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Arabic Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Arabic grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Arabic and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Arabic and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Arabic.

Prepositions - Arabic - Pronunciation
and و [wa]
above فوق [fawq]
under تحت [that]
before قبل [qabl]
after بعد [baad]
in front of أمام [amam]
behind وراء [waraa]
far from بعيد عن [baeed an]
near قريب [qareeb]
in في [fe]
inside داخل [dakhel]
outside خارج [kharej]
with مع [maa]
without بدون [bedun]
about حول [hawl]
between بين [bain]
but لكن [laken]
for ل [l]
from من [men]
to إلى [ela]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Arabic + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] أكل بدون شوكة [akul bedoon]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] تعيش قرب الكنيسة [ta3eesh qurb alkanissa]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] هو أطول منها [huwa atwal menha]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] جاء مع كلبه الصغير [jaa maa kalbeh]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] هل ممكن أن تأتي معي؟ [hal mumken an taati mai?]

Negation in Arabic

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Arabic + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] أفهمك [afhamuk]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] لا أفهمك [la afhamuk]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] هذه ليست الكلمة الصحيحة [hadeh laisat alkalima assahiha]
don't leave me [imperative negation] لا تتركني [la tatrukni]
no problem [negation + noun] لا مشكلة [la mushkila]

Negative Sentences - Arabic + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] لا أتكلم الفرنسية [la atakallam alfaransia]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] لم تزر ألمانيا [lam tazur almania]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] لا يمكنه أن يرانا [la yumkinuh an yarana]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] ألا يمكنها أن تلعب الشطرنج؟ [ala yumkinuha an talab ashatranj]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] لن نتأخر [lan nataakhar]

Questions in Arabic

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Arabic - Pronunciation
how? كيف؟ [kaif?]
what? ماذا؟ [mada?]
who? من؟ [man?]
why? لماذا؟ [lemada?]
where? أين؟ [ayn?]

The following examples use the interrogative form in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Questions + Rules - Arabic + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] أين تعيش؟ [ayn taesh?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] هل هي تتكلم الصينية؟ [hal tatakallam aseenia?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] كم هو ثمنه؟ [kam huwa thamanuh?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] هل يمكنني مساعدتك؟ [hal yumkinuni musaadatuk?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] ما إسمك؟ [ma ismuk?]

Adverbs in Arabic

It's time to learn the adverbs in Arabic. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Arabic - Pronunciation
now الأن [alan]
yesterday البارحة [albareha]
today اليوم [alyawm]
tonight الليلة [allaila]
tomorrow غدا [ghadan]
soon عاجلا [ajelan]
quickly بسرعة [besuraa]
slowly ببطء [bebut]
together سوية [sawia]
very كثير [katheran]
almost تقريبا [taqriban]
always دائما [daiman]
usually عادة [adatan]
sometimes بعض الأحيان [baad alahyan]
rarely نادرا [naderan]
never أبدا [abadan]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Arabic + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] هل تفهمني الأن؟ [hal tafhamuni alan?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] أحتاج المساعدة حالا [ahtaju almusaada halan]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] هي ذكية جدا [hiya dakia jedan]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] سأحبك دائما [sa uhibbuk daiman]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] هل يمكن أن نتعلم الألمانية سوية؟ [hal yumkin an nataalam alalmania sawia?]

Pronouns in Arabic

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Arabic. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Arabic - Pronunciation
I أنا [ana]
you أنت [ant]
he هو [huwa]
she هي [hiya]
we نحن [nahn]
they هم [hum]

Object Pronouns - Arabic - Pronunciation
me ني [ni]
you ك [k]
him ه [h]
her ها [ha]
us نا [na]
them هم [hum]

Possessive Pronouns - Arabic - Pronunciation
my ي [i]
your ك [k]
his ه [h]
her ها [ha]
our نا [na]
their هم [hum]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Arabic + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] أنا صديقك [ana sadiquk]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] تتكلم بسرعة [tatakalam besura]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] له ثلاثة كلاب [lah thalathat kelab]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] تتكلم الألمانية [tatakallam al almania]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] لن نتأخر [lan nataathar]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] إشتروا حليب و خبز [eshtarau haliba wa khubz]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Arabic + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] هل ممكن أن تقول لي إسمك؟ [hal mumken an taqul li esmak?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] سأعطيك بعض المال [sa utek baad almal]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] كتبت له رسالة [katabtu la resala]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] زاروها البارحة [zaruha albareha]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] هل ممكن أن تساعدنا هي؟ [hal mumken an tusaedana hiya]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] أعطاهم طعاما [aatahum taaman]

Possessive Pronouns - Arabic + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] إسمي مايا [esmi maya]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] أخوك يعيش هنا [akhur yaesh huna]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] أمها تطبخ لنا [ummuha tatbukh lana]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] هوايته هي قراءة الكتب [hewayatuh heya qera'at alkutub]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] حلمنا زيارة باريس [hulmuna zeyara barees]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] بيتهم غير بعيد [baytuhum ghair baeed]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Arabic - Pronunciation
this is my house هذا منزلي [hada manzili]
that restaurant is far ذلك المطعم بعيد [dalek almatam baed]
these apples are delicious هذه التفاحات لذيذة [hadeh atufahat ladida]
those stars are shiny تلك النجوم برّاقة [telka anujum barraqa]

I hope you learned a lot about the Arabic grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!

Inspirational Quote: First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Epictetus

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