Grammar basics

Arabic grammar has a reputation for complexity, and it's true that the system of verb conjugations and noun cases is elaborate. However, Arabic is also remarkably systematic — once you understand the patterns, they apply consistently. The root system (three consonants that carry core meaning) makes vocabulary acquisition logical once you grasp it. This page covers the essential structures you need for basic communication.

Sentence structure

Arabic has two fundamentally different sentence types, and understanding this distinction is crucial. Nominal sentences describe states without a verb; verbal sentences describe actions with a verb. The word order differs between them.

Nominal sentences (الجملة الاسمية)

Nominal sentences start with a noun and describe a state or identity. Here's the key insight: Arabic doesn't use a verb "to be" in the present tense. Where English says "The book is new", Arabic says "The book new" — the "is" is understood:

• الكتاب جديد (al-kitāb jadīd) — The book (is) new
• أنا طالب (anā ṭālib) — I (am a) student

Verbal sentences (الجملة الفعلية)

Verbal sentences describe actions and start with a verb. Unlike English (SVO: Subject-Verb-Object), Arabic verbal sentences typically use VSO order (Verb-Subject-Object). This takes practice because you hear the action before you know who's doing it:

• يقرأ الولد الكتاب — The boy reads the book (lit: reads the-boy the-book)

Gender

Every Arabic noun is either masculine or feminine — there's no neuter gender. This affects adjectives (which must agree), verbs (which conjugate differently), and pronouns. The good news: feminine nouns usually end in ة (tāʾ marbūṭa, a special letter that looks like ه with two dots), so you can often identify gender at a glance:

• Most feminine nouns end in ة (tāʾ marbūṭa)
• Countries and body parts often feminine
• Adjectives agree with nouns

Masculine	Feminine
كبير (kabīr, big)	كبيرة (kabīra)
جميل (jamīl, beautiful)	جميلة (jamīla)

The definite article

Arabic has only one article: ال (al-), which means "the". There's no word for "a/an" — indefinite nouns simply lack the article. This article attaches to the beginning of nouns and has an interesting feature: with certain consonants (called "sun letters"), the "l" sound assimilates to match the following letter:

• كتاب (kitāb) — a book
• الكتاب (al-kitāb) — the book

"Sun letters" assimilate: الشمس (ash-shams), not al-shams

Pronouns

Arabic has a rich pronoun system that distinguishes masculine from feminine in the second and third person, and also has dual forms (for exactly two people, though we'll skip those for now). Notice that "you" has four common forms: masculine singular, feminine singular, masculine plural, and feminine plural:

Arabic	Meaning
أنا	I
أنتَ (anta)	you (m)
أنتِ (anti)	you (f)
هو	he
هي	she
نحن	we
أنتم	you (m. pl)
أنتن	you (f. pl)
هم	they (m)
هن	they (f)

Possession

Arabic expresses possession by attaching pronoun suffixes directly to nouns — no separate word for "my", "your", etc. is needed. The suffix changes the ending of the noun. This is compact and elegant once you learn the suffixes:

• كتاب + ـي = كتابي (kitābī, my book)
• بيت + ـه = بيته (baytuhu, his house)

Questions

Arabic question words are straightforward. For yes/no questions, add هل (hal) at the beginning of a statement. For information questions (who, what, where), place the question word at the start:

Arabic	Meaning
ماذا / ما	what
من	who
أين	where
متى	when
لماذا	why
كيف	how
كم	how many/much
هل	(yes/no question)

Negation

Arabic uses different negation words depending on the tense and type of sentence. This is more complex than English's simple "not", but each particle has a specific function. لا (lā) is the most general "no"; ليس (laysa) negates nominal sentences ("is not"); ما (mā) and لن (lan) negate past and future respectively:

Particle	Use
لا	general no
ما	negating past
لن	negating future
ليس	is not

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