Arabic Grammar

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته,

We’ve seen when ضمة (dhammah) and the و will show that a word is in رَفع (raf’).  Today we’re going to see how a very unique word shows that it has raf’, and that word is the dual noun.  Unlike English, which only has singular and plural, Arabic also has a dual which is used when you’re talking about two things.  Forming a dual is very straightforward in Arabic because all you have to do is add انِ (with a single kasrah on to the end of it).  For example, adding انِ to the end of رَجُلٌ (“a man”) would get you رَجُلانِ (“two men”).

Substitution of ا for ضمة

ًوَأَمّا الألِفُ فَتَكُوْنُ علَامَةً لِلرَفْعِ فِي تَثْنِيَةِ الأسْماءِ خاصَة

As for the ا (alif), it is a sign of raf’ specifically when doubling the nouns.

ا is an indicator of raf’ in one situation: the dual noun. For example:

حَضَرَ الصَدِيقانِ (“the two friends arrived”)

• صَدِيقان is the dual of صَدِيْقٌ (“friend”)
• It’s in raf’ because it is the doer of the verb حَضَر (“arriving”)
• The sign of raf’ is the ا, substituting for dhammah that we saw at the end of صَديقٌ
  • You’d think that the ن would be what shows the status, because it’s the very last letter, but it’s not.  The ن will be there for a dual noun in all of its three possible states.  As we’ll see later, what would change in the other states is that the ا would become a ي.
• The نِ (with a single kasrah) in the dual is a substitute for the tanween that we saw on صَدِيقٌ

The dual noun is any noun that indicates two masculines or two feminines, using an addition at the end. This addition removes the need for using the same word two times and using “and” between them. For example:

أقبَلَ العُمرانِ وَالهِندانِ (“The two Umars and the two Hinds came”)

The word ٍعُمَران indicates two males, each named Umar,  because of the appearance of an addition at the end of it, and this addition is ان.  It removes the need for using و  (“and”) and repeating the name, so that you wouldn’t have to say حضَر عُمَرُ وَعُمَرُ (“Umar and Umar came”).

Similarly, ِهِنْدان indicates two females, each of them named Hind, because of the appearance ان at the end of it. It removes the need for using و and repeating the name, so that you wouldn’t have to say حَضَرَتْ هنِْدُ وَ هِنْدُ (“Hind and Hind came”).

[Read more…] about Going high with رفع, Part 3: ا

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته,

We’ve learned about the 4 possible grammatical states of words, and the default indicators for those states.  Last time, in Going high with رفع, Part 1: ضمة , we started looking at raf’ and the four situations where we will see it shown using its default indicator, the ضمة (dhammah).

Note: When we say something is the “default”, your ears (or eyes) should perk up, because that is a very subtle way of saying that there are exceptions! Arabic teachers love to do that on you.  They give you a rule, then quietly break out some exceptions that just shatter your world to pieces.  The only consolation you might get while you’re having your breakdown is, “Well, I said ‘most of the time’, didn’t I?”.  Well, I learned it’s not their fault, because the only practical way to teach this stuff is to start from a default base rule and then mention the exceptions as they come.  How did I come to know this?  Because now I’m explaining it and am about to drop an exception on you (sorry!).  Just don’t say I didn’t tell you 🙂

Now, going back to our main point, sometimes dhammah is not the sign that shows that a word is in raf’.  Instead, we’ll see something that substitutes for it.  Today’s post is on one of those substitutes, the letter و.

The substitution of و for ضمة

وَأَمَّا الوَاوُ فَتَكُوْنُ عَلامَةً لِلرَّفْعِ فِي مَوْضِعَيْنِ: فِيْ جَمْعِ المُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ, وَفِي الأسْماءِ الخَمْسَةِ: أبُوْكَ وَأخُوْكَ وَحَمُوْكَ وَفُوْكَ وَذُوْ مالٍ

As for the و, it is the sign of raf’ in two situations: the sound masculine plural and the “five nouns”, and they are أبُوك (your father), أخُوك (your brother), حَمُوك (your in-law), فُوك (your mouth), and ذُو مال (owner of wealth).

The و is a sign of raf’ in two situations:

1. The sound masculine plural
2. The “five nouns”

The sound masculine plural (جَمْعُ المُذَكَّرِ السالِمُ)

The sound masculine plural is an اسم that indicates the plural (more than 2 of the same thing) by an addition to the end of it, and it remains valid when this addition is stripped away. For example in the Quan:

• فَرِحَ المُخَلَفُوْنَ (the ones left behind rejoiced) [9:81]
• لكِن الراسِخُونَ في العلمِ مِنْهُمْ و المُؤمِنُونَ (but the ones firmly grounded in knowledge and the believers…) [4:162]
• وَ لَوْ كَرِهَ المُجْرِمُونَ (even if the criminals dislike it) [8:8]
• إنْ يَكُنَ مِنْكُمْ عِشْرُونَ صابِرُونَ (if there are from you 20 patient ones…) [8:65]
• و آخَرُونَ اعْتَرَفوا بِذُنُوْبِهِم (and others that acknowledge their faults) [9:102]

Each of the words المخلفون – الراسخون – المؤمنون – المجرمون – صابرون – آخرون is a sound masculine plural (meaning more than two), with an addition at the end (the ون).

If you take away the ون from the ending, it still remains a valid word. Taking the endings of these example words would give you

مُخلَّفٌ – راسِخٌ –  مُؤمِنٌ – مُجْرِمٌ – صابِرٌ – آخَر, which are all valid.

Each of these words that occur in these verses is in the state of raf’, and what shows that is the و, instead of dhammah. The ن substitutes for the tanween in مُخَلَّفٌ and the others, just like how the و substitutes for the dhammah.

The “five nouns”

As for the “five nouns”, they are a special list of nouns and they are:

• أبُوْكَ (your father)
• أخُوْكَ (your brother)
• حَمُوْكَ (your in-law)
• فُوْكَ (your mouth)
• ذُوْ مالٍ (an owner of wealth)
• There is a sixth word, هَنُو (“thing”), but it’s so rarely used such that some don’t even consider it.

Like the sound masculine plural, they are also given raf’ using و instead of dhammah.  Some examples:

• حَضَرَ أبُوكَ وَأخُوكَ وَحَمُوكَ وَنَطَقَ فُوْكَ وَذُو مالٍ (Your father, your brother and your in-law came, and your mouth and an owner of wealth spoke)
• هذا أبُوْكَ (This is your father)
• أبُوكَ رَجَلٌ صالِحٌ (“Your father is a righteous man”)
• أبُونا شَيْخٌ كَبِيْرٌ (“Our father is an old man”) [Quran 28:23]
• مِنْ حَيْثُ أمرَهُمْ أبُوهُمْ (“From where their father ordered them”) [Quran 12:68]
• وَإنَّهُ لَذُوْ عِلْمٍ (“and indeed he was a possessor of knowledge”) [Quran 12:68]
• إنِّيْ أنا أَخُوْكَ (“Indeed I am your brother”) [Quran 12:69]

[Read more…] about Going high with رفع, Part 2: و

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

We know that there are four types of status, each with a default indicator and substitutes for it.  Here, we’re going to look at the first status, رَفْع (raf’), along with when the ضَمَّة (dhammah) will be its indicator.

From the Ajurroomiyyah:

لِلرَّفْعِ أَرْبَعُ عَلاماتٍ: الضَّمَّةُ والْواوُ وَالْأَلِفُ وَالنُّوْنُ

Raf’ has 4 indicators: The ضمة (dhammah), the letter و, the letter ا and the letter ن.

You can figure out that a word is in raf’ by one of these four indicators, one being the default and the others sometimes substituting for it:

1. Dhammah
2. و
3. ا
4. ن

This section covers when dhammah is used to show raf’.

فَأمَّا الضَمَّةُ فَتَكُونُ عَلامَةً لِلرَّفْعِ فِي أرْبَعَةِ مَوَاضِعَ: الاسْمِ المُفْرَدِ وَجَمْعِ التَكْسِيْرِ وَجَمْعِ المُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمِ وَالْفِعْلِ المُضَارِعِ الَّذِيْ لَمْ يَتَّصِلْ بِآخِرِهِ شَيْءٌ

As for dhammah, it is a sign of raf’ in 4 situations: The اسم of the singular, the broken plural, the sound feminine plural, and the فعل of the present tense with nothing attached to its end.

The dhammah is a sign of raf’ in four situations (explanation of each to follow):

1. The اسم of the singular
2. The broken plural
3. The sound feminine plural
4. The فِعل of the present tense which has nothing attached to its end (no ا of the dual, no و of the plural, no ي of addressing 2nd person, no ن of light or heavy emphasis, and no ن of the feminine plural)

[Read more…] about Going high with رفع, Part 1: ضمة

السلام عليكم and welcome back!  By now, we’ve touched on the concept of how words show their status (explicitly or implicitly) through changes in their endings.  Now we’re going more into what statuses are possible for a word to be in.

َوَ أقْسامُها أرْبَعَةٌ: رَفْعٌ وَنَصْبٌ وَخَفْضٌ وَجَزْمٌ, فَلِلْأسْماءِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الرَفْعُ وَالنَصْبُ وَالخَفْضُ وَلا جَزْمَ فِيْها, وَلِلْأفْعالِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الرَفْعُ وَالنَّصْبُ وَالْجَزْمُ, وَلا خَفْضَ فِيْها

The four divisions of grammatical status are: رَفْعٌ (raf’), نَصْبٌ (nasb), خَفْضٌ (khafdh) and جَزْمٌ (jazm). From that (list), اسم’s have raf’, nasb and khafdh, and no jazm, and فِعل’s have raf’, nasb and jazm, and no khafdh.

Altogether, there are four possible states for the ism and the fi’l:

1. الرَفْع (Raf’)
2. النَصْب (Nasb)
3. الخَفْض  (Khafdh), also known as الجَرّ (jarr)
4. الجَزْم (Jazm)

Each of these has a linguistic and grammatical meaning.

الرَفْع (raf’)

Linguistically, it means “to be high and to rise up”. In grammar, it is “a specific change whose sign is ضَمّة (dhammah) and what substitutes for it”. By “what substitutes for it” we mean that the even though the dhammah is the default sign of this state, some words show this state using something else.  Raf’ occurs in both the اسم (ism) and the فِعْل (fi’l). For example:

• يَقُومُ عَلِيٌّ (“Ali stands”)
• يَصْدَحُ الْبُلْبُلُ (“The nightingale sings”).

Each of these sentences has a verb followed by a noun, with dhammah at the end being the sign of raf’ for both.

النَصْب (nasb)

Linguistically, it is to “stand straight and upright”. Grammatically, it is “a specific change whose sign is فَتْحَة (fathah) and whatever substitutes for it”. It also occurs in both the اسم and the فعل, as in:

لَنْ أُحِبَّ الْكَسَلَ (“I will not like laziness”)

The word ّأُحِب is a verb that is in nasb because of the particle ْلَن, and the word الكَسلَ is in nasb because it’s a noun that is the object of the action.  Both of these words show that using fathah.

الخَفْض (khafdh), also known as الجَرّ (jarr)

Linguistically, it is “to sink low”. Grammatically, it is “a specific change whose sign is كَسْرَة (kasrah) and whatever substitutes for it”. It only occurs in the noun, as in:

تَألَّمْتُ مِنَ الكَسُولِ (“I suffered due to the lazy one”)

The word الكسول is in khafdh because the word before it (مِن) is one of the particles of خفض , and it shows status using kasrah.

Note:  Another name for this state is الجَرّ (“dragging”), which kind of makes sense because when you drag something you drag it low.  Khafdh and jarr are interchangeable and mean the same thing when we’re talking about grammar.  So if you see me calling it khafdh in some places and jarr in others, please don’t freak out!

الجَزْم (jazm)

Linguistically, it means “to cut”. Grammatically, it is “a specific change whose sign is سُكُون and whatever substitutes for it”. It only occurs in the فِعل مُضارِع (the present tense verb), as in:

لَمْ يَفُزْ مُتَكاسِلٌ (“A lazy person has not won”).

The word يَفُزْ is in جزم because of the particle ْلَم before it, and shows it using سكون.

So, the types of إعْراب fall into three :

• Shared between isms and fi’l‘s: raf’ and nasb
• Exclusively for isms: jarr
• Exclusively for fi’l’s: jazm

[Read more…] about Four types of status