Arabic: An Essential Grammar

11.11 Spelling rules for the preposition ِلـ... li...

(a) When ِلـ... li... ‘for, to’ precedes a word with the definite article

َأْلـ...^

al..., the hamzah with its

alif (^) أ is omitted in writing and
pronunciation, and the two la ̄ms are joined together, e.g.
(b) When the preposition ِلـ... li... precedes a word which itself begins
with the letter la ̄m (^) ِلـ... and which has a definite article, the


alif +
hamzah of the definite article will again be elided, but because
three la ̄ms cannot be written in succession, the la ̄m of the article
and the initial la ̄m of the following word are written as one with
the sign sˇaddah (remember that la ̄m is a sun letter), e.g.
11.12 The adjective qualifying a noun preceded by a preposition is
also in the genitive case, thus agreeing with the noun it qualifies, e.g.
1
(^) يِف َنـَكـَس
2
ِدـيِدَجـْل ِعِراـ َّ شل
sakana fı

• sˇ-sˇa ̄ri



i l-g ̆adı

• di.
  1
  He lived on the new
  2
  street.

1

(^) َسَلَج
2
(^) َتـْحَت
3
ِةَريِبَكْل ِةَرـَجـ َّ شل
g ̆alasa tah
̇
ta sˇ-sˇag ̆arati l-kabı

• rati.
  1
  He sat
  2
  under the big
  3
  tree.

َأْل َعا ِم ُل ِلْلـ َعا ِم ِل (not:ِلأْل َعا ِم ِلَ^ li-

al-



a ̄mili)




al-



a ̄milu li-l-



a ̄mili (Note:ع



is a moon letter.)

the worker for the worker

طـ ِبـي ُبَّ َأل طـ ِبي ِبَّ ِلل (not:طـ ِبي ِبَّ َِلأل^ li-

at

̇

-t

̇

abı-bi)




at

̇

-t

̇

abı

• bu li-t
  ̇

-t

̇

abı

• bi (Note:ط t
  ̇

is a sun letter.)

the physician for the physician

ُل َغ ٌة ل َغ ُةَُّأل ل َغ ِةُِّل (not:ل َغ ِةَُِّلأل

lug ̇atun

al-lug ̇atu li-l-lug ̇ati li-

al-lug ̇ati)

a language the language for the language

َل ْو ٌن ل ْو ُنََّأل ل ْو ِنَِّل (not:ل ْو ِنََِّلأل

lawnun

al-lawnu li-l-lawni li-

al-lawni)

a colour the colour for the colour

57

Conjunc-

tions,

preposi-

tions and

the particle

تىََّح h

̇

atta ̄