Basic Nahw

Question 1

Ism ( اِسْمٌ )

Answer 1

Noun, adjective, adverb and more.
A person, place, thing, idea, adjective, adverb, etc.
Example: Maryam

Question 2

Fi’l ( فِعْلٌ )

Answer 2

Verb.
Has a tense, past, present or future
Example: He stopped. He stops. He will stop. He is stopping.

Question 3

Harf ( حَرْفٌ )

Answer 3

Particle.
A word that does not have a meaning on its own and is understood from the context of the sentence and words in it. Prepositions, prefixes, conjunctions, articles, etc.
Example:
و Wa - And, لا Laa - No, نعم Na’am - Yes, مِنْ Min - From, إلى Ila - To

Question 4

4 Properties of an Ism ( اِسْمٌ )

Answer 4

Status (إِعْرَاب)
Number (عَدَد)
Gender (جِنْس)
Type (قِسْم)

Question 5

Raf’ رَفْعٌ

Status #3 - After Of

Answer 5

DOER. Who or what is DOING something?

Question 6

Nasb نَصْبٌ

Answer 6

DETAILS about the act. Who, what, when, why where, how did the DOER do the DOING?

Question 7

Jarr جَرّ

Answer 7

AFTER AN OF (explicit or implied). The religion of Islam. Abdullah’s house. He taught his companions. Adds a meaning to other words.

Question 8

Ending Sounds of an Ism ( اِسْمٌ )

Answer 8

Rafa - u or u. Look for Dhammah.
Nasb - a or an. Look for Fathah.
Jarr - i or in. Look for Kasrah.

Question 9

Ending Combinations of an Ism ( اِسْمٌ )

Answer 9

DUAL:
“aani” is for Raf’ Ex: مسلمَانِ
“ayni” is for Nasb and Jarr Ex: مسلمَيِْ

PLURAL:
“oona” is for Raf’ Ex: مسلمُوْنَ
“eena” is for Nasb and Jarr Ex: مسلمِيَْ

Question 10

Feminine Ending Combinations of an Ism ( اِسْمٌ )

Answer 10

SINGLE:
Add a ة
Ex: 
مسلمَةٌ is Raf' 
مسلمَةً is Nasb
مسلمَةٍ is Jarr

DUAL:
Add a ت before the ending combination
Ex: 
مسلمَتانِ is Raf'
مسلمَتَيِْ is Nasb
مسلمَتَيِْ is Jarr

PLURAL:
Add a ات
Ex:
مسلمَاتٌ is Raf'
مسلمَاتٍ is Nasb
مسلمَاتٍ is Jarr

Question 11

Hādhā هَـٰذَا

Answer 11

This.
Arabic demonstrative noun, or Arabic demonstrative article.
Ex: هَـٰذَا كِتَابٌ. “This is a book.”

Question 12

مَا هَـٰذَا؟

Answer 12

What is this?

Ex response: هَـٰذَا بَيْتٌ. “This is a house.”

Question 13

أَهَـٰذَا…..؟

Answer 13

Is this a…..?
Ex question & response:
أَهَـٰذَا بَيْتٌ؟ “Is this a house?”
نَعَمْ، هَـٰذَا بَيْتٌ. “Yes, this is a house.”

Question 14

نَعَمْ

Answer 14

Yes

Question 15

لا

Answer 15

No

Question 16

مَنْ هَـٰذَا؟

Answer 16

Who is this?
Ex response:
هَـٰذَا طَبِيبٌ. “This is a doctor.”

Question 17

Dhālika ذَلِكَ

Answer 17

That.
Demonstrative pronoun, Arabic demonstrative noun or Arabic demonstrative article for far object. Used to refer to objects that are further away whereas هَـٰذَا (this) is used to refer to objects that are closer.

Question 18

مَا ذَلِكَ؟

Answer 18

What is that?

Ex response: ذَلِكَ نَجْمٌ. “That is a star.”

Question 19

مَا هَـٰذَا وَمَا ذَلِكَ؟

Answer 19

What is this and what is that?

Ex response: هَـٰذَا مَسْجِدٌ وَذلِكَ بَيْتٌ. “This is a mosque and that is a house.”

Question 20

الْ

Answer 20

The. Arabic definite article. Refers to a specific object.

Question 21

Indefinite vs. Definite الْ

Answer 21

The vowel ending changes when a word is changed to its definite form.

Tanwīn (double vowel)represents the indefinite form (ex: a house)

A single vowel is the definite form. (ex: the house)

A word can never take الْ at the beginning and tanwīn at the same time (It can never be both indefinite and definite at the same time).

Ex:
مَسْجِدٌ: الْمَسْجِدُ The mosque: A mosque
كِتَابٌ: الْكِتَابُ The book: A book
قَلَمٌ: الْقَلَمُ The pen: A pen
بَيْتٌ: الْبَيْتُ The house: A house

Question 22

When NOT to use Diacritics on Articles

Answer 22

1. The Alif followed by laam ال (while the laam itself can be signed with a vowel)
2. The laam followed by alif لا (while the Alif itself can be signed when it comes with hamzah).
3. Do not put the small Alif on words like هٰذا.
4. Do not put diacritics on long vowels.

Question 23

The Moon and Sun Letters

Answer 23

Arabic has 28 letters. 14 letters are called Solar Letters, and the other 14 are called Lunar letters.

Question 24

Solar Letter Articulation

Answer 24

The tip or blade of the tongue is involved as in t, n, r, s, etc.

Question 25

Lunar Letter Articulation

Answer 25

The tip or blade of the tongue does not play any part in the articulation of the Lunar Letters as in b, w, m, k etc.

Question 26

Solar Letter /alif-lām/ “al”

Answer 26

When /alif-lām/ “al” is prefixed to a noun beginning with a solar letter, the “l” of “al” is assimilated (joined) to the solar letter.

Ex: al-shamsu (the sun) is pronounced /ash-shamsu/

No change takes place in writing اَلشَّمْسُ.

The assimilation is indicated by the /shaddah/ on the first letter of the noun after “al”.

Question 27

Lunar Letter /alif-lām/ “al” Rule

Answer 27

No assimilation takes place with the lunar letters.

Ex: /al-qamaru/ (the moon) is pronounced /al-qamaru/ اَلْقَمَرُ.