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A new type of Arabic definite nouns to look at is the Demonstrative Nouns.
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These Nouns are definite by themselves because they Refer to a definite person, thing or place. They are referring words.
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In English, these are called Demonstrative Adjectives or Adverbs of Place but in Arabic, they are Nouns.
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Arabic has three numbers: singular, dual and plural. Arabic nouns are also masculine or feminine. So, we have different demonstrative nouns that represent or refer to all these three numbers and genders.
(1) هذا = ذا = (he-This) :
It refers to near masculine singular nouns; (persons and things)
Examples: – This is a poet.= هذا شاعر
– This is a book. = هذا كتاب
(2) ذلك =ذاك = (That) :
It refers to faraway masculine singular nouns; (things only).
Examples : – That is the Book no doubt in it. =ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه
– Like father like son. (proverb) = هذا الشبل من ذاك الأسد
(3) هذه= ذه = ذى = هذى = (she-This) :
It refers to near feminine singular nouns; (persons and things).
Examples: – This is a girl. = هذه بنت
– This is a tree. = هذه شجرة
– These are trees. = هذه أشجار
– These are schools. =هذه مدارس
(Note: هذه is also more common with plural non-human nouns instead of هؤلاء .)
(4) تلك = (That/Those) :
It refers to faraway feminine singular or plural nouns; (persons or things).
Examples: – That is a girl. = تلك فتاة
– That is a tree. = تلك شجرة
– Those are trees. = تلك أشجار
(5) هذان = ذان = (These two = Both) :
It refers to near dual masculine nouns.
Examples: – These are two boys. = هذان ولدان.
– These are two books. = هذان كتابان.
(6) هاتان = تان (These two = Both) :
It refers to near dual feminine nouns.
Examples: – These are two girls. = هاتان بنتان
– These are two papers. = هاتان صحيفتان
(Note: When you apply the dual suffix ( ان /ين ) to a noun ending in the closed (marboota) Ta’a, this Ta’a changes to an open Ta’a to allow more letters to be added to the word.)
(7) هؤلاء = أولاء = أولى = أولئك = (These / Those) :
It refers to near plural masculine or feminine nouns; (persons or things).
Examples: – These are heroes. = هؤلاء / أولئك أبطال
– Those are girls. = هؤلاء فتيات
(8) هنا = (Here) :
It refers to near places.
Examples: – Here is the school. = هنا المدرسة
– Here are the schools. = هنا المدارس
– The hotel is here. = هنا الفندق
(9) هناك = هنالك = (There) :
It refers to faraway places.
Examples: – There is a school next to the bank. = هناك مدرسة بجوار البنك
– There are schools. = هناك مدارس
– There is a hotel. = هنالك فندق
– There are hotels. = هنالك فنادق
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Are you ready for learning Pronouns?
Do you know that they are Definite Nouns in Arabic? OK, Next time..!!
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Peace سلام /Salam/
Comments:
Rajapk:
Excellent definition of demon nouns.
Scheich Josef:
مرحبا يا فيصل
I have a question to the English translation of the first example sentences in part (2).
Why do you translate ذلك الكتاب with “that is the book”? I learnt the following:
ذلك الكتاب “that book”
ذلك كتاب “that is a book”
ذلك هو الكتاب “that is the book”
سلام
يوسف
Fisal:
أهلا شيخ يوسف
That sentence in part 2 is a verse from the Qura’an. Here is a good link for good
http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/
the pronoun هو or verb to be is often omitted in Arabic but it is understood from context.
سلام
فيصل
Scheich Josef:
مرحبا يا فيصل
Thank you for the reference to the Qura’an. Indeed your sentence in part (2) is part of verse 2 of sura 2 البقرة “Al Baqara”:
ذلك الكتاب لا ريب فيه هدى للمتقين
The English “translation” of this verse from Madinah
http://www.islamway.net/SF/quran/data/The_Holy_Quran_English.pdf
is:
“This is the Book (the Qur’an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun […].”
Also all English “translations” of this verse offered in your reference
http://www.quranexplorer.com/quran/
use similar words except the one of Abdul Daryabadi:
“This Book whereof there is no doubt, is a guidance unto the God-fearing.”
Of course, the “translations” offered are only more or less free interpretations of the Qur’an text from a religious point of view. Interestingly, they all use “this” instead of “that”.
In accordance with what I learnt I would “translate” this verse as follows:
“That Book, without doubt, is a guidance for the Al-Muttaqun.”
“That Book is without doubt a guidance for the Al-Muttaqun.”
I don’t see any need for inserting “is” after “That”.
Can you give a reference for the camel picture and the “هذا clock”? I think it would be a nice project for children to fabricate such a clock. I am only missing the cases, where there are male and female persons together.
سلام
يوس
Fisal:
@Scheich Josef أهلا شيخ يوسف
You are very welcome. It is true that “translations” are only more or less free interpretations of the Qur’an. I agree with you on using “that” on your translation, but do you really need to use “the” with “Al” when you said “The Al-Muttaqin” ??
As for the verb “is” , let’s agree that it is a must in this sentence because there is no sentence without a verb in English. However, its position can be different according to the context. You arranged your words in a certain order and so did I . That is it simply.
Picture references …. yes .. sorry I didn’t inculde them. I just googled with أسماء الاشارة and chose images. Here is my search result page link :
http://www.google.com.eg/images?hl=ar&q=%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%A1+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9&wrapid=tlif130105868492111&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gJSMTYm3PIeHhQez8aGpCw&ved=0CGgQsAQ&biw=1005&bih=577
سلام
فيصل
Sheikh Jahbooty:
@Fisal Thank you so much for the link. That is the best PDF Quran I have ever seen. I’m putting it on my phone immediately!
Fisal:
@Scheich Josef @ شيخ يوسف
when there is a male and female, you can either refer to each gender with its demon noun or use the male demon noun (females are implied in most ways of addressing males)
فيصل
Scheich Josef:
@ فيصل
You caught me there! It should be:
“That Book, without doubt, is a guidance for the Muttaqin.”
“That Book is without doubt a guidance for the Muttaqin.”
Thanks for the google reference.
يوسف
Laiba:
Assalam o alaikum!
It was a very good effort. Very helpful Indeed! There is a problem, the Hatha Clock is not labeled right.
Thanks for the info.
Assalam o alaikum
Fisal:
@Laiba Assalamo alykom Laiba,
Thanks for your kind words. There is no problem with the “Hatha” clock as it is meant as a tool for kids to practice the demon nouns. Kids should set the hands at the correct pronoun and correct picture and then say the demon noun and correct name(s). It is just a drill tool that any teacher can create for his learners or kids.
Salam
Fisal
Laiba:
OK! Thanks!
Assalam o alaikum!
R:
Assalamo alaikum bro,
First of all, jazakallah for this lesson. By Allah’s grace I’m pursuing a correspondence course in Arabic and your blog is really helpful. Keep up the good work. How about adding audio recordings of the lesson so that one can learn the pronounciation too.
Secondly, the “zalika” of surah al-Baqar has often made me wonder why it is translated as “this” (“yeh” in Urdu). When the Book is in our hands, then why is the word “zalika” used? Of course, Allah knows best.
Fisal:
Assalamo Alaykom R,
For audio and video, please visit and SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel “Arabic Transparent” at http://www.youtube.com/user/ArabicTransparent
For the word “zalika” in Al-Baqara, Allah the Knowledgeable, uses it because it implies the meaning of the word “this” in it. If you break the word you will find that it consists of /za + lika/ = هذا / ذا + لك , so it refers to near and far, it is for demonstration and confirmation. In this verse, Allah is not only addressing us Muslims but non-Muslims as well. This use and explanation confirms the UNIVERSALITY of the Qur’an and Islam. (My personal analysis as a native Arabic Language speaker and Muslim and Allah knows)
Best wishes and luck with your course.
Fisal
aasif:
“(This is) THAT Book no doubt in IT is guidance for the God-fearing.” Both things are referred in the same verse i.e. THAT and IT. THAT is for lohey mahfooz and IT is for what is before us. This is my understanding. Allah knows best!
aasif:
I don’t know whether zalika can be broken down into za and lika in Arabic as I don’t know Arabic. Read my previous comment.
Fisal:
Hi aasif,
Actually the word (zalika)is made up of the demon pronoun (za) and the attached pronound (lika). You can drop (lika) only if you will use a noun, e.g. za kitab or za baab 🙂
sameer:
If you want to have a good translation of the verse 2 0f sura baqara read the translation of imam Ahmad raza Khan which is named as kanzul imam.
Randal Donnellan:
I just added this blog to my feed reader, great stuff. Can’t get enough!
Sheikh Jahbooty:
I read somewhere that Arabic used to have two type of “that” and “there” like they do in Spanish or Turkish.
Turkish:
“şu” = “that, near you”
“o” = “that, but not near either of us, also could mean he, she, or it”
Is this true? Is there a difference between the two words in part 2? Was there a difference at one time? Does one mean “that, near you”, and another mean, “that, not really near either of us”? Which is which?
Also is there a difference between the two words in part 9? In fact, all the same questions about part 9.