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Arabic_Morphology_version: 2 Compass Learning Centre

1 | P a g e C o p y r i g h t C L C 2 0 0 9

INTRODUCTION

Glorified be the Lord Who has given us language so that we can communicate and

understand each other. Hallowed be His name Who taught by the pen, taught mankind

what he knew not. And may a thousand and one salutations be showered on our liege-

lord Muhammad, who is the most articulate in speech and most eloquent in expression.

May his holy shrine be showered with the grace of Allah who was given the capacity to

speak libraries in just a few sentences. May His blessings and salutations also be

showered on his pure and blessed family, the purest of Arabs and the epitome of

eloquence, and with them may He encompass us all also in His grace. Ameen.

Arabic belongs to a group of languages known as the Semitic languages. Other languages

belonging to this group are: Hebrew; Ugaratic; Ethopic; Akkadian and Aramaic. It is

considered as the most widespread of the Semitic languages and is spoken by over three

hundred million people in the Middle East and North Africa. The earliest written

inscriptions of Arabic were found on a tombstone named Raqush in Madain Saleh and

dates back to circa. 267 CE.1

The pristine desert of Arabia was such that the Arabs were not in need of any grammar.

Arabic language ran in their veins and the slightest mistake immediately pricked their

ears. However, this was not always the case. After the expansion of the Islamic empire

from the straits of Gibraltar to the Bay of Bengal, non-Arabic languages and customs

were affecting the pristine Arabic of the desert. Neologisms were being interjected in to

the Arabic language to the extent that it became hard to distinguish between Arabic and

foreign cultures. To minimise any further damages to Arabic, hard mathematics like rules

needed to be put down which can then be applied scientifically to the Arabic language.

This concern gave birth to Arabic grammar in mid 600 CE. Sayyiduna Ali (ra)

commissioned his student Abu al-Aswad al-Duwali to look through the Quran and pre-

Islamic poetry in order to extract rules of grammar from them. He guided him on the first

rudimentary points of grammar by pointing out that Arabic language has three basic

components: and then advised him to carry on in this manner

1The Raqush tombstone was deciphered by professor John Healey of University of Manchester and reads

as:

.

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( ) thus from there we get the word , the name given to Arabic syntax.

There are many aspects to Arabic grammar: (morphology), (syntax), (lexicography), (rhetoric) (literature) and (etymology and philology).This book will only deal with the subject of morphology sometimes wrongly translated in

English as etymology.

This short treatise has been written for the Alim class students of Compass Learning

Centre. The reason behind writing this treatise is that the myriad of books found in

English on Arabic grammar use metalanguage which in itself is very confusing addedwith the further complexity of the Arabic language. We find that this to a certain extent

inhibits and diverts the students attention from Arabic to deciphering the English

metalanguage thus proving to be counterproductive. Therefore rather than writing the

active perfect verb we used the original Arabic , rather than writing the passive imperfect verb we used the Arabic . It will be left at the discretion of the teacher to explain the Arabic terms to the students in simple English

terms. We believe that this is more effective and will produce better results.

Below are some abbreviations used through out the book:

(m) = Masculine (f) = Feminine

(s) = Singular (d) = Dual (p) = Plural

We hope that this book will benefit the students in the best possible way.

CLC February 2009/ Safar 1430

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The Science of MorphologyThe Science of MorphologyThe Science of MorphologyThe Science of Morphology

DefinitionDefinitionDefinitionDefinition

is the science through which it is possible to recognise the Arabic (conjugations) of words and how to change one word to another. It also teaches how to

pronounce Arabic words properly.

TermiTermiTermiTerminologiesnologiesnologiesnologies

VowelsVowelsVowelsVowels

1. is another name for pesh and is indicated by the sign it makes an u sound.2. is another name for zabar and is indicated by the sign it makes an a

sound.

3. is another name for zer and is indicated by the sign it makes an i sound.4. is to show that a letter is vowel less and is indicated by the sign it does

not have a sound of its own.

5. / is to show that a letter is doubled, the first one having a and thesecond on a

it is indicated by this sign

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WordsWordsWordsWords

There are three types of words in Arabic: 1. (verb); 2. (noun) and 3. (prepositions).

1111.... is a doing word and denotes an action that has happened either in the past) such as) ) or future) ); present) I heard; she is eating;

both of you drink. As mainly deals with more will be said about it

later.

2222.... is a noun and denotes a name of a thing or place, it has no tense such as chair and Moscow.

There are few types of that are particularly important to it is helpful if youknow them.

aaaa.... is the doer of an action such as the shepherd looked afterthe goats. In this sentence the is the because he is doing the action.

bbbb.... is the object of an action such as the teacher examinedthe student. In this sentence the is the as he is the object of theteachers examination. You will learn more about the and in .

cccc.... (verbal noun) is that which is the name of a and should notbe confused with a such as which means to help. It is the name given tothat which denotes helping. means to write. It is the name given to that

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which denotes writing. The is not derived from anything althoughmany words are derived from it. Its similarity is to Sayyidun dam (as) who was

not born from any parents although many children were born from him.

dddd.... (derived noun) is that noun which is derived from a such as which means worshiper and is derived from the ; which

means accepted is derived from the . The simile of this is to anyordinary human being who is born from parents.

eeee.... ( primitive noun) is that which is independent, neither is itderived from any other nor is any derived from it such as man; sun. The simile of this is to Allh who is neither born from anyone nor isanyone born from him.

3. are connectors that join words and sentences together. They function like thenuts and bolts in a machine such as is; in; on and from. Some famous Arabic

are: (from); (to); (on); (towards); (with) and (and).

TenseTenseTenseTense

As far as tenses () are concerned there are four types of in Arabic:

(1) ; (2) ; (3) and (4) .

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1. is that which denotes that an action has been carried out in the past;such as she went out; we said; all of them opened and you (f)did.

2. is that which denotes that an action is being done or will be done;such as I find; we take; you are patient; they (f/p) steal.

3. is that which denotes an order (which is carried out in the future) such as eat; go; return (f); all of you help (m).

4. is that which denotes a prohibition such as dont go out; dont enter (f); both of you dont fast.

NumberNumberNumberNumber

As far as numbers are concerned there are three types of verbs in Arabic: (1) (; (2 and (3) .

1. represents a singular such as I measured; he was killed; know.

2. represents a dual such as both of you understand; both of themwere scared; both of them are being cooked.

3. represents a plural such as they asked; we read; theyhave been chosen.

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GenderGenderGenderGender

As far as gender is concerned all Arabic verbs fall under two genders: (1) and (2). There is no neuter gender in Arabic unlike some other languages such as German

1. represents a masculine verb such as it burnt; swim; they are stopped.

2. represents a feminine verb such as she became noble; all of themsaw;

she was asked.

PersonsPersonsPersonsPersons

In everyday speech we either speak about ourselves or we speak to someone directly or

we speak about a third person.

1. The speaker is known as the such as I ate.2. The one we speak directly to is known as the or such as you ate.3. The person we speak about is known as the such as he ate.

PositivePositivePositivePositive (((()))) andandandand negativenegativenegativenegative (((()))) verbsverbsverbsverbs

All are either positive () or negative ( ).

1. is that which denotes carrying out an action such as she screamed; all of you will inherit; you benefitted.

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2. is that which denotes not carrying out an action; it is represented by adding a

in front of a and a in front of a such as she didnot scream; all of you will not inherit; you did not benefit.

ActiveActiveActiveActive (((()))) and passiveand passiveand passiveand passive (((()))) verbsverbsverbsverbs

As far as the of a (: (1is being known is concerned there are two types of.(passive)((active) and (2

1. is that whose is known such as we worship Allah; I was thirsty; the girl slapped the boy.

2. is that whose is not known such as the clothes was

cut; the fish is eaten; the food was cooked.

Root lettersRoot lettersRoot lettersRoot letters (((( ))))

All Arabic are root based. The root letters are base letters from which many wordscan be derived such as the following range of words are derived from the root letters

: book; desk; library; nursery; writing; writer; written; he writes; he wrote. The following words are

derived from the root letters : knowledge; a knowledgeableperson; omniscient; he knew; scholar; sign; ;to make aware

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to teach; to learn; to seek information; known; teacher;

student.

Most have three root letters ( he opened), some have four ( he cracked hisfingers) and very rarely some have five. The root letters are known as andare represented by . Thus, the letter in is known asthe the letter is known as the and the letter is known as the

. Any other letters other than the are known as such as in theword (he refrained), the letter is the letter is the , theletter is , the letter is the and the letter is the .

Some generic examplesSome generic examplesSome generic examplesSome generic examples

Below are some examples to show how all the above fit in:

1. they laughed. This word is

2. both of you men/women are shaking. This word is

3. it was not liked. This word is

4. I should have got closer. This word is

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He did

They did (m/d)

They did (m/p)

She did

They did (f/d)

They did (f/p)

You did

Both of you did

All of you did

You did (f)

Both of you did (f/d)

All of you did (f/p)

I did

We did

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He/it was done

They were done (m/d)

They were done (m/p)

She/it was done

They were done (f/d)

They were done (f/p)

You were done

Both of you were done

All of you were done

You were done (f)

Both of you were done (f/d)

All of you were done (f/p)

I was done

We were done

Rule 1: is made by giving a to the , a to the andleaving the as it issuch as from to .

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He did not do

They did not do (m/d)

They did not do (m/p)

She did not do

They did not do (f/d)

They did not do (f/p)

You did not do

Both of you did not do

All of you did not do

You did not do (f)

Both of you did not do (f/d)

All of you did not do (f/p)

I did not do

We did not do

Rule 2: in is made by adding a before the such as from to .

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He/it was not done

They were not done (m/d)

They were not done (m/p)

She/it was not done

They were not done (f/d)

They were not done (f/p)

You were not done

Both of you were not done

All of you were not done

You were not done (f)

Both of you were not done (f/d)

All of you were not done (f/p)

I was not done

We were not done

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ExerciseExerciseExerciseExercise

1. Please conjugate the following with all fourteen from

a. (he forbid) b. (he knew) c. (he hit)

d. (he taught) e. (he refrained) f. (he screamed)

2. Please give the and meaning for the following :

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

3. Please translate the following into Arabic the is given to make it easier:

a. Both of you women went out b. She did not open c. Both of you were helped d. I was patient e. We were robbed f. All of you women did not go g. You (m) returned h. You (f) knew

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He is doing

They are doing (m/d)

They are doing (m/p)

She is doing

They are doing (f/d)

They are doing (f/p)

You are doing

Both of you are doing

All of you are doing

You are doing (f)

Both of you are doing (f/d)

All of you are doing (f/p)

I am doing

We are doing

Note: denotes both the present and present continuous hence; it can also betranslated as he does I do etc.

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Rule 3: is made by adding the letters , , and in the beginning of

.

1. . comes only for2. . comes only for3. comes for all the of and .4. comes for all the ofand for and .

Rule 4: The ending of the represents the number of people involvedtherefore:

1. If there isnt anything at the end ( ) itrepresents:

Such as:

2. at the end represents the such as .3. at the end represents such as .4. at the end represents such as .

Note: The in the above three points is known as and getsomitted in some cases as you shall learn later.

5. at the end represents and suchas and .This is known as and does not change whatever the case is.

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He/it is being done

They are being done (m/d)

They are being done (m/p)

She/it is being done

They are being done (f/d)

They are being done (f/p)

You are being done

Both of you are being done

All of you are being done

You are being done (f)

Both of you are being done (f/d)

All of you are being done (f/p)

I am being done

We are being done

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Rule 5: is made from . The process of making it is

to give a on the , leave the as it is, make the and leave the as it is such as from

to

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He is not doing

They are not doing (m/d)

They are not doing (m/p)

She is not doing

They are not doing (f/d)

They are not doing (f/p)

I am not doing

Both of you are not doing

All of you are not doing

I am not doing (f)

Both of you are not doing (f/d)

All of you are not doing (f/p)

I am not doing

We are not doing

Rule 6: in is made by adding a before hence it becomes .

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He/it is not being done

(They are not being done (m/d

(They are not being done (m/p

She/it is not being done

(They are not being done (f/d

(They are not being done (f/p

You are not being done

Both of you are not being done

All of you are not being done

(You are not being done (f

(Both of you are not being done (f/d

(All of you are not being done (f/p

I am not being

We are not being done

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ExerciseExerciseExerciseExercise

1. Please conjugate the following with all fourteen from

a. (he praises)

b. (he becomes great)

c. (he earns)

d. (he seeks help)

e. (he bursts)

f. (He cultivates)

4. Please give the and meaning for the following :

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

5. Please translate the following into Arabic the is given to make it easier:a. Both of you men are going out b. Both of them (f) are being opened c. You are not helping d. All of them (f) are patient e. All of you women are not being

robbed

f. We are going g. I am not returning

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