Arabic: An Essential Grammar

v

Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgements viii

List of abbreviations ix

1 Arabic script, transliteration and alphabet table 1

2 Pronunciation of consonants 5

3 Punctuation and handwriting 9

4 Vowels 13

5 Suku ̄n, sˇaddah, noun cases and nunation as indefinite form 17

6 Long vowels,

alif maqs

̇

u ̄ rah, dagger or miniature

alif, word

stress and syllable structure 21

7 Hamzah (hamzatu l-qat

̇



i) and the maddah sign 26

8 Definite article َأْلـ...

al..., nominal sentences, verbal

sentences, word order and adjectives 31

9 Sun and moon letters, hamzatu l-was

̇

li (was

̇

lah) 39

10 Gender 46

11 Conjunctions, prepositions and the particle تىََّح h
̇

atta ̄

12

Id

̇

a ̄ fah construction (genitive attribute) and the five nouns 61

13 Number: dual and plural 70

14 Perfect tense verbs, root and radicals, triliteral verbs and

word order 78

15 Separate personal pronouns and suffix pronouns 87

16 Demonstrative, reflexive and reciprocal pronouns 98

17 Imperfect tense verb in the indicative and word order 106

18 Derived verb forms (stems), roots and radicals, transitive

and intransitive verbs 115

19 Passive verbs 128

20 Rules for writing the hamzah (hamzatu l-qat
̇



i) 135

21 Broken plurals and collective nouns 144

22 Triptotes and diptotes 151