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Author (s): Yusuf Mullan

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Table of Contents
The Science of ‫ ﻧﺤﻮ‬........................................................................................ 4
Definition, Purpose and Subject Matter ..................................................... 4
Mapping the Arabic Language................................................................... 4
‫ﻛﻠﻤﺔ‬: ........................................................................................................... 4
The Sentence (‫ﻣﻔﻴﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺮّﻛﺐ‬/‫ )ﲨﻠﺔ‬.................................................................... 5
‫ﻓﻌﻠِﻴﱠﻪ‬/‫إﲰﻴّﻪ‬
ِ : ................................................................................................ 5
The Two Parts of the ‫ إﲰﻴّﻪ‬Sentence: ...................................................... 7
The Two Parts of the ‫ ﻓﻌﻠﻴّﻪ‬Sentence: ...................................................... 7
Grammatical States ..................................................................................... 8
Introduction ................................................................................................ 8
Reflection of Grammatical States - ‫ إﻋﺮاب‬.................................................. 9
Statelessness - ‫ ﻣﺒﲏ‬vs. ‫ﻣﻌﺮب‬....................................................................... 9
Process of Reflection - ‫أﻓﻌﺎل‬ ‫ إﻋﺮاب أﺳﻤﺎء و‬............................................... 12
The 20% of Verbs that are ‫ ﻣﻌﺮب‬.............................................................. 12
Types of ‫ ن‬................................................................................................ 14
Essential Note on ‫ ﺑﻨﺎء‬................................................................................ 15

The 20% of ‫ أﲰﺎء‬that are ‫ ﻣﺒﲏ‬.................................................................... 16

Personal Pronouns - ‫ ﺿﻤﺎﺋﺮ‬................................................................... 17
Relative Pronouns - ‫اﳌﻮﺻﻮﻟﺔ‬ ‫ اﻷﲰﺎء‬........................................................ 21
Demonstrative Pronouns - ‫ اﻷﲰﺎء اﻹﺷﺎرة‬............................................. 23
Verbal Nouns - ‫اﻷﻓﻌﺎل‬‫أﲰﺎء‬................................................................... 24
Adverbs of Time or Place - ‫أﲰﺎء اﻟﻀﺮوف‬.............................................. 24
Words Denoting Sounds or Noises - ‫ أﲰﺎء اﻷﺻﻮات‬............................... 24

Numbers 11-19 - ‫ﺑﻨﺎء‬

‫ ﻣﺮّﻛﺐ‬................................................................... 24
Words denoting vagueness - ‫ ﻛﻨﺎﻳﺎت‬..................................................... 24
Appendix A - Expressiveness of the Arabic Language ........................... 25
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The Science of ‫ﻧﺤﻮ‬

Definition, Purpose and Subject Matter
‫ﻧﺤـﻮ‬ is the science of classical Arabic which deals with how to identify the grammatical

positioning of the three parts of speech; ‫إﺳـﻢ‬, ‫ ﻓﻌـﻞ‬and ‫ ﺣـﺮف‬by recognizing the changes which
occur at their end. In addition to this, it discusses how to connect the parts of speech with one
another and make meaningful sentences.
The purpose of ‫ ﻧﺤـﻮ‬is to guard one from making errors when articulating and understanding
the language of the Arabs. From the various sciences associated with the Arabic language, ‫ﻧﺤـﻮ‬
is by far the most important.
All discussions in ‫ ﻧﺤﻮ‬are centered upon words, phrases, and sentences.

Mapping the Arabic Language

The most basic utterance which comes out of the human beings mouth is termed ‘‫’ﻟﻔـﺬ‬. If it

has no established meaning, it is known as ‘‫ﻬﻤـﻞ‬

َ ‫( ’ ُﻣ‬meaningless), whereas if it does convey
established meaning, it is called ‘‫( ’ َﻣﻮﺿـﻮع‬meaningful). ‫ َﻣﻮﺿـﻮع‬could be either one word, termed
‫( ُﻣﻔ َـﺮد‬single) also known as ‘‫( ’ﻛﻠﻤـﺔ‬word) or a group of words; ‫( ُﻣ َﺮﱠﻛـﺐ‬compound). The group of
words can be linked together so as to result in a complete sentence; ‫ﻛـﻼم‬/‫ﺟﻤﻠـﺔ‬/‫ﻛـﺐ ﻣﻔﻴـﺪ‬ ‫ﻣﺮﱠ‬
(beneficial combination/sentence), or it may constitute a phrase; ‫ﻛـﺐ ﻏﻴـﺮ ﻣﻔﻴـﺪ‬ ‫( ﻣﺮﱠ‬non-beneficial
combination).

‫ﻛﻠﻤﺔ‬:
The Arabic ‘word’ (‫ )ﻛﻠﻤـﺔ‬is divided into three types; ‫إﺳـﻢ‬, ‫ ﻓﻌـﻞ‬and ‫ﺣـﺮف‬. Stated otherwise,
every word in the Arabic dictionary falls into one of these three categories. Unlike English
which has eight parts of speech, in Arabic there are only three. This inconsistency will become
clear only after precise definitions are given to the three types:
1. ‫إﺳـﻢ‬: is the ‘‫ ’ﻛﻠﻤـﺔ‬that gives a full independent meaning in itself and is not linked to time,
e.g. ‫( رﺟـﻞ‬man), ‫( ﺑﻴـﺖ‬house). The category is broader than ‘noun’ in that it also includes three
others from the eight English parts of speech, namely pronouns, adjectives and adverbs.
2. ‫ﻓﻌـﻞ‬: is the ‘‫ ’ﻛﻠﻤـﺔ‬that gives a full independent meaning in itself and is also linked to time,
e.g. ‫ﺐ‬
َ َ‫( َﻛﺘ‬wrote), ‫ﻨﺼ ُﺮ‬
ُ َ‫( ﻳ‬helps). This is exactly the same as the ‘verb’ in English.
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3. ‫ﺣــﺮف‬: is the ‘‫ ’ﻛﻠﻤــﺔ‬which has no independent meaning of its own i.e. can only be

understood after coupling either a noun or a verb to it, e.g. ‫ﻓـﻲ‬ (in), ‫( ﻋﻠـﻰ‬on), ‫( و‬and). This
category includes prepositions, conjunctions, and articles.

The Sentence (‫ﻣﺮّﻛﺐ ﻣﻔﻴﺪ‬/‫)ﺟﻤﻠﺔ‬

A sentence is a group of words that conveys to the point of satisfaction either information or
‫ـﻞ‬ ِ ِ ُ ‫( رﺑـﻲ‬My lord!
desire e.g. ٌ ‫ـﻞ ﻃَﻮﻳ‬
ُ ‫( اﻟ ﱠﺮ ُﺟ‬The man is tall), ‫ـﺎب‬
َ ‫( ُﺧـ ْﺬ اﻟﻜﺘ‬Take the book), ‫إرزﻗْﻨـﻲ‬ َّ Give
me sustenance). It is primarily of two types:
َ ٌ‫ ُﺟﻤﻠـﺔ‬: is the ‫ ُﺟﻤﻠـﻪ‬wherein the possibility of truth and falsehood exists: e.g. ٌ‫ﻋﺎﻗِﻠَـﺔ‬
1. ٌ‫ﺧﺒَ ِﺮﻳّـﺔ‬ ُ ‫اﻟﺒِﻨ‬
‫ـﺖ‬
ِ
(The girl is intelligent), ‫ﺣﺎﺿ ٌﺮ‬ ‫اﻟﻤ َﻌﻠﱢ ُﻢ‬
ُ (The teacher is present).
2. ٌ‫ﺟﻤﻠـﺔٌ إﻧﺸـﺎﺋِﻴَّﺔ‬ ُ : is the ‫ ُﺟﻤﻠـﻪ‬whose meaning does not support the possibility of truth and

falsehood e.g. ‫ﻢ‬ ِ

ٌ َ‫( ﻫﻞ ﻋﻨ َﺪ َك ﻗَـﻠ‬Do you have a pen?), ‫إﺷﺮب اﻟﻤﺎء‬ َ (Drink the water!).
A sentence, essentially, is the conveyance in words of a specific linkage made between two
‘ideas’; one primary, the other descriptive within the mind of the speaker. Now if the two ideas
also exist in the outside world and what the speaker is saying corresponds to the outer reality, it
is termed true. If it does not correspond it is called false. For instance the sentence ٌ‫ﻧﺎﺋِﻢ‬ ‫ َزﻳـ ٌﺪ( َزﻳ ٌﺪ‬is
sleeping) in which the idea of sleeping has been linked affirmatively to ‫ َزﻳـ ٌﺪ‬can be verified by
judging it with the reality. When looking towards what exists in the world, if we see ‫ َزﻳـ ٌﺪ‬is
actually sleeping, it would mean the affirmation is correct, and hence the statement is true.
Otherwise, it would be false. In a ‫ﺟﻤﻠـﺔٌ إﻧﺸـﺎﺋِﻴَّﺔ‬
ُ no such external reality exists. It is the words of
the speaker which for the first time are bringing the two ideas together. ‫ إﻧﺸـﺎء‬literally means to
originate. Now we see clearly why sentences such as questions and commands do not support
truth and falsehood; confirmation and non-confirmation to external reality can not occur due to
there being no such reality.
Keeping in mind the above explanation, EVERY possible sentence can be easily classified
into either ٌ‫ﺧﺒَ ِﺮﻳّـﺔ‬
َ or ‫إﻧﺸـﺎﺋِﻴَّﺔ‬, including sentences about which we know with absolute certitude that
they are true, such as ‘Allah created the heavens’, or likewise with certitude we know their
falsehood, such as ‘The sky is below us’. Both these and similar statements are without doubt
ٌ‫ َﺧﺒَ ِﺮﻳّـﺔ‬sentences, for they have external realities to which they either confirm or not confirm. It is
the existence of this reality (or non-existence) which determines whether the sentence will be
classified ٌ‫ﺧﺒَ ِﺮﻳّﺔ‬
َ or ‫إﻧﺸﺎﺋِﻴَّﺔ‬.
‫ﻓﻌﻠِﻴﱠﻪ‬/‫إﺳﻤﻴّﻪ‬
ِ :
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We said every sentence is essentially made up of two parts; a primary one and a descriptive
one. First they link together in the mind of the speaker. Then they are conveyed through the
medium of words. This linkage which results in a sentence is termed ‘‫’إﺳـﻨﺎد‬. The primary part

or subject of the sentence is called ‘‫إﻟﻴ ِـﻪ‬‫ ’ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ‬and the descriptive part or predicate is known as
‘‫’ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ‬. To illustrate, consider a boy (‫ ) َوﻟَـ ٌﺪ‬and the idea of laziness (‫ـﻞ‬
ٌ ‫) َﻛﺴ‬. There are several
ways these two ideas can be linked together. Some will result in sentences while others will
form only phrases:
1. ‫ن‬
ُ ‫اﻟ َﻜﺴﻼ‬ ‫اﻟﻮﻟَ ُﺪ‬
َ , the lazy boy: a descriptive phrase
2. ‫اﻟﻮﻟَ ِﺪ‬
َ ‫ﺴ ُﻞ‬
َ ‫ َﻛ‬, the boy’s laziness: a possessive phrase
3. ‫ن‬ُ ‫اﻟﻮﻟَ ُﺪ َﻛﺴﻼ‬
َ , The boy is lazy: a full sentence (‫ ﺟﻤﻠﺔ إﺳﻤﻴّﺔ‬- ‫)إﺳﻨﺎد‬.
4. ‫اﻟﻮﻟَ ُﺪ‬ ِ ‫ َﻛ‬, The boy became lazy: also a full sentence (‫ ﺟﻤﻠﺔ ﻓﻌﻠﻴّﺔ‬- ‫)إﺳﻨﺎد‬.
َ ‫ﺲ ِ◌ َل‬
In the third example “‫ن‬
ُ ‫اﻟﻮﻟَـ ُﺪ َﻛﺴـﻼ‬ ‫اﻟﻮﻟَـ ُﺪ‘ إﺳـﻢ‬ ِ
َ ” the َ ’ which appears first is the ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴـﻪ‬i.e. the
primary part of the sentence. The ‫إﺳـﻢ‬ (in this case adjective) ‫َﻛﺴـﻼ ُن‬ is the predicate and it
appears second.
In the fourth example “‫اﻟﻮﻟَـ ُﺪ‬
َ ِ ‫ ” َﻛ‬again it’s the ‫ إﺳـﻢ‬: ‫اﻟﻮﻟَـ ُﺪ‬
‫ـﺲ ِ◌ َل‬ َ which is being talked ‘about’,

so it is the ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴـﻪ‬. Only here it does not appear first, but second. The ِ ‫ َﻛ‬,
‫( ﻓﻌـﻞ‬verb) ‫ـﺲ ِ◌ َل‬
appearing first, is the descriptive part and therefore the ‫ ُﻣﺴﻨَﺪ‬.
We see there is no consistent order in which they must appear. Subject and predicate do not
mean first and second. They mean primary and descriptive. When the sentence comprises of
just two words, as in both the above examples, identifying the two is still relatively easy.
However, like in all languages, sentences in Arabic are not restricted to just two words. They
can be very long. Having sentences which are between ten and say twenty words long is quite
normal in Arabic. It is in such complex sentences that the process of identifying the subject,
(made up of multiple phrases) from the predicate (also compound) becomes somewhat difficult.
A great portion of ‫ ﻧﺤـﻮ‬is devoted to parsing and analyzing sentences in order to determine the
subject from the predicate, for even the basic translation of a sentence depends entirely on it. It
is for this reason great scholars like Ibn Khaldun say “‫ـﺎﻫﻢ‬
ُ ‫اﻟﺘَﻔ‬ ُ ‫” َأﻫ ﱡﻤﻬـﺎ اﻟﻨﱠﺤ ُـﻮ إذ ﻟَـﻮﻻﻩ أﺻ‬.
‫ـﻞ‬ (The

most important of the sciences associated with the Arabic language is ‫ﻧﺤـﻮ‬, for without it no

communication can exist). ‫ ﻟُﻐَـﻪ‬which is knowledge of vocabulary, according to him is the least
important aspect of Arabic.
To make recognition of the ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴـﻪ‬and ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ‬somewhat easier the scholars of ‫ ﻧﺤـﻮ‬further
classify the sentence into two categories based on the first word in the sentence:
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1. ‫أﺳﻤﻴّﻪ‬ ‫ﺟﻤﻠﻪ‬: the sentence which begins with an ‫ إﺳـﻢ‬e.g. ٌ‫اﻟﻮﻟَـ ُﺪ ﻗـﺎﺋِﻢ‬
َ (The boy is standing). The

two parts are known as ‫ ُﻣﺒﺘَﺪا‬and ‫ﺧﺒَﺮ‬

َ (subject and predicate).
ِ ‫( ذَﻫـﺐ‬Hamid went).
‫ﺟﻤﻠـﻪ ﻓﻌﻠﻴّـﻪ‬: the sentence which begins with a ‫ ﻓﻌـﻞ‬e.g. ‫ﺣﺎﻣـ ٌﺪ‬
2. َ َ The two

parts are known as ‫ ﻓﻌﻞ‬and ‫( ﻓﺎﻋﻞ‬verb and subject).

The Two Parts of the ‫ إﺳﻤﻴّﻪ‬Sentence:

The ‫إﻟﻴ ِـﻪ‬

‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ‬, when it appears in an ‫ إﲰﻴﱠـﻪ‬structure, is called ‫ ُﻣﺒﺘَـﺪا‬. With rare exception, it will
be first in the sentence. The ‫ ُﻣﺴﻨَﺪ‬in this type of sentence is called ‫ﺧﺒَﺮ‬ َ.
The Two Parts of the ‫ ﻓﻌﻠﻴّﻪ‬Sentence:

The ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴـﻪ‬, when it appears in the ‫ ﻓﻌﻠﻴﱠـﻪ‬sentence, it is called ‫ ﻓﺎﻋـﻞ‬or subject of the verb
preceding it. Unlike in English, the verb ALWAYS precedes the subject in Arabic. Therefore,
in this type of sentence the ‫ ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴـﻪ‬i.e. the ‫ ﻓﺎﻋـﻞ‬will always come after the descriptive part or
predicate. The predicate (‫ ) ُﻣﺴـﻨَﺪ‬is known simply as ‫ﻓﻌـﻞ‬. These ideas are summarized below in
Table 1-A.
ِ ‫ُﲨﻠَﺔ‬
‫إﲰﻴﺔ‬ ‫ُﲨﻠَﺔ ﻓِﻌﻠِﻴﺔ‬
‫ُﻣﺴﻨَﺪ إﻟﻴﻪ‬ ‫ﻣﺒﺘﺪا‬ ‫ﻓﻌﻞ‬
‫ُﻣﺴﻨَﺪ‬ ‫ﺧﱪ‬ ‫ﻓﺎﻋﻞ‬
Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-A - ‫إﺳـ ـ ــﻨﺎد‬
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Grammatical States
Introduction
Human beings experience emotional states based on interaction with one
another. People make us happy, angry, and sad etc. These states are then
reflected on our faces by our facial expressions i.e. smiles, frowns etc.
Arabic words behave in a similar fashion. They enter grammatical states
because of interaction with surrounding words. These ‘grammatical states’
are then reflected on the last letter of the word. Unlike human emotions,
grammatical states in Arabic are just four:
‫ رﻓﻊ‬- the nominative case.
‫ ﻧﺼﺐ‬- the accusative case.
‫ ﺟﺮ‬- the genitive case.
‫ ﺟﺰم‬- the jussive case.
We see this in the English language to a very restricted degree in
pronouns. Take for example the three variations of the third person
masculine pronoun; he, him and his or for the feminine; she, her and her, for
the second person masculine; you, you and your and for the first person; I,
me and my.
The reason why the same meaning is being conveyed using three
different words is to reflect grammatical state. When the pronoun is
intended to be subject of the verb, ‘he’ or ‘she’ is used. Likewise for object,
one must use ‘him’ or ‘her’. In the English language this discussion is
restricted to pronouns. For nouns, regardless of how the noun is used, there
will be no difference in the way the noun is pronounced. In Arabic this
process is extended to ALL nouns.

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Reflection of Grammatical States - ‫إﻋﺮاب‬

The name given to this process is ‫إﻋـﺮاب‬. Therefore, ‫ إﻋـﺮاب‬is the process
by which grammatical states are reflected on the last letter of words by
change in vowelling or lettering, either explicitly or assumed.
The need for this occurs because in Arabic, we have no other way of
determining whether a given noun is being made the subject of the verb or
the object, or whether it is in the possessive case. There is no rule in Arabic
which states the subject HAS to come before the object. A verb followed by
two nouns can have any of the following three possibilities:
The first is subject and second is object.
Vice versa.
The two nouns together form a possessive phrase
For instance, if the verb ‫ب‬
َ ‫ﺿ َـﺮ‬
َ (hit) is followed by the two nouns ‫َوﻟَـﺪ‬
(boy) and ‫َزﻳْــﺪ‬ (a person’s name), the sentence can have three possible
meanings:
A boy hit Zaid.
Zaid hit a boy.
Zaid’s boy hit… (Someone else)!
It is apparent from the above that some sort of system of reflection is
needed to determine the intended structure while excluding the other two.
In Arabic this is done by giving the last letter a distinct vowelling or
lettering.1
Before moving further it is important to know which of the three parts of
speech experience these states and reflection process, and which do not.
This is important because every word will have some sort of ending
including state-less words. There is a sub-set of words that do not enter
grammatical states and hence there endings have no grammatical
significance. One may liken them to a ‘stoic’ person who remains
emotionless. When confronted with this state-less type of word, one should
be fully aware of its state-less nature and not assume grammatical meaning
from the ending.

Statelessness - ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬vs. ‫ﻣﻌﺮب‬

Now, returning back to our discussion, we said it is important to
understand from the outset which of the parts of speech experience ‘‫’إﻋـﺮاب‬

(i.e. are ‫)ﻣﻌـﺮب‬ and which don’t (i.e. are ‫)ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬, so that false grammatical
assumptions may be effectively avoided. (Refer to the previous section.)
Recall that the purpose of ‫إﻋـﺮاب‬ was to determine between various
grammatical usages, such as subject, object, and possessive case, by way of
last letter reflection. A simple pondering on the three definitions given

1
See Appendix A for a discussion of how meanings are conveyed in the Arabic
language, with reference to Ibn Khaldun and the Prophet (pbuh).

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above will reveal that only ‫إﺳـﻢ‬s have the capacity of ever becoming subject,
object, or being used in the possessive case. To illustrate further, let’s try
making a ‫( ﻓﻌـﻞ‬i.e. verb) the subject of another verb and see how it sounds,
while contrasting it to when a noun is made subject. Went was quick!
Going was quick; meaning the act of going was quick. Primarily, the reason
why ‘went’ did not make sense and ‘going’ did is because ‘went’ has a tense
in it, preventing it from becoming subject, whereas going is an act with no
tense. In any case, from the above explanation and example it becomes
clear that verbs can not be made subject, object etc., and the same goes for
particles. So when these two categories will never become subjects, objects
etc., they have no need for reflection. They should be state-less (‫ )ﻣﺒﲏ‬in their
entirety. Therefore, the logical division should have been as follows:
‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬: all ‫ﻣﻌﺮب‬.
‫أﻓﻌﺎل‬: all ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬.
‫ﺣﺮوف‬: all ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬.
Had the division been like this, things would have been easy and the
discussion would have ended. Unfortunately, the existing reality is a bit
different from this. The reality is as follows:
‫ﺣﺮوف‬: All ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬. (the way they’re supposed to be)

‫أﻓﻌـﺎل‬: 80% ‫( ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬the way they’re supposed to be), 20% ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬. This 20%
needs to be accounted for.
‫أﺳـﻤﺎء‬: 80% ‫( ﻣﻌـﺮب‬the way they’re supposed to be), 20% ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬. This 20%
also needs to be explained.
It is this very explanation which will be the focus of the rest of this
discussion, ‫اﷲ‬ ‫ إن ﺷﺎء‬.
The scholars of ‫( ﺻـﺮف‬Arabic Morphology) have classified the ‫ ﻓﻌـﻞ‬into 4
types, namely:
‫ﻣﺎﺿـﻲ‬, the past tense verb e.g. ‫ـﺐ‬
َ َ‫( َﻛﺘ‬wrote). This category is ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬in its
entirety i.e. No governing agent will ever enter upon a past-tense
conjugation and alter its ending.
‫ﻣﻀــﺎرع‬, the present and future tense verb e.g. ‫ﻨﺼـ ُـﺮ‬
ُ َ‫ﻳ‬ (helps, or will
help)…or one may refer to the first as ‘perfect’ i.e. occurred and the second
as ‘imperfect’, meaning ongoing, either presently in the process of occurring
or will begin at a future time.
ْ ‫( إﺷ ِﺮ‬Drink!)
‫أﻣﺮ‬, imperative or command verb e.g. ‫ب‬
‫ﻧﻬﻲ‬, negative command or prohibition e.g. ‫ب‬ ْ ‫( ﻻ ﺗَﺸ ِﺮ‬Don’t drink)

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To more easily explain the 20% of verbs that do enter grammatical states
and therefore are ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬, we need to modify this classification slightly. This
will be done by examining the last two verbs in a somewhat detailed manner
in the next chapter.

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Process of Reflection - ‫إﻋﺮاب أﺳﻤﺎء و أﻓﻌﺎل‬

Recall from the discussion of the 4 types of ‫ ﻓﻌـﻞ‬in the previous section,
that the ‫( ﻣﺎﺿـﻲ‬the past tense verb) is ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬in its entirety i.e. no governing
agent will ever enter upon it and alter its ending. Skipping ‫ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬ and

leaving it for last, let’s take a look at the remaining two verbs: ‫ أﻣﺮ‬and ‫ﻧﻬﻲ‬.

The 20% of Verbs that are ‫ﻣﻌﺮب‬

Recall that ‫أﻣـﺮ‬, which is the command verb, like all verbs, will have an
active as well as a passive. Each table will have 14 conjugations. (Refer to
the ‫ ﺻـﺮف‬book) However, when contemplating the reality of Amr, we see
something unique not found in the other types of verbs, namely, the fact that
literally speaking commands have to be directed to someone being
addressed. By literal definition, ‫ أﻣـﺮ‬must be second person and in the active
voice, such as Sit! Drink! Read! Etc... Does that mean you can’t use an
‫ أﻣـﺮ‬verb in the passive voice or in other than the second person? Well you

can, but it won’t be a literal ‫أﻣـﺮ‬, it would be a figurative way of speaking.

Take for instance second person passive with the verb ‘to help’ i.e. You
must get helped, or third person active, He must help, or third person
passive, He must get helped. Now contrast these three with just Help! You
will see a sharp difference in literal and figurative application of the term
‘command’ upon the various conjugations of the ‫ أﻣـﺮ‬tables. For this reason,
the scholars of Sarf tend to break down the table of 14 into two smaller
tables, the first being just the middle six conjugations of the second person,
and the other being the remaining 8, a combination of the third person 6 plus
numbers 13 and 14. When they did this, to keep things level, they also
broke down the passive table into two similar tables, although the above
reasoning does not apply to the passive table. Now, instead of two big
tables of 14 and 14, we have four small tables:
‫أﻣﺮ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﻣﻌﺮوف‬ (second person active command) e.g.‫إﺿ ِﺮب‬, Hit!

‫أﻣـﺮ ﺣﺎﺿـﺮ ﻣﺠﻬـﻮل‬ (second person passive command) e.g. ‫ﻟِﺘُﻀـ َـﺮب‬, You
must get hit.
‫( أﻣـﺮ ﻏـﺎﺋﺐ و ﻣـﺘﻜﻠّﻢ‬third & first person active command) e.g. ‫ﻟِﻴَﻀـ ِﺮب‬, He
must hit
‫أﻣـﺮ ﻏـﺎﺋﺐ و ﻣـﺘﻜﻠّﻢ ﻣﺠﻬــﻮل‬ (third & first person passive command) e.g.

‫ﻀﺮب‬ ِ
َ ُ‫ل َ◌ﻳ‬, He must get hit.

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Keeping in mind the whole above discussion, now look at the four small
gardaans of the ‫ ﻧﻬﻲ‬verb which is the negative command:

‫( ﻧﻬـﻲ ﺣﺎﺿـﺮ ﻣﻌـﺮوف‬second person active prohibition) e.g. ‫ﻻ ﺗَﻀـ ِﺮب‬, Don’t
hit!
‫( ﻧﻬـﻲ ﺣﺎﺿـﺮ ﻣﺠﻬـﻮل‬second person passive prohibition) e.g. ‫ﻻ ﺗُﻀ َـﺮب‬, You
must not get hit.
‫( ﻧﻬـﻲ ﻏـﺎﺋﺐ و ﻣـﺘﻜﻠّﻢ‬third & first person active prohibition) e.g. ‫ ﻻ ﻳَﻀـ ِﺮب‬,
He must not hit.
‫( ﻧﻬﻲ ﻏﺎﺋﺐ و ﻣـﺘﻜﻠّﻢ ﻣﺠﻬـﻮل‬third & first person passive prohibition) e.g. ‫ﻻ‬
‫ﻀﺮب‬
َ ُ‫ﻳ‬, He must not get hit.
Note the structure of the eight examples:
‫ إﺿـ ِﺮب‬was the first, then we had three that began with ‘‫’ ِل‬, followed by
four that began with ‘‫’ﻻ‬.

Significant? From a pure ‫ﺻـﺮف‬ perspective, not really, because verb

conjugation, more than anything else, has to do with the designated letters at
the end of the verbs which make the conjugations slightly different in how
they look and sound, and that’s why we memorize them, with particular
attention given to those slight differences.
However, from a ‫ ﻧﺤﻮ‬point of view, the difference between ‫ إﺿـ ِﺮب‬and the
rest is very profound. (If you understand this, you’ve understood a lot,
insha Allah.)
What the scholars of ‫ ﻧﺤـﻮ‬did, is they looked at the above 8 examples,
noting that all end with a ◌ْ ‘‫’ﺳـﻜﻮن‬. Then they saw, seven of them have

particles i.e. governing agents in front of them, either ‘‫’ ِل‬or ‘‫’ﻻ‬. From this,

they deduced that the sukoon at the end of all except ‫ إﺿـ ِﺮب‬is a reflection of
grammatical state. Therefore, these gardaans are not separate verbs, but
rather THE SAME ‫( ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬present-tense verb) in the state of ‘‫’ﺟـﺰم‬. In other

words ‫ﻟِﺘُﻀ َـﺮب‬, ‫ﻟِﻴَﻀـ ِﺮب‬, ‫ ﻟِﻴُﻀ َـﺮب‬and the four ‫ﻧﻬـﻲ‬tables are nothing more than
ُ ‫ﻳَﻀـ ِﺮ‬, ‫ب‬
‫ب‬ ُ ‫ ﺗُﻀ َـﺮ‬with either ‘‫’ ِل‬or ‘‫ ’ﻻ‬in front of them, both
ُ ‫ ﺗَﻀـ ِﺮ‬and ‫ب‬
ُ ‫ﻳُﻀ َـﺮ‬, ‫ب‬
of which are ‘‫ ’ﺟﺰم‬giving particles.

As for ‘‫ ’إﺿـ ِﺮب‬i.e. the second person, active command, they said this is
different for two reasons:

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It does not begin with a recognized prefix of the present-tense verb, ‫ي‬,
‫ت‬, ‫ء‬, or ‫ن‬. Therefore, it cannot be incorporated into the ‫ ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬category, as
we did to the others.
Furthermore, it does not have a governing agent before it which could
explain away the sukoon at the end of it, meaning no grammatical reflection
can be attributed to this last letter sukoon.
For these two reasons, the scholars of ‫ﻧﺤــﻮ‬ have classified the ‫ﻓﻌــﻞ‬
somewhat different than the scholars of ‫ﺻـﺮف‬. This happens by taking

seven of the above eight tables and incorporating them into ‫ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬ and

keeping ‫ﻣﻌـﺮوف‬ ‫ أﻣـﺮ ﺣﺎﺿـﺮ‬as the third distinct type of ‫ﻓﻌـﻞ‬. The breakdown is
as follows:
‫ﻣﺎﺿﻲ‬, the past-tense verb. ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬in its entirety, as mentioned previously.
‫ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬, the present and future-tense verb. Predominantly ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬, as will be
seen shortly.
‫أﻣﺮ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﻣﻌﺮوف‬, the second person, active-command verb, also ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬in its
entirety.
The present-tense verb (‫)ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬, like all verbs, also has 14 conjugations.
From the 14, two conjugations, namely the two feminine plurals (number 6
and 12) are ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬i.e. will never change despite the governing agent entering
upon them. The final ‘‫ ’ن‬at the end of these two conjugations is actually the
pronoun, and from it we get the plural feminine meaning.
As for the other 12 conjugations of the present-tense verb, they are all
‫ ﻣﻌـﺮب‬PROVIDED THAT THEY ARE FREE OF THE ‘‫ ’ن‬OF EMPHASIS.
These 12 conjugations can be split into two groups:
Those that end in a ◌ُ in the state of ‫رﻓـﻊ‬. This would include 5
conjugations; numbers 1, 4, 7 and the last two, 13 and 14.
Those that end with a ◌ُ in the state of ‫رﻓــﻊ‬, the remaining seven
conjugations i.e. the four duals, plus numbers 3, 9 and 10.

Types of ‫ن‬
Before we proceed, it is important to note that in total there are three
different types of ‘‫!’ن‬

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The first is the ‘‫ ’ن‬of feminine plurality. This is actually a pronoun (and

not a reflection of ‫)رﻓـﻊ‬. It comes at the end of conjugation numbers 6 and

12 and will never drop.
The second is what they call, the ‘‫’ن إﻋـﺮاﰊ‬. The function of this ‘‫ ’ن‬is to

reflect that the ‫ ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬verb is in its default state of ‫رﻓـﻊ‬. The presence of this

‘‫ ’ن‬at the end of the seven conjugations mentioned above will indicate ‫رﻓـﻊ‬.
The pronoun is the letter before the ‘‫ ’ن‬i.e. an ‘‫ ’ا‬for the four duals, a ‘‫ ’و‬for

the two masculine plurals, and ‘‫ ’ي‬for number ten, the second person

singular feminine. In ‫ ﻧﺼﺐ‬and ‫ﺟﺰم‬, this ‘‫ ’ن‬will drop.

The third and final ‘‫ ’ن‬is what we referred to as the ‘‫ ’ن‬of emphasis.

This is a special ‘‫ ’ن‬which is a particle and is attached to the end of the

‫ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬. It comes in both a ‫ ﺳـﺎﻛﻦ‬form as well as a ‫ ﻣﺸـﺪد‬form. Its meaning

function is twofold. Firstly it eliminates the present tense and makes the
verb specific to the future. Secondly it adds emphasis to the future tense
meaning (verily or surely). All conjugations of the present-tense verb
become ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬as a result of it.

Now we can clearly see the 20% of verbs which are ‫ ﻣﻌـﺮب‬and distinguish

them from the 80% that are ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬:

‫ ﻣﺎﺿﻲ‬- ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬in its entirety.

‫ أﻣﺮ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﻣﻌﺮوف‬- ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬also.
‫ ﻣﻀﺎرع‬with the ‘‫ ’ن‬of feminine plurality (6 and 12)- ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬
‫ ﻣﻀﺎرع‬with the ‘‫ ’ن‬of emphasis (all 14 conjugations)- ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬
‫ ﻣﻀﺎرع‬empty of the above mentioned both ‘‫ ’ن‬- ‫ﻣﻌﺮب‬

Note that from a total five only one is ‫ ﻣﻌـﺮب‬and four are ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬. Four from
five is 80% and one from five is 20%.

Essential Note on ‫ﺑﻨﺎء‬

Thus far we have covered five types of ‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬words.

All ‫ﺣﺮوف‬.

‫ﻣﺎﺿﻲ‬.

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‫أﻣﺮ ﺣﺎﺿﺮ ﻣﻌﺮوف‬.

‫ ﻣﻀﺎرع‬with the ‘nun’ of feminine plurality.
‫ ﻣﻀﺎرع‬with the ‘nun’ of emphasis.
Depending on the reason of ‘‫( ’ﺑﻨـﺎء‬statelessness), ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬words are of two
types:
‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ اﻷﺻـﻞ‬- words that are truly ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬ i.e. They never enter grammatical

states and therefore have no need for the process of reflection called ‫أﻋـﺮاب‬.
The first three from the above five are ‫اﻷﺻﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬.
‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ ﻣﺸـﺎﺑﻪ‬ - words that are ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬ due to a secondary reason such as
resemblance to the first category, meaning they do enter grammatical states
and hence need the reflection that ‫ أﻋـﺮاب‬provides. However, owing to some
external reason, their last letters remain constant despite the many governing
agents that enter upon them. ‫ ﻣﻀـﺎرع‬with the ‘‫ ’ن‬of feminine plurality is ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬
because the final ‘‘‫ ’ن‬at the end of these two conjugations RESEMBLES the

‘‫ ’ن‬of‫ ﻓَـ َﻌﻠ َـﻦ‬i.e. conjugation number 6 of the past-tense table, whereas the
emphatic tables are ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬in their entirety due to the ‘‫ ’ن‬of emphasis being a
particle and particles do not give way to last letter change.

The 20% of ‫ أﺳﻤﺎء‬that are ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬

From the perspective of ‫ أﻋـﺮاب‬and ‫ﺑﻨـﺎء‬, the ‘‫ ’إﺳـﻢ‬is classified into two
categories:
‫أﺳﻢ ُﻣﺘَ َﻤ ﱢﻜﻦ‬: ‫ أﺳﻤﺎء‬that do not resemble ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ اﻷﺻـﻞ‬and are therefore ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬.
This category comprises of the vast majority of ‫( أﺳـﻤﺎء‬about 80%), divided
into 16 types to be discussed at a later time. Grammatical state in them will
be reflected on the last letter as mentioned previously. This reflection can
be via ‘‫ ’ﺣﺮﻛـﺎت‬i.e. short vowels; ‫ـﻤﺔ‬
ّ ‫ﺿ‬, ‫ ﻓﺘﺤـﺔ‬and ‫ﻛﺴـﺮة‬, and also by means of
letters such as long vowels (‫ا‬, ‫ و‬and ‫)ى‬. It may be explicit or assumed. For
the most part, there will be a full separate reflection for each grammatical
state. Occasionally, there will be just two reflections for all three of the
states ‫ أﺳﻤﺎء‬enter. From this we see that ‫ رﻓـﻊ‬does not necessarily mean ‫ـﻤﺔ‬
ّ ‫ﺿ‬,
nor does ‫ ﻧﺼـﺐ‬or ‫ ﺟـﺮ‬mean ‫ ﻓﺘﺤـﺔ‬and ‫ﻛﺴـﺮة‬. ‫رﻓـﻊ‬, ‫ ﻧﺼـﺐ‬and ‫ ﺟـﺮ‬are the states
and ‫ـﻤﺔ‬
ّ ‫ﺿ‬, ‫ ﻓﺘﺤـﺔ‬and ‫ ﻛﺴـﺮة‬are just one method of their reflection. There may

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be others. In human beings happiness is usually reflected by smiles, but it

doesn’t have to be like that. Sometimes it’s through tears. In animals
happiness is reflected by tail-wagging for instance …. In total for ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬
‫أﺳـﻤﺎء‬ (the 16 types of ‫)أﺳـﻢ ُﻣـﺘَ َﻤ ﱢﻜﻦ‬, there are nine methods of reflection.

These will be covered in detail once we are done explaining the ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬nouns,
insha Allah.
‫أﺳـﻢ ﻏﻴـﺮ ُﻣـﺘَ َﻤ ﱢﻜﻦ‬: ‫ أﺳـﻤﺎء‬that do resemble ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ اﻷﺻـﻞ‬and are therefore ‫ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬.
‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬nouns are 8 types. Under each are just a few ‫أﺳـﻤﺎء‬. Together they

account for less then 20% of ‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬.

The eight categories are listed below.
‫ ﺿﻤﺎﺋﺮ‬or ‫ﻣﻀﻤﺮات‬ : Personal Pronouns.

‫اﻷﺳﻤﺎء اﻟﻤﻮﺻﻮﻟﺔ‬ : Relative Pronouns.

‫اﻷﺳﻤﺎء اﻹﺷﺎرة‬ : Demonstrative Pronouns.

‫أﺳﻤﺎء اﻷﻓﻌﺎال‬ : Nouns in the meaning of verbs!

‫اﻟﻀﺮوف‬
ُ ‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬ : ‫أﺳــﻤﺎء‬ which indicate on time or place (type of
Adverb).
‫أﺳﻤﺎء اﻷﺻﻮات‬ : Words which are used to refer to sounds or noises.

‫ ﻣﺮﱠﻛﺐ ﺑﻨﺎء‬: A small group of words which were originally phrases,

namely the numbers from eleven to nineteen.
‫ﻛِﻨﺎﻳﺎت‬ : Words that refer to vagueness in speech or number etc.
(Like ‘so many’ in English.)

Personal Pronouns - ‫ﺿﻤﺎﺋﺮ‬

Pronouns in Arabic are much more than what we have in English. To
fully understand all the groupings of Arabic Pronouns, contrasting them
with their English counter-parts will be helpful. In English, primarily we
have three groups of pronouns: nominative, accusative and genitive. They
are listed below:
Nominative: he, she, they, you, I and we
Accusative: him, her, them, you, me and us
Genitive: his, her, their, your, my and our
Note that in the plural third person (they), gender is irrelevant, meaning
the same pronoun is used for feminine and masculine, while in the second
person both gender AND plurality are not considered. Likewise, the
singular feminine third person (her) is used twice in accusative as well as
genitive. So basically the total number of pronouns in English is only 18
and after dropping the ones which are used twice 16.

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In Arabic, the total number is very high at 84: six groupings, each of
which has a full 14 pronouns. To understand the significance of the number
14 here, recall what we mentioned when explaining the conjugation tables.
Six groupings is because in addition to the three groupings mentioned above
Arabic also has governing agents. If a pronoun is said to be in ‫ رﻓـﻊ‬due to
being subject for instance, there must be something to cause the ‫رﻓــﻊ‬
preceding the pronoun, which in this case would be the verb. Thus the verb
in ‫ ﻧﺤـﻮ‬is called the ‘‫( ’ﻋﺎﻣـﻞ‬governing agent). This will happen in all three

of the states ‫ أﺳـﻤﺎء‬enter into; ‫رﻓـﻊ‬, ‫ ﻧﺼـﺐ‬and ‫ﺟـﺮ‬. Now the pronoun may be

attached (‫ ) ُﻣﺘﱠﺼـﻞ‬to the agent and both written as ONE WORD, or the agent

could be a separate word and the pronoun written by itself (‫) ُﻣﻨ َﻔﺼـﻞ‬. In each

case the pronoun will look different. For ‫ ﺟـﺮ‬there is no ‫ ُﻣﻨ َﻔﺼـﻞ‬, because the

agents of ‫ ﺟـﺮ‬are just two, namely prepositions and ‫ﻣﻀـﺎف‬, which puts the
‫ ﻣﻀـﺎف إﻟﻴـﻪ‬in the state of ‫ﺟـﺮ‬. Both agents REQUIRE that the pronoun after
them be attached. This leaves us with a total of five groups. Then because
the ‫ ﻣﺠـﺮور‬one can have only two agents, it is mentioned twice, thus making
the number of groupings six (with 14 under each):
‫ ﻣﺮﻓﻮع ﻣﺘّﺼﻞ‬: Nominative pronoun attached to its agent e.g. the ◌ُ ‫ت‬ in

‫ﺑﺖ‬
ُ ‫ﺿ َﺮ‬
َ (I hit).
‫ﻣﺮﻓﻮع ﻣﻨﻔﺼﻞ‬ : Nominative pronoun separate from its agent. ◌َ ‫ُﻫـﻮ‬
which means ‘he’.
‫ﻣﻨﺼﻮب ﻣﺘّﺼﻞ‬ : Accusative pronoun attached to its agent e.g. the ُ‫ ﻪ‬in

ُ‫( َرأﻳﺘُﻪ‬I saw ‘him’)

‫ﻣﻨﺼﻮب ﻣﻨﻔﺼﻞ‬ : Accusative pronoun separate from its agent e.g. ‫ـﺎك‬
َ ّ‫إﻳ‬
(you alone).
‫ ﻣﺠﺮور ﻣﺘّﺼﻞ‬with ‫ ﺣﺮف ﺟﺮ‬: Genitive pronoun attached to preposition e.g.
the ُ‫ ﻪ‬in ُ‫( ﻟَﻪ‬for him).

‫ ﻣﺠﺮور ﻣﺘّﺼﻞ‬with ‫ﻣﻀﺎف‬ : Genitive pronoun attached to ‫ ﻣﻀـﺎف‬e.g. the

‫ ُه‬in ُ‫دارﻩ‬
ُ (his house).
All of these 84 pronouns are ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬due to their dependency upon nouns. In
order to be used in speech, third person pronouns need to be preceded by

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‫‪nouns and so forth. Dependency is a characteristic of particles: one of the‬‬

‫اﻷﺻﻞ ‪three‬‬ ‫‪.‬ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬
‫ﺿﻤﺎﺋﺮ ‪The following is a full table of all the‬‬
‫‪َ discussed in this section:‬‬

‫ﻣﺠﺮور ﻣﺘّ ِ‬
‫ﺼﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﺼﻮب‬ ‫ﻣﺮﻓﻮع‬
‫ﻣﺘّ ِ‬
‫ﺼﻞ‬
‫ِﲟﻀﺎف‬ ‫ِﲝﺮف ﺟﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻔﺼﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﺘّ ِ‬
‫ﺼﻞ‬ ‫ﻣ َﻨﻔ ِ‬
‫ﺼﻞ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫ﻣﻀﺎرع‬ ‫ﻣﺎﺿﻲ‬ ‫ﺻﻴﻐﺔ‬
‫واﺣﺪ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارﻩُ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَﻪُ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎﻩُ‬ ‫ُه‬ ‫ُﻫ َﻮ‬ ‫ﻳَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫ب )ﻫﻮ(‬ ‫ب )ﻫﻮ(‬
‫ﺿ َﺮ َ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫ﺗﺜﻨﻴﺔ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارُﳘﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َﳍُﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺎﳘﺎ‬
‫إﻳّ ُ‬ ‫ُﳘﺎ‬ ‫ُﳘﺎ‬ ‫ﻳَﻀ ِﺮبا ِن‬ ‫ﺿَﺮبا‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫ﲨﻊ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارُﻫﻢ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َﳍُﻢ‬ ‫ﺎﻫﻢ‬
‫إﻳّ ُ‬ ‫ُﻫﻢ‬ ‫ُﻫﻢ‬ ‫ﻳَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫بو َن‬ ‫بوا‬
‫ﺿ َﺮ ُ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫واﺣﺪ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬
‫دارﻫﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َﳍﺎ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎﻫﺎ‬ ‫ﻫﺎ‬ ‫ِﻫ َﻲ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫ب )ﻫﻲ(‬ ‫ﺖ )ﻫﻲ(‬
‫ﺿَﺮﺑَ ْ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫ﺗﺜﻨﻴﺔ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬
‫دارُﳘﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َﳍُﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺎﳘﺎ‬
‫إﻳّ ُ‬ ‫ُﳘﺎ‬ ‫ُﳘﺎ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮبا ِن‬ ‫بﺗﺎ‬
‫ﺿَﺮ َ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫ﲨﻊ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬
‫دارُﻫ ﱠﻦ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫َﳍُ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫ﺎﻫ ﱠﻦ‬
‫إﻳّ ُ‬ ‫ُﻫ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫ُﻫ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫ﻳَﻀ ِﺮب َن‬ ‫ب َن‬
‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﻏﺎﺋﺐ‬
‫واﺣﺪ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارَك‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻚ‬
‫ﻟَ َ‬ ‫ﺎك‬
‫إﻳّ َ‬ ‫َك‬ ‫أﻧﺖ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫ب )ﻫﻮ(‬ ‫ت‬
‫بَ‬‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫ﺗﺜﻨﻴﺔ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارُﻛﻤﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَ ُﻜﻤﺎ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎ ُﻛﻤﺎ‬ ‫ُﻛﻤﺎ‬ ‫أﻧﺘُﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮبا ِن‬ ‫بُﲤﺎ‬
‫ﺿ َﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫ﲨﻊ ﻣﺬﻛﺮ‬
‫دارُﻛﻢ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَ ُﻜﻢ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎ ُﻛﻢ‬ ‫ُﻛﻢ‬ ‫أﻧﺘُﻢ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫بو َن‬ ‫ب ُْﰎ‬
‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫واﺣﺪ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬
‫دار ِك‬
‫ُ‬
‫ﻟَ ِ‬
‫ﻚ‬ ‫إﻳ ِ‬
‫ﺎك‬‫ّ‬ ‫ِك‬ ‫ِ‬
‫أﻧﺖ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮﺑِﻴﻦَ‬ ‫ب ِت‬
‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫دارُﻛﻤﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَ ُﻜﻤﺎ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎ ُﻛﻤﺎ‬ ‫ُﻛﻤﺎ‬ ‫أﻧﺘُﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮبا ِن‬ ‫بُﲤﺎ‬
‫ﺿ َﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﺗﺜﻨﻴﺔ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬

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‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫ﲨﻊ ﻣﺆﻧﺚ‬
‫دارُﻛ ﱠﻦ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَ ُﻜ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎ ُﻛ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫ُﻛ ﱠﻦ‬ ‫أﻧﱳ‬
‫ُﱠ‬ ‫ﺗَﻀ ِﺮب َن‬ ‫بﺗُ ﱠﻦ‬
‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬
‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬
‫ي‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِﱄ‬ ‫أﺿ ِﺮ ُ‬
‫ب )أﻧﺎ(‬ ‫ت‬
‫دار َ‬ ‫ﺎي‬
‫إﻳّ َ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫أﻧﺎ‬ ‫بُ‬ ‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬ ‫واﺣﺪ ﻣﺘﻜﻠﻢ‬
‫دارﻧﺎ‬
‫ُ‬ ‫ﻟَﻨﺎ‬ ‫إﻳّﺎﻧﺎ‬ ‫ﻧﺎ‬ ‫َﳓ ُﻦ‬ ‫ب )ﳓﻦ(‬ ‫ﻧَﻀ ِﺮ ُ‬ ‫بﻧَﺎ‬
‫ﺿَﺮ ْ‬
‫َ‬ ‫ﲨﻊ ﻣﺘﻜﻠﻢ‬

‫‪Table Error! No text of specified style in document.-B - Personal‬‬

‫‪Pronouns‬‬

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Relative Pronouns - ‫اﻟﻤﻮﺻﻮﻟﺔ‬ ‫اﻷﺳﻤﺎء‬

In order to fully understand what relative pronouns are, one needs to be
informed about the ‫ ﺻـﻔﺔ‬- ‫ ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف‬phrase which in Arabic grammar is the
noun-adjective phrase, an expression of usually two ‫أﺳـﻤﺎء‬ in which the

second ‫ إﺳﻢ‬describes the first.

e.g. ٌ ‫( َر ُﺟ ٌﻞ َﻛ ِﺮ‬a noble man), or

‫ﻳﻢ‬
ُ ‫( اﻟ ﱠﺮ ُﺟ ُﻞ اﻟ َﻜ ِﺮ‬the noble man)
‫ﻳﻢ‬
From the aspects in which the ‫ ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف‬and ‫ ﺻـﻔﺔ‬have to correspond, is
being ‫ ﻣﻌﺮﻓـﻪ‬or ‫( ﻧﻜـﺮﻩ‬definite or indefinite). In most cases both words are

‫ أﺳـﻤﺎء‬and correspondence is fairly simple. Adding ‘‫ ’ال‬to both words will

make it ‘the noble man’ whereas keeping both words empty will leave it ‘a
noble man’. However, occasionally the need arises to describe a noun using
a whole sentence. Take for instance the phrase ‘a man who I met
yesterday’. ‘I met yesterday’ is a full sentence. It was used in the above
example to describe the indefinite noun ‘a man’.
The scholars of ‫ﻧﺤـﻮ‬ have attached a value to the informative sentence

(‫ﺧﺒﺮﻳـﺔ‬ ‫ )ﺟﻤﻠـﺔ‬and have told us it’s ‘‫’ﻧﻜـﺮﻩ‬. Therefore, if the above example
ِ ‫ﻟَِﻘﻴﺘُـﻪُ أﻣ‬
were to be rendered into Arabic it would read as follows: ‫ـﺲ‬ ‫ـﻞ‬
ٌ ‫ َر ُﺟ‬. No
extra word is needed between the noun being described i.e. the ‫ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف‬

‘‫ـﻞ‬ ِ ‫ﻟ َِﻘﻴﺘُـﻪُ أﻣ‬, for they are both ‫ ﻧﻜـﺮﻩ‬and correspondence

ٌ ‫ ’ َر ُﺟ‬and the sentence ‫ـﺲ‬
is complete. On the other hand, were the ‫ ﻣﻮﺻﻮف‬to be ‫ﻣﻌﺮﻓـﻪ‬, we would have
had a problem of matching the two. To convey the meaning ‘the man who I
met yesterday’, merely adding an ‘‫ ’ال‬to the ‫ ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف‬would not suffice. We

would be left with a ‫ﺟـﻞ( ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف ﻣﻌـﺮف‬

ُ ‫ )اﻟ ﱠﺮ‬and a ‫( ﻧﻜـﺮﻩ ﺻـﻔﺔ‬the ‫)ﺟﻤﻠـﺔ ﺧﺒﺮﻳـﺔ‬.
ُ
The only way this meaning could be validly conveyed is if somehow that
value attached to the ‫ﺟﻤﻠـﺔ ﺧﺒﺮﻳـﺔ‬ could be transformed into a ‫ﻣﻌﺮﻓـﻪ‬ value.

This is where the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻﻮل‬comes into play….

‫ اﻷﺳـﻤﺎء اﻟﻤﻮﺻـﻮﻟﺔ‬or Relative Pronouns are like which, what, that, or who
in English, not the question which, what etc. but the pronouns ‘which’ come
between nouns and the sentences ‘that’ describe them. Read that again!
“pronouns ‘which’ come between nouns” and “the sentences ‘that’ describe
them”. In English these pronouns MUST be brought in every such

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structure. In Arabic they are brought ONLY when the ‫ ﻣﻮﺻـﻮف‬is ‫ﻣﻌﺮﻓـﻪ‬. If it

is ‫ﻧﻜـﺮﻩ‬, there will be no need for a ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬, in which case the grammatical
structure itself will join the sentence to the noun being described.
This is the primary purpose why we have these words in the language. If
the noun being described is of a very general meaning such as man, woman,
thing etc, often the noun is not mentioned. The ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬itself will convey the
entire meaning, such as in the following sentence:
ِ ‫ـﻚ ﻓـﻲ اﻟﻤﺴ‬
‫ـﺠﺪ‬ َ ‫ﺟـﺎء اﻟّـﺬي ﻋﻠﱠ َﻤ‬ (The person who taught you in the masjid
came).
In this sentence the ‫ ’اﻟّـﺬي‘ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬not only means ‘who’ but actually ‘the
person who’.
The sentence which follows the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬i.e. the describing ‫ ﺟﻤﻠـﺔ ﺧﺒﺮﻳـﺔ‬is
called ِ.
‫ﺻــﻠﻪ‬ Together with the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻــﻮل‬, both parts become ‫ﺻــﻔﺔ‬ for the
preceding noun, or if the noun is of a general nature and implicit as
mentioned above, the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬and ‫ﺻـﻠﻪ‬ِ together will directly become part of
the greater sentence. ِ there MUST be a third person pronoun
Within the ‫ﺻـﻠﻪ‬

referring back to the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬. This pronoun will always correspond to the

‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬in gender and plurality. In the above example the implicit pronoun
‫ ﻫﻮ‬hidden in the verb ◌َ ‫ َﻋﻠﱠﻢ‬is referring to ‫ اﻟّﺬي‬the ‫ َﻣﻮﺻﻮل‬.
Besides ‫ اﻟّـﺬي‬and its dual, plural, and feminine variations, the following
relative pronouns are in use:
‫ َﻣ ْﻦ‬- the person who…
‫ ﻣـﺎ‬- the thing that…. Both ‫ َﻣ ْـﻦ‬and ‫ ﻣـﺎ‬have no duals our plurals. The same

word is essentially used for all gender and plurality. ‘‫ـﻦ‬

ْ ‫ ’ َﻣ‬is for human
beings while ‘‫ ’ﻣﺎ‬is for non-humans.

‫ي‬
‫أ ﱞ‬, ٌ‫ أﻳﱠـﺔ‬-which…. Both ‫ ﻣﻮﺻـﻮﻻن‬will always be ‫ ﻣﻀـﺎف‬to the ‫ أﺳـﻤﺎء‬after
them. The second word of the possessive phrase may be singular or plural
e.g. ٍ ‫ي ﻛِﺘ‬
‫ـﺎب‬ ‫( أ ﱡ‬which book) and, ِ ُ‫ي اﻟ ُﻜﺘ‬
‫ـﺐ‬ ‫( أ ﱡ‬which of the books). Both

meanings are almost identical. Just two ways of saying the same thing. ‫ي‬
‫أﱞ‬
and ٌ‫أﻳـﱠﺔ‬ are both ‫ﻣﻌـﺮب‬ and there grammatical state will be subject to the
governing agent before them similar to normal ‫إﺳﻢ‬s.

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The ‘‫ ’ال‬which is attached to the active and passive participles (‫ﻓﺎﻋـﻞ‬ ‫إﺳـﻢ‬
and ‫ﻣﻔﻌـﻮل‬ ‫ )إﺳـﻢ‬is also considered to be ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬and in the meaning of ‫اﻟّـﺬي‬.
ُ ‫ اﻟﻀـﺎ ِر‬would mean ‫ب‬
Hence, ‫ب‬ َ ‫ﺿ َـﺮ‬
َ ‫( اﻟّـﺬي‬one who hits). Likewise, ‫ـﺮوب‬
ُ ‫اﻟﻤﻀ‬
َ
is akin to َ ‫ﺿـ ِﺮ‬
‫ب‬ ُ ‫اﻟّـﺬي‬ (one who is hit). In other words the ‘‫ ’ال‬at the
beginning of both literally means ‘one who’.
‫ذُو‬ in the dialect of the clan of ‫ﺑَـﻦ ﻃَـﻲ‬ - also in the meaning of ‫اﻟّـﺬي‬
according to this particular tribe of Arabs e.g. ‫ﻚ‬
َ َ‫ﺿ َـﺮﺑ‬
َ ‫( ﺟـﺎﺋﲎ ذُو‬the man who
hit you came to me).
Except for ‫ي‬
‫أ ﱞ‬, ٌ‫أﻳـﱠﺔ‬, and the duals of ‫ اﻟّـﺬي‬and ‫اﻟّﺘـﻲ‬, all ‫ َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬are ‫ ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬due
to there dependency upon the ‫ﺻـﻠﻪ‬. You will never encounter a ‫َﻣﻮﺻـﻮل‬
except with its ‫ﺻــﻠﻪ‬. As mentioned repeatedly, dependency is a

characteristic of ‫ﺣﺮف‬: one from the ‫اﻷﺻﻞ‬ ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬.

Demonstrative Pronouns - ‫اﻷﺳﻤﺎء اﻹﺷﺎرة‬
Descriptive Pronouns (this/that) are devices used to refer or point
towards nouns. While the pronoun in Arabic is called ‫إﺷـﺎرﻩ‬ ‫إﺳـﻢ‬, the noun is
known as ‫ـﺎر إﻟﻴـﻪ‬ ِ َ ِ‫( ٰذﻟ‬that book), ‫ـﻚ‬
َ ِ‫ ٰذﻟ‬is the ‫إﺳـﻢ‬
ٌ ‫ ُﻣﺸ‬. In the phrase ‫ـﺎب‬
ُ ‫ـﻚ اﻟﻜﺘ‬
‫ إﺷـﺎرﻩ‬and ‫ـﺎب‬ ِ
ُ ‫ اﻟﻜﺘ‬is the ‫ـﺎر إﻟﻴـﻪ‬
ٌ ‫ ُﻣﺸ‬. The pronoun coupled with the noun will
always be a phrase. However, there are instances when the noun being
referred to is of a very general nature such as thing, man, or woman, in
which case the pronoun itself will convey both meanings i.e. ‫ ٰﻫـﺬا‬can mean
‘this thing’ or ‘this person’ as apposed to just ‘this’. When this happens the
following word will be the remaining part of the sentence (the predicate). In
order to determine whether the following word is connected to ‫ٰﻫـﺬا‬ and

forming the second part of the descriptive phrase or whether ‫ٰﻫــﺬا‬ is

independent of a separate ‘‫إﻟﻴـﻪ‬ ‫ـﺎر‬

ٌ ‫ ُﻣﺸ‬and conveying the entire meaning itself
as mentioned above, one will need to look at the next word. If it begins
with an ‘‫’ال‬, the two words will become a descriptive phrase (this book),

otherwise a full sentence. When the ‫إﻟﻴـﻪ‬ ‫ـﺎر‬

ٌ ‫ ُﻣﺸ‬can not take ‘‫ ’ال‬do to being
‫ ﻣﻀـﺎف‬and a descriptive phrase is intended, such as ‘this book of his’, in

order to avoid confusion with the ‫إﺳـﻤﻴّﻪ‬ sentence, the ‫إﺳـﻢ إﺷـﺎرﻩ‬ will be

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brought after the possessive phrase. Consider the following three ways of
using this device:
1. ‫ﺘﺎب‬ ِ
ُ ‫اﻟﻜ‬ ‫ ٰﻫﺬا‬: this book
‫ﺘﺎب‬ ِ
2. ٌ ‫ ٰﻫﺬا ﻛ‬: This is a book.
3. ‫ﻛِﺘﺎﺑُﻪُ ٰﻫﺬا‬: this book of his

Verbal Nouns - ‫اﻷﻓﻌﺎل‬ ‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬

These are a group of words in the language which are very few in
number. They have the meanings of verbs, meaning that their meanings are
linked to time. They have tenses. However, besides the tense, they have no
other characteristic of verbs such as conjugation tables and suffixes. They
do not fall under any recognized pattern of verb. They come in two types; a
group that has a past tense meaning e.g. ‫ـﺎت‬
َ ‫َﻫﻴﻬ‬ (became distant), and a

group consisting of words that have command-verb meanings e.g. ‫( ُرَوﻳـ َﺪ‬give

respite), the first being identical to ‫( ﺑَـﻌُـ َﺪ‬a past-tense verb), and the second to

‘‫( ’أﻣ ِﻬﻞ‬a second person active command verb).

Although these words do have the meanings of ‫ أﻓﻌـﺎل‬due to the absence

of all other characteristics of recognized verbs, they were not categorized as
such. The other two parts of speech also do not apply, but because there
number is so less in the Arabic language, the scholars of grammar did not
see it appropriate to give them a separate category and call them the fourth
part of speech. Instead they said these are ‫أﺳـﻤﺎء ﻣﺒﻨـﻲ‬ which contain the
meaning of verbs, treating this tense as a ‘resemblance’ to verb, hence their
‫ ﻣﺒﻨﻲ‬nature. Recall both ‫ ﻣﺎﺿﻲ‬and ‫ﺣﺎﺿﺮ‬ ‫ أﻣﺮ‬are ‫ﻣﺒﻨﻲ اﻷﺻﻞ‬.
Adverbs of Time or Place - ‫اﻟﻀﺮوف‬ ‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬

Words Denoting Sounds or Noises - ‫اﻷﺻﻮات‬ ‫أﺳﻤﺎء‬

These are essentially sounds rendered into words e.g. ‫أُح أُح‬, a coughing
sound. They are all ‫ﻣﺒﻨــﻲ‬ due to sounds not having true grammatical
positioning, in terms of being subject, object etc.

Numbers 11-19 - ‫ﺑﻨﺎء‬ ‫ﻣﺮّﻛﺐ‬

Words denoting vagueness - ‫ﻛﻨﺎﻳﺎت‬

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Appendix A - Expressiveness of the Arabic Language

Ibn Khalidun, may Allah elevate his rank, wrote in his magnificent ‫ﱢﻣـﻪ‬
َ ‫ُﻣ َﻘﺪ‬
regarding the Arabic language and its superiority over all other languages.
He said, ‫ َرِﺣ ُﻤـﻪُ اﷲ‬, it is because in Arabic even “non-words” i.e. vowel
sounds and patterns carry meaning. In other languages, to convey these
‘non-word’ meanings whole words need to be used. He said that is why we
see massive difference in length when some Arabic passage is translated
into a non-Arabic language. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him, said,
“Speech has been made comprehensive for me”.
Basically we have three distinct sources for meanings, only one of which
is because of the words themselves:
A meaning originating from the base letters of a word i.e. wherever and
in whichever pattern those letters are found, the base letter meaning will be
present e.g. the base letters ‘kaf, taa, and baa’ express the meaning of
writing. Wherever these letters are found, the ‘base letter meaning’ of
writing will be there. In Arabic almost all combinations of three consonants
have meaning. It is the job of the dictionary to give us this base letter
meaning.
A meaning coming from the pattern. The letters themselves are all
consonants. Consonants alone can not be pronounced. For instance, try
pronouncing the letter ‘b’ without adding a vowel to it! The moment a
sound comes out, one realizes it’s either ‘ba’, ‘be’ or the like which has been
pronounced, not just the letter ‘b’ by itself. The reality is all consonants
need to be coupled with vowels in order to become syllables and thus
pronounceable. This is the nature of human utterance. By definition, a
syllable is the sound produced by coupling a consonant with a vowel. This
is nothing more than a manifestation of human limitations. In other
languages, this ‘vowelling’ which arose out of pure necessity is mostly
random and carries little significance. However, in Arabic it is this very
vowelling which Ibn Khaldun is calling our second meaning, namely the
‘pattern meaning’. ‘‫’ك‬, ‘‫ت‬, and ‘‫ ’ب‬we said expresses the meaning of ‘to
write’. In Arabic there are literally dozens, if not hundreds of ways to vowel
those three letters, some of which include the addition of ‘non-base’ letters.
All of these patterns carry distinct meaning. Now, depending on the
particular pattern, the base-letter meaning of writing will be expressed in a
unique way. For instance, ‫ـﺐ‬ ِ
َ َ‫( َﻛﺘ‬he wrote), ‫ـﺐ‬
َ ‫( ُﻛﺘ‬it was written), ‫ـﺐ‬
ُ ُ‫( ﻳَﻜﺘ‬he
writes, is writing or will write), ‫( ﻛﺎﺗِـﺐ‬writer), ‫( َﻣﻜﺘَـﺐ‬desk i.e. place of
writing), ‫( أُﻛﺘُـﺐ‬write!) and many, many others. Also recall that we said the
subjects of all of these verbs i.e. the pronouns are not separate words but
letters. The recognition of these patterns and designated letters which come

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at the end of the verbs to reflect the pronouns is the subject matter of ‫ﺻـﺮف‬
(Arabic Morphology).
As for the third and final meaning, which is also a ‘non-word’ meaning,
we refer back to the first section of this discussion i.e. introducing
grammatical states. Recall that grammatical structure in Arabic is reflected
by change in the last letter. It is from the ending of a given word that we
determine whether that word is being used in the sentence as a subject of the
verb, an object, or whether the word is in the possessive case. It is ‫ﻧﺤـﻮ‬
which deals with all the technicalities of grammatical meaning.
In summary, we may say the most basic meaning originates from the
given three base letters of a word. These three letters then need to be
arranged with vowels in order to be pronounced. In most languages this
vowelling carries little if any meaning. In Arabic whole distinct meanings
such as tenses and the gender, plurality and person of pronouns is conveyed
via these vowels and letters. When the individual words are constructed,
they need to be used in sentences, because people do not speak in words.
They speak in sentences. Sentence structure is reflected again, not by
separate words (like in other languages), but by vowels or letters! This is
our third meaning.

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