Arabic Superlative and Comparative Posted by aziza on Feb 6, 2017 in Arabic Language, Grammar, Vocabulary
In Arabic superlative and comparative constructions are expressed using the form (أفعل). We need to mould adjectives using the (أفعل) form as follow:
سهل – أسهل
صعب – أصعب
جميل – أجمل
سعيد – أسعد
كبير – أكبر
When we use the (أفعل) form followed by a noun, we make a superlative construction, e.g.
أكبر بناية = أكبر البنايات = the largest building
أجمل بنت = أجمل البنات = the prettiest girl
أقدم كتاب = أقدم الكتب = the oldest book
أسهل امتحان = أسهل الامتحانات = the easiest exam
When we use the (أفعل) form followed by the preposition (من), we make a comparative construction, e.g.
علي أقصر من خالد.
Ali is shorter than Khaled.
المدينة أكبر من القرية.
A city is larger than a village.
غرفتي أصغر من غرفتك.
My room is smaller than yours.
Now, to put this into practice, please translate the following sentences into Arabic:
Arabic is the hardest language I studied.
I am taller than my sister.
New York is bigger than Alexandria.
I live on the longest street in the city.
Morocco is larger than Tunisia, but Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country.
اللغة العربية هي أصعب لغة درستها.
أنا أطول من أختي.
نيويورك أكبر من الإسكندرية
أسكن في أطول شارع في المدينة.
المغرب أكبر من تونس، لكن السعودية هي أكبر بلد عربي.
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Comments:
Khadija:
I really enjoy getting emails with Arabic practice. It really helps me! Thank you!
Mustafa:
I’m liking the practice sentences a lot. As a non-native speaker it gives me more confidence.
One thing I’d like to add is that by using the comparative like in your examples, you are making an إضافة (genitive construction), so the word after the comparative will have kasrah (or whatever substitutes for it)
مع السلامة
Also, adding ال before it will give it the superlative meaning (أكبر = “bigger”, الأكبر = “the biggest”).
Aboo Jaufurally:
very interesting explanation.easy to understand
musa bature:
نجيريا اكبر من بلد افريفي
Scheich Josef:
@musa bature الجزائر هو أكبر بلد أفريقي، لكن نيجيريا هي أكبر دولة في أفريقيا من حيث تعداد السكان.