Arabic with Husna Nahw Textbook

7.1

Unit 7.1: Introduction to Arabic Words

HOMEWORK
By the end of this lesson, I should be able to
Recognize, define and give examples of isms, fils, and harfs
Know the four properties of an ism
Know the status of an ism in an English sentence
Tell the status of an ism by ending sound or ending combination
Recite the Muslim Chart by heart

1 THREE KINDS OF WORDS IN ARABIC

In all languages, we communicate using sentences. Sentences are composed of
different kinds of words that come together to create a meaning.
In the Arabic language, we have only 3 kinds of words. They are:
1) Ism :

The name of a person, place, thing, idea, adjective, adverb

and more.

2) Fil :

A word that has a tense (past, present or future)

3) Harf :

A word that needs another word with it in order to make

sense.

2 ISM STUDIES
Isms are the first of the three kinds of words in Arabic that we will study. Recall
that an ism is the name of a person, place, thing, idea, adjective, adverb or more.

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2.1: The Properties of the Ism

We start our study of Arabic by studying the ism. Every ism has four properties:
, number , gender and type . Every time you come
status

across an ism you should be able to identify its four properties.

2.1.1 Properties of the Ism Status (

When studying the status of an ism we should first know:

1. The three forms of status
2. How to Tell Status
3. Light vs. Heavy
4. Flexibility

2.1.1.1 Properties of the Ism Status Three Forms of Status

There are three forms of status which can be identified in sentences that have an
action. They are:
(SUBJECT) Doer of the act: / Raf (R)

(OBJECT) Detail of the act: / Nasb (N)

(POSSESSIVE) Word after of: / Jarr (J)

Worked Examples:
R

A teacher entered the classroom.

In the sentence above, the action is entered. The doer of the act is teacher therefore it is
in the raf status. The word classroom answers the question where did the teacher enter?
Since the word classroom provides more information about the action entered is it in the
nasb status.

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Arabic with Husna Nahw Textbook

The teachers student woke up suddenly.

In English sometimes we have to create the word of. The phrase teachers student can be
written as student of the teacher. Therefore the word teacher is really after-of even though
the word of is hidden here.

2.1.1.2 Properties of the Ism Status How to Tell

Now that we know the kinds of status, we need to know how to tell what status an
ism is in.
In English the status of a word depends on where the word is in the sentence. For
example: Ahmed hit Zayd.
The doer (Ahmed) comes first and the detail (Zayd) is second. If we change the
order of the names and say Zayd hit Ahmed then now we have changed the
statuses of Ahmed and Zayd.
In Arabic, changing the order of the words does not change the status, rather the
sounds at the end of the words tell us the status of the words.
There are two basic ways to tell the status of an ism: ending combination or
ending sound.
Remember: When telling status look for ending combination FIRST and then look
for ending sound.

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The following table is a summary of the ending sounds and ending combinations.

Raf Recognition:

(u) or
(un)

ending sound for singular

( aa) or
(aani)

ending combination for pair

( oo) or ( oona)
ending combination for plural

(aatu)
or

(aatun) ending combination for plural feminine

Nasb Recognition:

(a) or
(an)

(ay) or
(ayni)

(ee) or
(eena)

(aati)

or

(aatin)

ending sound for singular

ending combination for pair
ending combination for plural
ending combination for plural feminine

Jarr Recognition:

(i) or
(in)

(ay) or
(ayni)

(ee) or
(eena)

(aati) or

(aatin)

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ending sound for singular

ending combination for pair
ending combination for plural
ending combination for plural feminine
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How to Tell Status Examples:

How do you say in the following sentences?

1. A Muslim travelled across the sea

First ask yourself, is the word Muslim a doer, detail or after of?
In this sentence the word Muslim is the doer, so it should be in the raf
status. Since this is one Muslim, we will use the un ending sound:
( doer, raf un ending sound)

2. We met two Muslims on the way.

Is the underlined phrase two Muslims a doer, detail or after of? What
status should it be? Will we use an ending sound or combination for two
Muslims?

3. The houses of Muslims are always clean.

4. The Muslim women went to the masjid.

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Status

Forms

How to Tell

MASCULINE

FEMININE

Plural

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Flexibility

Dual

Singular

BROKEN PLURAL

Light v.
Heavy

Raf
Nasb
Jarr

Raf
Nasb
Jarr

Raf
Nasb
Jarr

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REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE STUDENT

1. What are the three types of Arabic words?
__________ __________ and _________
2. How many properties does the ism have and what are they?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. What are the three forms of status?

__________ __________ and _________
4. Determine the status of the highlighted words in the following sentence
(R=Raf, N=Nasb, J=Jarr):
My teacher likes shawarmas.
___ ______
_________

5. What is the status of the word

__________ ?

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Arabic with Husna Nahw Textbook

IN-CLASS
TEACHER-LED DISCUSSION POINTS
1. A word that has a tense (past, present, or future) is called a ___________.
2. What is a harf?
3. In a sentence, the subject or doer of the act is in which status?
4. The word after of is in which status?
5. There are two ways to tell the status of an ism. By ending _____________
or ending _____________.

TEACHER-LED ACTIVITIES
Identify whether the words in the table below are isms, fils or harfs.

Table

Books -

Dallas

Makes


From

For

Peace

Sent -

In

Intense

Tall -

Believers

Determine the status and place an R, N or J over the highlighted words.

1. My teacher drinks chocolate milk regularly.
2. He doesnt like vegetables or fruits.
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3. He buys his chocolate milk happily.

4. My teacher also likes yummy shawarmas.
5. His students also like shawarmas.
6. He buys shawarmas for his class sometimes.
7. My teacher patiently explains hard concepts.
Give the status of the following words. Is it determined by sound or combo?
Word
1.

3.

Status

Word
raf (ending sound)
2.

5.

7.


9.

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Status

4.

6.

8.

10.

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