Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar

Mohammed Sawaie

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781134710805
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar provides an authoritative guide to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) grammar. It has been organised to promote a thorough understanding of MSA grammar and presents its complexities in a cohesive and user-friendly format, filling many gaps left by other textbooks. Explanations are clear, full and accessible and extensive cross-referencing, two generous indices and six appendices provide users with easy access to the information they require. No prior knowledge of linguistic terminology is required.

Features include:

• Expert treatment of a full range of grammar topics and structures, including the case system, Idhaafa, the equational sentence, quantifiers and the vocative, generously spread across thirty eight chapters
• Special attention to parts of speech, such as nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs and propositions, given at the beginning of the book to acquaint students with the basic units of Arabic and provide a solid foundation for further learning
• A wide range of contemporary examples drawn from real life to provide solid context to grammar points, further supported by word glosses and idiomatic translations of sentences
• Grammatical terms given in both Arabic and English
• A wide variety of supplementary learning resources such as practice sheets, exercises and verb tables available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415710046/
• Substantial bibliography incorporating primary Arabic grammar sources in addition to secondary sources in Arabic and in English

Fundamentals of Arabic Grammar has been field tested over a number of years and has been written by a highly experienced teacher of Arabic. It will be an essential resource for students and teachers of Arabic at all university levels and is suitable for use both as a companion reference text in Arabic language courses and as a standalone text in independent grammar classes.

CHAPTER 1

The verb system in Arabic الأَفعال

Verbs are that part of speech that express action or the occurrence of an event. Verbs are usually the first element in MSA sentences that contain verbs, followed by performers mers of actions, called فاعِل in Arabic. A sentence whose initial element is a verb is known as a verbal sentence. A sentence beginning with a noun is called a nominal sentence. There are grammatical consequences for the choice of placing the verb or the performer of action at the head of the sentence. Examples of verbal and nominal sentences follow:

وَصَلَ الصَّديقُ أَمْسِ.	The friend (M) arrived yesterday.
الصَّديقَةُ وَصَلَت أَمْسِ.	The friend (F) arrived yesterday.

1.1 THE PERFORMER OF ACTION فاعِل

All verbs have a فاعِل, the performer of action. This element could be expressed as a noun, or nouns, or as a pronoun, explicit or implied. An expressed noun functioning as a performer is always in the nominative case; it can be definite or indefinite. Definite singular nouns must end with a Dhamma in the writing system of formal Arabic, pronounced -u; indefinite singular nouns end with two Dhammas in orthography, pronounced -un. Dual definite and indefinite nouns such as فاعِل must have انِ - at their ends; regular masculine plural nouns have ونَ -; irregular plural nouns, like singular nouns, have either a Dhamma or two, depending on their determination (whether they are definite or indefinite). Finally, regular feminine plural nouns must have ات - with either a Dhamma or two, depending on their determination.

1.2 VERB TENSES

Verbs can convey a sense of time frame: past, present, or future; whether the action happened in the past or was a single occurrence, or if one action happened before or after another, whether it happens regularly and habitually, or is happening at the present time, or whether it will happen at some future time. These time references of events expressed by verbs are called tenses. Verb tenses in Arabic are divided into the following:

1. Past tense is used to express a past, completed action (see Chapter 11), or an action which was ongoing in the past (see Chapter 18 on past continuous tense), or two actions which happened in the past with one action occurring before the other (see past perfect tense, Chapter 19).

2. Present tense is used to express actions in the present, either happening habitually or regularly, or to state a fact. Additionally, this tense can be used to express the future (see Chapter 14). Forms of the present tense are also used in imperatives and their negatives, and follow subjunctive particles.

3. Future tense employs verbs to express action that will happen at some point in the future (see Chapter 14).

1.3 INTRANSITIVE VERBS الأَفْعالُ اللازِمَةُ VERSUS TRANSITIVE VERBS الأَفعال المُتَعَدِّيَة

1.3.1 Intransitive verbs الأَفْعالُ اللازِمَةُ

Some verbs require only a performer of action, the فاعِل, to make a complete sentence. For example, the verbs نامَ “he slept, to sleep” or اِبْتَسَمَ “he smiled, to smile” express actions that are unilaterally performed by one person, namely the person who slept or smiled. Such verbs are referred to as intransitive verbs فِعل لازم) / Pl أَفعال لازِمَة ), verbs that do not require direct objects as in كَبُرَ “to become bigger,” ضَحِكَ “to laugh.” Intransitive verbs are often used with prepositions which are learned as part and parcel of learning the verb itself and how it is used. Examples of intransitive verbs include: ذَهَبَ إلى “to go to,” رَجَعَ مِنْ/ إِلى “to return from/to,” خَرَجَ مِنْ “to go out, exit,” etc.

1.3.2 Transitive verbs الأفْعالُ المُتَعَدِّيَة

Some verbs express actions by a performer that extends explicitly or implicitly to something or someone else. Such verbs are called transitive verbs ( فِعل مُتَعَدٍّ / Pl أَفعال مُتَعَدِّيَة ). A transitive verb not only has a فاعِل, performer, but can take what is referred to as مَفْعولٌ بِهِ, a direct object. Examples of transitive verbs include دَرَسَ “to study,” كَتَبَ “to write,” فَهِمَ “to understand,” شَرِبَ “to drink,” etc. If the direct object is not mentioned, the speaker/writer is using a stylistic strategy called truncation and is leaving it to the listener/reader to fill it in. A limited number of verbs take two direct objects. Examples of such verbs include: أعْطى “to give,” عَيَّنَ “to appoint,” اِنْتَخَبَ “to elect, select.” Consider the following examples:

أَعْطَى الرَّجُلُ الوَلَدَ ديناراً.	The man gave the boy a dinar.
عَيَّنَ الرَّئيسُ الأُستاذَ وزيراً.	The president appointed the professor as a minister.

1.4 NOUNS AS DIRECT OBJECTS

Direct objects are always in the accusative case ( مَنْصوب ); they can be definite or indefinite (see Chapter 3 on cases). Singular, definite nouns functioning as direct objects must end with a fat-Ha in formal spoken or scripted Arabic. On the other hand, if the direct object is indefinite masculine, it must end with an ’alif bearing two fat-Has اً (tanwiin) in the orthography. Masculine, indefinite nouns as direct objects ending with hamza do not take this ’alif-bearing two fat-Has, as in, for example, سَماءً “sky,” ماءً “water,” هواءً “air,” etc. Feminine nouns functioning as direct objects end with two fat-Has placed above the feminine marker, the taa’ marbuuTa ةً. Consider the following:

الطالِبَةُ قَرَأَت كِتاباً.	The student (F) read a book.
حُسَي شَرِبَ قَهْوَةً.	Hussein drank coffee.

Dual masculine or feminine nouns must end with يْنِ -َ when functioning as direct objects, as in the following examples:

قابلوا مُوَظَّفَيْنِ.	They met two employees.
دعَوْنا صَديقَتَيْنِ.	We invited two friends (F).

Regular masculine nouns end with ينَ-; irregular plural nouns as objects behave largely like singular nouns with respect to their accusative case endings; definite feminine regular plural nouns must have a kasra instead of fat-Ha or two fat-Has if they are indefinite. Consider the following examples:

وَظَّفَتِ الشَّرِكَةُ مُهَنْدِسينَ.	The company employed engineers (M).
قابَلَتِ المُديرَةُ مُدَرِّساتٍ.	The director met teachers (F, Pl).

1.5 PRONOUNS AS DIRECT OBJECTS

If the direct object is a pronoun, this pronoun assumes a cliticized, shortened form that must attach to the end of the verb as a suffix (see Chapter 5 on pronouns). The direct object pronoun cannot stand independently and is understood to be in the accusative case. Consider the following:

الأبُ قابَلَنا أَمْسِ.	The father met us yesterday.
هَلْ شاهَدْتَها في المَكْتَبَةِ؟	Did you see her...