درس ٧
Lesson 7
Demonstrative Pronouns in Arabic
Demonstrative pronouns هَذَا (this, masc.) and هَذِهِ (this, fem.) are pronounced with the long vowel /ā/ on the first syllable, although the length is not indicated by alif there:
this /hāðihi/ (f.) هَذِهِ
Both of these pronouns can act as the subject in nominal (without verbs) sentences like (there is no ‘to be’ in the Arabic version of the sentences below):
| This is a divan. | هَذَا دِيوَانٌ |
| This is a suit. | هَذِهِ بَدْلَةٌ |
| This is a rare rose. | هَذِهِ وَرْدَةٌ نَادِرَةٌ |
In these sentences, the predicate is a noun and the subject, expressed by a demonstrative pronoun, agrees in gender with the predicate.
Exercise 1. Read and translate. Write down with vowel marks and transcription.
١) هذا بيت كبير. هو هنا.
٢) هذه وردة. هي كبيرة.
٣) هذا ديوان وثير. هو هناك.
٤) هذا ديك وهذا ثور.
٥) هذا لبن لذيذ وهذه زبدة باردة.
٦) هذا ولد. هو هنا.
٧) هذا كوب كبير. هناك لبن بارد.
٨) هذا بهو باهر.
٩) هذا نبات نادر.
Exercise 2. Translate from English into Arabic. As always, do not forget the vowel marks.
1) This is a rare rose. It is big. 2) This is a ministry, and this is a house. 3) This is cold milk, and this is a big glass. 4) This is a splendid, rare plant. 5) This is a nightingale. It is here. 6) This is a boy. He has a big book. 7) This is a big divan. It is soft.
Ligatures
When two or three high letters (ا ل ك) meet in a word, they form ligatures with each other. Here they are:
| Final | Medial | Initial | Isolated | Combination |
| ﻼ | ﻼ | ﻻ | ﻻ | ل + ا |
| ﲀ | ﲀ | ﰷ | ﰷ | ك + ا |
| ﲁ | ﳫ | ﳇ | ﰻ | ك + ل |
| ـكلا | ـكلا | كلا | كلا | ك + ل + ا |
Exercise 3. Write down each ligature 10 times.
Exercise 4. Read and write it down, then transcribe it, mark the stress.
Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence is constructed by using the interrogative particle هَلْ at the beginning of the sentence. An interrogative sentence is pronounced by raising the voice towards the end of the sentence.
Exercise 5. Read from right to left with correct intonation, translate.
Interrogative sentence
Declarative sentence
هل هذا بيت؟
هل لك كتاب؟
هل هو كبير؟
هذا بيت.
لك كتاب.
هو كبير.
The words for text 1 of lesson 7
| writer (m.) | ١) كَاتِبٌ |
| writer (f.), authoress | ٢) كَاتِبَةٌ |
| dog | ٣) كَلْبٌ |
| no | ٤) لَا |
| yes /ajwа̄/ (the vowel mark will be clarified later) | ٥) ايوا |
Note: The words لا and ايوا are separated from the subsequent part of the sentence by a comma. The Arabic comma is an inverted English comma. The Arabic question mark is also inverted.
In the audio below, the speaker pronounces نَعَمْ /na‘am/ instead of ايوا. It also means ‘yes’, we will get to know it in lesson 15, when we learn about the letter ع.
Text 1 of lesson 7
١) هل هذا ديك؟ لا، هذا كلب. هل هو كبير؟ ايوا، هو كبير.
٢) هل هذه بدلة؟ ايوا، هذه بدلة.
٣) هل هذا لبن؟ لا، هذه زبدة. هل هي باردة؟ ايوا، هي باردة.
٤) هل هذا بيت كبير؟ ايوا، هذا بيت كبير.
٥ ) هل هذه وردة؟ ايوا، هذه وردة. هل هي باهرة؟ ايوا، هي باهرة.
٦) هل هذا كتاب نادر؟ ايوا، هذا كتاب نادر. هل هو كبير؟ ايوا، هو كبير.
٧) هل هي كاتبة؟ ايوا، هي كاتبة. هل هي كاتبة بارزة؟ ايوا، هي كاتبة بارزة.
٨) هل هذه دولة كبيرة؟ ايوا، هذه دولة كبيرة.
٩) هل هو كاتب؟ لا، هو وزير.
١٠) هل هنا زبدة؟ لا، هنا لبن.
١١) هل هناك كلب؟ لا، هناك ديك. هل هو كبير؟ ايوا، هو كبير.
١٢) هل هو كاتب؟ ايوا، هو كاتب. هل له كتاب بارز؟ ايوا، له كتاب بارز.
١٣) هل هي كاتبة؟ ايوا، هي كاتبة. هل لها كتاب كبير؟ ايوا، لها كتاب كبير.
١٤) هل لكَ كلب؟ ايوا، لي كلب. هل هو كبير؟ ايوا، هو كبير. هل هو هنا؟ ايوا، هو هنا.
١٥) هل هذا كوب؟ ايوا، هذا كوب. هل هناك لبن؟ ايوا، هناك لبن. هل هو بارد؟ ايوا، هو بارد. هل هو لذيذ؟ ايوا، هو لذيذ.
Exercise 6. Read the text, translate it, write it down with vowel marks. (The vowel marks are given by hovering over the text (or click it), and the translation is in the keys under the input form below, one key has 5 sentences)
Exercise 7. Translate from English into Arabic.
1) Do you (f) have a book? Yes, I have a book. Is it big? Yes, it is big. Is it here? Not, it is there.
2) Is this a dog? Yes, this is a big dog. Do you (m) have a dog? Yes, I have a dog. Is it rare? Yes, it is rare.
3) Is this a glass? Yes, this is a big glass. Is there wine? No, there is milk. Is it cold? Yes, it is cold and tasty.
4) Is this a bull? No, this is a rooster. This is a big rooster. It is here.
5) Is this a (man, male) writer? No, this is an authoress/(woman, female) writer. Is she a big writer/authoress? Yes, she is a big writer. Is she here? No, she is there. Does she have a book? Yes, she has a book. This/it is a prominent book.
The letter م and the sound /m/
The letter م (mīm) is similar to the English letter ‘m’ with the corresponding sound /m/. It connects both ways and has four graphic shapes (see from right to left):
| Final | Medial | Initial | Isolated |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The medial and final forms of mīm form ligatures with preletters: a line of connection from the preceding letter is led above the line to give place to mīm, which is often subscripted under the preceding letter (this is not always done in printed scripts).
Exercise 8. Read from left to right. Write down 5 times.
مِ مُ مَ مَمْ مُمْ مِمْ مَمِمُ مِمَمُ مُمِمَ
Exercise 9. Read and write it down. Transcribe, mark the stress.
Exercise 10. Write down the transcribed words in Arabic letters.
/min, madа̄run, mudīrun, limakа̄tiba, tilmīðatun, maktabatun, kalа̄mun, tamdīdun, bikumа̄, madīnatukum, manziluka, manа̄ziluhum, bihim, manа̄ratun, ramzun, rumūzun/
The words for text 1 of lesson 7
| what | ١) مَا |
| who | ٢) مَنْ |
| city | ٣) مَدِينَةٌ |
| desk; bureau, office | ٤) مَكْتَبٌ |
| library, bookstore | ٥) مَكْتَبَةٌ |
| pupil, student | ٦) تِلْمِيذٌ |
| pupil, student (f.) | ٧) تِلْمِيذَةٌ |
| square | ٨) مَيْدَانٌ |
| dwelling, house | ٩) مَنْزِلٌ |
| word | ١٠) كَلِمَةٌ |
| you have (m., plural) | ١١) لَكُمْ |
| they have (m.) | ١٢) لَهُمْ |
Expressions
| what is this? (about masc. objects) | مَا هَذَا؟ |
| what is this? (about fem. objects) | مَا هَذِهِ؟ |
| who is he? | مَنْ هُوَ؟ |
| who is she? | مَنْ هِيَ؟ |
Explanatory notes
- The interrogative pronoun مَا (what?) refers to objects and animals; the pronoun مَنْ (who?) – refers to people (in Arabic, animal names are considered inanimate nouns). When the pronouns ما or من are present at the beginning of an interrogative sentence, the particle هل is not needed.
- In the words لَكُمْ and لَهُمْ the sound close to /o/ is pronounced in place of the vowel /u/ as in the ending /-un/.
Text 2 of Lesson 7
١) ما هذا؟ هذا مكتب. هل هو كبير؟ ايوا، هو كبير.
٢) ما هذه؟ هذه مكتبة. هل هي هنا؟ لا، هي هناك.
٣) من هو؟ هو تلميذ. هل له كتاب؟ ايوا، له كتاب.
٤) من هي؟ هي تلميذة. هل لها وردة؟ ايوا، لها وردة نادرة.
٥) ما هذه؟ هذه مدينة كبيرة.
٦) ما هذا؟ هذا ميدان كبير.
٧) ما هذا؟ هذا بيت. هل هذا منزل؟ لا، هذه مكتبة كبيرة.
٨) هل هذه كلمة؟ ايوا، هذه كلمة.
٩) هل لكم لبن بارد؟ ايوا، لنا لبن بارد.
١٠) هل لهم منزل كبير؟ ايوا، لهم منزل كبير.
١١) من هو؟ هو كاتب بارز.
١٢) من هي؟ هي كاتبة. لها كتاب بارز.
Exercise 11. Read the text, translate it, write it down with vowel marks. Transcribe sentences # 3-7.
Exercise 12. Translate from English into Arabic.
1) What is this? This is a dwelling. What is this? This is a door. Is it big? Yes, it is big.
2) Do you have a divan? Yes, I have a divan. Is it soft? Yes, it is soft.
3) Who is this? This is a minister. Does he have a desk? Yes, he has a desk, it is big.
4) Do you have a library? Yes, we have a big library. Do they have a big library? Yes, they have a big library.
5) What is this? This is a city. What is this? This is a square. Is it big? Yes, it is big.
6) Who is this? This is a pupil, she has a rare book. Who is this? This is a pupil. Is he here? No, he is there.