Arabic: An Essential Grammar

16.8 Reflexive and emphasizing (corroborative) pronouns

(a) Arabic uses the noun َن ْف ٌس nafsun (pl. َأ ْن ُف ٌس

anfusun), ‘soul, self,

same’, as a reflexive pronoun: ‘-self, -selves’. Then it must be

followed by a suffix pronoun, e.g.

(b) Another use of َن ْف ٌس nafsun is to emphasize or corroborate a

following noun in the

id

̇

a ̄fah construction. It then has the

meaning ‘same’ or ‘-self, -selves’, e.g.

ِ في َن ْف ِس ْل َي ْو ِم

fı

• nafsi l-yawmi

on the same day

(c) Alternatively, َن ْف ٌس nafsun can follow the noun or (implicit) pro-

noun it emphasises, but then it must take a suffix pronoun, e.g.

(d) The noun َذا ٌت d
̄

a ̄tun (pl. َذ َوا ٌت d

̄

a ̄wa ̄tun) ‘essence, identity, same,

self’ can be used just like َن ْف ٌس nafsun, though less commonly in the

reflexive meaning. For example:

ِ في َذا ِت ْل َي ْو ِم

fı

• d
  ̄

a ̄ti l-yawmi

on the same day

ّي ٌدَه َذا َج

ا

ُم َعِّل ُم ْل ِب ْن ِت ه ِذ ِه َق ِدي َم ٌة

ا

يا َر ُة ْلـ ُم ِدي ِر ََّس

mu



allimu l-binti ha ̄d

̄

a ̄ g ̆ayyidun. sayya ̄ratu l-mudı

• ri ha ̄d
  ̄

ihi qadı

• matun.

This teacher of the girl is good. This car of the director is old.

َق َت َل َن ْف َس ُه

qatala nafsa-hu.

He killed himself.

ا ِةƒَشا َه ْد ُت َن ْف ِسي ِفي ْلـ ِم ْر

sˇa ̄hadtu nafs-ı

• fı
  
  
  • l-mir
  
  
  
  

a ̄ti.

I saw myself in the mirror.

ِفي ْل َي ْو ِم َن ْف ِس ِه

f-ı l-yawmi nafsi-hi

on the same day

ُه َو َن ْف ُس ُه َذ َه َب

huwa nafsu-hu d

̄

ahaba.

He went himself.

َذ َه َب ِب َن ْف ِس ِه

d

̄

ahaba bi-nafsi-hi.

He went himself.

101

Demon-

strative,

reflexive

and

reciprocal

pronouns