Once again, it is time for another In-Depth post.
This time, it’ll be just a small bit of grammar and vocabulary.
Starting off with grammar this time. There were two aspects of grammar I learned, noun cases and adjectives.
I’ll use the word for book “كتاب” to demonstrate.
| Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | كتابٌ | الكتابُ |
| Accusative | كتاباً | الكتابَ |
| Genitive | كتابٍ | الكتابِ |
Firstly, I’ll explain some terminology. The indefinite versus the definite is the difference between a specific object or a non-specific object. (Think the versus a).
The nominative is when the noun is the subject of the sentence, or the one doing the action.
The accusative is the object, or the one the action is being done to.
And the genitive is the noun when it is possessed, or modified by a preposition.
It is important to note that the definite article prefix ال sometimes merges with the vowel ahead of it and the consonant after it. (It’s a long story)
Another thing to note is that while there is a distinction between the three cases on the left in Classical Arabic, there is virtually no distinction in more modern varieties, apart from borrowed phrases and words.
Adjectives
Adjectives generally come after the noun. Furthermore, the adjective must have a ة if it is feminine.
كتاب جميل
مدرسة جميلة
Finally, time for some vocabulary.
| Professor, (f) | أستاذ ,أستاّذة |
| Pretty, (f) | جميا ,جمياة |
| You all, (f) | إنتو ,إنتين |
| Chair, (pl) | كرسي ,كراسي |
| Paper | ورق |
| Student, (pl) | طالب ,طلاب |
| Female Student, (pl) | طالبة ,طالبات |
| To run (i.e. move at a pace faster than walking) | يجري |
Attached will be some audio files of the above.
As for how my In-Depth presentation will work, it’ll work in the following way.
I will have a poster up with just a few Arabic words and/or phrases on it. At my station, visitors could also ask me a simple phrase, in which I can teach them. While I haven’t made up my mind up on the following, I may include a sheet of paper where I can teach them to write “My name is [insert visitors name]” in Arabic.
Anyways, that’s been all for this week.
Cheers,
Tyler