Arabic Language Grammar (Nahw and Sarf) Syllabus

List the attached possessive pronoun suffixes for singular persons.

ـي (my), ـكَ (your m.s.), ـكِ (your f.s.), ـهُ (his), ـها (her). They attach to the end of a noun: كِتابي (my book), كِتابُكَ (your book).

List the attached possessive pronoun suffixes for plural persons (and the dual).

ـنا (our), ـكُم (your m.pl.), ـكُنّ (your f.pl.), ـهُم (their m.), ـهُنّ (their f.). Dual: ـكُما (your two), ـهُما (their two). Example: بَيْتُهُم (their house).

How does an attached possessive pronoun affect the definiteness of its noun, and can it co-occur with الـ or tanwin?

Attaching a possessive pronoun makes the noun definite (it becomes a mudaf). Therefore it can NOT take الـ or tanwin: correct is كِتابي (my book), never الكِتابي or كِتابٌي.

Give the masculine, feminine, and plural forms of the near demonstrative 'this/these'.

هذا (hadha, this m.s.), هذِهِ (hadhihi, this f.s.), هؤُلاءِ (ha'ula'i, these — for people/plural). Dual: هذانِ / هذَيْنِ (m.), هاتانِ / هاتَيْنِ (f.).

Give the masculine, feminine, and plural forms of the far demonstrative 'that/those'.

ذلِكَ (dhalika, that m.s.), تِلْكَ (tilka, that f.s.), أولئِكَ (ula'ika, those). Most demonstratives are indeclinable (mabni).

When a demonstrative modifies a definite noun (e.g., 'this book'), what must the noun carry, and how is 'this is a book' different?

To say 'this book', the noun must be definite with الـ: هذا الكِتابُ. Without الـ it becomes a full sentence: هذا كِتابٌ = 'This is a book.' The definite article distinguishes an attribute from a predicate.

What is the Arabic relative pronoun for a masculine singular antecedent, and for a feminine singular?

Masculine singular: الَّذي (alladhi). Feminine singular: الَّتي (allati). Both mean 'who/which/that' and are used only with definite antecedents.

Give the relative pronouns for masculine plural and feminine plural antecedents.

Masculine plural: الَّذينَ (alladhina). Feminine plural: اللاتي / اللَّواتي (allati/allawati). Dual: اللَّذانِ / اللَّتانِ.

State the key rule about relative pronouns and the definiteness of the antecedent.

A relative pronoun (الَّذي etc.) is used ONLY when the antecedent is definite. If the antecedent is indefinite, NO relative pronoun is used — the relative clause simply follows the noun directly. E.g., الرَّجُلُ الَّذي جاءَ (the man who came) vs. رَجُلٌ جاءَ (a man who came).

What is an idafa (إضافة) construction, and what are its two parts called?

An idafa is a genitive/possessive construction linking two nouns ('X of Y'). The first noun is the مُضاف (mudaf, the possessed) and the second is the مُضاف إليه (mudaf ilayhi, the possessor). Example: بابُ البَيْتِ = 'the door of the house.'

State the case of each term in a basic idafa, using بابُ البَيْتِ.

The first term (mudaf) takes whatever case its role in the sentence requires — here nominative بابُ. The second term (mudaf ilayhi) is ALWAYS genitive: البَيْتِ (kasra).

List the two things the first term (mudaf) of an idafa can NEVER take.

The mudaf can never take: 1) the definite article الـ, and 2) tanwin. Example: correct is كِتابُ الطالِبِ, never الكِتابُ الطالِبِ or كِتابٌ الطالِبِ.

How is the definiteness of a whole idafa chain determined? Give both cases.

The definiteness of the phrase is set by the LAST term (final mudaf ilayhi). If it is definite, the whole idafa is definite: بابُ البَيْتِ (the door of the house). If it is indefinite, the whole idafa is indefinite: بابُ بَيْتٍ (a door of a house).

In an idafa chain of three nouns (e.g., 'the door of the house of the man'), which nouns take الـ and which case is each in?

Only the final noun may take الـ. All middle nouns are simultaneously mudaf and mudaf ilayhi: بابُ بَيْتِ الرَّجُلِ. بابُ = case per role; بَيْتِ = genitive (as mudaf ilayhi) but bare (as mudaf); الرَّجُلِ = genitive + definite.

When an idafa is modified by an adjective, where does the adjective go, and what does it agree with?

The adjective comes AFTER the complete idafa (never inserted between the two nouns). It agrees with whichever noun it describes in gender, number, case, and definiteness. E.g., 'the new door of the house' = بابُ البَيْتِ الجَديدُ (adjective for 'door', nominative) vs. بابُ البَيْتِ الجَديدِ ('the door of the new house', genitive).

Why can adjectives in an idafa sometimes be ambiguous, and how is the intended meaning shown?

Because the adjective follows the whole idafa, it could describe either noun. The case ending and gender agreement disambiguate: in سيّارةُ المُديرِ الجَديدةُ, the feminine + nominative الجَديدةُ shows it describes سيّارة (the new car of the director), not المدير.

State the four dimensions on which an Arabic adjective must agree with its noun.

An adjective (na't/sifa) agrees with its noun in: 1) gender, 2) number, 3) case (i'rab), and 4) definiteness. Example: الطالِبُ المُجْتَهِدُ (the diligent student — both masc., sing., nom., definite).

How does the adjective differ in الوَلَدُ الطَّويلُ ('the tall boy') vs. وَلَدٌ طَويلٌ ('a tall boy')?

In both, adjective follows noun and agrees in gender/number/case. Definiteness agreement: definite noun → definite adjective with الـ (الطَّويلُ); indefinite noun → indefinite adjective with tanwin (طَويلٌ).

What is the special agreement rule for adjectives modifying non-human (irrational) plurals?

Plurals of non-human/inanimate nouns are treated grammatically as feminine SINGULAR. So the adjective is feminine singular: كُتُبٌ جَديدةٌ (new books), and بُيوتٌ كَبيرةٌ (big houses), not plural adjectives.

What is the af'al pattern used for, and give the comparative form of كَبير (big).

The pattern أفْعَل (af'al) forms the comparative/superlative ('elative') from a triliteral adjective. كَبير → أكْبَر (bigger/biggest). It is derived from the adjective's three root letters placed in the أفعل mold.

How is a comparative ('bigger than') constructed in Arabic, and does the af'al form change for gender/number?

Use the af'al form + مِنْ (min, 'than') + the compared noun in genitive: أحمدُ أكْبَرُ مِنْ عَلِيٍّ (Ahmad is bigger/older than Ali). As a comparative, the af'al form is invariable — it does NOT change for gender or number.

How is the superlative ('the biggest') expressed with af'al? Give two constructions.

1) af'al as the first term of an idafa: أكْبَرُ وَلَدٍ (the biggest boy). 2) af'al with الـ agreeing with a definite noun: الوَلَدُ الأكْبَرُ (the biggest/eldest boy). In the definite construction it agrees in gender/number (e.g., الكُبْرى for feminine).

Give the af'al comparative for a color/defect-type adjective like أحْمَر (red) — what is the workaround?

Colors and physical-defect adjectives already use the أفعل pattern, so they cannot form a direct comparative. Instead use أكْثَر / أشَدّ ('more/more intense') + the noun in accusative (tamyiz): أكْثَرُ حُمْرةً (more red / redder).

What is a nisba (نِسْبة) adjective, and how is it formed for a masculine noun?

A nisba adjective expresses relation/origin ('-ian, -ic, pertaining to'). It is formed by adding the suffix ـِيّ (-iyy) to a noun, usually after dropping any final ة or ة/ا. Example: مِصْر (Egypt) → مِصْرِيّ (Egyptian); عَرَب → عَرَبِيّ (Arab/Arabic).

How is the feminine nisba adjective formed, and give an example.

Add ـِيّة (-iyya) to form the feminine: مِصْرِيّة (Egyptian woman/thing), لُبْنانِيّة (Lebanese f.). The masculine ـِيّ becomes feminine ـِيّة.

What happens to a final ة (ta marbuta) or ـا/ـة when forming a nisba? Give an example.

The final ة (and often a final long vowel) is dropped before adding ـِيّ. Examples: مَكّة → مَكِّيّ (Meccan); جامِعة → جامِعِيّ (university-related, academic); فَرَنْسا → فَرَنْسِيّ (French).

In the Arabic color pattern, what are the masculine, feminine, and plural forms for basic colors? Use 'red' as the model.

Basic colors follow: masculine أفْعَل, feminine فَعْلاء, plural فُعْل. Red: أحْمَر (m.), حَمْراء (f.), حُمْر (pl.). Likewise أخْضَر/خَضْراء (green), أزْرَق/زَرْقاء (blue), أصْفَر/صَفْراء (yellow), أسْوَد/سَوْداء (black), أبْيَض/بَيْضاء (white).

How do basic color adjectives (أفعل pattern) behave regarding tanwin, and why?

They are diptotes (ممنوع من الصرف / mamnu' min al-sarf): they do NOT take tanwin and use fatha instead of kasra in the genitive when indefinite. E.g., بَيْتٌ أحْمَرُ (a red house, nom.), فِي بَيْتٍ أحْمَرَ (in a red house — أحْمَرَ, not أحْمَرٍ).

Give an example sentence describing a person physically, showing correct noun-adjective agreement.

رَجُلٌ طَويلٌ نَحيفٌ (a tall, thin man) — both adjectives masculine, singular, nominative, indefinite to match رَجُل. Feminine: اِمْرَأةٌ طَويلةٌ نَحيفةٌ (a tall, thin woman), with ة added for feminine agreement.

Summarize the agreement of the feminine color حَمْراء in a definite phrase, e.g., 'the red car'.

السَّيّارةُ الحَمْراءُ (the red car). The color takes the feminine فَعْلاء form (حَمْراء) to agree with the feminine noun سيّارة, plus الـ to match its definiteness, and nominative ending to match its case.