Elementary Arabic Syntax 1

8/7/2019 Elementary Arabic Syntax 1

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ELEMENTARY ARABIC SYNTAX1

( MAB D AL- ARAB YYAH )

BY: RASH D AL-SHART N

TRANSLATED BY: HAMIDHUSSEIN WAQAR



ARABIC SYNTAX



LESSON ONE

A COMPLETE SENTENCE

1. Can a sentence be made up of only one word?2. What is an example of a complete sentence?3. What does a sentence consist of?4. Does every sentence have a verb, noun and preposition?

1. One word is insufficient to express one¶sintended meaning. One must use two or more wordsto convey a complete sentence.

2. An example of a complete sentence is:

(knowledge is beneficial.)

3. A sentence is made up of single words which aredivided into three categories: verbs, nouns and prepositions.4. A sentence is not conditional on always having averb, noun and preposition. Instead it can be madeup of:

A. T wo nouns: (Allah is just.)



5 . Syntax teaches us the different cases of wordswhen they are found in different combinations.

6.T

here are two types of words that are put intocombinations:

A. Indeclinable: the end of the word does notchange.

B . Declinable: the end of the word changes.

7. One must know the declinable and indeclinablewords in order for his speech to be correct. He mustalso know the different cases of declinable words inorder to stay away from mistakes.

8. T here is no rule which teaches us what the lastsyllable of a indeclinable word should be, insteadwe must refer to dictionaries.

9. T here are rules that teach us what the last syllableof a declinable word should be.

10. T he different cases of declinable words are asfollows:

A. For verbs: nominative, subjunctive and jussive

B . For nouns: nominative, accusative andgenitive

11. If we want to correct our mistakes in speech wemust know when a verb is nominative, subjunctiveor jussive and we must know when a noun isnominative, accusative or genitive.



LESSON THREE

SUBJUNCTIVE CASES OF A VERB

12. When is a verb put into the subjunctive case?

12. A verb is put into the subjunctive case if itfollows one of the four following prepositions:

For example:

1. (Iwant to learn syntax.)



2. (Amiser will not begenerous.)

3. (In that case, we

will let you stay in our house.)

4. (Study so that you preserve.)

LESSON FOUR

JUSSIVE CASES OF A VERB

13. When is a verb put into the jussive case?14. How many kinds of jussive prepositions arethere?



13. A verb is put into the jussive case when it is

preceded by one of the following prepositions:

14.T here are two types of jussive prepositions:

A. Four of them put one verb into the jussive case:

1. for example: (Nobodycame.)

2. for example: (He learned to read and has not

written yet.)3. for example:

(You must become happy, yourself.)

4. for example: (Don¶t loose hope in Allah¶smercy)

B . T welve of them put two verbs after theminto the jussive case.T he first verb is the



conditional verb and the second verb isits answer.

1. for example: (If you become lazy you will suffer a loss.)

2. for example: (Whenever you learn you will advance.)3. for example:

(whoever seeks finds)4. for example:

(Whatever you learnin youth will benefit you in old age.)

5 . for example: (whenever you order me to do good I

will do it.)6. for example:

(whoever you respect I respect)7. for example:

(Whenever you go youwill pass by well.)

8. for example: (Whenever your inner-

self becomes fixed your outer-appearancewill become fixed.)

9. for example: (wherever you go you will be saved)

10. for example: (whenever you ask me I will answer you.)



11. for example: (Wherever a scholar goes he

will be respected.)12.

for example:

(Wherever you fall you will stay.)

LESSON FIVE

NOMINATIVE CASES OF A VERB

15 . When is a verb put into the nominative case?16. Are vowel signs present at the end of a weak verb?



15 . A verb is put into the nominative case if it is not preceded by a subjunctive or jussive preposition.For example: (the rain is falling)

16. If the last letter of weak verb is analif , thedummah is erased in the nominative case and the

fath ah is erased in the subjunctive case.B ut, if thelast letter of the weak verb is either aw w or a y ¶ ,the dummah is erased in the nominative case because of the difficulty of pronouncing it.

LESSON SIX

NOMINATIVE CASES OF A NOUN

17. In how many different cases is a noun put intothe nominative case?



17. A noun is put into the nominative case in sixdifferent cases:

A. First: if it is an actor B . Second: if it is a subject of the

predicateC. T hird and fourth: If it is a inchoative or predicate

D. Fifth: If it is an inchoative of the verbk na or one of its sisters

E. Sixth: If it is a predicate of inna or oneof its sisters

LESSON SEVEN

ACTOR

18. What is an actor?19. Does the verb remain in the same form if theactor is feminine?20. Does the verb remain in the same form or is it put into the plural form if the actor is in the dual or plural form?



18. An actor is a noun that is preceded by a verband denotes the person who carried out that verb.

For example: (the child played).Here, child is the actor because it came after theverb and denotes who played.

19. If the actor is feminine the verb is placed intothe feminine form by adding at ¶ to the end of a preterite tense verb or at ¶ at the beginning of anaorist tense verb. For example:

(Maryam traveled and Salma is

traveling.)20. T he verb remains in the single form even if theactor is in the dual or plural form.



LESSON EIGHT

SUBJECT OF THE PREDICATE

21. What is a subject of the predicate?22. What is the difference between an actor and asubject of the predicate in terms of meaning?23. What state is the verb in when there is a subjectof the predicate?24. What is a sentence that has a verb and an actor or a subject of the predicate called?

21. A subject of the predicate is a noun that takesthe place of the actor in a sentence after the actor iserased. For example: (A watchwas stolen.)

22. An actor is the one who performs the actionwhere the subject of the predicate is the one that theverb was performed on. When we say that Josephstole a watch, Joseph is the actor because he is theone who stole.B ut, if it is unknown who stole thewatch or we do not want to mention his name, wesay: A watch was stolen. Here we erased the actor from the sentence and placed the thing that receivedthe action µwatch¶ in its place. We also put the verbinto the passive tense.



23. T he verb should be placed into the femininestate if the subject of the predicate is feminine.T heverb should remain in the singular state if thesubject of the predicate is in the dual or plural form.

24. A sentence consisting of a verb and an actor or subject of the predicate is called a verbal sentence.For example: (T he rain fell.)

LESSON NINE

INCHOATIVES AND PREDICATES

25 . What is a inchoative and what is a predicate?26. How many kinds of predicates are there?27. What is a sentence comprised of a inchoativeand a predicate called?



25 . A inchoative and a predicate are nouns thatmake up a complete sentence. For example:

(T he believers aretruthful.)

26.T here are three kinds of predicates:A. Single word: (Silence

is beautiful.)B . Sentence (both nominal and verbal)C. Prepositional phrase (which is either

comprised of an adverb of time or placeor a word preceded by a jar preposition(which will be explained later):

(T he snake is in thegrass.)

27. A sentence comprised of a inchoative and a predicate is called a nominative sentence.

LESSON TEN



INCHOATIVE OF THE VERB K ANA OR ONE OF ITS SISTERS AND THEPREDICATE OF THE PREPOSITION

INNA OR ONE OF ITS SISTERS

28. What isk ana ?29. What isinna ?30. Are there other verbs that perform the sameaction ask ana ?31. Are there other prepositions that perform thesame action asinna ?

28. Kana is a verb that is placed before aninchoative and a predicate and puts the inchoative inthe nominative case and puts the predicate in theaccusative case. For example: (T he cold weather was severe.)

29. Inna is a preposition that is placed before aninchoative and a predicate and puts the inchoative inaccusative case and the predicate in the nominativecase. For example: (Verily, thecold weather is severe.)

30. T here are twelve verbs that perform the sameaction ask ana and are calledk ana¶s sisters.T heyare:



31.T

here are five prepositions that perform thesame action asinna and are calledinna¶s sisters.T hey are:

LESSON ELEVEN

ACCUSATIVE CASES OF A NOUN



32. How many different cases are there where anoun is put into the accusative case?

32. A noun is put into the accusative case in elevendifferent places:

A. If it is an objective complimentB . If it is a congnateC. If it is an adverbal qualification of

purposeD. If it is an adverbal qualification of time

or place

E. If it is ama¶ accusativeF. If it is an exceptiveG. If it is anh l accusativeH. If it is an specificativeI. If it is a vocativeJ. If it is a predicate of the verbk ana K. If it is an inchoative of the preposition

inna

LESSON TWELVE

OBJECTIVE COMPLIMENTS ANDCOGNATES



33. What is an objective compliment?34. What is a congnate?

33. An objective compliment is a noun that receivesthe action of a verb, but does not change thestructure of the verb. For example:

(T he student sharpened a pencil.) In thissentence, pencil is the objective compliment because it received the verb to sharpen and does notaffect the structure of the verb. Of course, if anobjective compliment affects the structure of theverb it is a predicate and must be put in thenominative case.

34. A congnate is a noun that is mentioned after theverb:

A. for emphasis: (T he watchman

murdered the thief a murder.)B . for explanation:

(B e patient, a beautiful patience.)

C. for numeration: (T he watch ticked two ticks.)



LESSON THIRTEEN

ADVERBAL QUALIFICATIONS OFPURPOSE AND ADVERBAL

QUALIFICATIONS OF TIME ANDPLACE

35 . What is an adverbal qualification of purpose?36. What are the signs of an adverbal qualificationof purpose?37. What is an adverbal qualification of time and place?38. Are all of the nouns that denote time or placeable to put into the accusative case because of their being adverbs?



35 . An adverbal qualification of purpose is a nounmentioned after the verb to express the purpose of the verb. For example:

(T he army stopped, honoring the

commander.) In this sentence the word honoring isthe adverbal qualification of purpose because it isexpressing the reason why the army stopped.

36.T he sign of an adverbal qualification of purposeis that it should be the answer to the question whyafter the verb. For example:

(T he city was beautified torespect the governor.)

37. An adverbal qualification of time and place is aadverb of time or place or noun mentioned toexpress the time of the verb or where it took place.For example: (Iwas present in the morning in front of the teacher.)

38. Every noun that denotes time is able to be putinto the accusative case because of their beingadverbs. For example:

(I traveled a month and a day and an hour.)B ut, not all nouns that denote a place are able to be put into the accusative case, only words that are notclear are able to be put into the accusative case, for example directions or distances.



LESSON FOURTEEN

MA¶ ACCUSATIVE AND THEEXCEPTIVE AFTER ILA

39. What is ama¶ accusative?40. What is an exceptive after ila ?41. When is it obligatory to put the exceptive after ila into the accusative state?

39. Ama¶ accusative is a noun preceded by aw w that has the meaning of with mentioned to describewhat the action was performed with. For example:

(Go on the new road.)

40. An exceptive after ila is a noun mentioned after the prepositionila which has a different ruling thanwhat was mentioned beforeila . For example:

(T hestudents left the school, except Kh lid.) Here



Kh lid is the exceptive because it is mentioned after ila and is not part of the rule µleave¶ which is relatedto the students.

41. It is obligatory to put the exceptive after ila into

the accusative state if the phrase before it iscomplete and positive, for example: (People live in comfort,

except lazy people.) Here it is obligatory to put lazy people into the accusative case because the phrase before theila is complete and positive.

LESSON FIFTEEN

THE H L ACCUSATIVE

42. What is ah l accusative?43. What are the signs of ah l accusative?44. How many types of h l accusatives are there?



42. A h l accusative is a noun mentioned todescribe the state of the actor or the objectivecompliment when the action took place. For example: (T he leader came in a

state of victory.) or (I drank water [while it was] pure.)

43. T he sign of ah l accusative is that it is theanswer to the question how. For example, how didthe leader come? - In a state of victory. Or, how wasthe water that you drank? - Clear.T his first exampledescribes the state of the actor and the secondexample describes the state of the objectivecompliment.

44.T here are two types of h l accusatives.

A. Single: B . Sentence:

(Seek knowledge while you areyoung.)

LESSON SIXTEEN



SPECIFICATIVE

35 . What is a spcificative?

35 . A specificative is a noun mentioned to explainwhat is meant by the noun mentioned before it because of its obscurity. For example:

(I bought an amount1 of oil.) If one

only said: ³I bought an amount,´ the listener wouldnot know what was meant. He could have bought anamount of soap, oil or anything else.B ut, when hementions the word oil, the word amount becomesclear and in this sentence oil is an specificative.

LESSON SEVENTEEN

1 A specified weight, in English around 45 0 grams.



VOCATIVE

46: What is a vocative?47. How many forms of vocatives are there?

46. A vocative is the intended result of saying µIcall«¶

47.T here are two forms of vocatives:A. One that is in the possessive form

and accusative case: for example (Ay, Abd Allah or Allah¶s

servent) or a common noun that isnot specified: for example

(Ay heedless one! Payattention.)

B . One that is indeclinable on whatever would put it in the nominative caseand is either a proper noun or acommon noun that is specified. For example: (Ay, Khalid) or

(Ay, man)



LESSON EIGHTEEN

A PREDICATE OF THE VERB K ANA OR AN INCHOATIVE OF THE

PREPOSITION INNA

48. What do you know about the predicate of theverb k ana or its sisters and the inchoative of the prepositioninna and its sisters?

48. T he predicate of the verbk ana and its sisters aswell as the inchoative of the prepositioninna and itssisters has been explained in the section of nominative nouns.2

2 Refer to questions 28-31



LESSON NINETEEN

GENATIVE CASES OF A NOUN

49. How many genitive cases of a noun are there?5 0. How many prepositions are there?5 1. What is the compliment to a prefixed noun?5 2. What is the ruling of a prefixed noun?

49. A noun is put into the genitive case in twocases:

A. If it comes after a preposition.B . If it is a word after a prefixed noun.

5 0. T here are eleven prepositions:



For example: (Iwent from the house to the city.)

5 1. T he word before a prefixed noun is a

compliment to a prefixed noun. For example: (the general¶s maid)

5 2. If the prefixed noun has nunation it must beerased. For example (the city¶s

wall) takes the place of .If the prefixed noun is in the dual form or the masculinesound plural form, then n must be erased. For example:

(the man¶s two hands) takes

the place of .

LESSON TWENTY



5 8. What is a conjunction?

5

6. An adjective is a word that is mentioned after the word it is describing. For example: (A striving student is loved.)

5 7. T he conditions for an adjective are that itfollows the word that it is describing in:

A. In its being a definite or indefinitenoun.

B . In its being masculine or feminine.

C. In its being singular, dual or plural.5 8. A conjunction is a preposition connecting two phrases that follow each other in vowel signs.T he prepositions used as conjunctions are:

For example: (I broke the

pen and ink holder.)



LESSON TWENTY-TWOCORROBORATIVES AND

SUBSTITUTES

5 9. What is a corroborative?60. What is a substitute?

5 9. A corroborative is a word that emphasizesanother word and is used to take away any doubtsabout the emphasized word being used figuratively.T he words used to emphasize are:

For example: (T hecommander visited me, himself.)

Or: (T he army marched, all of it.)



T he word µhimself¶ was used to emphasize thecommander and to take away any doubt that the person coming to visit is the commander himself,not his servant or messenger.

T

he phrase µall of it¶ was used to emphasize thearmy and used to take away any doubt that thewhole army was meant not part of it.

60. A substitute is a word that follows what it issubstituting, either all of it, part of it or somethingthat resembles it.

For example: (Your brother, Abraham, is our friend.)

Or: (I read the book, half of it.)

LESSON TWENTY-THREE



THE VOWEL SIGNS OF WORDS ANDSENTENCES

61. Does the end of an indeclinable word change if it is placed in different parts of a sentence?

61. Every indeclinable word that is placed in acertain part of a sentence is given the declinablestate that it would have had if it was a declinable

word, but this state does not change the word at all.For example: (I am a leaver.)

Or: (Verily, you are truthful.)

Or: (If theintention is truthful the deed will be good.)



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