Lesson 9

The letter س and the sound /s/

The letter س (seen) is similar to the English ‘s’. It connects both ways and has four graphic shapes (see from right to left):

The head of seen is three prongs of approximately the same height and shape as the initial and medial prongs of the studied ‘pronged’ letters (ث ت ب). The width of the head of seen - is about 1/2 of alif. The tail of seen в in the isolated and final forms is exactly similar to the final form of noon and is a continuation of the last prong.

Seen forms ligatures with the following letters: ز ر ج م and the final ن. Here two options are possible: either the entire seen letter is raised above the line, or only the line of connection from the last prong is raised; in the case of two neighbouring seens or where seen is neighbouring with other pronged letters, they are separated by a slightly longer line of connection.

Exercise 1. Read and write it down 5 times.

سَ سُ سِ سُسْ سِسْ سَسْ سَسِسُ سُسَسِ سِسُسَ

Exercise 2. Read paying attention to the vowel length, write down, transcribe, and mark the stress.

Exercise 3. Read comparing /s/ and /θ/ (see also lesson 3). *

* In modern colloquial Arabic, both sounds can be pronounced simply as /s/. But this does not change the writing.

The letter ش and the sound /ʃ/

The letter ش (sheen) is pronounced like ‘sh’ in the word ‘ship’ /ʃɪp/. In the transcription it is: /ʃ/.

The letter ش is written in the same way as س, but has three distinctive dots at the top, which are placed in a ‘pyramid’ above the middle prong. The dots can be replaced by a “corner”, just like above ث.

Here are the graphic forms of the letter sheen:

Exercise 4. Read, write it down 5 times.

شَ شِ شُ شَشْ شُشْ شِشْ شِشَشُ شُشَشِ شَشِشُ

Exercise 5. Read, write down, transcribe and mark the stress.

Exercise 6. Read, write down with the transcription.

Exercise 7. Write down the transcribed words in Arabic letters.

/salа̄mun, sarīrun, muhandisun, sahlatun, ʃawkatun, masrūrun, maʃhūrun, madrasatun, rīʃatun, maʃrūbun, darsun, tasdīdun, samīnun, θamīnun, ʃа̄jun, ʃadīdatun/

Negative Word ليس

The negative word لَيْسَ is used to negate possessive phrases, the use of which is clear from the following examples:

When answering a question, the negative word لَيْسَ may be preceded by the common negation particle لا, e.g.:

هل لكم كتب؟ لا، ليس لنا كتب.

Exercise 8. Make all the sentences in text 1 of lesson 6 negative (click).

Exercise 9. Translate from English into Arabic.

1) He doesn’t have a book. 2) She doesn’t have a big rose. 3) We don’t have a big house. 4) I don’t have a glass. 5) Do you have a dog? No, we don’t have a dog. 6) Do they have a library? No, they don’t have a library. 7) Do you (f) have butter? No, I don’t have butter. 8) Do you (m) have a new newspaper? No, I don’t have a new newspaper.

The words for the text of lesson 9

Exercise 10. Make at least 10 sentences using the given words.

In the text below, the speaker pronounced قَلَمٌ /qalamun/ - ballpoint pen. We have not yet studied the letter ق, so the text will not be corrected. We will soon get to the ballpoint pen as well, don’t worry.

The text of Lesson 9

ما هذا؟ هذا بيت كبير. هل هذه مكتبة؟ لا، هذه مدرسة. هناك تلميذة. هى مسرورة. لها كتب جديدة وجميلة وريشة جديدة. ومن هو؟ هو تلميذ. له بدلة جديدة وشارة جميلة.
ما هذا؟ هذا كتاب جديد. هل هناك دروس؟ اجل، هناك دروس. هل هي سهلة؟ اجل، هي سهلة.
هل هذا درس؟ اجل، هذا درس. هل هو سهل؟ احل، هذا درس سهل. هل هناك كلمات سهلة؟ اجل، هناك كلمات سهلة.
من هو؟ هو مهندس. هل هو مهندس ماهر؟ اجل، هو مهندس ماهر ومشهور. هل له مكتبة كبيرة؟ اجل، له مكتبة كبيرة. هناك كتب جديدة.
ما هذا؟ هذا بستان كبير وجميل. هناك ورود جميلة ونباتات نادرة. هناك كلب وديك ودجاجات.
هل هناك برد شديد؟ ١جل، هناك برد شديد.
ما هذا؟ هذا كوب. هل هناك لبن؟ لا، ليس هناك لبن. هناك شاي. ما هذه؟ هذه شربة. هل هي لذيذة؟ اجل، هي لذيذة. هناك دجاجة وديكة.
هل لكم شوكات؟ لا، ليس لنا شوكات.
هل لهم بستان كبير؟ لا، ليس لهم بستان كبير.
هل لك شارة جميلة؟ لا، ليس لي شارة جميلة.

Exercise 11. Read and translate the text. Write it down with vowel marks and transcribe passages # 4 and 7.

Exercise 12. Translate from English into Arabic.

1) Is here a library? No, here is a school. It is big and beautiful.
2) Do you have a new pupil? Yes, we have a new pupil. He has a beautiful badge. He is pleased.
3) I have new pens and a book. There are easy lessons. This is an easy lesson.
4) Who is he? He is a skillful engineer. Does he have a big desk? No, he doesn’t have a big desk.
5) Is this a garden? Yes, this is a garden. Here are beautiful and rare plants.
6) Is this tea? No, this is soup. Is it rich? Yes, it is rich and tasty.
7) Is here cold? Yes, here is a severe cold.
8) Do you (f) have a fork? No, I don’t have a fork.
9) Here is milk, and there is tea. Is this cold milk? Yes, this is cold milk.
10) This is a pupil. She has a new pen. She is pleased.

Exercise 13. Make up 10 questions and answers to the words in lesson 9 using the negation ليس in your answers.