Arabic: An Essential Grammar

15.8 When the suffix pronoun for the first person singular is attached

to a sound masculine plural, the final و.ُ ... /...u ̄/ is changed to يَّ ِ ... /

...iyya/ in all three cases, e.g.

15.9 The

id

̇

a ̄fah construction may contain more than one annexed

noun َأْلـ ُم َضا ٌف. In this case only one annexed noun is placed before the

annexer َأْلـ ُم َضا ُف ِإَل ْي ِه. The other annexed nouns are placed after the

annexer, each preceded by the conjunction َو /wa.../ ‘and’ and followed

by a (possessive) suffix pronoun referring to the annexer and agreeing

with it in number and gender, e.g.

َد ْف َت ُر ُه و َح ِقي َب ُت ُهطاِل ِب َو ِك َتا ُب ُه َو َّ َقَل ُم ل

qalamu t

̇

-t

̇

a ̄libi wa-kita ̄bu-hu wa-daftaru-hu wa-h

̇

aqı

• batu-hu

the student’s pen, book, notebook and bag

(lit. the student’s pen and his book and his notebook and his bag)

كا ُن َها َو َم ْك َت َب ُت َهاََّم ْد َر َس ُة ْل َق ْر َي ِة َو َجا ِم ُع َها َو ُد

madrasatu l-qaryati wa-g ̆a ̄mi



u-ha ̄ wa-dukka ̄nu-ha ̄ wa-maktabatu-ha ̄

the school, mosque, store and library of the village

(lit. the school of the village and its mosque and its store and its library)

dual

Nom. َع ْي َنا ِن



ayna ̄n-i َع ْي َنا َي



ayna ̄-ya (not: َع ْي َنا ِن َي



ayna ̄ni-ya)

two eyes my (two) eyes

Acc. َع ْي َن ْي ِن



aynayn-i يَّ َع ْي َن



aynay-ya (not: َع ْي َن ْي ِن َي



aynayni-ya)

and

gen.

two eyes my (two) eyes

plural

ل ُمو َنُّم َعَ يَّ ل ِمُّم َعَ (not: ل ُمو َن َيُّم َعَ

mu



allim-u ̄na, teachers mu



allim-iyya, my teachers mu



allimu ̄na-ya)

Separate

personal

pronouns

and suffix

pronouns

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