~J I, to expect: .P..;A
.... ...
...
Final-radical loS : ~
... ~ ...
... ~
I, to forget: -... The passive patticiples of Forms II to X (all roots) are invariable for case in the masculine singular. The stem is the same as for the active patticiple, see above:
!.!!~ I.S~_I VIII to buy; all cases: indefinite
Jj' A'. , definite i_;'..'
A
'11
These are the masculine singular forms. The other forms, regularly declined, are (in the nominative): Root
.... ..
~..r..
.J{J :
,
IS..J II to educate:
-'
masc.: fern.:
1,_ I
iJ \.I..;A
dual ~01~.: \.I...,.
sing.
118. Verbal Nouns. The defective verbal nouns are irregular in Form I. Those of the Forms II to X follow the pattern of the sound verbal nouns (see 65) as far as the middle radical, sometimes as far as the middle radical plus its vowel. In particular, note:
·-
• In Form II the noun ends~-·· : , ... J.
~..r..
,
.- .......
IS..J II to educate: ~..; education • The commoner pattern of Form III ends iL
:
~"'i._ ~'J III to encounter; ilJ~ encounter
--
• The less common pattern of Form III, and the measures of Forms IV, VII, VIII and X end with ... In Forms IV, VII, VIII and X, this produces a pattern often identical to that of final-radical hamza verbs (see 84):
~"'i._ ~'J III to encounter; : W encounter -'
~ ~~
'
--u ;S! u,af: I VIII to be finished: :I'ai: I expirylll! delivery, recital IV to deliver (a speech, recital etc.): :
-...
""
... ,
I.Sj~ loS~ I VIII to buy: :~I purchase
--
'
10- Defective Verbs
~.,--..:· .....
! ~I"'
93
X to except: : l;".: ,I exception ......
See 137, 138, 140 and 141 for the full declension of these nouns.
• In Forms V and VI the verbal noun has endings identical to those of the corresponding masculine singular active participle (see 117 above):
.
~ ~ V to receive: indefinite ~, definite ~I reception ~~ ~w VI to recover in health:
-,
.
... ...
...
~
indefinite ~W, definite~~~ recovery -,
See 147 for the modification of some third-person possessive suffixes after the ending .,; ... : nom./ gen. ~w his recovery -,
94
11. Doubly Weak Verbs 119. General. Doubly weak verbs (see 32) are the fourth sub-class of the weak verbs. They are those whose root has two weak letters, one of them as final radical, in one of the following patterns: • _, as initial radical, a sound middle radical, and ..; as final radical, • a sound initial radical with .. as middle radical (or vice versa); and..; as final radical, • a sound initial radical, _, or ..; as middle radical, and .. as final radical. Other patterns are in theory possible, but those shown cover all common verbs. In doubly weak verbs, each radical follows its own rules of conjugation, with two important exceptions: • In roots with middle-radical_, or ..; and final-radical..; , the middle radical stabilises as a consonant. • In doubly weak roots with final-radical .. , the Form I active participle
follows the weak (i.e defective or doubly weak) pattern; see 117, also 128 below. 120. Table 25: Active Voice. Although important, the doubly weak verbs are so few that most students find them easiest to learn one by one. Examples of doubly weak verbs in the active voice: Form/Root/Princioal Parts Imoerat. I
Particiole
Verbal Noun
~-'
~ ~~
..,
~1)1\.:;G
J_, ..;C
;.;_,
J
u1QI\JG -
'
~ *I.S'.;.
r,.r-i
-t dj
I.S'-'
.. _,._,
''t ~i u-!' ' ' :c..
.
:~ :C!.
c,r.i ·~
·~
~---~~~~n~~~~nnoono~noonooon.-.n~
·c.,r:
: c.r.-. :b.. ,, I.S.Y-t I.S~
,.
I.S_iJ ...............-.......::...................................~............-.-.-.-...
~ ~\~ ......
~--~
..._
'
'
'
~~
*~ '
._,._,' ,_
l!.
.
. . . . . . . . .y . . . . . . . . . . .
~
......- J I :.....
~WI\· t:.. -
come
: Gl"f
reject
·-
'
~c.:JI\·l!. -' ......................... ...................... ~
I.S'
•
.
,
F•• ...... m':-.r.oooo•••.. •~~"""""""'
,
not used ................
~
.......
··~···~
'
.•_,._,'
be evil
~' wish
••••••on-...o..-oo••~mOTo.,oooo
•
.... ........
..;_,l:JI\_,l:; .?..~
see
~wl -
~
-,
. .. •0.1\· G.
, ,
.,;I.;
. u-!~1\yT .
)I , ,
if._I
...
-'
~I
'
~'J_, administer
fii\~T
' '
·--
-,
~~\~ '
~lj_, protect
. ~(}1\·G .
'
.-. I.S I~
.
-
to ...
1---..
~
...
'
·tP ~
............ ......... ~
come
... .....
~
~
intend ............. live
~~···
i~
.................
11- Doubly Weak Verbs
III
~J
~~
JG
•••••••••-.-..-.n":•• n--·••y~-~--.-.
I.S.Y""
..
I.SJ~ .S:,L. ..
JG
~(,JI\JC,:.
JL.
I.SJWI\JC...:. . -
95
i\IC,:. iGL...:o
-.-.~-.-....::~~ ~~~.-. •• ::.~•••••••••••••,;!••-rm~m•.-.•,...•n•••••••••
sponsor ........-~~.-.omrm.-.
equalise
~ ~! bring o-.-.on.-.nooT.-.o.-.nomom,/(o
•-~~~..-.
show
_;l> I
. .I
.
('
.s~l\~ -
• r..,_;>
enclose
~~I appropriate
See 37 for Forms I to VIII and X. Note: • There is only one common verb with middle-radical • and final-radical
1$ in Form 1: .s~ .sl~ 'to see'; it drops its middle radical in the imperfect tenses and imperative. The same root drops its middle radical J.
... ~
in Fmm IV, in everything except the verbal noun: I.S.J!.I.S.J I 'to show'. The anomalous patterns are marked
* in the table.
-,
• In Form I, active voice, of doubly weak verbs, final-radical
~
is stable
(i.e. follows the conjugation of sound and of hamzated verbs, see 79) in the tenses, imperative and verbal noun, but behaves like a weak radical in the participle. In the increased forms, final-radical
~
is stable
throughout the verb. • The theoretical combination 'a'- becomes
..
...T
, the
theoretical
combination T- becomes ,._,I , and the theoretical combinations i' iand -iw- become .. ~ ... \ .. ~1 . '
• In Form VIII, initial-radical J assimilates to the form, as in the assimilated verbs. See 93.
~
of the increased
Arabic Grammar
96
~
• The writing of final-radical
before a personal ending beginning with
a long vowel can present difficulty (see 18):
4J' L • 'L .
. . .a'a, ... a'ani ... a'u, ... a'una
...r u,
...r una
.•
""
'
I.J~···
\•. \1• I.J.J.J'!··· • 1· ~··· .J.J'!··· ...
'
'
J
4J~··· ·~···
.. .1' a, ...I' ani
Alternative Arabic spellings are shown with \
....
,
...
...
,.
...
• For the verb ~ ~ \u> I, 'to live': in the 2nd principal part, and
-- -
with it many persons in the imperfect tenses, the ending when sounded -a is written with
because I.S cannot follow l.j .
1
121. Table 26: Passive Voice. Examples of doubly weak verbs in the passive voice (not all increased forms are found):
.. .
Form, Root, Principal Parts I
Participle
.- •
~_,
-
c..}.J'!. ~_,
~Y'
-·
-• *i.S.;!. !).;
I./f.; i if.
I
,_ '"/ - j if. c. 4-F...J'!. u-1 ............................................... ....................... - ........
r-~··~-~···~·--~·'-••«••·--~·······-..:-~ .. ~
·c.r!
,
...
J
• ~ ·c.r!
..
II
J_, l.j.JM'
- -
'
I.S.Y-1. I.S _iJ
J~. .1'!.
--
;)'_,
protected seen rejected
~
...
...-. ••• .-..-~-~-.~~~o.......,.-.m...-.~•~•m~•m~•••••••-==•J':~••••
~.j_iJ
•-
!)r
to be ...
~..-.
. ·-
·~ .............................................. :...,.:...........~ I.S_,;...
wished ···-·--~·--····~~-··-
intended
-appointed
.-. ---.. --
..s~
levelled
i.S.JM'
III
J_,
Jr'J, .1'!. - _,_,
sponsored
IV
!.Sf_;
*I.S;. ..,:4. ~_,;
VIII ~-'
intended guarded against appropriated
See 37 for Forms I to X. See 36 and 55 for the passive.
11- Doubly Weak Verbs
97
Note: • Throughout the passive, in the roots with final-radical '-!, the 1st
J ...
principal part ends in~--· and the 2nd principal parts ends in • Forms I and IV of verbs with initial-radical .. and final-radical'-! have identical 2nd principal parts. • See 120, first indent, above, for Forms I and IV of the root '-!i_; . The anomalous forms are marked *. • In the passive of doubly weak verbs, final-radical .. is stable (i.e. follows the conjugation of hamzated verbs, see 80, 81 and 83) throughout the verb. • The patterns of Forms II, III, V and VI are identical to those of the defective verbs, see 109. • The theoretical combination 'u'- (root ~i, Form IV, 1st principal part)
-
~
becomes ···J I , and the theoretical combination -ui- (root~J, Form I, 2nd principal part; root
,
dJ, -
Form X , 1st principal part) becomes
···J···. • In Form VIII, initial-radical J assimilates to the
~
of the increased
form, as in the assimilated verbs. See 95. • The writing of final-radical .. before a personal ending beginning with
... L.
or ···J~-- can present difficulty:
... a' a, ... a' ani
~'L
,,L
'~J· ' [... \ '~uJ ' [.. . • IJ•'[.. . \ IJJ'[... Alternative Arabic spellings are shown with\.
. . .a'u, ... a'una
122.
Tenses. In doubly weak verbs, each radical (with one exception, see
weak middle radicals below) follows the rules of its own conjugation in the tenses: • sound radicals: sound pattern (59 to 62), • initial- or final-radical .. : hamzated pattern (69 and 81); the only common root with middle-radical .. is anomalous, see 120 and 121, • weak radicals: - initial J or'-! (the latter is very rare): assimilated pattern (96), - middle J or'-! before a sound final radical or final-radical .. : hollow pattern ( 103) - middle J or '-! before a final-radical '-! (final J does not occur) stabilises to a consonant: defective pattern (110 to 115), - final '-! ( J is very rare): defective pattern ( 110 to 115),
98
Arabic Grammar
In addition, the imperfect prefixes are those appropriate to the initial radical (soundlhamzated 39, assimilated 96) in the appropriate form (I to X). See 28 and 166 for the modification of the personal endings with a final long vowel or final: .. before hamzat al-wa~l and before object pronoun suffixes, and the modification of some third-person object pronoun suffixes after the endings ,.;;·· and~: ...
12 3. Perfect (Indicative) Tense. For the personal endings of the perfect tense of doubly weak verbs, see 81 for roots with final-radical • , and Table 22, para. 110 for roots with final-radical.; . Examples of doubly weak verbs, perfect tense: Root c.}J; ~ ~J I, to protect; petfect active tense:
-
-,
......
,.
G:j' . - -J
.-._.;J
.
..
...... •-._.;J
.
cr
()'J
8'J
.........
- .J
"
~.J
-...
......
"·~·-r.J
c.}.J
..
,.-_;.J
- J
"
Root d.J; ~
......
~'.~·r
'-. _J.J
.
.,. ' ,. ~.J
~.J
J'J -... I, to be next; petiect active tense: ~_.J
ww-. .J
~. .J
'
~_.J
• .J
~• .J
J'J -,
. :.r• .J
~
,
I.W' . .J
... ... ...
~. -- .J
CJ • .J ' li.r • .J
~• .J
'
'
l)"J
Root ~; ·~ • ~ I, to come; petfect active tense:
,
-'
.
...
~
..
,~
.
~
~
1.J:
c.
,
... "1
~\
I.JJ
~
Anomalous root ,_;I.;; ,_;J! I.S.J I IV to show; petfect active tense:
, ....
~
..:;,w..)l
99
11- Doubly Weak Verbs
~)
Root
:r-\c,r-> ;
J
~
J
~
,
~)
t:...::_::, I
, ,...
~)
t:...::_::, I
~) ~~~
G)
~)
LZ,I
;;..::,i"'
,y.;.....)
~ ~ \:_.;.I, to live; perfect active tense:
-- -
-
• J
-
~ I
J
'
~
I ',
. - -,. '-
'Y.:>
~~
,
-. .... ....... ..\ Root u-~1 ; '-"'~ u-~1 I, to be rejected; perfect passive tense:
-
--
~i
~i
'-t
~~·-_ •• "1
••
'-t
~~·-_-_."1
'J '-t ~I
-;.i
~i
l;i
• --,-\ ~I
r:.:'_-_"1
- -\ ~I
-
~I ~I
'-t
~I
w;..,
-
Root~-'; ,}J:· ~ J~1 X to be appropriated; perfect passive tense:
-
--
:::-J- ...,.,...., ~· 1
-
~ ~·1 - ...,.,....,
-
~ ~·1 - ...,.,....,
-
w ~·1 w- ~·1
J~1
-:.:.:J ~· 1 - ...,.,....,
-
G..J ~· 1 -~
-
-~
~ ~·1 -~
-~
~ ''1 ·--~
w ~·1 -~
1)~1
8 -~ ~· 1
;;,J ~· 1 -~
-
12 4. Imperfect (Indicative) Tense. For the personal endings of the imperfect tense of doubly weak verbs, see 81 for roots with final-radical
~
, and
Table 23, para. 112 for roots with final-radical..; . The personal prefix is that appropriate to the initial radical (sound/hamzated 41, assimilated 96) in the appropriate fmm (I to X). See 122 above, last sentence. Examples of doubly weak verbs, imperfect (indicative) tense:
Arabic Grammar
100
- ".... ...... Anomalous root 1$1.;; ..;J!..; 1.; I, to see; imperfect active tense: ..;.;
G" iJU
iJJ.J
4JJJ
G" iJU
4JJJ
..;J!
,u!.;!.
. G'' G" iJU
..;.;
,
iJJJ.. ,JIJ..
... " ... Root •d':; ·~ • ~ I, to come; imperfect active tense:
-
-,
·~ -,
'
-~ 1.) -· '
,
...
J.
...
·~ -,
.. , ... iJ~\iJJ~
...
-~ 1.) - • ~ iJ· ...
·~ -'
·~ -'
..
..
J
...
iJ~\iJJ~
iJ~
~
'
\:_.;.. I, to live; imperfect active tense: Root~\~; ~ ~ -, -
~~
~
iJ ~ - iJ ~ - -
~
.G.:;
~
1.) -
~
iJ ~ - -
-
See 120, last indent. Root ~J;
-
~ ~I VIII to protect; imperfect active tense: -'
iJ ( - ;'~ -'
'
Root • ..JM'; ::,.. ;
r:.'...,! : G::..l
VIII to be offended at; imperfect active tense:
101
11- Doubly Weak Verbs
Root ~J;
, ,
... ... ~.Y.. ~J
-- ~JI -"
-
-
.
~.,J ... • ...
J.
~.,J
•
~.Y..
-.
~.,J
#I,
' ... J ....
Root
~J ; ~.Y.. ~J
-
~y
. . . .
. w! u·w! ·w . uu·w! -
, ,
....
~_,j.,J
u - _JJ
...
~.,J
_JJ
-~_,j~ .- • - .- •
~
~.Y..
_JJ
II to be guided; impe1fect passive tense:
--·
--~JI --"
-
.
I, to be protected; imperfect passive tense:
.-.
c.;.- .
. ..... ,
w:·
....... ,.
~.,J
~:..,;
~.,J
~:..,;
....... , ~ ... J
.-.
I.?.Y..
~.,J
~y
. c.;.-. uc.;.- • ~:..,;
~,P.,J
~.,J . . . - ... J
~.P~
~
.
. ..... ~
v-:>~
12 5. (Imperfect) Subjunctive Tense. Derive the (imperfect) subjunctive tense of doubly weak verbs from the imperfect (indicative) tense, according to the final radical (harnzated 43, defective 114). Examples:
imperfect ~~'.;. I, they see, subjunctive ~'.;. ...
• ,
• J
imperfect 09j.i IV you bring, subjunctive J
-
....
...
~j.i
--
..
.......
imperfect ~ ~ VIII he is offended, subjunctive ~ ~ imperfect and subjunctive
-· .IV it is brought
~j.t.
See 122 above, last sentence:
- .- 'I (-- ·. j
•.;l..J..Y 'J.J!
u
•. • -
J~
Perhaps they will see the minister.
126. (Imperfect) Jussive Tense. Derive the (imperfect) jussive tense of doubly weak verbs from the (imperfect) subjunctive tense, according to the middle and final radicals (hamzated 45, hollow 103, defective 115). Examples:
subjunctive~ I, he is next, jussive ~
--
102
Arabic Grammar
subjunctive ~ ~ I, we come, jussive ~ See 122 above, last--sentence.
12 7. Imperative. The affirmative imperative of doubly weak verbs is regularly derived from the jussive (see 50); the negative imperative is also regularly formed by putting~ before the unchanged jussive. In roots which are ~
both assimilated and defective, or where a radical
is dropped, the imperative of
Form I may be reduced to its only sound radical. Examples: jussive
JJ
I, you protect,
J protect, JJ ~
jussive ') I, you see, ~ see,
do not protect
~ do not see
j
7 X you appropriate,
jussive I)J:·
1)~1 appropriate, I)J:·
7~
do not appropriate
See 122 above, last sentence.
12 8. Participles. The participles of doubly weak verbs with final-radical ..; follow completely the rules for defective participles, see 117 and 145. For the participles of doubly weak verbs with final-radical ~
• the
~
:
counts as a weak letter (i.e. participle has the defective pattern)
in the active participle of Form I, • the
~
is stable (i.e. sound) in all other participles (active, Forms II to
X; passive, Forms I to X).
Examples (all nominative masculine singular): ,..
,.."1
c.s1 lt c.s1 I
-
-
I, to come: active c.si"il\et I coming
...
-...
tl
:~: ~ I, to come: active ~Q.I\~ ~ coming -"
, . .. ... . ~ l.!.:t. ~ l:.!.
- . I, to wish: active ~WI\~ l:.!. -.,.
tl
...
~
wishing, passive~~ wished
..
..;~ ..;t I, to see: active ~l)l\~ G•seeing, passive:.,;:;. see; -... -...
.... . . ' .. ..;.Y-t ..;_,; I, to intend: active ..;.JWI\.Jl:i intending, passive ,;Y,.. intended ,;
-...
u-1; ~ II to appoint: -,
-...
tl
- ...
.
u-1;11\J;. appointing, passive J;,ll\);. appointed -' IV to show: active ..;;,11\;. showing, passive ..;;11\.J;. shown ... ... ,. active
..;;. ..;)
-..
..;.J~,;';jl VII to live in seclusion: --
.
'
,............
I)-A ~ ~ ·~
.
active (no passive) ..;.J~I\.J;. living in seclusion
--
~
... ,
li...l VIII to be otiended at: active (no passive)~ li...... otiended
11- Doubly Weak Verbs
103
See 147 for the modification of some third-person possessive suffixes after the
r!r,
their guardian ending ~../;·· : nom./gen. j. Para. 117 shows the feminine, dual and plural forms, for the declension of which see 137, 138, 140 and 141.
12 9. Verbal Nouns. The doubly weak verbal nouns follow essentially the pattern of the sound and hamzated verbs (see 65), but with modifications dictated by each radical other than sound or hamzated (assimilated 99, hollow 106, defective 118). Final-radical .. hamza is not a weak letter in any of the verbal nouns, as it is in the Form I active participles (see 128 above). Examples: .......
-1.,..
I.SJ.I.S I.J I, to see:
~ ~ ...
I./ I.J view
~; J"J II to appoint: 4J:,J appointment
--
,
~~ ~~ IV to bring: ~ ~!, bringing -,
J~
Jj
-,
::,.0 : (.". ~ : G:.-1 c)~:· ~
-...
.
V to assume office: ~~I\ :J) assumption of office VIII to be offended at: : (-··I indignation
J;.:, I X to appropriate: ~~~ appropriation "
""
""'
See 147 for the modification of some third-person possessive suffixes after the
i•J-_1};
their assumption of office ending ~../; .. : nom./gen. Para. 117 shows the declension of the anomalous verbal nouns of Forms V and VI; for the declension of the other verbal nouns see 137, 138, 140 and 141. Plurals, if any, are sound.
104
12. Nouns and Adjectives 130. Gender of Nouns. Nouns are either masculine (m.) or feminine (f.). Feminine nouns are: • nouns denoting female persons, e.g.: • "'
iI
mother
~ •
~
girl; daughter
t' ·' ,.
~ journalist
• nouns ending in i and not denoting male persons, e.g.:
!;.~ building
~~ document
i~f.)! administration
• nouns denoting a double part of the body, e.g.: ~
·.~.!
eye
hand
•· nouns ending in I or ,; when this is not a radical, e.g.:
.
-·'
, l;i:.DI the world ,;~S memory • nouns ending in .1 when the .. is not a radical, e.g.:
:~ desert
..
• most names of countries, e.g.: .ru'
Egypt
..
• a small number of other nouns, e.g.: .,
• "1
~)
.,. -: .r> wine
•
c;..;
~'G
,
.,.
land
.}-1 well
Y? war
~r.) bucket
wind
..
axe
~ .)-.... u cup
~(.) house
, ~sun
~ stick
..
,
~
soul
~G fire Masculine nouns are: • nouns denoting male persons, e.g.:
·,:-
•
•• i; successor man ~ journalist • most nouns ending in a consonant (including a radical .. ), e.g.:
Y··
IY-J
y8'
book
~c...:;. evening
C~~ inauguration
• participles, used as nouns, of defective and doubly weak verbs, and not ending in i , e.g.: ~lj judge
•
-· ... ,.
~
hospital
A few nouns are both masculine and feminine, e.g.:
~_). (m./f.) road
~W (m./f.) tongue
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
Some words like
t- ' ~J
105
'hostage', which are feminine in form, are treated as
masculine when they refer to a male person.
131. Case. Arabic nouns and adjectives have three grammatical cases: • Nominative (nom.): denoting the subject of a verb (when the clause does
,.-.
not begin with one of the sisters of 4J I, see 182); or the subject and complement of an equation, i.e. a sentence with no verb (see 180): The director has arrived. The minister is present. t' ·' J ... ·~uA
.j-~:'11 ~~
She is a journalist. I am the representative.
• Accusative (ace.): denoting the direct object or complement of a verb (see
,.-.
33 and 189); or the subject of a verb after one of the sisters of 4J I :
. GC I ':c.~~
They wrote an answer.
.!.:~ ~)1 ~J The document is important. He said that the problem is/was urgent.
. (~ ~lS'
. ~.J), JQ C.
It was useful.
It was still necessary.
The accusative is also found in a variety of other uses; the main ones are summarised, with paragraph references, in Table 39, para. 205. • Genitive (gen.): after a preposition; or for the last or middle element of a constmct (see 148):
~~Ito ~~~8:-io
with the key
the office key
with the office key
13 2. Definition. Nouns and adjectives are either indefinite or definite. An indefinite noun is a common noun (i.e not a proper noun, see below) which is not specified within its category:
~;. an employee
.
, ' J'_;;
FlS' to
~...,Th;. employees
a report with two clerks
A definite noun is either a proper noun (i.e. a name regarded as unique):
Arabic Grammar
106
•iJ ,-•{ ~
i-_;1,1
Lebanon Luttiya (NB.: Certain proper nouns carry the definite articl~ (148): jc,JI Iraq), or else a common noun either specified within its category or generalised to cover its category. A common noun is made definite in one of three ways: • the noun carries the definite ruticle and is declined accordingly:
~;.11 i.J·_:i_t)l ~
~J~;:a I
the employee
the officials
according to both documents ~~(,
il;).l
life and death
Note from the last example that the mticle is often used with an abstract noun, when it is deemed to cover its whole category, i.e. (all) life, (all) death. • the noun carries a possessive suffix (see 147): ~(,
ya., ~.J ~I her children
1.........,·.
my duty
~ its price ;.~~:1c,! ~ from their two letters • the noun is defined by the following noun in a definite construct (see 148): ~I~~ the bank's address the company director's name with the trade unions See 117,137,138,140,141, 144and 145fordefiniteandindefinitedeclension. For definite and indefinite adjectives, see 142 and 180. 13 3. Number. For nouns and adjectives, as for verbs and pronouns, there are three numbers in Arabic: singular (sing., for one), dual (for two) and plural (pl., for more than two). 134. Animate and Inanimate. We distinguish between animate (an.) nouns, which denote a person or persons:
~I
the person
• "'
~~ ;
persons
"1
i~C.I professors and inanimate (inan.) nouns, which denote anything else:
i I a mother
~r;.;., an animal
~lS':J.1 the offices
Three other parts of speech which can assume either gender (adjectives, pronouns and verbs), when refen-ing to an inanimate noun in the plural, have the same fon-n as their feminine singular:
~~ ~~~ ancient buildings
107
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
They (e.g. the bags/stones/responsibilities etc.) are heavy. The trains have left. A noun denoting a group of people is itself inanimate, e.g.: ~ ........
J
~
"
•
~
ylj:..l various (political) parties
.;,1:;11 ,d) '.))')1 ~!,
The delegations have left the conference.
The distinction between animate and inanimate is grammatically important only for the plural. It has no grammatical force in the singular or dual.
135. Relative Adjectives
l (see 28) and therefore has no sound after a vowel in the same phrase. In this situation it can be pointed
f
r..QT~)f ~ fi 1-wathiqati 1-hammati in the important document Ho;,ever, 'before~ so-called 'sun letter', the J of the article adopts the sound of that letter, forming a doubled letter, which may be pointed with: ... The
J then
loses its~-- in pointing. The sun letters are those fourteen consonants formed with the tip or near-tip of the tongue, i.e.: iJ J J; .1 ~ ~.)" ~ V"' j J ~ .) o!.t ~ . The spelling of the article is maintained. Examples:
'
..
~,,
,JJ..;Ww
at-tamrtnu
,, " " i)~:.JI
as-sayyaratu the car
ijlili"l
the exercise
ath-thaqafatu
t".' il. v-..rv bi-r-ramli
culture with sand
In short pronunciation, when the pointed ending of the preceding word is dropped, the article recovers its original initial vowel a-:
~..~~.ff:J(;!J1
as-su' alu Na' bu!as-su' a1
a~-~a' b
the difficult question
The letters other than the fourteen sun letters are called 'moon letters'. See 15 summarising the pointing of the definite article. See 28 for the shortened pronunciation of any final long vowel preceding a definite article:
~fl:.,J ~ fi risalatin in a letter but: ~H..... )T~ fi r-risalati in the letter f.
...
-...
...
... "'
- ....
The article is fully pointed in this paragraph and in paras 14, 15 and 28, but not elsewhere in this book.
113
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
140. Table 29: Dual of Nouns and Adjectives, Indefinite and Definite. All nouns and adjectives are regular in the dual. Dual nouns and adjectives decline as follows, both in indefinite and definite forms: Gender
Nominative Accusative and Genitive
1. Uninflected word-ending, consonant: nom. !)L -ani, acc./gen·. ~: .. -ayni: !) GGs' . ~
masculine
'
'
masculine
·(l-b ' ' .liz;_. I)
masculine
'
masculine
·u
two pupils
~.
two lines
..... ~~ ·-' '
•
'
two parts
'
!)(~
feminine
~~
·-
'
(
masculine
two books
'
·I;
I)
•'Gs' .
~-
I)
'
~~
-~
!)~
-~
I)-I~
two hands poor
r.
.•
2. Uninflected word-ending .;··· : nom. !) .. -yani, acc./gen. ~··· -yayni: ••• two Egyptians masculine !)~ V':J~
L.
'
'
. t.:•
masculine
'
3. Uninflected word-ending !)
feminine feminine
GLl;. '
feminine
........
'
G:.:.:'J
!) -_
J
two copies
~
two teachers
~ '
two successors
'
!)G~ '
secret
~ '
'
!)
'
t .. : nom. !)G... -tani, acc./gen. d;; ... -tayni:
!) ~
'
feminine
'
4r-!.,..r-'
8.:J.
'
masculine
.·-
'
l) __r-J
;,;;~
'
,_,
. '
'
~.)
poor official
'
There are three groups of words, according to their last written letter in uninflected form, the same as shown in Table 28, para. 138. Since "b may stand only at the end of a word, it is replaced by .. ..J before the dual ending is added. As each word stands in this table, it is undefined. See 132 for the three ways in which the noun or adjective is fully defined. In short pronunciation, the final ... of the dual is not sounded. See 147 for the manner in which possessive suffixes are added to dual nouns, and 148 for the manner in which a dual noun is modified in construct. Further examples: Nom.:
!)C1 !)Ul{;.
,.,.,.
'
1)'-'?..J
~··· 1)1.!~
two good employees two Turkish soldiers
Arabic Grammar
114
.:,lJ',i:.'ll.;~l both complex problems '
'
~ ~;. two good employees
Ace.:
- ·-~,
' ••
•JI
~..; ~~
two Turkish soldiers both complex problems with both good employees
Gen.:
to/for two Turkish soldiers
~-,t.'ll "
'
'
v:_:Js:' '11 ~ A
-...
...
....
in both complex problems
141. Table 30: Sound Plurals of Nouns and Adjectives, Indefinite and Definite. Sound (i.e. regular) plural case-endings are shown below. There are two sound plural patterns, feminine and masculine. The feminine sound plurals have a different indefinite and definite pattern; the masculine sound plurals are the same for both indefinite and definite words. Table 30a: Feminine Sound Plural. Indefinite/Definite.
Indefinite Gender, An./lnan
Nominative Accusative and Genitive
1. Unint1ected word-ending, consonant: nom. ~L -atun, acc./gen·. ~r... -atin: inanimate masc.
• )G.:.
)G.:.
places
~
~
"
2. Unint1ected word-ending C :nom. ~L. -atun, acc./gen·. ~L. -atin:
. ('
animate fern.
.
animate fern.
. 0,
inanimate fern.
~~-. - 'J
•
'
~.-
~~ ~
animate fern.
•~~ L' .
_· '
colleagues
'
•~
'
animate fern.
times
•
. - 'J
';}...;
~
•
~c;.
~'/'
0, ·-
good
-
~~ • '
journalists
L.
Egyptian(s)
~~
•
'
'
'
Definite
I
Gender, An./lnan) Nominative Accusative and Genitive
I
1. Unint1ected word-ending, consonant: nom. ~L -atu, acc./gen·. ~r... -ati: inanimate masc.l
I
places
115
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
2. Uninflected word-ending 0:.. :nom. ~L -atu, ace./ gen. ~L -ati: inanimate fern.
.
animate fern.
.
('
~L;.
~'/'
":)._.'.
~
-~
.~.0-
animate fern.
~ 0·-
good
-
~~
~-
•~~ L' . '
colleagues
-
'
~~
animate fern.
~';A..;· -~
'
'
animate fern.
times
'
'
journalists
'
t: .
Egyptian(s)
~~ '
'
'
'
There are two groups of words, according to their last written letter in the uninflected form of the singular. For words whose uninflected singular ends in a consonant, the plural ending is added directly to that consonant. An uninflected singular ending f. is dropped before the plural ending is added. There are also a few animate feminine nouns, ending in a consonant in the singular, which undergo a change before the feminine sound plural ending is add~d. ~~mmon examples are
,.r
~
,,4
r I 'mother', pl. ~C.:.. I
•• .\
(etc.) and ~I 'sister',
pl. ~[,.;.1 (etc.). In some such words it is in fact the singular form, not the plural, which is anomalous; the plural shows a final radical no longer evident in the singular. In short pronunciation, these case-endings are sounded only when a possessive suffix (147) is added. This declension applies to the plural of: • certain inanimate masculine nouns; • most feminine animate and inanimate nouns; • all adjectives qualifying animate feminine nouns or qualifying pronouns refening to such nouns; It does not apply to any animate masculine nouns, or adjectives qualifying such
nouns; or to adjectives qualifying inanimate nouns or pronouns referring to such nouns, of either gender. The definite ending alone does not suffice to make the noun definite. See 132 for the three ways in which the noun is fully defined. All three ways demand definite case-endings. The definite case-ending is added before any possessive suffix. Further examples (definite examples with the article): Nom.:
~~~~ meetings ~~~~I the meetings ~-.~·,.•.I I I the journalists ..... ~
Arabic Grammar
116
~(;.J.I ~~~~ the Egyptian secretaries
.
~G:.~I meetings
Ace.:
'
'
.-.~~- ,.-• ·' , 1 --~
the journalists responsible secretaries
Gen.:
in/at the meetings t' ,• •
t
~~
for journalists for the Egyptian secretaries
Table 30b· Masculine Sound Plural. Indefinite and Definite Nominative 1. Uninflected ending, consonant: .. ,
nom. 4J.J··· -una, acc./gen·. 2. Uninflected '
"
~ ...
I
,
supervisors
-: , "'1_ t.J~
-Ina:
word-ending~: ..
Acc./Gen.
.,
... ,. 4J_,j~
: nom
•
'
'
good
..
...
,
~~L'
,
J
~." _. .J
4)..,..;-.J
4J.J... -yuna, ace./ gen. &J:.... -ylna:
,
~
4J~
journalists national
There are two groups of words, according to their last written letter in uninflected form. An uninflected singular ending ..s ... becomes ...
..
J
~ ... \4J.J... is added.
:S...
-""'
before the plural ending
- ..
In'short pronunciation, the final : .. is not sounded. This declension applies to both indefinite and definite nouns and adjectives of the following categories, in the plural: • certain animate masculine nouns and certain adjectives qualifying such nouns or qualifying a pronoun referring to such a noun; • certain adjectives qualifying a group of animate nouns of mixed gender, or qualifying a pronoun referring to such a group. It does not apply to any feminine or any inanimate nouns, or any adjectives
qualifying such nouns or qualifying a pronoun referring to such a noun. As each word stands in this table, it is undefined. See 132 for the three ways in which the noun or adjective is fully defined. See 147 for the manner in which possessive suffixes are added to masculine sound plural nouns, and 148 for the manner in which a masculine sound plural noun is modified in construct. Further examples (definite examples with the article): Nom.:
employees the employees
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
-~~, r'J!_"/1 -~.JJ.Y' , ,,_,u I ..,
... ... i)J..JY' C.
Ace.:
~. . . .-.'}''! u
twr..J..r
.... - ~ 1... ... ... ' f/ J ,. ~ ~
117
the Iranian officials officials the officials local journalists with the teachers
Gen.:
for supervisors for the technical supervisors
142. Agreement of Adjectives. Adjectives can assume either gender, and agree either fully (i.e. in gender, number, case and definition), or partly (i.e. in some of these characteristics) with the noun or pronoun which they qualify. The feminine singular of regular adjectives is made by adding, to the last written letter of the masculine singular, the feminine ending ·L, to which are added the appropriate case-endings (see 137, 138, 140 and 141):
~ ~·~("
(m. indefinite nom. sing) (f. indefinite nom. sing)
L. added to am. adjective ending in~.!···
}
big
•
pronounced -iya*, to which
gives~-··
are added the appropriate case-endings: I
''
ISJ.J~ -,
,,
(m. indefinite nom. sing)
J. ...
;....;.J~
(f. indefinite nom. sing.)
* Strictly speaking, the masc.
ending~.!···
}
necessary
is -iy, the fern. therefore -iyya; but in
practice these endings are almost always pronounced -1 and -lya. See 145, 153 and 154 for adjectives not confmming to this pattern. See 140 for the dual, 141 for the sound plural, and 143 for broken plurals. In making the adjective agree with its noun or pronoun, the following rules are observed regarding gender and number: • The singular and dual forms of the adjective always agree in gender and number, there being no distinction between animate and inanimate. • The masculine plural and feminine plural forms of the adjective are used to qualify only plural animate nouns (i.e. people); the masculine plural for an all-male group or a mixed group, the feminine plural only for an exclusively female group. • For any inanimate plural noun or pronoun (irrespective of the gender of its singular), the inanimate plural form of the adjective is used; this form
Arabic Grammar
118
is identical to that of the feminine singular. An adjective used as a complement agrees in gender and number (under the rules given above) with the subject of the expression, but varies in case and definition:
.!4-~ ;~ ;:.ill The matter is urgent.
.~~I ~ ljj ~ lS' Fuad was the best. See 180 and 189 for the case and definition of the adjective in such expressions. When the adjective is used other than as a complement, it follows and agrees with the noun which it qualifies, in every respect, i.e. gender and number (following the rules given above), and also in case and definition: Nom.:
•~:;. ~U, a hard-working student
- -- :c.): ll~ ~~ ~fll
ts"r -·AI~Lo~ ~~ - .r-' Ace.:
- - ';;_hl
L.i
lL~I~}I - ~~~~~~~
the technical report generous friends socialist governments a kind mother the long document
'-
the good mothers technical reports with two angry demonstrators in both (the) main problems with the financial experts against ('the') harmful insects
- valid- for simple- (i.e. one-word) adjectives. For compound These rules are adjectives and their agreement, see 160 and 163. Since Arabic does not make our distinction between nouns and adjectives, all words which we regard as adjectives can also be used as nouns:
-,_;.&. -- -
a rich man
: c;illl
the poor
143. Broken Plurals of Nouns and Adjectives. Most masculine nouns, and a few feminine nouns, have an irregular or 'broken' plural. The same is true of many adjectives in the masculine (animate) plural form. The main broken plural measures are given below, with examples in nom. sing. and pl.; for the diptotes, see 144; for the fmms ending in.,;: .. see 145.
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
:Jwl
~li~l ~~
:;r;:t :;~
(m./f.) market
., Li•l"' ~. .
time
•
discussion
..::J 'J W'J
J~: .~
,
J. r1
r1
r1
vP
~~..-
, ,
r1
:Jc,:.l :Jr. ~~~ • ,. ' 4
....
..::J~~ -
house
'
JJ~J
. r..... . . .
• JJ.o .r..J.o
:~~
~:
:...;s-. 8' . y· riJ. J.
...
r~...
JJ':b.;J_J':
J:.j:
4
.
• ')t.J (diptote, see 144): •
.. l
IJ~~
... ,
, 1.:.,'' •
......
~
....
.:;.,~~
J. ..
figure, number
119
,• ('' ' :.J.i'J.T...iJ
chairman
person property
doubt (f.) eye
minister
director
:)(.j~j colleague
simple
:WJ~ kind (adj.)
:;:;, ~_;,
book
(m./f.) road
island
""
, .... -1.
:;.;. ~j red (the m. s. fmm .r> I is diptote)
j:J:
·-, ·- ,
J~bJ~
~i:
picture
·-'""I' L..l -~'"' I""'
nation
~~~
month
" ...1
r1
river
....
~~ (f.) soul
J.
... ...
,'1-
,
J
......
JjW (diptote, derived words); ~u I (diptote, derived words); JJW (diptote,
q~adriliteral roots); llJW (quadriliteral roots): , ,-- • ,_ : .:'' 1-1. :· .-.1 ~uJ
IJJ-'J client
J'J(~~~
schedule
'
":"'"~ ~
foreign
i~!.:..l i~i
professor
•) r- "b) ·- r.
directorate
~() (diptote):
• r-'J-! "b._;>~ ·- .;> "'
steamship
'J:J
...
...
:J
"'
~li- (diptote, derived words); ~li- (diptote, derived words); ~W '
(diptote, quadriliteral roots):
~~ ~ office; desk
'
'
2l;. &
amount
120
Arabic Grammar
Js'U.:. ils:.:.:.:. ,
~
,"
~
~-~ Y"
~G
." :..:.:..,
I.).J
;,;~: t- . , .
4-J.,P.
problem
~ll:. (~
.-4-o"." ~u
letter
pupil
box
c
~~J~
Y'.P. answer
it&•j Jl!..
key
question
example
lLJ i:i-~C.
skilled
J~~
mountain
J'L:s'~ • -·
big; senior
JW: '
'li,., ~ • ' small; junior
J.
J[,!, J.,_).
long
friend
:Gji~_)
close
merchant
y)U, ~ll,
student
'
~:
~~ ~-~I q •.J>: c.
;r.;
piece
brother (see 159)
."'1
J,
~ )\..jl (diptote): '
:uL,I~~
:lw: ·~· • j': G
J
'
~-~)G cunning ~)L.j.•
1.)
~ rw~L• ~~• country
1.)
')(.;:
~
~
r •G.
I.)~J.
~:
.
neighbour
t. • courageous -~-~ • •
1.)
&
•r
&
·c;
~~J·
fire
'-~ donkey
~J
~(invariable for case): ..-
• ..-
II
'
~.;A~...;A
sick
There are other patterns, less common.
14 4. Table 31: Dip totes. Dip tote words have two forms for three cases, and no nunation. Diptote common nouns and diptote adjectives are diptote only
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
121
in the indefinite form, declined as follows: Table 3la· Common Noun and Adjective Di):ltotes
•
Nom .... -u
Acc./Gen. : .. -a
.• r-. 'JJ.o
: GJ:.
directors
~'JG::.
:,.,'JG::.
schools
• -u:;.
-u:;. ~·
keys
J;L..~
J;L..~
~
JJ~
:J_i~
.
'
' '-~
·~
~
.r.J
·~ ~ ,..,..
means
'
'
.
~
..,-.>1
schedules birds
-~ ~
lazy (m. sing.)
~
red (m. sing.)
Table 31 b: Proner Noun Dtntotes Nominative
Acc./Gen.
1. Uninflected form of the
Egypt Paris Yazid
word ending in a consonant:
Ashraf
,. .......
Mary am
nom. ~.. -u, acc./gen. : .. -a
.
Ramadan
2. Uninflected ending f.:
Mecca
'
nom .... -tu, acc./gen .... -ta
Lutfiya
The diptote case-endings are: • uninflected ending in a consonant: nom. ~.. -u, acc./gen. :.. -a (most
.
common-noun and adjective diptotes). '
'
• uninflected ending in i... : nom. ... -tu, acc./gen .... -ta (almost all are proper-noun diptotes). In short pronunciation, the case-endings are not sounded. i... is pronounced -a. The main groups of adjectives and common nouns which are diptote when indefinite are: • All nouns and adjectives, singular or plural, masculine or feminine, with final•
f... , where neither letter is (or represents) a radical. But if either of
122
Arabic Grammar
these letters is a radical (e.g. in ~~I 'beginning', root i~ ), the noun is not dip tote, see 137, 138, 140 and 141. ,_
• Broken plurals with the measures
......
Js.ll- ,
J.
... ,
~ll-
J.
... ...
,
......
, JjW , J.lW or
~W :see 143 for further example;. • Mitsculine singular adjectives with the uninflected ending
.:,L.
whose
feminine singular ends in !.S: .. . NB: The feminine form is not diptote but invariable for case; see 145. • Masculine singular adjectives in the elative measure
.... ~
J.aJ I\J.,i I
'
J. .... ..;.
(i.e.
comparatives and those denoting colours and physical defects, see 153 and 161 respectively). When such nouns are made definite by any means, they are regular. See 132, 138, 147 and 148. Most proper nouns are also diptote, although they have definite meaning. The main groups of diptote proper nouns are: • Feminine names. • Names of verbal migin with an elative or tense form*. • Names ending in .:, L.
.
• Most foreign names. There are other diptote names which cannot be categorised. Proper nouns are almost always pronounced short in all cases. ~- ... J.
, .....
* Some important proper nouns having other verbal forms (e.g. ~ , ..1.1...) ) are not diptote but follow the declension shown in Table 27, para. 137.
14 5. Indeclinable Nouns and Adjectives. A small number of nouns and adjectives has no endings for case. The most important words of this group are singular words ending in !.S··· :
•
• When the !.S··· represents the final radical, the word has !.S··· in the indefinite form and all cases:
J .. in the definite form:
u4ll1\~ a/the cafe a/the hospital
• When the !.S··. does not represent a radical, the word is invariable for case and definition, and there is no nunation: all cases:
~.S}~(JI)
a/the memory
J-:5
lazy (f. s. of ~)Lj", diptote, see 144)
'·~'I
the greatest (f. s., superlative, see 154)
I.S~
I.S··· is written only finally; when followed by a suffix, it becomes I :
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
123
~I}~ his memory
;; Q:. ~ When
.s
in their cafe
is added to ~ the combination is written ~-·· . The word remains
invariable for case:
-·'
Q:.UI the world (from f. s. superlative, no pl.) In words of this type the
.s becomes ~
before a dual or sound plural ending is
added. Not all have sound plurals:
iJC&i'· two cafes
Nom.:
two hospitals • 1. . .-; ..... ..
u ... • ..... .
hospitals the memories
.
~lL.ll\~ll.. -'
(the) cafes (anomalous declension, 162)
For the nouns and adjectives invariable for case, short and full pronunciation are the same. Further, in the short pronunciation of such words, ;. .. is pronounced
-a and ... is pronounced -1 , for both indefinite and definite forms . •
146. Table 32: Demonstrative Adjectives. The demonstrative adjectives ('this, that' etc., also called demonstrative pronouns) are: Singular, all cases masc.
fem./inan. pl.
~
clJ~
Animate plural m./f., all cases
·'
"J'' ._;.
0~
"
clb '
'
--" -'"
(~"iJI)\~JI
-
'
this/these that/those
Dual masculine
("' iJ.a
Nom.
-
..... 1
feminine
iJlJlJ,
these two,
'
Acc./Gen.
_Vol. .a
-~lJ,
both these
Nom.
ciir~
cli0'
those two,
Ace/Gen.
~-· I
• _.)
'
'
~1:-.7
both those
'
The small' alif pointed on some of the words is pronounced like medial ... L., The alternative plural form ~"iJ"I is seldom encountered.
-a-.
'
The demonstrative adjective normally precedes the noun which it qualifies; the noun carries the definite article:
124
Arabic Grammar
~)I o~ this document
Nom::
.:,~1 .:,~ these two people Ace.:
,
y)lill ~Jj
those students
Gen.: ~C. )I ~lAo ~ in both these letters Following 'the ge~er~l rule,-the final I of (jJ. is pronounced short before the hamzat al-wa~l (see 28) of the article following it:
..r_)ijl ·- r.'.l. ~ fi hadha t-taq1iri in this resolution/report
--
When a demonstrative adjective qualifies the last noun of a construct (see 148), it precedes that noun, interrupting the construct:
..r~l (~ i',)~ the draft of this report But when the demonstrative qualifies any other noun of the construct, it follows the whole expression: • i~ .... ·:~II t~' .:.:._ · - ./....J"'-"" ..._,_
this draft of the report
even if this leads to ambiguity: this acceptance of the text of the report, the acceptance of this text of the report A demonstrative is the only adjective pennitted to interrupt a construct, and then only to qualify its last noun. The demonstrative is also used as a pronoun, i.e. to denote an implied noun (with which it must agree as far as possible):
·' , .,, ~
• oJJA ~
We prefer this one. When the gender of the noun is unknown (e.g. in some questions), a masculine fmm is commonly used:
~ (~ L.. What is this? See 180 for the demonstrative as subject of an equation. 147. Table
33:
Possessive Adjective Suffixes. The possessive
adjectives (also called possessive or genitive pronouns) 'my', 'your' etc., take the form of a suffix: Singular 1st person m./f.
..S···
my
2nd person m.
--
~ ...
your
1!.1 ...
your
2nd person f.
-
Plural
lL
our
f···
your
-~··· .
your
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
'b•••
3rd person m.
lA...
3rd person f.
125 0 '
his/its
her/its, their**
~-··
their*
'~-·· '
their*
Dual 2nd person m./f.
w-..
of you both
3rd person m./f.
~--·
ofthem both***
* animate plural; ** inanimate plural; *** animate or inanimate. See 134. These are the same as the direct object or accusative pronoun suffixes (see 166), except for the 1st person singular. The 1st person plural suffix
lL is used also for the 1st person dual. The 2nd and
3rd persons masculine plural suffixes
f··· and ~-·· are used to denote animate
plural masculine possessors or those of mixed gender; the 2nd and 3rd persons
-
-
,. ... and~-·· , are used to denote only animate plural feminine plural suffixes ~ feminine possessors. Since possession makes the noun definite, these suffixes are attached to the definite case-ending of the possessed noun (or, for a noun with no case-ending, to its definite form). Certain forms of the noun are modified before the suffix is attached: • The uninflected ending i:.. is rewritten.;:.. (since i cannot appear in the middle of a word). • Dual and masculine sound plural nouns lose their final syllable .;... or ~-·· respectively. • The indeclinable ending loS: .. is rewritten
L
(since 4.S cannot appear in the
middle of a word). Further, some of the suffixes are modified when attached to certain endings. Allowing for these modifications, the suffixes are attached as follows: • The 1st person plural suffix
lL
'our', all the 2nd person suffixes
'your', and the 3rd person feminine singular/inanimate plural suffix 'her/its/their' are attached in the form shown in the table given above: Nom.:
~\~ your (m./f.) office
S).
our company
~Cf~ both their engineers lfi~~~ its concessions "~I
J.
•
,
~_;~
your supervisors
lA...
Arabic Grammar
126
~ your office
Ace.:
~- - J your document G:~ our colleagues
G:L' .- - 0
both our colleagues
'
G-Uz;.~ our comments
G......·-·
-' '~
our engineers
~_,.7 her assumption of office '
Gen.:
~~
--" 8lj~'J '
'
in your office to/for our friends
'
~~~~
in your letter
4;')1....'· '' with her colleagues ' -,:; ~
~~
to/for both your engineers
~.c.fl
to/for its engineers
'
lAI)'~ her memory
all three cases:
See 118, 137, 138, 140, 141, and 143. • When the lst person sing. suffix I.S··· 'my' is attached to a singular or broken plural noun whose uninflected ending is a consonant or
--
i:..
(modified to.;: .. , see above), the case-ending is dropped: All three cases: ~
--
u·•r~.;
my office
--
I.SJ~ my neighbom
• After the endings -~r modified endings
my letter
'
-../'1~.;
L , -~···
O'r
my letters
~: ..
the lst person
singular suffix is -;; .... The f.S of this ending combines with an immediately preceding I$ ;s : .. : Nom.:
-
~W;. both my employees both my letters
Nom./Gen.:
my assumption of office
Acc./Gen.:
both my employees
:?~.; both my letters
-
all three cases:
'
~I)'; my memory
Further, the nominative case-ending of masculine sound plural nouns
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
127
also becomes t.S··· before the 1st person suffix is attached. This gives us
-- ' --
the combination t.S··· for all three cases: all three cases:
'
,1~-
J
~_r -'
my employees
• After the case-ending ... or an ending or modified ending wlitten with I.S "'
.
. ,
"
...
,
(howsoever pronounced), the 3rd person suffixes o... , L.A... ,
', ,y. ... become~-··
...
•'
!""···
-
and
, ~-·· ~-·· and ~-·· respectively. After any other ending they retain the form shown in Table 33 earlier in this paragraph:
~
Nom.:
his/its office
• , , ll;"'
·..,
~
their jobs
J:: .J-1
Nom./Gen.:
his assumption of office
~-.- •.J
Ace.:
his job
'
Acc./Gen.:
~:Gj~
their ministers
tfr·c 'J'.P.
their passpmts
• ~ • "'Jl
both his supervisors
~..r•
J
~~ his supervisors ~~
Gen.:
in his department
-::,p. - L..'J ~ ,,
'
in their letter
-'IJ+i"iL...; ~ -.,._._._ ·- L1-_ '
'
'
in their letters
'
to/for both their teachers
~ ..,.. ......
to/for their teachers
""'
all three cases:
~~
his cafe
• When hamzat al-wa~l (28) follows the suffixes ~-·· or
become~-·· and ts'··· in full pronunciation: Nom.:
..,._ ~-~-'J'11 rr.-'
Ace.:
~-~-II ··.-.11. their official request ""·. 'J' rr.-'
Gen.:
·::.u.
their official request
:.,..:.,)1 ~ .::,..
from your official request
• When ha~~at al-wasl follows the modified suffix becomes respectively Nom.:
;J'... , these
J
~-·· or~-··
I '' '.1'' ~)I&;···\~~
suffix~-·· (see above), the '
in full pronunciation:
their official assumption of office
r
Acc./Gen.: ~-:17GJI _4 ·_: lt:.,! ~ according to their two urgent letters The possessive adjective or genitive suffixes are also used after prepositions and
128
Arabic Grammar
-·:
after the base-word ... l.l (see 167 and 173).
148. Construct (ii~.JI
).
A construct is an expression consisting of two or
more nouns and showing the association between them; often, but not always, that of possession. A construct may be definite or indefinite in meaning. We examine the two-noun construct first. In the two-noun construct: • the first noun has a definite ending, but is not explicitly defined, i.e. it cannot carry either the article or a possessive suffix. It stands in the case demanded by its function in the sentence. • the last noun is always in the genitive case, definite or indefinite · according to the meaning of the whole expression. If definite, the last noun is explicitly defined (i.e. carries a definite article or a possessive suffix, unless it is a proper noun not normally carrying either.) It is this last noun which determines whether the whole expression is definite or indefinite in meaning. (But see 154 for an exception to this rule.) • the only adjective which may interrupt the expression is a demonstrative
(f:a'
etc., see 146) preceding and qualifying the last noun.
Examples (the grammatical case shown is that of the first noun, since the last noun is always genitive): Nom.:
~ll:JI ~ the student's books ~~~ ~ engineering science (the science of engineering) ... ~ .. J.
.
~
,
..r..J.o a bank manager
-
a cup of tea* Ace.:
his company's exports
iiS:iJ l o~ ~ .....,._,., u ..... ~ ,
•
• .& I
~
the solution of/to this problem a shift supervisor
~ ·~~ Egypt's interests
Gen.:
..J~I 4; -~ ~ in the supervisors' job . .. ...,
!~I~~~ in today's Iraq
.):> j~
with a dlilling lig
(* But 'a kilo of te/ (i.e.-a ~~asurement) is
~L!JI ;;,..
).$, see 172)
-A dual noun loses its final ~-·· , and a masculine so~nd plural noun its final~... ,
when followed by another word in construct. The resultant final long vowel
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
129
~ l:} I news of a traffic accident tl
...
.,.
...
• ~
A construct may be multiple, with two nouns linked by J 'and' or J I 'or':
~~G~~~:~
-
-
.,
~I
(the) members of the government and (of the) opposition
. iJ.iJ J I , ....
~,
....
~
the volume or weight of the load In fact each of these is an ellipsis of two constructs. The latter of these two multiple constructs (i.e. with two first elements) is modern usage. Earlier usage preferred restatement with a possessive suffix for such a construct:
,,. ....
4.i.JJ J
~
., ,.,
I ~I
~
'the volume of the load or its weight'
In short pronunciation (see 30), the ending
o:..
of any noun, other than the last
one, of a construct is pronounced -at, inespective of ease:
~It.,... mahammatu 1-lajnati/mahammat al-lajna the committee's task Since no adjective other than a demonstrative may interrupt the construct, any adjective which is not a complement must follow the whole construct, irrespective of which noun it qualifies:
~C. ~~ ·~G:..j
-
.-
a former university professor
~-;.''I ''I~-~-• 'J' _r...U "J"=""" the director's official car
even if this leads to ambiguity:
130
Arabic Grammar
with the Egyptian bank manager (who or what is Egyptian?) Ambiguity may be avoided by recasting with
J 'to/for', avoiding the construct:
with the Egyptian manager of the bank with the manager of the Egyptian bank The structure with J is also used to avoid an over-long 'string' construct: •'
""
'
""
A,.... J.
,..,.
~-!~ ~?JI ~U.r. ~lli
or:
details of the company's training programme
~~ ~-!~1 _iolf;. ~ili
better than:(~~~ ~-!'JJ
_iolf;. ~ili)
Certain set expressions have the form of a construct with as first element an adjective (which may be a participle):
r~-~~ ~G
senior staff ;. _4 __;1;;.
~~
?
their senior staff
great ('excellent') respect
I ) ~ with profuse thanks
The expressions with the article are indefinite, despite appearances. All can be recast as a noun+ adjective:
' ~·.-·,• '. ".l" ,;• ,,,...., ~I iJP_,....,.I the senior staff ,; ~I 1'1"' l;..P their junior officers 149. Collective Nouns. Many living creatures, natural substances and artisanal products are designated by a collective noun, masculine singular and with no plural, standing for the whole group or species. Examples (see 137 and 138 for the declension):
~J
camels
~ fish
~
.
'
..
~
bees
~ [-~ .,)
'
jyo bananas
' ~ trees
y:,b
bricks
"'-:.... .;A-!
cattle
chickens
J:1
ants
y~·~ flies
grapes
·-
horses
•
.-.""' .rJ.
dates
j'_?
cheiTies
0'
~ eggs
·u; ( •
apples
V':?
figs
' ~
grains, seeds
'
.
''
IJJ.J
foliage; paper
1,~ tiles
The unit of most of these nouns is expressed by adding the feminine ending (for the declension, see 137, 138, 140 and 141):
• with sound plural: ; ...... .,.
i..J.!
cow
~~,)
chicken
ll:1
ant
i: ..
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
iW
t-G'· ....
bee
~
~ .~
fly
131
i;.Lij apple #,~ cherry ij
~,.
fig
ij_,... banana
'
,,.~·.!
t""' 4"- grain, seed
1:_,1.
egg
brick
• with broken plural; some with both sound and broken plurals:
~ cl k:.:., J.J.
rJ
grape(s)
fish
;.,. ....
;,rl.
i~
date(s)
~~~\~~ {,~~
tree(s)/kinds of tree
JG:,h~u;, il~~ leaf(ves)/sheet(s) of paper tile(s) Some important mammals have a unit noun from a different root. The following
~~\~lb~ ~~
examples have a broken plural (for the declension, see 137, 138 and 140):
1: a:..h~ ~L:'
horse(s)
J~I\J~ ~
camel(s)
'
15 0. Negation of Nouns and Adjectives. Various devices exist to make nouns and adjectives negative. A useful negative compound noun can be formed with the noun
#,'
r.J.s;.
'lack' in
construct (see 148) with a definite verbal noun (see 53):
?lilil ~JJ:. ... •
~~
lack of culture
J ......
r.J.s;.
his inexperience
rl:..a~l __ r~_ through inattention
tJ:· l)j:,l
.~..?I r~ A '11 They stopped the project for lack of financi~g .•• With a non-verbal noun, we interpose a neutral verbal noun such as ~J>:.J 'existence': --
.(. 11 1~-,·--~,,·
·~:;.J ~.J
J
C 11
.. ·-' -·~,ll:~~·A· r.J.s;. ~ ..s~ .....,_...-.o
_~'rl' }~.J
Our greatest problem is lack of the necessary raw materials. The adjectival equivalent is ~-~ (sound plural), with the same construction: ""
.....
~ll!JI
The noun ~
J.
...
ti-,.J.s;.
uncultured, lacking culture
'other' is used to negate a following adjective (including
participles) in the genitive, making a construct which can be interpreted as a noun or adjective, depending on context: •
J .... J. • ....
.._,.J~ _r.&.
unknown
• W)~:O ';;i. non-participating, non-participants Following the rules of the construct, when the expression is made definite, the article is prefixed to its last word:
Arabic Grammar
132
-~w 1~11 ·- ',.,, ~ ~_ru See 152 fo~ the'use oi· ~1
for the unsuccessful candidates
,~
etc. as a definite noun, and 172 for the
preposition;,;&. . A few relative adjectives and their derived abstract nouns (135, 136) are negated with the prefixed particle ~ :
• ("1 ,, ~ ~
wireless (adjective)
-- ~~I ~::/£,,1;11
wireless telegraphy ('communications')
i:_;S';.~1
decentralisation
*_;;w)~l ~~
for their inhuman behaviour
(* two adjacent 'alifs in this word, in breach of the normal rule)
151. Quasi-, Semi-. Compound nouns and adjectives having the meaning
.
., ....
.,,
.
~
'quasi-', 'semi-' and the like, are constructed with the nouns~ (pl. ·~I)
.,
.,
...
...
-'
'likeness' and U-.a; (pl. Jl..a; I) 'half', in construct (see 148) with either a noun
.. -
or an adjective. These two words can be regarded as prefixes in this usage; note
.-- .
that the definite is made in the same way as ....
,.
~J ~
with~
'un-' (150.):
quasi-official, semi-official
-
".;all ...'(,~I~~ ... ..... t:J~ :..L:..i ~~
in the Arabian peninsula
,.
half-processed data
152. All, Some, Same, Other, Both, Any. The nouns
. ., ,,...;. ~ (pl. ~I), .,
...
.,
.,
...
~(5 (pl. ~::.{,5
.,. ,
), ~,
...
.. ,. .,
J!,
.,,
~
...
., ....
~· ~
.
~
"::).5 and the pronoun ~1\~1 are used
adjectivally as follows:
• •• J! a whole: - in singular indefinite construct (see 148), 'each/every':
.-
• J! JJ'I-!
11 ' • •
~u:J
...
-
Every student knows ...
- in singular definite construct, 'all of/the whole':
...
~
'
~I
-
'J!' JJ'I-! ' .... -
The whole class knows ...
- in plural definite construct or with a plural possessive adjective suffix 'all (ot)':
..- -
. y L4 YJaJ'I-.~· 1.)-' 4.J..;A! He knows all (the) students .
-
.4J~U:o JS' ~w
Gfr
She helps all her students. all of us
.
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
,
133
j! is grammatically masculine singular; but it is used as if it were plural,
when the meaning demands it:
.)~I y)liJI ~ 'J'jA JS'~
with all these new students
.. ~ ~..111 ~~~ JS-'
,
'
all the candidates who ...
'
.1):..,:, ~:,11 JS' ~! All the candidates have arrived . .~QllaJI ~ All-the students arrived. (verbal statement, see 183)
Jf
' ,
' . '. f~ All of them are present.
·~J~l> ~
Note also related structures:
- JS'j1 - jS-
the whole, everybody/everything, all (plural): -,~,.. , (•' • ~ ~ JJo This is useful to all.
(etc.)
f~llo~ing and in apposition to a definite noun: in all the streets ('in the streets, all of them') in the whole class
.
~
a whole: This word is used exactly as is
. ,
j! in its (animate or
inanimate) plural meaning, 'all':
._.)~17')11J1 ~ J~ ·' (•' • ~ JJo
•
.
..
He knows all the new students. This is useful to all.
'
' ~apart:
- in definite constmct or with a possessive adjective suffix, 'some (of)': --·-·~0:.''1'~ ·~J\~_,.,
some of the/your time
'li\! ...\.:...~. ~·' . . for some of the delegates _u'-'''1 some of them - after a preposition, 'each other':
.
.~:;.
I)? I
They separated ('from each other').
'
- repeated, in the plural; the first with the possessive suffix, the second indefinite, 'each other':
. ..•~ ~ ;.'/;.,'·! ~_A l)lS' '
~
They used to doubt each other.
is grammatically masculine singular; but it is used as if it were
plural, when the meaning demands it:
, , --
,-:_,I , , .,, I , • ,
. o_,.4iJ ~ ~ ~ ~J...\.:...1. ~ Some of the foreign delegates rejected it. ~
• ..
'
'
~
... "'1
'
• ~, pl. ~I soul:
Arabic Grammar
134
- following and in apposition to a noun or pronoun (including an implied pronoun), '-self' (as an emphatic or reflexive pronoun): '1r;" '' -•
.4.1~ ~_,A
He said it himself.
• .., ~ 'lS' ·~ ~: .. _ __iJ
They doubted themselves. - in the singular, in definite construct with a singular, dual or plural noun, 'the same': "
.~0~~1 ~ ~ at the same times
•
~
(
~,5
.
-'
('
.
, pl. ,,:.n.J5 essence, identity:
This word is used exactly as is
v"=').) I ~ f.ll
.. • .r-&-
'
'
'
,,
~
:
for the same purpose
'
other: with the article or a possessive suffix, the noun often being best translated with an English plural, 'others':
.;;1 ~
.
There is no ('its') other/There are no others.
.-. .~)1 ~~~I ~w ~I J.J'b. ... ... ..... ,. ...
··-
Try to help others at the same time.
See 150 for the use of .r-&- to negate nouns and adjectives, and 172 for the preposition ;1'other than', also used to negate adverbs (176).
• '% (masc.), Gls' '
(fern.) both:
'
This word is used only in definite construct with a dual noun (when it is invariable for case) or with a dual possessive adjective suffix (when it is declined, see 147). Since the dual already means 'both', this word is used mainly for emphasis: to/for both (the) directors between both governments 1' .':It"''' ~~
between both of them
A verb of which it is the subject, or an adjective qualifying it, is usually singular, NB:
•
. ~
.~ ~ ~'% '
'
' .~
."':..
They both ('Each of them') arrived yesterday.
' W.)U They are both rich .
~~
,
~I (masc.), ~I (fern.) any:
See 169. This word is also used in construct with a singular indefinite noun to mean 'any':
135
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
..;;.) ......... :S"~
"'
,.-.
~C..~ I ~ ;II
"
-
for any purpose at any hour
...
15 3. Comparative Degree of Adjectives. The comparative adjective ('bigger, better') is always indefinite. Simple adjectives (i.e. neither relative, nor participial from an increased verbal form, nor similarly derived) have a comparative form based on the so-called , ..... ~ 'elative' measure Ja.J I, with variants as follows. The elative comparative measure is diptote (see 144). The following examples are nominative; the positive degree is shown first: .... "1
J
• sound, assimilated, hollow roots,
d.
~
big
easier
t"".JI wider
~G
low
~_,1,
J),1
longer
easy
.. .. • "'1
wide
long
~~1
(positive degree not used)
•
, ....... doubled roots, J:.J I: ~
-
•i"" r:
newer
~~new
• defective roots,
.
, ... ...
~
~ short ~I
bigger
~1
~\~
~G
J:.J I:
..U,..J I
shorter
.....
lower
preferable to
important
more important
J:;J1 :
~
high ~1 higher (invariable for number and case, see 145) ·(This is not a relative adjective (see 135);..; is the final radical.) The elative comparative form is invadable for gender or number:
J).1 ~~ , , ...
,. ... ...
~ l.iJ.JJ..! ~
.-~~) r\J}il ~J
a longer document in more important matters
The figures are lower.
The comparative of derived adjectives (e.g. relative, participial from Forms 11-X, etc.) is expressed with the the elative
,.... ... )5"1
' .....
'more' or ~~ 'stronger' followed
by the indefinite accusative form of the abstract noun (verbal noun if the adjective is a participle) denoting the quality: necessary measures more necessary measures ('measures greater in necessity') for cultured people
Arabic Grammar
136
-~ill ,.i!.l lor' G.::. ":J ..;.
~
.
for more cultured people ('people stronger in culture')
'
Decreasing comparison of both simple and derived adjectives is expressed with
'Jil... ~
"'
...
(itself the elative comparative of~
'little, few') and the indefinite
accusative of the appropriate abstract or verbal noun:
;•_ -.;1'r:~ ~1
tt: .-.1
l.M.wl
(.)~1 J;i .J~ to
less important questions with less industrious workers
Equal comparison ('as ... as') does not entail the comparative; it is expressed with
J.!..
'like' and the adjective in the positive degree:
.~ ~ ~ 'Than' is
v-o
He is not as rich as ('not rich like') you.
as a preposition (i.e. before a noun or pronoun), or
U
as a
conjunction (i.e. before a clause): .... . . ,,..-1.... •• , .~I""'V:'" ~I ~I .:>J The quality is more important than the price. ,
,
J.
•
~
,'-
,
........... J.
.._~...;_r I l;l [( fil '
J
....
~...;..tA! He knows more than I do about it.
'
'
When the comparative is the complement of a verb of being, becoming or similar, an alternative structure is to use a verb indicating increase or decrease:
.~(,:..:.~~I '.)lj The dialogue became more frank. (' ... increased in frankness') For the expression 'The more ... , the more ... ', see 197. 15 4. Superlative Degree of Adjectives. The superlative ('biggest, best') is expressed by making the comparative (see 153) definite, either by placing the comparative form in indefinite construct (see 148) with its noun (NB: the expression has definite meaning, in breach of the rule):
~~ ', . . •"lt iJ.o ~ ~
.(.)~t-~ ~ ,
the most important factory for the shortest period the hardest-working pupil
......
or by attaching a possessive adjective suffix (see 147): ""'
~f
to
with the easiest of them
or by using it as a normal adjective, following and agreeing with a definite noun:
~~I ~I _;..~I ~I ~
the most important factory in the most important factory
..... ... ' With derived adjectives it is the )rl or .1.!.1
... ~
which is made definite:
.-
12- Nouns and Adjectives .-
liw )5"~1 ~~~I
137
the most cultured people
The elative superlative adjective, being definite, is no longer diptote (see 144). Certain elative superlatives have a broken feminine form on the measure~ (or variants thereof), which form must be used whenever the adjective agrees in gender with a feminine or inanimate plural noun. Common examples are given below (masculine/feminine, the latter invariable for number and case (see 145)): • sound roots:
:t~l ..;~I ~~~ ~I j.::;;~l ~I
biggest
~~I ..;~I
smallest
best
~~I ~I
greatest
best
• hollow roots:
J),~l
J)aJI
longest
• defective roots (masculine also indeclinable):
J~~l
*0~1
lowest
~~~
*~I
highest
*..;becomes 1... after-!··· .
..;~I ·WI~ -·:.~11 uA ' ~.a -.~ ...s.r--"" ... ,.
in the smallest factories These are/This is the smallest.
The feminine elative superlatives are often found in set expressions such as: the superpowers Asia Minor some of which are also used, contrary to the rule, indefinitely:
..;'.;$ JJ·~ \lf..,-~
a superpower, superpowers
These superlatives can form definite masculine and feminine sound plurals to denote implied animate plural nouns, when the meaning permits it:
~I~ u~ for the best (girls) in the class
.~_,LJ~I ;;. G;~ ~ ~
Of all our students they are the best.
A few superlatives also fonn a broken masculine plural with special meaning: .~lS'~I the great (from ~j) ~
-!;.~1 ~llz&.
(from~ from~)
awesome matters 'As ... as possible' with adjectival meaning is expressed with a quasi-superlative construction:
~ L. ..;)I ~:.:Jj,
a pump as powerful as possible/the strongest possible pump
Arabic Grammar
138
See 178 for the commoner use of this construction in adverbial expressions. 15 5. First, Last, Other. Three important adjectives build elative forms with a feminine and an animate plural; they are used in the manner of comparatives and superlatives (153 and 154): singular
~j
masc.
J'":JI
~
iJ'J-;i
-'
iJ 8"'" :J I
*J:JI
fern.
animate plural
dual
J.
,
'
~ ' * i_;f
masc. fern.
'
'
'
'.
last
'
iJli;.T
~c,;i
iJI).T
~:J~\~i
'
* ~.r:l"
fern.
~:J~
iJ[.>T
).1
masc.
first
~
,
~w _:J 1
iJG).T
other
~c_;.h~i
'
* also inanimate plural U:J I
' " "'i
The first two words,
... _,>.1
(etc.) and
(etc.) are mostly used definitely, i.e.
like superlatives. They are diptote (144).
·~.:.'I ~-' ·~.'"1 UJ. ~ ":r1 1\.~-:., I- .r uJ.
JJ\t1 w;.\1\w;. ~i .,.
,
,
~4.1_,
Similarly for
).T
. "il
~
J
... ,
the first candidate (m.) the first candidate
I ; Ace .• ~I i.P!... . c.> I ;
~
Gen .• ~I .,.
...
0
i.P!...
~
~ L
.,.
1....
-1.1
\6>
The plurals ending in • L are not diptote; the ~ represents the otherwise obsolete final radical.
i;.!
means 'brothers' (in a family). We have also ~[,i..J 'brethren' (members of
a fraternity or community).
16 0. Table 34: .d..b.u etc. The anomalous noun .J'S , meaning 'possessing' or 'characterised by' exists only in the definite form. It has both masculine and
~ .. feminine forms. The masculine singular declines like the anomalous form of y I
(see 159): Singular
Nominative
Accusative
masculine
'· .J.)
rs
feminine*
~rs
~rs
Dual**
Nominative
~s .,
~rs
,
Accusative/Genitive
C,'s
masculine
0
Animate Pl.
.if::c-
_J.)
Nominative
Accusative/Genitive
, '•
masculine
'• ~.J.)
.J.J.)
.,
, c·
feminine
.......
'-!.J.)
GC,'s
feminine
Genitive
~c,-s ,
~.J.)
* also inanimate plural. ** animate and inanimate. See 134. This noun is always used in construct (see 148), which acts as a compound adjective: Nom.: Ace.:
.t.:Ai ~ rs ift:..:. ·,
~ill ~rs i~ ~.:.. a cultured lady
~~
Gen.:
a matter of importance; an impmtant matter
rs W.
~~~ (,ll~ ~rs ~~~
a courageous doctor with the highest-powered pumps
142
Arabic Grammar
with the lawyer having the appropriate experience Note: • The last element of the construct agrees in definition with the qualified noun. • The final long vowel found in some of the forms is pronounced short before the definite article (hamzat al-wa~l), see 28. 161. Adjectives of Colour and Defect. Most adjectives denoting colour or physical defect have the elative measure (see 153) in the singular, and have a broken animate plural used for both genders. The indefinite singular is diptote (see 144), except for one important indeclinable form. Important examples are: singular
dual
fern.*
masc. ..... ~
masc .
. :c.;. .,-I . c'
J .... ..;,
~_,...I
~
animate plural
~_,....
fern.
masc. +fern.
~c;.;.i ' ~r~;..l
~Gc;.;.
•• • ..,-
red
~Gr~~
• •
black
•
~_,....
,. ........ . I ~
: r~·. !
1.)
· I'~-·."j
1.)
.rea:..:
••
~
white
:;J,I
:8.)
~e!~l
~GL:!)
:;:J,
deaf
. r ~·-
• •
bent
•~
hoarse
•• •
blind
...... ""
. ~-- 1
:~~
~. ~I
'~I.......
'
:~
**~l
-·
1.) -~
. L:.;.l •
·CI
·r~ iJ'J_
1.)
1.) -
'
iJ'J -~
I .rL:.;.
'
:·~·~
'J
1.)
'J
(~
•
.
~
'
* also inanimate plural. See 134.
** invariable for case . ...... ..;.
.....
• ....
J ........
.. ....
-1.
The following are also declined like _,-1 :~I green; ~.h) I blue; .)-I J ... • ....
J
.......
yellow; (~I lame; IJ"'_;.I dumb. Comparatives and superlatives are formed as for derived adjectives (see 153 and 154). The abstract nouns used for this structure are formed as follows: • all colours except those with hollow roots (i.e. weak middle radical);
.-
...
,
, ...... ............ . . .
measure ll.:i : ~.J.i ..\..!.I \)5' I bluer • colours with hollow roots; measure JW
~4.! ~,)Sl
•
whiter
:
r~c,:., ~h)S'I
' physical defects; measure~: 6.). ~i\fii
16 2. Anomalous
...,
Plurals~
...,
blacker deafer
A few nouns have an anomalous broken plural
12 - Nouns and Adjectives
143
declined on the pattern of the masculine singular defective active participles (see
.
117). Important examples are: '
.~.!
-
,..-1
. \II
-'
'
;;~~\11\4,$~~
..... vP)
_."1
pl.~~~ 1\ ~~I
(f.) hand,
;l~~Gi\vPGi •
~
(f.) land,
(indef. nom.+ gen.; ace.)
-'
~~~\~G~I -
(def. nom.+ gen.; ace.) (indef. nom.+ gen.; ace.) (def. nom.+ gen.; ace.)
-'
(:(;_;:.JI '.;.;&. bG,)'I).
163. Improper Annexation
... ... ...
...
Certain compound
adjectives consist of an adjective (which may be a participle) followed by a defined genitive noun, in a form similar to the construct (see 148):
~p~~~ quick-witted ('quick the wit') ~~ ~(~ permanently disabled The annexation (i.e. agreement) is called improper because the adjectival element of the compound agrees with the 'wrong' noun:
$?
Jd.l i~ i' a wealthy foundation ' ' ,, W' I " . . • , " .... o,Aj • ~ vP.) a soft ('reduced-interest') loan '
'
~~ 4J~ ~4Jb ~~ by means of high-pressure pumps ... ...
... .-;
...
...
...
J.
...
-
...
~
...
...
~ "il o~_,~ ~lA.JI ~
...
, ..
...
... ...
-...
in a limited-term agreement
We have the same phenomenon nearer home: 'Elle avait l'air content~', a correct sentence in which, however, it is logically not she (f.), but her appearance (m.), which should be described as happy. The Arabic examples given above are all indefinite. In the definite form, all three words (one adjective, two nouns) are made definite:
JlJI i~l L.:,j)l '
the wealthy foundation
'
i~llll ~I '' '· ~ their soft loan '
'
~14JW1 ~~~ '
~
o.li. ~~
by means of these high-pressure pumps
'
'
However, we occasionally encounter definite expressions in which the adjectival element is left undefined:
,.
-
... -:: "" ... .. ... ~ ~ "il o~_,~(JI) 1·- _iU.il ~ ,.. ... ... ...... .
.
-
in our limited-term agreement
164. Apposition. When the two objects of a doubly transitive verb (33) are in apposition, i.e. have the same identity, the second object must be indefinite:
. ~ ~i:.., I~ I They elected his friend chairman/president. '
'
'
144
Arabic Grammar
In some examples, the apposition can be alternatively expressed with the preposition ;il 'like', 'as':
.~i..:.S'\ ~.L:.:, 4.$! 1.;.~ They greeted me as a friend.
- ...
"'
-"'
The structure with the second noun in the indefinite accusative is found also in certain set phrases with e.g.~ 'in the capacity of':
~J:2;. ~ in his capacity as delegate
145
13. Pronouns 16 5. Table 35. Subject Pronouns. The subject or nominative pronouns are: Singular
ul
1st person m./f. "'
~
I
~I
you
... ~I
'
.~
~I
2nd person f.
you
-_,.' ~
3rd person m. 3rd person f.
we
• , .-1
."1
~I
2nd person m.
Plural
.. ~
.~'
he/it she/it/they**
-v-'
you you they* they*
Dual 2nd person m./f.
~~
3rd person m./f.
~
both of you both of them***
* animate; ** inanimate; *** animate or inanimate. See 134. The 1st person plural
'
. -....is used.also , for the dual. The 2nd and 3rd
pronoun~
~
persons masculine plural pronouns ~ I and ~ are used to denote animate plural masculine nouns or nouns of mixed gender; the 2nd and 3rd persons feminine # ... ..
plural pronouns ~I and
# ,
v-
are used to denote only animate plural feminine
nouns. The subject pronoun is used: • In an equation: see 180. • To emphasise: the subject or object (direct or prepositional, see 33) of a verb; or a noun governed by a preposition; or a possessive adjective suffix (see 147): -1.
, J.
....
.J.J"i> I GI
I took it.
."JJ~; ~ He is not responsible .
.Ul ~jt:., , • ... .-:::· 1..... ....
-,
........
. ~ ~ ~J~
;
They asked me. They are relying on us.
.....:...; ~ in his department
--
• After the conjunction ~ in a clause of circumstance (see 196). • In an ellipsis with no other indication of the subject:
Arabic Grammar
146
.ui- !~ 1,$J11 ~
Who wrote it? I (did).
(:;.becomes~ before hamzat al-wa~l; see 28.) • After
\rj
'e~cept' in an exceptive sentence (see 201).
The subject pronoun is usually omitted when its identity is otherwise clear, and no emphasis is required:
.;~·:s-
I wrote it.
16 6. Table 36. Direct Object Pronoun Suffixes. The direct object or accusative pronouns take the form of a suffix, identical to the possessive or genitive suffixes (see 147) except for the 1st person singular: Singular 1st person m./f. 2nd person m.
Plural
~-··
me
u...
us
~--·
you
f···
you
.J...
you
:)...
you
2nd person f.
,
.,
'
3rd person m.
him/it
b•••
~... her/it/them**
3rd person f.
.
them*
~-··
~
them*
~-··
Dual 2nd person m./f.
l:S'...
both of you
3rd person m./f.
~...
both of them***
* animate; ** inanimate; *** animate or inanimate. See 134. The 1st person plural suffix
U... is used also for the dual. The 2nd and 3rd
persons masculine plural suffixes
rs-...
and ~... are used to denote animate
plural masculine objects or objects of mixed gender; the 2nd and 3rd persons
-,.
' ,.
feminine plural suffixes ~-·· and ~··· are used to denote only animate plural feminine objects. The suffix is attached to the full form of the verb of which it is the direct object.
..f...
Certain forms of the verb are modified before the suffix is attached: • The 2nd person masculine plural ending
•• .... becomes_,..;
• The ending
1..t.
of the perfect tense
of the 3rd person masculine plural perfect, subjunctive
and jussive tenses, and of the masculine plural of the imperative, loses its silent I in writing. The pronunciation is unchanged. • The ending
J ..
becomes
L .
147
13 - Pronouns
Further, certain suffixes are modified when attached to certain verb-endings. Allowing for these modifications, the suffixes are attached as follows: • The 1st person suffixes ~-·· 'me' and
G... 'us', all the 2nd person
suffixes 'your', and the 3rd person feminine singular/inanimate plural suffix ~--· 'her/its/their' are attached in the form shown in the table:
~ -' '
he understood me
!~~JA Did he understand you?
~.i
I hear her
fJ~
they thanked you we thank them
~J :~·:..;:, you refused it/them ' I ' ~0~
he forgets it ~...
• After the 2nd person feminine singular ending
of the perfect tense,
'
and after any verbal ending (whether personal ending or final radical)..; ... •
"'
..
,
or ..;... (but not ..; ... ), the 3rd person suffixes o... ,
, ,
l.A ... ,
• J.
.. ""
.A...
and
# r and ~-·· respectively. After any other ending they retain the form shown in Table 36 above: ,
,
..
vA··· become !···,
........
~-··
•
, ~-··
~:·:s- you (masc.) wrote it ~ you (fern.) wrote it do not (fern.) remind him , »• ,;
4-l..r4! he hits it ~..r.. • J...
~
·' lj ~
.~
-
he throws it
...
he forgot them so that you (masc.) see them
'
·-:;~
~_,., _ , so that you (fern.) see them In all of the afore going, full and short pronunciation are identical.
• When hamzat al-wa~l (see 28) follows the suffixes ~-·· orf"... in the
••
same phrase, these become respectively ~··· and pronunciation:
·r~l ~G.:J~ .~8' J~l ~8L
•($···
in full
We saw them today . We asked you the question in writing.
• When ham~at al-wa~l follows the modified suffix~-·· (see above) in the
148
Arabic Grammar
same phrase, the suffix becomes ~··· or~··· in full pronunciation:
-~~~ ~.)~ He will call them now. }
·-...
'
...
. .,
"
• See 182 for the use of these suffixes after conjunctions of the~ I group, to denote the subject of the verb in a nominal sentence.
16 7. Table 37: Independent Direct Object Pronouns. The independent
' suffixed direct object or accusative pronouns take the form of a base word ... ~! with the appropriate possessive or prepositional object suffix (147, 173): Singular
..
1st person m./f.
( -~ Ll
2nd person m.
(
2nd person f.
( '~CI'
..
me
ULI
~LI·:
you
..
you
;J'4J :J'4!
..
'aLl
3rd person m.
Plural
..
( •• ~ Ll
(him)/it
' ' ~C I (her)/it/them**
..
3rd person f.
us) you) you) them*)
( "Ll VA .• them*)
Dual 2nd person m./f.
..
both of you)
..
both of them***
W'LI
(
~LI
3rd person m./f.
* animate; **inanimate;*** animate or inanimate. See below, and 134. Although these pronouns exist in all persons, in modern practice one seldom finds other than the 3rd persons inanimate in use, after a verb with two pronoun objects (see 33):
. :~·-_! .v_ ~ r ,_yf1L... J
'
They asked them it.
.....
·•~! ~~I '
He gave it/them to me.
-'
The last example can also be ~u;J
.
168. Table 38: Relative Pronouns. The relative pronouns ('who', 'whom', 'which', 'that', also called relative conjunctions) are all in the 3rd person. They are: Masculine Feminine
~.ll1
*~1
~r.ul1
~G:1l1
Singular, all cases Dual**, nominative
'
ace. and gen.
-~101
-~
13 - Pronouns
I
Animate pl., all cases
149
I
*also inanimate plural;** animate or inanimate. See 134. The J) found in some of the forms is pronounced -11-, exactly like the standard
J
in the other forms. The pronoun starts with hamzat-al-wa~l; its initial vowel is ...1 when the pronoun begins the phrase or sentence, and is dropped altogether after a word ending with a vowel in the same phrase. See 28. The relative pronoun agrees as far as possible with its antecedent (the word to which it relates). It is used only when the antecedent is a definite noun, or, in ce1tain circumstances, a pronoun. The relative pronoun is used as it stands, when it is the subject of its own verb (i.e. the verb in the same clause):
.~_l:.:";.o ~QI ~~ .s..i11 ~;..t11 -,
.r
The official who issued the statement is present. J1 ~c:..)· 1~ 1
-·
Ac- u~w -,~ ..:.r.; ' i~ ' 'J ~
~
'
"':
The letter which arrived today helps us greatly.
When the relative pronoun is the direct or prepositional object of its own verb, the antecedent is reiterated in the relative clause by attaching the appropriate direct object suffix (see 166) to the verb, or the prepositional object suffix (see 173) to the preposition, respectively:
~llAl~'J' ..1 ~~ ~\IC:..)
-..
~
~I ~"il
""
the letters which we received ('them') yesterday
•,-._:·:. ~I i;.):.). I
'
-'
the government to which the ambassador is accredited ('to it')
When the antecedent is a pronoun, the masculine singular pronoun(;. 'who' or
Co
'what' (see 169) is used to express both antecedent and relative pronoun in
one. In relative clauses of this kind, reiteration is optional for a direct object but obligatory for a prepositional object. Instead of ::,:0 we can use the relative pronoun itself, with no antecedent: Subject:
.y_~ ~JS' ~ (;. \ 1:?~1
Dir. Obj.:
He who/Whoever talks like that is lying.
.~l.i\Jl.i Co~~~ I did not understand what/that which he said (it') . . • 1' '
I
'
'
' '
r.·
I
Prep. Obj.: .~ i.JJ~ C. (_,.-) ~ This is what they are insisting on. One of the prepositions expressing possession ( ~ ,
t-:. ,_J, see 174) may be
used, with reiteration of the antecedent, to express 'who has' (etc.):
Arabic Grammar
150
.11'wa_.. a~ : -·~~-. r.·' _,. .a
~- f' ''I!-·~~·-.
.4-l._y.A.-\ o~ o~ ..;~
This is the specialist who has ('with whom is') the required experience. When :;. or
G. is the prepositional object of the main verb, we attach it to the
appropriate preposition: We were astonished at what happened.
x~~~ ·~:;k~~~~ i,
-
-
The company will pay ('to') him/anyone who presents the certificate.
J~~l ~:\1 ~ iS'~I ~~ The company will pay ('to') him/anyone who has the certificate .
.~WI~~ i~wl~ Let us seek help from (someone) who understands the matter.
::r.. ... G.
The construction
'what(ever) ... of' followed by a definite noun, is
commonly used as an indefinite relative expression of the following type:
.Jjl::)l ::,.... G~ G. J;.-.:
- -
-
;
We shall use whatever means we have/such means as we have ('what we have of means').
When the antecedent is not a noun or pronoun but the whole preceding clause, the usual relative pronoun or conjunction is '
I
'
I.S.ill ; \t1
'(that) which'. An
•'
expression of circumstance with (~i..IS).J (196) can also be used in this context:
.~ G'~lll cll~~ \!.S.ill; \t1 t.;.iJ1 ,~ ,. ... ..... The experiment succeeded, which (fact) benefited us greatly .
.4-J ~~ - ·,
Gl.J \..;_.ill'"/ '\t1 ~G...., I 'li" \t1 ~ 1:t..>.JJ,~ ' . . _. ·; . ·: i J t.)
They report that the figures are positive, which I doubt. When the antecedent is an indefinite noun, the relative pronoun is omitted. All the other rules associated with a noun antecedent apply:
~I J~ ~".J.. a correspondent who knows the region
Subject: Dir. Obj.:
Prep. Obj.: Prep.:
- - -
;j~ ~ ~".J.. a correspondent (whom) we do not know ('him')
- .• f"'
J.
.... "" rJ
~ ~
-
~,,
J_;...
~j~1 ~ ~ ~~
a correspondent on whom we rely ('whom we rely on him') a correspondent who has understanding of the crisis
After an indefinite antecedent, when the relative clause is an equation (180), we interpose the subject pronoun:
. . . . , - .... , .... .r.~... '~ _,. ~ ..;...r I -...
I know a person who ('he') is very rich.
The subject pronoun is also used, together with the relative, in sentences of the kind 'It is/was I who ... ':
13 - Pronouns
-~ ~ I:?~ I ; ~)I -~ ::n.111
151
It is/was the chairman who spoke.
:;.J
It is we who are asking. ('We are who ... ')
A negative passive verb in an indefinite relative clause can often express an English adjective of the form 'un ... able/in ... able':
~ ~ ~ ~ an unforgettable story In English a relative pronoun which is either the direct or the prepositional object of its own verb may be omitted at will ('a man (whom) I trust ... ', 'the money (which) we live on ... '). The rule for omitting the relative pronoun in Arabic is binding, and applies differently.
16 9. Interrogative Pronouns. All interrogative pronouns are singular. Most are only masculine, and invariable for case:
VA
C. •(~C.
who(m) ... ?
what ... ?
., "'1
,.,....~
I:? I (masc.),
~I (fern.) which ... ?
:; whose ... ?
:;..
;..s- how much/many ... ?
(in construct) whose ... ?
A que;tion beginning with one of these words does not have
JA or i (see 184),
since it cannot be answered with 'yes' or 'no'. The interrogative pronouns may introduce either direct or indirect questions (see 184 and 186). They are used as follows: • :;.. may be subject or direct object of the verb in its clause, or can be governed by a preposition. For the subject of the verb in a longer question, the relative interrogative structure is usually preferred; see 170.
, ..... "
~ ..J~
VA Who knows? We asked him who he was ('is') visiting. Whom did you visit?
~~:,:11 ~~~:;..to With whom have you discussed the subject?
,. """"
C.\ (~C.
e:o '~, ,."j
.............
-~ V"'
It does not matter with whom he discussed it.
may be subj~ct or direct object of the verb in its clause, or can be
governed by a preposition:
!~ ~\t1 C.
What is ('the') easiest for you?
.~:b. (~C. J ;.1 ~ J...)
I want to know what happened.
...
...;:,
...
!y~ I (~C. What did he reply?
.y~l (~C. 8 1))
Tell us what he replied.
Arabic Grammar
152
.~~ ~ ~[,)1 ~
It is clear from whom they have heard it.
.,
, .,.,.
,,
See 172 for the forms ,J.t , [(, ~and c.&. . For the subject of an interrogative equation with a noun as complement, the "'
...
•f
... J.
...
l:. \_,a l:. is often preferred; see 180.
expression~
--
may be subject or direct object of the verb in its clause, or can be
governed by a preposition.
~ l~itS'
f
How much did it cost us?
.~ f l~l ,. u
~ iJyjl
They announced how much it wilVwould cost.
JJ-!- f
J.
,. ....
How much does the customer want?
~j~:1 (.J~} ~
.;·-:·.1 J..r--
For how much did they buy the concession?
!,·_•
~I ·.1 ~~""'
r:
They did not announce for how much they bought it.
f
is used also before a noun, often giving adjectival meaning. The
noun is in the accusative singular, irrespective of its grammatical function and logical number:
~ ~-.:-
4;G f
How many deputies voted?
An alternative structure, used before a noun denoting something which cannot be counted, is ~ ~:
.
~ ~ ~ ~)I ;;,....
f
How long ('How much time') did he stay here?
,.,..; ~ "' ... ~ 1\1.# I is the only declinable interrogative pronoun (see 137 for
declension). It may occupy any function in the sentence.
•• . - rJ..L..I.I _., -~ 'I.#.-I.
~~ ~
Which of the directors is attending?
Often the masculine is used for the feminine, especially when the latter is separated from its noun: ,.
. ,. ...
... ... ,
;~~,-1.
...
•
u1 J.i -...
~I
.JJ.P iJ..L..I.I VA
J.
Tell me which of the cities you (will) visit.
.. ~ .{ " ~ 1\1.# I is also used quasi-adjectivally, with a singular noun, in indefinite construct (see 148):
,,. ....
,.,-1.
,. ... ,. .... ,.,
.~ .r..J.A I.S I J J..,a.o ~ J..i!It is not known which director will attend. 11
...
..
;Ill
..
~·:t.' . . • "',-1~ J i ~__}..-, ~I
F 0
11
",..
,
Which secretary did you recruit?
~ Cfj~ ~):. :S~ For which/what purpose do they use it/them? --~ ..... See 152 for the use of ~1\1.# Ias an indefinite pronoun, 'any'. ...
;Ill
,. .....
13 - Pronouns
153
• The pronoun ;}. 'whose ... ?' is used only as subject of an equation, 'Whose is ... ?':
·.' ,f,l (i' . 1 Whose is this file? '~.AU - .. •V"
.~1 r.la j '
::Jt '
I asked whose file this is/was ('whose is/was this file').
'Whose ... ?' in any other use, including adjectival, is ,:r in construct with a preceding noun:
. -~ ~:li-1 !;.
~
Whose file ('The file of whom') did you take?
170. Relative Interrogative. Direct or indirect questions beginning with the interrogative pronoun :;. 'who(m) ... ?' (see 169) are sometimes better expressed by adding a relative clause; the whole question then begins ...
l.:?.ll1 ;.
(see 28 for the kasra after;.). For all but the simplest questions, this r~latfve interrogative structure is preferred when the pronoun is subject or direct object of the verb in the same clause, or when the pronoun is governed by one of the prepositions expressing possession ('Who has ... ?'), -~, Subject:
!
ffia Jli .s.lll;.
to ,~ (see 174):
Who ('is it who') said this?
(Qui est-c-; qui a dit cela?) (preferred by many to ! (~
. ffia Jli l.:?.lll;. ~;.1 ~! , ... ... -... , Dir. Obj.:
Jli :;..)
I know who said this.
!~_;)I ~lY.' -1-.s.lll;. , ., ...
Whom did the minister receive? ('Who is it whom the minister received?') Prep., possession: !~r,ll ~I :.:l\~\~~ ...
...
...
.s.l11;. .. ,
Who has the necessary experience? We must discover who has sufficient experience. When :;.. is governed by a preposition not expressing possession, the simple interrogative structure is normally used: Prep.:
!;;u, :J
Whom did they ask for it? ('From whom did they ask it?') oil ... ~
.......
171. Indefinite Pronouns. The nouns ~~ 'one' and ·~ 'thing' are used as indefinite pronouns. " ......
~
,.
...
In an affirmative sentence,~~ means 'someone', and·~ 'something' :
·..r-..J.~ j;.'j ~~
Someone has contacted the director.
Arabic Grammar
154
.ili. ~~ r~i ~ .rkJur~~
·/!..,::..o ~ •~ o-L> #., ,., , • ...
.
~·
. .
...
I heard someone say that.
............
,..,
...
}
Something unexpected happened.
......
. o_r..)J ~ ·~ ~ ~ We were surprised at something in his report. ...... ...
-"
--
...
In a negative sentence, the two words mean 'nobody' and 'nothing' respectively. As subject of a negative sentence they are best put into categorical negation (see 200) followed by the indefinite relative construction (168):
. (..iJ. ~~ ~ ~ ...;~I~ )S'i )~ :~ ~
,
~.:}1 .-
.~ ~ 41-1 ~
..
Nobody knows that ('There is nobody who ... ') . Nothing affects the market more. I ask it of nobody.
'
~ j' .!J
''
We bought nothing.
I"' has a feminine form ~:b.! which is invariable for case. These pronouns are
used for 'one of. . .' (animate or inanimate), in a definite construct (see 148) or with a possessive suffix:
G..;)l......'· . ,.:b,l '' with one of our colleagues ' -, 'J '"" : e::o
tA.r.b._)'\:;r.b._)'\~~ ~ for one of them (masc./fem./inanimate) We also find the same meaning expressed by repetition of the noun: ~~lS"::' ~ lJlS"::' ('an agency of their agencies') one of their agencies See 210 for 'one' as a number, which has a different form. See 152 for the indefinite pronoun 'any'. See 203 for indefinite noun expressions used as indefinite pronouns.
155
14. Prepositions 17 2. General. The commonest prepositions are shown below. ~in
J to; for '
' \iJ.J.) ' ' iJ.J..I.! without
e-:.
~ on
J)
* ::,.0
V&- from; about
from
with (accompanied by)
y in; with (by means of) ~
~(.) inside
~
(/;,. outside
rGhrc.1 before; in front of
~,: G~
...L:.&. at; in the presence of
~JJ
~ after
:P.
before
JJ,
for the duration of
~ ~·
.....
_r.&.
~below
above
'
except; other than
' I
' ~ concerning f...IP~
despite
"·•J.
'
!
, I,
o~
.....
1 I,;J
since
..1.:..o
like
~through; beyond
.... without ..r.:A!
-.... d'> until; as far as
around; about
Jj.,;. during
~ Gamba) beside
*U:" ~)~
becauseof
against
~ between; among
behind
Jc,;.\J;. at; in the presence of Jl..
'.j')
to; for
opposite like, as
All prepositions except one, shown in 201, govern the genitive case:
t"...PI ~
against the government
'
'
.t
~:I ~ after the meeting *See 28. ~ becomes ,;r before a word beginning with ... I (hamzat al-wasl): ~~;;,.- mini bni from my son '
-...
... ...
and ~ before the definite article:
~~ ~ mina 1-lajnati from the committee '
'
in both of which the vowel of the hamzat
al-wa~l
of the following word is
dropped. That is the approved pointing, which can, however, be ignored when reading unpainted text, since by pronouncing min in all situations, including before a following vowel, we automatically have the right pronunciation:
~~IJI' \;~IIJI' min ibnlfmin al-lajnati from my son/the committee Note also:
.
' ' • ,;;-t , lt (for ' •1.--
~
'
,.,
.lJI'... .lJI' , C. ....l).l>) ...
. . . .' . ,.
from whom/what
.,.
, w (for lJI' V&- , C. V&-)
about whom/what
• ::,.0 in partitive expressions or measurements= 'of':
Arabic Grammar
156
~I ~ ~;. part of the problem
, ~I ; ...
).$ ...
a kilo of sugar
..
...
.,
...
J.
....
(not to be confused with e.g . .;l:.!. ~~ 'a cup of tea', see 148)
• .. JI ~
'
J!.. 'such (a) ... ', 'a ... like this':
.... ~ ... ' j..j "i I e.l.
...
.~ J!.o ... - ...
;
in such a crisis/in a crisis like this
Arabic has few prepositions originating as such. The prepositions ending in : .. are in fact accusative nouns used as prepositions (in most instances, their
..
principal modern use). Similarly, the derivation of the compound prepositions ......
u-:
...
like ~ and ~)~ is clear from their form. The final ... or :·· of such prepositions is dropped in short pronunciation when no pronoun suffix (see 173 below) is added.
17 3. Prepositional Object Pronoun Suffixes. Prepositional object or genitive pronouns (i.e. pronouns governed by a preposition) take the form of a suffix; these are the same suffixes, and subject to the same provisions, as the possessive adjective suffixes (see 147). When used to express prepositional objects, the suffixes have the meaning in English 'me', you', 'him' etc. In addition, the following provisions apply: • Any short vowel ending a preposition is dropped before the 1st person singular suffix C..S··· : ~
-- with:
•~
against:
J y
u.,
with me
-
.;u against me
.'
'
to:
J
tome
with, in:
If.
with me
.'
• The prepositions ::,.0 and~ double their final ~ before the lst person singular suffix C..S··· :
--
~\~ fromme • The p;~positi~~al ending .,S:.. becomes~:.. before a prepositional object
.. '
'
suffix; .;... + the 1st person sing. suffix .;... becomes.; ... : to:
;JO)
~ on:
:;&.
ul!
• The preposition J 'to' becomes•.. .J first person singular (see above):
.'
to you on me before all sutiixes except that of the
157
14 - Prepositions I '.1
•_ '.1 V+'
to her
'+'
After any preposition (other than J
.
,..,
.,
to them
J ) ending ---
..
,,
,
,..
t..S"---
or r.r·- , the 3rd
-...
-
..
person suffixes ~... , ~... , ~··· and ~··· become respectively ~ ... , l.A...
'
,.
,.
, ~··· and ~··· . After any other ending these suffixes retain the form shown in Table 33 (para. 147): ~
in them
in him/it
~ on her/it/them
o
inhirnlit
~! to him ~.J before him, in his presence The prepositio'n ~ 'between' govern's two concepts, not one. If either of the concepts is a pronoun, ~ is repeated:
.iJ. d........ . .,. . ·. J ~ ~
~I
but:
... ,.
;,;u ~ -,.
~:, ~ o
~
·-
between Egypt and Lebanon between the ambassador and me between you and us
' 'like/as' do not take pronoun The prepositions~ 'until/as far as' and~
suffixes.
1 7 4. To Have. The concept 'to have' is not ordinarily expressed with a verb but with one of the prepositions ~ , ~ ,
to or j.J followed by the noun or
the prepositional object pronoun suffix (see 173 and 166) denoting the possessor. The prepositions most commonly used are~ and
J:
.LG11 J(.~l..u;JI . 'jA • ~ '
'
The bank has ('In the bank's possession are') the appropriate funds .
.;}-;! ~ ~(, ~ ~
The expert has wide knowledge in the matter. t-f'neans f'no;e 'onth~ pos~essor's person':
.t.j)IJI ~~~~ ~ :.:..;lS' He had (with him) the necessary equipment ('instruments') .
.;JJ implies attribution, and is used more with abstract than concrete ideas: .:( ;..ill ~lS' ~ ~Jj ~ ... ,. ..
He has not sufficient understanding of the case.
158
15. Adverbs 17 5. Derivation. Most simple adverbs have the form of the indefinite accusative singular of the adjective or noun from which they are derived. This is the 'adverbial accusative'. When the derivation is from an adjective, the masculine is taken as base: ~
.~.!~
new
~
much
•.
r.~.t~ recently
(,$
much
,.,.. •"",;
'
~J officially
official
u-"J J~
boiling (noun)
r...
Ji.
example
)Lt. for example
-- ,.
"';
i,)~ custom ~ 1"
(~
immediately
J~
i,)l&.
usually
1' 1'.·'
\>~
morning
in the morning, a.m.
The original adjective may be a participle, or the original noun a verbal noun:
~~
confidential
.
~
'
"':'J..P ~ 1)'1 i
r.
:
approximately
.t.~ ~LJ ~
~~
.~
J L.l)'!
in honour of
deputyship
.~A.!- -..-w
deputising for
"I beginning
1;::s-
•• r.~I•
initially
.~JA•-(~I.
with effect from
They wrote me a confidential letter.
-'
(adjective qualifying a noun)
. L.~ ~LJ ~ 1;::s'
(...
deference
·~
'
confidentially
approximation
~G ~
L.~
They wrote me a letter confidentially.
-'
(adverb modifying a verb)
The adverbial accusative ending is always pronounced, even in short pronunciation (30). Some adverbial ideas are expressed with a preposition-plus-noun phrase. Some have a definite noun, some indefinite: ease purpose
~6:';., with a verb in an indicative (mostly perfect) tense, reporting a fact. 191. Verbs used as Auxiliaries. Certain verbs can be used as auxiliary verbs, followed by a dependent verb in the imperfect (indicative) tense, with no conjunction. Common verbs used in this manner include: 4 .......
-1.,.. ...
I~ I~
.......
I, to begin (hamzated)
-1.
.l;.4li.l I, to begin (hamzated)
·.)~ '.)lS' I, almost to (do) (hollow; this verb conjugates like
,
' ....... , , .... I
~_r:;-
... ... ... ... ~~ ~I,;.
I, see 103)
X to continue (doubled, see 86)
~?. -::J) I, to let (sound)
tf! t_.)J
I, to let (assimilated)
~ ~ I, to oblige (sound) and some complemented verbs (see 189), sometimes with a different meaning:
'•t..~_-.1>. I.)M-!. IY"'
I, to remain (doing)
rJJ;_ rr.)
I, still to (do)
·.)~ -.)~ I, to (do) again
16- Syntax
'
,. "" ,.
~ .;~
173
I, to begin
The auxiliary verb may be in any tense, or in the imperative; but the dependent verb is always in the imperfect (indicative) tense:
.~L!.JI y~:·
-
-
! "'j~
He began to interrogate the witness.
.~ ';;;:. ; C. ~ :. :· 7~ - ,. ' .,. "'-......- , ...
.
.
I.J.)~
.;..):;:JI4J.J l..;i!
Do not continue to demand what is impossible . They re-read the report.
The examples above have the same subject for both verbs. The verbs of letting or obliging have a direct object which becomes the subject of the second verb:
.J,;-:.0 G)',?.\ u_;.~ ~ , •--- .-.r.,...•£''1'- Y'
'.1~1
.J.iA:J~ ~..;~.
They would ('did') not let us in ('enter'). You have allowed the problem to get complicated.
The second verb in the auxiliary expression can be replaced by a definite verbal noun (in construct if necessary, see 148), giving similar meaning:
"'
.~L!.JI yl~l i~ He began the interrogation of the witness. See 183 for the agreement of the auxiliary verb in verbal sentences. 19 2. Participial Verb. It is common to use an active participle instead of a tense, to indicate an action. The participle agrees with the subject in the manner described in 52:
·r~l i~C...:. ~ She is travelling today. 11. ~
-
-
•
-
J • - .,
·;~~_~I ~li c),~~ ~~I
The candidate is sitting in the waiting room. The participle used in this manner has present meaning unless preceded by a perfect form of ~lS' (which gives us an equivalent of the continuous perfect). See also the use of the participle in expressions of circumstance (196). An active participle can be used instead of a tense in a relative expression, similarly to English usage:
... r~l ~W ~1\i)WI t~_;.JI
The lady (who is) travelling today ...
... ~~~)C. -ji\~W ~~ ~1\i)wl i~l -...
...
-,.
...
"
...
The lady travelling/who was travelling/who travelled yesterday ... 19 3. Simultaneous Verbs. In the following type of sentence, situated in the past, we have the comparatively rare phenomenon perfect tense:
. 8llJI JJk.i . . Jl• .)'L!l"·ul,. ~llz.;.lJ:; . . ...
...
...
"'
...
"'
...
of~~
followed by the
174
Arabic Grammar
He began his speech by referring to the renewal of our agreement. This could also be stated with an expression of circumstance (see 196):
.8ll.il ~k.JJI, .. • (''' )\( .. · ~llz> jJ:; -
-
- -- .
:
~ ~J
'.r.:-" . -
.
194. Conditional Sentences. We distinguish between real or possible conditions ('If he comes ... ') and unreal or impossible conditions ('If I were rich ... ', 'Had we known ... '). Real Conditions. Real conditions are mostly introduced by the conjunction (~! 'if'. The verb after (Sj is in the perfect tense; the perfect of ~l.S' is used if th~ clause would otherwise have no verb, and the continuous perfect for those verbs whose perfect is little used (e.g.~_;. ~l.S', 190). The verb in the main (i.e. nonconditional) clause may be in the perfect or in the tense demanded by logic, or in the imperative; if the first word in this clause is anything other than an affirmative verb in the perfect or imperfect (without J~\.:., ), or if it is~' then it has .. J prefixed to it:
. (1:. ~j ~h\~l.S' ~~ n! If you participate it will be easier for us. · ·-~11- n , ··" ~\· ·· ~\ l_; ar I "' ~I ,-.I ·~~ ~ ~~ ~J .. J ,_,..._,;, 1.): If they strike we shall reject the compensation claim.
·~~~ ~ t}J; ~ 1;:;;! rs; If they strike we shall not pay the compensation claim.
·d a...); PI~~ ;J"~ ~l.S' (S! ~:
.~ ...
If you have the agenda, send it to me.
1L .\~- -h ~ •4J~I • -----,,-, I:~- : ,- , , » ~
-...
~
.).)_;;.J
, -- ~} ,-.I
w-~w....o ~J ~ 1.). ... ...
If you want our help do not hesitate to ask for it/in asking for it.
.~
UU ~~ (Sj
. (~_i! ~~ ~~-.)~ ~p
1;:;;! (~j
If you participate, I am with you . If they strike the reaction will be severe.
When the condition follows the main clause, then any particle .. J is dropped:
. ~~... ~l.S' (S!... ...PI J:,~ u1 -... J...,~i ...
Send me the agenda, if you have it.
The sentences shown above are all in present or future time-sequence, which is natural for real conditions. For the rarer real conditions in past time-sequence, the verb in the conditional clause is made pluperfect with JJ ~l.S':
.y~\yJ.S' ~
l:i.. Jlj JJ ~l.S' (S!
If he said that, he was/is lying.
A ~egative condition in the perfe~t is expressed by ~ + the jussive (not
Lo
perfect); the non-conditional clause has the negative form appropriate to its verb:
+
16- Syntax
175
If they do not strike we shall not refuse the compensation claim.
Real conditions are also, less commonly, introduced by the conjunction~! 'if'. The verbs in both the conditional clause and the main clause then stand in the perfect, or the jussive, or one in each tense:
· · ·-~~~~····~I '".'"·1\l:·:::.r I ""·1"·1 . va-:.r JJ~ 1.): '.) '.Y~ 1.):
-~-:
If they strike we shall reject the compensation claim.
Apart from the different rules for the tenses, the rules for r~! apply also to ~j
.
Real conditions expressing a stipulation can also be introduced by:
~~ j:&. \~ .1~ j:&. \~ .1~ on condition that, provided that " In such sentenc~s the verb in 'the c'onditional clause is introduced by~ i , which means it must stand in the subjunctive; the verb in the non-conditional clause has the tense demanded by logic:
.j:.:JII~~~ ~~ ~~ j:&. ~-?1 ~~ We will pay the compensation provided they resume work. Unreal Conditions. Unreal conditions are introduced by the conjunction :,J 'if'. The verb in the conditional clause stands in the perfect (~lS" where the clause would otherwise have no verb, continuous perfect for a verb not normally used in the perfect, as with r~! ). The verb in the non-conditional clause is mostly perfect, but can also be pl~perfect with Jj ~lS". It usually carries the particle .. J:
.~:;..~ ~:,J:. :,J
If I knew I would tell you.
-~~~ ~ ,:· ;,i~ ~ ~,;.:,:;i :,J If they had struck we would have rejected the compensation claim.
When the two clauses are reversed in order, the particle .. J can be dropped:
.~:,J:. :,J ~;.;i
I would tell you, if I knew.
The conditional verb negates with ~ + jussive; the non-conditional verb with
C.(J) +perfect:
.t_.,:· with an indicative tense (usually the perfect) indicates time, not purpose:
16- Syntax
. ~.J~ J:> u.;z;;1 See 190 for the use of
·d'>
'
179
We waited until they published it/them. with the subjunctive for 'until' in future time.
C:.~ with the imperfect tense can mean 'when' or 'whenever'; with the perfect 'when' (on one occasion): .J~I ~
I~-~
't.U,;: ' w_\ C:.~ - tf:'-1. -
~ ~... ......
..
.. ...
... I~\~~ C:.~
.
...
~........
~I
...
""
Whenever he comes, he meets the shop stewards . ,
When they anive(d) ...
.AA.t is mostly followed by the petfect tense:
.~1).1 J! I.J)j ~"'j ~ ... ... after they (have) looked at the software t:fs- is foll~wed either by the perfect or the imperfect (indicative) tense; often the perfect has present meaning:
Whenever he comes, he meets the shop stewards.
LJS' also introduces so-called consecutive clauses, which are a mixture of time, reason and condition: 'The more ... the more ... '. In this meaning, both clauses have the verb in the perfect. Only the main clause contains a comparative:
-~ ~~ ~~lJ L.1S' The more you delay, the more difficult you will find it. The remaining time conjunctions can be followed by any tense, as the sense demands:
.1.J~~JI b~ J!.. j:&. ~.J~ \ I.J::.;i
-
'
-
(J ~ ...
as long as they insist(ed) on such conditions
f,)~l u);>\~ (,~·_:
...... while we are/were preparing the draft
The time clause' may precede or follow the clause on which it depends
(0
clauses, however, usually precede). The rules for the tenses hold in both
.
situations. A following main clause may be a nominal sentence (182); if so, it is '
introduced by~~ :
-~~ l.t'~l J~l ~"'·Lj ~"'I ·-.i:l··i ~• r.- .r~ IJ , ""
...
""
...
...
After the discussions ended, the workmen resumed their operations. It is common to use a preposition + verbal noun instead of a conjunction + time
clause, with the same meaning, and avoiding all choice of tense:
... ~I). I J.J.._l..::f. ~ After renewing ('the renewal of') the software ... 'f.)~ I ~ J)l.> ... ... during the preparation of the draft '
-
i-.)~ G~ ;:))l.;. ... . .. dming our preparation of the draft '
'
Arabic Grammar
180
After the end of the discussions ... See 190 for a similar phenomenon with expressions of purpose etc. See 54 for the use of the verbal noun with a direct or prepositional object.
198. Clauses of Reason. Clauses of reason are commonly introduced by the conjunctions ,. -;
, ....
~"i
because
•
.. -1.
J.
....
(~I) ~!\(~1)~
since,as
The reason clause precedes or follows the main clause, depending on the conjunction. The verb may be in any tense:
•
, 1.
,. ....
~ "i: always follows. Sister of ~I ; ....
J.
, see 182.
....
• (~I) ~ : usually follows, may precede.
, ....
• (~I) ~!:may precede or follow.
X~_;. ~lS' ~j ~~ yl1
He was absent because his mother was ill.
('~1)'4'' ... •.·---('!"1)'·1 ,_,~ "i 4.1 _,: \ 4.1 ~ Since he does not know, ... We can replace the conjunction-plus-verb structure with a prepositional phrase, avoiding any choice of tenses:
.rrf; ;_ :-; 1;.U.
They were absent because of ('their') illness. (=because they were ill)
199. Topic and Comment (~)1 ~r~ ~QI). This useful and common stylistic device permits us to emphasise a direct or prepositional object (the 'topic') by placing it first in the sentence, in the nominative case, followed by the statement or question (the 'comment') concerning it. The comment is a whole clause. In reading aloud, we pause (with pause-form pronunciation if wished) before the comment:
·r:;.ll ~ t.~~ ~~ ~.~ i:a~1 The government ratified the treaty today .
.~1 ~ '
. *~
c,;81 ~I -' I~ I c,;81 ~I
The council rejected the second clause. They agreed on the second clause.
* Because'of the paus~,-likely to sound as
'al-band ath-.thani, ittafaqu 'alayhi', in
breach of the long vowel/hamzat al-wa~l rule. For such sentences, English achieves the emphasis with the passive: 'The treaty was ratified by ... ', 'The second clause was rejected by .. ./agreed on'. The topic and comment permits us to avoid an Arabic passive.
16- Syntax
181
The topic may also be the last element of a construct (148), brought up front: ~ ... ~ ...... ,,.-' .... ,(.•' .~lJ: oj t_J_,..!..w I .»> The implementation of this project is urgent.
G:Jj
v:·
(without emphasis: ·~~ ' ' ( ' ,, I''\ > 0 ,, I-;\ I ~ > r ' . ~~4--d i~\.ill ~ J.J-? l:. ~ i~4--LI ~ i~\.ill iJ I ~~G ...... and indeed the indirect benefit, as often as not, is bigger than ('exceeds') the direct. '
I''\
The case-ending is always pronounced in such expressions, even in short pronunciation. 204. Absolute Object
(jllzJ.I J_;:ul).
A verb is often used together with
its verbal noun in the indefinite accusative, to complete or reinforce the sense of the verb. This construction is called the absolute object:
.~~ ~'t..
--
He asked me a question.
. (--4? : G:-:~1 J:.'~} He made ('alleged') a severe allegation. With a qualifying adjective, the expression may have adverbial force: •
·r~ -· • r~u.;., ~~-~~ -:4.4 .- ~ ~'"t1 •~ ,. ' 'I •J.A:;.jJ --·'
'
The newspapers are continually criticising the government. ('criticising a continuous criticism')
~1"
-;"
.)\...lS'
(I)
,r. ...
....
"".f'\ ,.
....
. ~ Li_,- ~I..J_;a; You know the town in detail. ' ' The verb and verbal noun, although of the same root, need not be of the same form (I to X):
L.,4J
(VI) ~ili
They understood each other completely.
The absolute object indefinite accusative ending is always pronounced, even in short pronunciation. An alternative type of absolute object can be made with
'J!' (see 152) in definite
construct, with the adverbial meaning 'fully':
()\...lS' (~''"lJ =) ~'81 "'
205.
...
""
...
JS' ~.J~~
They supported him fully.
Table 39: Uses of the Accusative. Of the three cases, the
accusative is the most versatile. This table summarises its principal uses, with references to other paragraphs where appropriate:
184
Arabic Grammar
Example
Use 1
Direct object: of a verb
.~
Para.
.~C:..)\lll:...; ;, '
:s-
331131
'
He wrote a/the letter. He wrote it.
2
or of a verbal noun
.~)1 ~I~
Subject of a verb after
....
The expert's understanding of the situation
w •
...
r --· i
:ku-
"it&·~ • J ~~'1,)
...
54 182
...
I believe that the project is feasible
~ i or one of its sisters
I•~·.,r.&• "',. .,
~• J
W
,• "1 4,j . J• . '"i• L' . .;!...\> •
-
...
...
,..
.
,.
,.
It is worth implementing. - But it is impossible!
3
Complement of a verb
.G~ (r_fJ ~lS'
(!)l5' or one of its sisters)
.~1·' J~l' 'J ..r..;)1'~ J
189
He was a famous minister. '
4
Categorical negation Adverb
'
'
·~\'
·~I
'
5
.. vs-
He became the minister responsible for the environment There is no doubt of it.
A
200
'
~~~~1)\Lii'.)~
175
usually, for example, quickly, little
~:~\J li(,\y~ '
6
Comparison of derived adjective
7
Comparison of simple adverb
8
Accusative of circumstance
( Q. Qi..j
'
in accordance with
)S"i
more specialised
153
more, less
178
:ul~fil ')lu" ,'< •lj J~l
196
... !)!
He added ('saying') that ... 9
Absolute object
. (~i! ~~,,;.;_, '
10 Afterf 11
After numbers \ \ to '\ '\
12 Elliptical expressions
'
~~
;..s-
204
They protested strongly. How many people?
169
lla., w, ' )l.f ' • ' " : •
~ AJ~t:"
211with thirty-five officers 213
.~.~ Thank you. I beg your pardon .
13
Expressions of time
.:.:l1 ''' I:1,)'il I-~~ i .
' • j.Y..
today, now, on Saturday
227
185
16- Syntax 14
,
...
!~I
Co .I:,.!·~j Co--· . tr" j Co
Exclamations
How strange!
230
How quickly they replied .
.r~~~~~i eo How hardworking they are .
.
' ·:,11 \tl ~~ --. ' Noun after ''j! in affirmative ._;}..) - . ~
15
'
exceptive sentence
206. Table 40: Uses of word
Co.
'
201
This table summarises the principal uses of the
Co , with references to other paragraphs: Example
Use 1 Negative of the perfect
(some with special meaning) 2
Everybody
'
attended except the minister.
. I~ Co
. (r..U Ju
Para .
He remained poor.
40 189
What is this?
169
They have not alTived
eo
'what': interrogative, 'what?'
~~Co
relative, 'that which'
._r_;wl ~ ~)Li Co IJ~'.J They
,
. ',_,. Co
~~~~
What is the purpose?
168
-'
' '
repeated what they said in the report.
3
4
Forming some conjunctions
~ Co\rr~
(sometimes wtitten like
t'J} .
a suffix)
as, while, when, whenever, however
Indefinite expressions
Co G.~ .Co~
Co
as long as
us- .Co~ ,1::~~ . w-
197
203
somebody, some day 5
Comparison, 'as ... as possible'
6
Exclamations
~Co~~ ' ' ,
as much as possible
154/ 178
How difficult it is.
230
...
.~I Co
207. Table 41: Alternative Structures: Many structures have alternatives with similar meaning. The principal alternatives possible are shown below, with references to other paragraphs:
Arabic Grammar
186
Example
Alternatives 1 ~j +subjunctive
def. verbal noun
Para .
.m:. )· 1~ .1..~·< . _..,•. i:c:---:'
.~C.:,JI ~8' ... ,.. ...
190
'
t- 1..:· ~ ...
He can write the letter.
.~~~i~) ,. ,.., 1... ::
)I
J.
..;y.~ .U..) We want him to cooperate . (also indirect
1 .''"'11~ ·.j G:ll, .r- ~_.., .
command/request)
.~ ~~:~__. ·I
'
~
G;u,
187
We
demanded that they resume work.
.
2 )'I +subjunctive
iJ.&. +definite
··-
'
verbal noun
-·.~·~--·~.MJ iJ.&. .P..) We
ask that they do not smoke . 3
\J> \~\:.J - -
J+ definite
'
~~ + subjunctive verbal noun
4
~! \~ i + indirect
.--·~1' ·) ~ ~~ ~ ~ -' '
.~_,JI ~~1 ~~
We did it to clarify the situation.
,
def. verbal noun
,
,
•
. . . . . _..,.
•
,. .......
·~.;!.;~ ~.r.i-
•LI
statement
190
""I
185
. {• •• --~ j
.o -:~f:~~
He told them he rejected it.
.~ .:w:...:. ';). ~! J lj '
'
(verb of statement
5 conjunction + time clause
.~ ~-,)(.,·._: -1 !'i&, ~ ~ He
may change)
said he was unprepared for it.
preposition +
... l~~i~\L:~
def. verbal noun
... IT_,..,.J
197
':..__j •• ,. '\'. ''
~ J:..&. '
... when/after they arrived 6 conjunction + clause of reason
198
..,
+ def. verbal noun ~j ~~ ~ "
... because
he was absent yesterday
187
16- Syntax
.1..,.! ~\til> if
7 conjunction +
... ~~ rs;
194
J
conditional clause + def. verbal noun ... ~~~~G. If he protests ... 8 conjunction +
195
concessive clause + def. verbal noun ...
~;. ~ rl)~ Although she is/was ill ...
9 imperfect active:
·t~l ~-.)~ ~
active participle
192
·r~~ ~;,_.)~ ~
simple tense
We are leaving today.
47
continuous perfect tense They were sitting in court. 10 relative clause
participle: active
... JJ ~J~~ ~~~ ~81 ... J''w'J~-'~ I V""WI The
168/ 192
people (who are) travelling to ..
... ,..~~ ~_,) 1.5.111 ,.. ..... jllJ'JI ... ...
passive of a
.
... ~~ :.,.,~ llll JllJ'J I , ,
transitive verb
168/ 52
The agreement (which was) negotiated yesterday ... passive of a
... ~ l.,illl ~~ i'.);...)l -,
prepositional verb
... ~ Ji~'ll i'.)~ I
168/ 52
The draft (they) agreed on ...
J
11 construct
~ ~~ .))IJI t..c:..... - ·J • , ,
,
,
,
,
148
.))I.JJ • ~ - .J ~~ t..w1 , ,
, ,
the country's foreign policy 12 auxiliary verb
imperfect
+
, ' • ' IL
,,
auxiliary verb +
.~_,.,~ J~
verbal noun
·l":r: J-~
Sing.: l. noun, in counting. 2. def.Jindef. adj.
iJ8I
iJ8I
Dual: l. noun, in counting. 2. def.Jindef. adj.*
~'jj
~'jj
t ... .... ~
.- ... ~
" Y'
4A~.;I t . . • -:
f.. 0
(
~-
t'·;l 2. Def. or indef. noun, followed by counted noun in
.
~
~
~
v->
t' J.j...,
'v
t ... ....
-
'-
~
(7'
A
t~~
**iJW
.
w
t-. u....;
-
'.
"'"'"' ...
i~
l. Noun (diptote), in counting.
construct, in the indefinite genitive plural. Number stands in its own case, but has polarity
~
~
•
·-
~.
-
~ ~·
of gender with the counted noun.
-
~
3. Definite adjective, following definite counted noun. The definite counted noun stands in its own case, and the definite number agrees in case but has polarity of gender with the counted noun.
* This number is used adjectivally only for emphasis.
. --
** iJW
is declined like a defective active participle; see 117. It becomes
~W with a feminine counted noun.
--
See 178 for the indefinite pronoun expression 'one of ... '. Examples of use:
~G ~r,) ~ one petmanent member
1: Nom.:
Ace.:
i~ Gll/, one document
Gen.:
i~[,ll ~.)Q.I.t.J~ for the one neutral state
2: Nom.:
1-Ji ...iJ8I ...iJ~ iJC,_)J ... ... ...
Acc./Gen.:
only two technical reports
;_:-:ti(JI) u;Jl:..~(JI) (the) two letters
-- - - - -._,
-
~-~ --,.~
3-10: Nom.: ~J ~ ~~
three leading representatives
17- Numbers
~)JII.S~I ~~I 1-S~~.~·~ ~~I
r
Ace.:
Gen.:
}
191
the four big states
·.-itl ~-~c;. their five principles
L.lJ. .wj ::..._
six important points
-.~ • c,~~ t· 4-- ·w -~
with eight diplomats
~~-~~~--~~~-~~~ ~ ~~I_J;~~~~
} from the seven industrialised countries
211. Table 43: Cardinal Numbers 11 to 19. See 209 above for general provisions. The following table shows the use of numbers 11 to 19. Number
Referring to: masc. noun
~~~
"'~
~WI
-
........
"''l~
\f
~J.:j
\£..
~~~
'0
".. "-" -: ~~
''
?~
.
..
.. ,.
\V
'" "
...
.-$
Use and form of the number
fern. noun
i~ 1-S:b.! 1. Noun, in counting. i--·?- 81 .. ~ 2. Def. or in de f. noun, followed by counted
-
"''')13~ i?CI
noun in indefinite accusative singular .
,.,
. . . • . . ,. ... j i?~.J
.....
.. . .
Only the 2 of 12 is declined (as a dual); it
...
i?~
agrees in gender with the counted noun.
..........
i?..::..... -
~ ;:.:-. i~~ --A- ,_ ·w --· - - w~ i?~ ~4 ..... . -- . ~ ;:.· - i?~ "' "'
,;
All other units, and all tens, are invatiable for case, units 3-9 having polarity of gender with the counted noun. 3. Definite adjective*, usage identical to that of nos. 3-9; except that the 2 of 12 agrees as dual adj., units 3-9 having polarity.
* Only the units element of the compound is made definite. Examples of use of 11 to 19: ~
• 4
)l.lS' G:...,.;.1 ~~I 11 complete weeks
Nom.:
i~ 8~1
GJ4)t_,
-
-
Ace.:;~ ;..lJ.I ~~~I ~\11
-
our 12 provinces the last 14 months
*"'" .............. , ~_,...a.,pl. V"'W.I
.-.
~
,1.
.~
~.pl.tWI
ninth
,#~j
~.pl. J
tenth
See 214 for the common colloquial pronunciation of unit numbers 3 to 9 with the plurals of these fractions. Examples:
.;~1 both halves
Nom.:
61
'."II I) ~ ;s~ f=-1" ~t:j. :.,ill
Ace.:
3 Is
of the profit
2 /3
of his loss
~~I ~1 ~~-~
t in 3/4 of the budget Gen.: Fractions with denominators higher than 10 are expressed with the cardinal number, preceded by~ 'over' or ::,..0 'out of'. Both parts of the fraction are in the counting form: IY\
~:PIVA\~~;.;_1
11
-
' '
222. Percentage. Percentage is expressed with ~4 or ~I~: -~\
_,:;....J ~)
/'0
65%.
' ' '
' '
-'
... ... -.... ... ... ... .... See 214 for the generally used colloquial pronunciation. #
223. Nil. 'Nil' in statistics, tables etc. can be expressed with~ · 'zero', but is equally commonly expressed with the words ~;
""i
'it is not found'.
This form is the 3rd person masculine singular of the imperfect indicative passive
,
...
of the assimilated verb~
, ......
~.J
I, 'to find' (see 95).
224. Time: Complete Hours. Time is expressed with the noun
#,
'
~l.....
'hour/clock/watch'. The number of the hour is put into the definite cardinal form
.
for 'one', and the definite ordinal form (see 216 and 217) for the other numbers;
,,
all qualify and agree with ~WI :
i"i>[,JI iJ:.WI
one o'clock
L.)WI iJ:.L...J1
six o'clock
Note: • 'It is ... o'clock' is expressed either with the cardinal number in the form
appropriate to a masculine noun, or the definite ordinal number, agreeing
17- Numbers
201
with ~UI:
~1}1\t.;) ~UI '
"'
,
It is four o'clock. "'
,
• 'at' with times is~: ~WI ~WI ~ at 8 o'clock.
-
Other important vocabulary:
r·t::.all
., b.~ .
~
_Ahll~
'
--
in the morning, a.m. at midday
'
~1~\Ahll~ -"" ...
in the afternoon, p.m.
"'
,WI ~\:C.:. in the evening, p.m. '
-'
J)JI~~ at midnight
...
""
""
-""
in the daytime at night at ... o'clock precisely 225. Time: Incomplete Hours. Time with incomplete hours is expressed with the hour (see 224) followed by J' 'except' (followed,
NB,
'and' for time past the hour and '~!
by the genitive) for time to the hour, as in French. The
hour has five important points, marked by definite fractions (see 221):
',;,/t(, .._!J' J
' ,· ,,
~'(
.
~J '
;~J~t(. twenty past
a quruter past
J
~ ,~.1