Archive for 'Grammar'
Arabic Adverbs (Part 2) Posted by aziza on Sep 9, 2009
In the previous post, I explained that adverbs describe verbs, and that we can derive adverbs from verbs, e.g. كثيراًis derived from كثير“much”. In this post, I present 2 constructions that are used as adverbs in Arabic. The first one is a prepositional phrase. If we use the preposition (ب) followed by the verbal noun…
Arabic Adverbs (Part 1) Posted by aziza on Sep 6, 2009
Adverbs modify verbs. They give extra information about the manner, time, frequency of performing a certain action. Typically, adverbs in Arabic end in (تنوين الفتح), e.g.جداً ، كثيراً ، قليلاً ، دائماً etc. أدرس كثيراً قبل الامتحان. “I study a lot before exams.” لا نأكل كثيراً في الإفطار. “We do not eat a lot at…
Usage of different Arabic particles Posted by aziza on Sep 3, 2009
I got a query recently about the usage of different particles that are made up of one letter only, e.g. ف، ل، ك، ب. In this post, I give some examples of their different uses. First of all, it should be noted that any particle that is made up of one letter only cannot stand…
Expressing Similarity in Arabic with Like or As Posted by aziza on Sep 1, 2009
Following my previous post about comparison, I received a question about how to express similarity in Arabic, and Niji contributed the answer. In this post, I explain more about similarity in Arabic. There are 2 particles that we can use to express similarity, i.e. (كـ) and (مثل). Both of them mean ‘like’ or ‘as’, and…
How to Make Comparisons in Arabic Posted by aziza on Aug 26, 2009
Comparison is between two in terms of a certain quality usually expressed by an adjective, e.g. taller than. When we compare between 2 people or things in Arabic, we typically use the form (أفعل) followed by the preposition (من), e.g. “taller than“ is (أطول من) محمد أكبر من أحمد ولكن أحمد أطول منه. “Mohammed is…
The Difference Between Arabic Verb Forms II and V Posted by aziza on Aug 16, 2009
In this post, I explain the difference between 2 verb forms: form II (فعَّلَ) and form V (تفعَّلَ). Form II is always transitive, i.e. it must take an object at all times, so the sentence in which a form II verb is used must have a subject and an object, e.g. كسّر الولد الزجاج. “The…
Arabic Verbal Noun (Form VI-X) Posted by aziza on Aug 9, 2009
In this post, I explain the verbal noun (المصدر ) and how we can derive it from form VI- form X verbs. مثال المصدر الماضي Verb form تبادُل تبادَل تفاعُل تفاعَلَ Form VI انتظار انتظر انفِعال انفعَلَ Form VII احترام احترم افتِعال افتعَلَ Form VIII اخضرار اخضرّ افعِلال افعَلَّ Form IX استقبال استقبل استِفعال استفعَلَ…