Nominal sentences (5)
Some possible components of a Nominal sentence
So far we learned that a nominal sentence starts with a definite noun, or a pronoun. This definite noun or pronoun is then followed by an indefinite noun (or adjective) which agrees with the first noun/pronoun in gender and number.
This is demonstrated in the examples below. Note the agreement between the two words.
Noun + Noun/Adjective
noun + noun
| English | Arabic
|
|---|
| the man is a teacher | الرجلُ معلّمٌ
|
| the woman is a teacher | المَرْأَةُ معلّمةٌ
|
| the (two) men are teachers | الرجلانِ معلّمانِ
|
| the (two) women are teachers | المَرْأتانِ معلّمتانِ
|
The definite of اِمْرَأةٌ is المَرْأَةُ and NOT الاِمْرَأَةُ.
The first "alif" is dropped, and changes occur in vowelling.
noun + adjective
| English | Arabic
|
|---|
| the boy is tall | الولدُ طويلٌ
|
| the girl is tall | البنتُ طويلةٌ
|
| the (two) boys are tall | الولدانِ طويلانِ
|
| the (two) girls are tall | البنتانِ طويلتانِ
|
Pronoun + Noun/Adjective
pronoun + noun
| English | Arabic
|
|---|
| he is a writer | هوَ كاتِبٌ
|
| she is a writer | هيَ كاتبةٌ
|
| they are writers | هما كاتبانِ
|
| they are writers | هما كاتبتانِ
|
pronoun + adjective
| English | Arabic
|
|---|
| he is young | هو صغيرٌ
|
| she is young | هي صغيرةٌ
|
| they are young | هما صغيرانِ
|
| they are young | هما صغيرتانِ
|
| we are hardworking | نحن مجتهدانِ
|
| you are intelligent | أنتما ذَكِيَّتانِ
|
To know whether a dual pronoun indicates masculine or feminine, we look at the noun/adjective that agree with it.
Vocabulary
| English | Arabic
|
|---|
| happy | سَعِيد
|
| clear | وَاضِـح
|
| common | شَائِـع
|
| broken | مَكْسُور
|
| cheap | رَخِيص
|