Listening Comprehension (Sabaʕ Gaar سابع جار) 2 Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Apr 18, 2018
In this week’s post, we’re still looking at the short scenario from the Egyptian TV show سابع جار (the seventh neighbour). As you probably remember, the transcription provided last week was in Egyptian Arabic. This week, however, we’re looking at the Modern Standard version of the same scenario. Make sure you check last week’s transcript…
Arabic Similes Posted by aziza on Apr 13, 2018
A Simile is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g. as brave as a lion) (dictionary.com) In this post, I give some common similes in Arabic. Some of them are similar to English, while others are…
Listening Comprehension (Sabaʕ Gaar سابع جار) 1 Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Apr 11, 2018
Today’s post is a listening practice, based on a short clip from a very popular TV show that is currently being screened on CBC Drama. The show is called سابع جار (the seventh neighbour). The show follows the everyday life details of a number of families who live in the same apartment building. This is…
40 Basic Arabic Grammar Terms Posted by Ibnulyemen اِبْنُ اليَمَن on Apr 10, 2018
When we learn a language as adults, it is like learning any other skill. You need tools and practice. The tools of language are the grammar rules. We need to have sufficient and consistent exposure to these tools to internalize their correct usage. Enough practice and consistent exposure changes our knowledge of these rules from…
Questions Words in Arabic (2) Posted by Ibnulyemen اِبْنُ اليَمَن on Apr 6, 2018
In the previous post, you mastered how to form questions in Arabic using interrogative words/particles أَدَوَات الاِسْتِفْهَام. You now can make yes-no questions and wh-questions. In this post, you will get to know how to form a negative yes-no question, using negative particles along with interrogative particles. Also, you will pick up how prepositions are…
Some insights into people names in the Arab world Posted by Hanan Ben Nafa on Apr 4, 2018
People in the Arab world pay a lot of attention to names and put a lot of effort يبذلون الكثير من الجهد into choosing names for their babies’, boys and girls. As a result, names in the Arab world are often interesting with some unique features خصائص مميزة that perhaps make them stand out. In…
Questions Words in Arabic (1) Posted by Ibnulyemen اِبْنُ اليَمَن on Apr 4, 2018
A question word is a word that is used to ask for information. To ask in Arabic, we use interrogative particles حُرُوْفُ الاِسْتِفْهَام and interrogative nouns أَسْمَاءُ الاِسْتِفْهَام, using Arabic grammatical terms. Combined, they are called أَدَوَاتُ الاِسْتِفْهَام – interrogative particles. The former are used to asked a yes-no questions, while the latter are used…