Pronouns: Singular
Pronouns : Singular
Pronouns in Arabic can be divided into attached and detached. Each pronoun has a singular, a dual and a plural form. We will study only the first form in this lesson, and the remaining two will be tackled in a future lesson.
Detached pronouns
The detached pronouns are subject pronouns. They are neither attached to what comes before them, if any, nor to what comes after them. The table below shows only the singular detached pronouns.
| S i n g u l a r | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| I (m. & f.) | أَنَاْ | ||
| You (m.) | أَنْتَ | ||
| You (f.) | أَنْتِ | ||
| He (m.) | هُوَ | ||
| She (f.) | هِيَ | ||
| It | هُوَ / هِيَ | ||
Note that for the 1st person the same pronoun is used for both masculine and feminine.
The pronoun "it"
As for the pronoun "it", it has no equivalent in Arabic; it has to be converted into "he" or "she" depending on the gender of the noun it refers to. More on this in another lesson.
Summary
- "I" is used for both masculine and feminine
- The other singular pronouns has each a different form for each gender
- "It" has no equivalent in Arabic. It is replaced by "he" or "she"
Vocabulary
| English | Arabic |
|---|---|
| hunter | صَيَّادٌ |
| cook | طَبَّاخٌ |
| seller | بَائِعٌ |
| baker | خَبَّازٌ |
| tailor | خَيَّاطٌ |