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NOUNS IN ARABIC

The Arabic word can be: A noun, a verb or a particle.

Verb

Particle

Preposition

Conjunction

:

..

Calling Particle

Etc.

Past tense

Human

Present
tense

Animal

Solid

Plant

Place

Time

..

Negation

Noun

Command

Adjective

Pronoun

Demonstrative
Relative
Pronoun

Etc.

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How to recognize a noun?

) (
) (
2- It can have of definition

3- It can have a calling particle


before ( )
4- It can have a preposition
before ()


5- It can show possession

(
)
1- It can have Tanween

*In Arabic possession is expressed - in most cases - by a noun without


(the thing possessed/owned) followed by another noun that has

(
)

) (

or a

proper name (
( )The possessor/owner). In few cases the possessor

comes indefinite.

6- It can have

()

7- We can give information
about it (
)

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The types of nouns


1- Definite or indefinite
Definite

Indefinite

When the noun is specific.


Examples of the most common types of nouns:
1- Proper noun

2- The nouns starting with

When the noun is


not specific:

of definition:

3- The noun added to a definite noun to give


( The book of the

student) the word


here is definite because it is

meaning of possession

followed by a definite possessor.

: ...

5- Demonstrative
: ...

6- Relative Pronoun


: ...

7- The human, animal or anything we call (

)
4- The pronoun

2- Conjugated or built on one form


- Conjugated
: means that the last mark of the noun will change

when it comes in a different position in the sentence.


Ex.

Notice the difference of the last mark in the word

in each example.

- Built on one form


: means that the noun will have the same mark on

the last letter, even if its position changes.

Ex. The pronoun

( he) is, in all cases ending with a Fat-hah


u ) ts9) I %!$# !$# u

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The pronouns, the demonstratives, the relative pronouns are examples of the
most common

nouns.

a- The pronouns

All pronouns with no exception are built on one form

For more details, please see file about Arabic Pronouns. Download from here.
http://quranicarabic.wordpress.com/quraanic-arabic/quraanic-arabicadvanced-level/
b - The demonstratives

That/Those


/
All demonstratives are

This/These


/
/

except those for the they follow the

same conjugation of dual nouns.

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c- The relative pronouns





Human

Non human

(but can be used for


human in some cases)

All relative pronouns are


/

/

except those for dual; they follow the same

conjugation of dual nouns.

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3- Singular, dual or plural nouns


In English, a noun may be singular or plural. Plural refers to more than one.
In Arabic, a noun may be singular, dual or plural. Plural refers to more than two.

The Singular :
The singular is what shows one masculine or one feminine.
Ex.

The conjugation of a singular noun is:


The Cases
(
)

Examples for positions under different


cases
First noun in a sentence :

Information about the :


Doer of the verb

Object :
A noun that shows the time or :


the place

Noun after preposition :


Noun showing the possessor :

Mark of the last


letter

()

()


()

For an easy explanation of the different cases of Arabic Grammar, please go to


http://quranicarabic.wordpress.com/2010/04/10/quraanic-arabic-lesson-3/

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The Dual :
The dual noun is formed from the singular, by adding

) when the
(


) ( - with a before - when the noun is


or


/

When changing a singular noun ending with



to dual, the
noun is and


change to a , to which dual ending is attach


Ex.
/

The Cases

Examples for positions under different


cases

(
)

First noun in a sentence :

Information about the


Doer of the verb

Object :
:
A noun that shows the time or

the place

Noun after preposition :


Noun showing the possessor :

Important comments:
1- The

and

the

Ex.


Letters which
change

()

()

()

are what change in the dual, in the different positions,

not the last mark as in the singular.


2- The letter

with at the end of dual , has no relation with the

conjugation of the dual. It is only an alternative to the sound of Tanween that


you hear in the singular.

might be deleted, if the dual is followed by a possessor




Ex.
( the two daughters of the prophet)

This

No

at the end of

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The Plural :

In Arabic, there are three types of plural: Sound masculine plural, sound
feminine plural and broken plural.

1- The Sound Masculine Plural

It is so called 'sound', because the singular form remain intact or sound,


i.e. the singular is same and only different endings are added to it.
The sound masculine plural noun, is formed from the singular, by adding (
)

when the noun is and (



) when the noun is
or
, this is

a long vowel (ee) with a


Ex.

The Cases

before.

Examples for positions under different


cases

(
)

Letters which
change

First noun in a sentence :

Information about the


Doer of the verb

Object :
A noun that shows the time or
:

the place

Noun after preposition :


Noun showing the possessor :

()

()

()

Important comments:
1- The

and

the

are what change in the dual in the different positions, not

the last mark as the singular.


2- The letter

with at the end of

has no relation with

conjugation of the dual. It is only an alternative to the sound of Tanween



that you hear in the singular.

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- The general rule is that

is used for some masculine

human but it may come, as an exception, with a few rare masculine, nonhuman.
Ex.

( twenty) - (( ) worlds)
()

2- The Sound Feminine Plural

It is so called sound because the singular forms remain intact or sound,


i.e. the singular is same and only different endings are added to it.
The sound masculine plural noun is formed from the singular by adding

) when the noun is


(

) when the noun is and (
or
.

Ex.
/






Notice that we delete



before adding the ()
The Cases
(
)

Examples for positions under different


cases
First noun in a sentence :

Marks which
change

Information about the


Doer of the verb

Object :
A noun that shows the time or
:

the place

Noun after preposition :


Noun showing the possessor :

* The general rule is that

(
)

()

()

is used for feminine nouns (human

and non-human) but it may be used in some cases for masculine.


Ex.


3- The Broken Plural
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( bathroom)

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- It is so called broken because it is formed by breaking up the singular


pattern, by adding or removing vowels and letters: before, in between or
after the singular. I does not have a pattern that you can follow, you
need to learn them individually.
- It can be used for human and non-human.
Ex.

The Cases
(
)

Examples for positions under different


cases

Mark of the last


letter

First noun in a sentence :


Information about the
:
Doer of the verb

Object :
A noun that shows the time or :

Noun after preposition :


Noun showing the :

the place

possessor

Notice that the conjugation


of Broken Plural is exactly as

()

()


()

we will study the Nominative sentence, and its two




main parts:
and you will see more examples of the different types

In the next file

of nouns and their conjugation.

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