Arabic: An Essential Grammar

12.10 However, the noun to which the adjective refers may be

ambiguous even in a vocalized text, e.g.

ِريِصَقْل ِذيِمْل َّ تل ِمَلَقِب َبَتـَك

kataba bi-qalami t-tilmı

• d
  ̄

i l-qas

̇

ı

• ri. He wrote with the short pen of the

student. OR He wrote with the pen of the short student.

12.11 The only element that can be placed between the annexed and

the annexer is a demonstrative pronoun, e.g.

ه ُبـِلاَط

ا

ِةـَعِماَجـْل ِهِذ

t

̇

a ̄libu ha ̄d

̄

ihi l-g ̆a ̄mi



ati, the student of this university

12.12 The five nouns َأْ َلأ ْس َما ُء ْلـ َخ ْم َس ُة

al-

asma ̄

u l-h

̆

amsatu below

take the three case endings, but they differ slightly from the usual ones.

When these nouns enter an

id

̇

a ̄fah construction, their case vowels

become long: -u ̄, -a ̄, -ı ̄ (instead of -u, -a, -i).

Note: Instead of the nominative case form ُفـو fu ̄, ‘mouth’, the alternative form

َفـ ٌم famun is more frequently used.

Examples:

َأ ٌخ َأ ٌب َحـ ٌم ُفـو ُذو




abun

ah

̆

un h

̇

amun fu ̄ d

̄

u ̄

father brother father-in-law mouth owner, possessor

Nominative Accusative Genitive

َأ ُبو ْل َوَلـ ِد (not: َأ ُب

abu) َأ َبا ْلـ َوَلـ ِد (not: َأ َب

aba) َأ ِبي ْل َوَلـ ِد (not: َأ ِب

abi)




abu ̄ l-waladi

the boy’s father

aba ̄ l-waladi

abı

• l-waladi

ُ ذو َما ٍل َذا َما ٍل ِ ذي َما ٍل

d

̄

u ̄ ma ̄lin

rich, wealthy

(lit. possessor of much w

d

̄

a ̄ ma ̄lin

ealth)

d

̄

ı

• ma ̄lin

66

Id

̇

a ̄fah

construc-

tion, the

five nouns