Adjectives & Demonstratives

Today closes the second semester of the course. The first semester was the properties of the ismIsmاِسْمA noun: a word naming a person, place, thing, or idea (and also adjectives and adverbs). It has meaning but is unattached to time, so it is not a verb (Fiʿl) or a particle (Harf). One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1; the second has been the five fragmentsFragmentA unit that is more than a word but less than a sentence. The five fragments (Iḍāfah, Jarr Majrūr, Harf of Nasb + its Ism, Mawṣūf-Ṣifah, and the demonstrative) cover about 70% of Arabic phrases.Introduced on Day 4 and the sentenceJumlaجُمْلَةA sentence: a complete thought. Arabic sentences are either nominal (Jumla Ismiyya, starting with a noun) or verbal (Jumla Fiʿliyya, starting with a verb).Introduced on Day 1. This lesson finishes the fifth fragment (the demonstrativeIsm al-Ishāraاِسْم الإِشَارَةA demonstrative pointer (this, that, these, those), like hādhā or dhālika. Pointers are proper. A pointer followed immediately by an Al-word forms a fragment with no "is."Introduced on Day 3) and the sentence, and after this, the world of the ism is complete. Only the verb (fiʿlFiʿlفِعْلA verb: a word with meaning that is attached to time (past, present, or future), so it is not an Ism or a Harf. An Arabic Fiʿl already carries its doer inside it, so a single verb is a complete sentence. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1) remains.

What You'll Learn

• The ten demonstrative pointers (ism al-ishāra), near and far, and which row is for humans only.
• The two pointers that take a second meaning when pointing at a non-human broken pluralJamʿ Taksīrجَمْع تَكْسِيرThe broken plural: a plural that "breaks" the spelling of its singular (like mouse to mice) and carries ending sounds, so it looks singular and must be known by vocabulary. Grammatically it is treated as a singular feminine ("she"); human broken plurals may instead take their real plural.Introduced on Day 3.
• The "is-killer" rule: how a pointer plus an immediately-following al-AlالْThe definite article "the" (الْ). Adding it makes a word proper and drops the tanwin off singulars (Al and tanwin cannot share one word). A Muḍāf can never carry Al.Introduced on Day 2 produces a fragment with no "is."
• How to tell a fragment from a full sentence after a demonstrative.
• Why Arabic has no word for "is," and how the faṣlFaṣl Pronounضَمِير الفَصْلThe "referee" pronoun. Since Arabic has no word for "is," placing a faṣl pronoun (like huwa) between a pointer and an Al-word preserves the "is," as in hādhā huwa l-masjid (this is the masjid).Introduced on Day 6 (referee) pronounḌamīrضَمِيرA pronoun. Independent (detached) pronouns like huwa stand alone, are always Rafaʿ and proper. Attached pronouns like -hu cling to another word and are always Nasb or Jar.Introduced on Day 2 restores it.
• How to name the pieces of a demonstrative fragment: ism al-ishāra + mushār ilayhiMushār Ilayhiمُشَار إِلَيْهThe thing pointed at in a demonstrative fragment (the Al-word after the pointer). Its four properties match the pointer, but it is not an adjective, so it keeps its own name.Introduced on Day 6.

Therapy Review: Mawṣūf + Ṣifah

The noun–adjectiveṢifahصِفَةThe adjective in a noun-adjective fragment. By the Golden Rule it must match its Mawṣūf in all four properties: Status, Number, Gender, and Type. In Arabic the adjective comes after the noun. It is never a proper name, pronoun, or pointer word.Introduced on Day 5 fragment (described thing + description) caused the most pain yesterday, so we settle it again with a clean checklist of seven points (Mawsoof & Sifah):

1. Mawsoof – noun, Sifah – adjective. The mawṣūfMawṣūfمَوْصُوفThe described noun in a noun-adjective fragment. It comes first (before its adjective) and can carry several adjectives. It is never a pronoun, pointer word, or Ism Mawṣūl.Introduced on Day 5 is the noun; the ṣifah is the adjective.
2. Mawsoof 1ˢᵗ, sifa 2ⁿᵈ. The mawṣūf comes first, the ṣifah second.
3. 1 mowsoof but possibly multiple sifaat. There is one mawṣūf, but possibly multiple ṣifāt (ṣifāt is the pluralJamʿجَمْعPlural: a noun referring to three or more items. Arabic has five kinds of plural, including the sound masculine, sound feminine, and broken plurals.Introduced on Day 1). One noun can carry many adjectives, a big white house, a long boring class.
4. 4 properties of mowsoof match 4 properties of each sifah (statusIʿrābإِعْرَابStatus: the first and most important property of a noun. It is the grammatical case (Rafaʿ, Nasb, or Jar) shown by the word’s ending, telling you the word’s role in the sentence.Introduced on Day 1, number, gender, type).
5. Broken plurals can have singularMufradمُفْرَدSingular: a noun referring to just one item. Its status is shown by the ending sound (un / an / in or u / a / i).Introduced on Day 1 feminineMuʾannathمُؤَنَّثFeminine. A noun is feminine either really (biologically female) or grammatically, for four reasons: certain endings (ة، اء، ى), the conventional-feminine words, paired body parts, and broken plurals.Introduced on Day 3 sifah.
6. Qawm / naas / qarn can have plural sifahs.
7. They can be apart: the mawṣūf and ṣifah need not be adjacent.

The broken-plural twist

Because broken plurals carry "the she thing," they can take a singular feminine ṣifah. They can also take a plural ṣifah. And words that are feminine because the Arab said so take feminine ṣifāt to match.

A further note: the mawṣūf and ṣifah do not always have to be adjacent, something can come in between them.

Building a Mawṣūf-Ṣifah (the classical recipe)

The Al-Safwa note gives a three-step recipe for assembling a noun + adjective phrase:

1. Order: the described noun (mawṣūf) comes first, the adjective (ṣifah) after it.
2. The al- agrees: if the noun carries ال, the adjective carries ال too; if the noun has no ال, neither does the adjective.
3. The ending agrees: the adjective copies the ending (the ḥarakahḤarakahحَرَكَةA short vowel mark placed on a letter. The three short vowels are the Ḍammah (u), Fatḥah (a), and Kasrah (i).Introduced on Day 1 and case) of the noun, and agrees with it.

Qurʾanic-style examples follow the same recipe: صَبْرًا جَمِيْلًا (a beautiful patience), الصِّرَاطَ المُسْتَقِيمَ (the straight path), رَسُولٌ مُصَدِّقٌ (a confirming messenger).

Ḥarf al-Jarr Review and the Oaths

You have memorized 11 ḥurūfHarfحَرْفA particle: a word that has no meaning on its own until another word follows it (like in, on, to, of, and, but); it is not an Ism or a Fiʿl. One of the three Arabic word types.Introduced on Day 1 al-jarrJarجَرّThe status of the word after "of" or after a preposition. Shown by the i/in sound. A word is Jar for one of two reasons: it is a Muḍāf Ilayhi, or it follows a Harf of Jar. The state-word for it is Majrūr.Introduced on Day 1. Officially Arabic has 17, but only these 11 occur in the Qur'an, so the rest are set aside. Their job is to make the next word majrūrMajrūrمَجْرُورThe state-word describing a noun that is in Jar status. Also the name for the Ism that comes after a Harf of Jar (which forces it into Jar).Introduced on Day 1 (jarr), and they do not have to sit immediately next to that word, there can be distance between the ḥarf and its ism.

There are also seven letters of naṣbNasbنَصْبThe "done-to" status (object / detail). The word receiving the action or giving its detail (to whom, what, where, when, how), answered by the a/an sound. The state-word for it is Mansūb.Introduced on Day 1, to be filled in over time.

Swearing by Allah

• وَاللّٰهِ (wa-llāhi): I swear by Allah. The common, even casual, oath, used this way for thousands of years.
• تَاللّٰهِ (ta-llāhi): the most serious form of the oath, reserved for grave moments.

When Ibrāhīm planned to destroy his people's idols, nobody took the "kid" seriously. To show he meant it, he did not use the casual form, he used the heaviest oath, ta-llāhi: I swear by Allah, I will surely plot against your idols.

Fragment 5: Ism al-Ishāra + Mushār ilayhi (Demonstratives)

The demonstrative is the pointer (the ism al-ishāra), and the thing pointed at is the mushār ilayhi.

The near and far pointers

The first six demonstratives are near ("this / these"); the next set are far ("that / those"). The last row is for humans only. The demonstratives chart sets the near set out in two columns, the masculineMudhakkarمُذَكَّرMasculine. The default gender of any noun: a word is masculine until it shows a sign of being feminine.Introduced on Day 3/feminine singulars and duals (هٰذَا / هٰذَانِ beside هٰذِهِ / هَاتَانِ), capped by the shared human plural هٰؤُلَاءِ.

The two double-meaning pointers

Two of these pointers carry a second meaning when they point at a non-human broken plural (which is treated as singular feminine):

• هٰذِهِ (hādhihi): normally this, but can also mean these when pointing at a broken plural.
• تِلْكَ (tilka): normally that, but can also mean those when pointing at a broken plural.

So when you want to say these books (books being a non-human broken plural), you cannot use the human pointer, you use hādhihi ("these"). And the Qur'an's تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ (tilka r-rusul) means those messengers, while تِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ (tilka l-ayyām) means those days.

Examples of this double-pointing include:

• تِلْكَ الْأَيَّامُ (tilka l-ayyām): those days.
• تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ (tilka āyātu l-kitābi l-ḥakīm): those are the verses of the wise Book (Yūnus 10:1).
• تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّٰهِ (tilka ḥudūdu llāh): those are the limits of Allah.
• تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ (tilka d-dāru l-ākhirah): that is the home of the Hereafter.

The "Is-Killer" Rule

Here is the heart of today's fragment. Start with a pointer. Then look at the very next word:

• Pointer + immediately-following al- = a fragment, no "is." The al- right after the pointer kills the "is."
• Pointer + a word with no al- = a sentence, meaning "this is a …"

The "finding the invisible IS" shortcuts come in four cases:

1. Pointer word followed by AL → a fragment, no "is" (e.g. هٰذَا الْبَيْتُ, this house).
2. Pointer word followed by other than AL → a sentence with "is" (هٰذَا بَيْتٌ: this is a house).
3. Ḥarf of naṣbHarf Naṣbحَرْف نَصْبA particle that forces its following Ism into Nasb. These are the "Sisters of Inna" (inna, anna, kaʾanna, lākinna, laʿalla, layta, biʾanna), and they can govern their Ism even across a long distance.Introduced on Day 5 and its ism is usually followed by the predicateKhabarخَبَرThe predicate of a nominal sentence: the piece of information said about the Mubtadaʾ. In English an invisible "is" links them.Introduced on Day 6, where the "is" appears, e.g. إِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ (inna llāha ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr): Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.
4. Proper followed by common also surfaces an "is", e.g. هٰذَا رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ (hādhā rasūlu llāh): this is the messenger of Allah.
5. A break in the chain: when a jārr-majrūr (or an adverb of place) stands where the predicate should be, an invisible IS is implied, e.g. اَلرَّجُلُ فِي الدَّارِ (ar-rajulu fī d-dār): the man is in the house.

The same idea can be cast as three "Finding the invisible IS" shortcuts: (1) after an independent pronoun, (2) after HN [hādhā/hādhihi etc.] + its ism, (3) there is an IS between a proper and a common noun.

Qur'anic examples:

• فِي هٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ (fī hādhā l-qurʾān): in this Qur'an (fragment; pointer + al-).
• ذٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ (dhālika l-kitāb): this/that is the Book, but with a faṣl pronoun (below) the sense becomes definite.
• هٰذِهِ الدُّنْيَا (hādhihi d-dunyā): this lowest/worldly life (fragment). The word dunyā literally means lowest (also nearest); it is feminine because of the alif ending.
• رَبَّ هٰذَا الْبَيْتِ (rabba hādhā l-bayt): the Lord of this house, the pointer follows a muḍāf, and al- kills the "is" (Quraysh 106:3).
• هٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا / فِي هٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (hādhihi l-ḥayātu d-dunyā): this worldly life (fragment).
• بِهٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ (bi-hādhā l-ḥadīth): with/by this speech (fragment after a ḥarf al-jarr).
• هٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةُ (hādhihi sh-shajarah): this tree (fragment).
• أُولٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ (ulāʾika aṣḥābu n-nār): those are the companions of the Fire (sentence, predicate is a muḍāf, no al- on it).
• أُولٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ (ulāʾika aṣḥābu l-jannah): those are the companions of the Garden.

Sentence examples (pointer + a word with no immediately-following al-, so the "is" surfaces):

• هٰذَا رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ (hādhā rasūlu llāh): this is the messenger of Allah.
• هٰذِهِ نَاقَةُ اللّٰهِ (hādhihi nāqatu llāh): this is the she-camel of Allah.
• هٰذِهِ النَّارُ (hādhihi n-nār): this is the Fire (contrasted with the al- fragment).
• هٰذَا رَبِّي (hādhā rabbī): this is my Lord.
• إِنَّ هٰذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ (inna hādhā ʿaduwwun laka): indeed this is an enemy to you (Ṭā Hā 20:117).
• هٰذِهِ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ (hādhihi min ʿindik): this is from you.
• هٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي (hādhihi sabīlī): this is my way (Yūsuf 12:108).
• هٰؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا (hāʾulāʾi shufaʿāʾunā): these are our intercessors (Yūnus 10:18).
• هٰؤُلَاءِ الْقَوْمُ (hāʾulāʾi l-qawm): these people / these are the people.
• هٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ (hādhāni khaṣmān): these two are two disputants (al-Ḥajj 22:19; note the dual pointer hādhāni).
• ذٰلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا (dhālika matāʿu l-ḥayāti d-dunyā): that is the enjoyment of the worldly life.
• ذٰلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ (dhālika ʿīsā bnu maryam): that is ʿĪsā the son of Maryam (Maryam 19:34).
• إِلٰهُكُمْ إِلٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ (ilāhukum ilāhun wāḥid): your god is one god.
• أَنَا رَبُّكُمْ (anā rabbukum): I am your Lord.
• مِنْ فَوْرِهِمْ هٰذَا (min fawrihim hādhā): from this moment of theirs (Āl ʿImrān 3:125).

Naming the pieces

When it is a fragment, the pointer is the اسْمُ الْإِشَارَةِ (ism al-ishāra) and the word pointed at (the one carrying al-) is the مُشَارٌ إِلَيْهِ (mushār ilayhi). As with mawṣūf/ṣifah, the four properties match: but the mushār ilayhi is not an adjective (a laptop is not a description of "this"), so it keeps its own name. This fragment is named Ism al-Ishāra + Mushār ilayhi (AL).

Example: هٰذَا الْحَدِيثُ (hādhā l-ḥadīth): this speech. Here al-ḥadīth is masculine, singular, proper (it has al-) to match hādhā, which is masculine, singular, and proper (a pointer, and pointers are one of the seven kinds of proper isms).

Another pairing is الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ (al-ḥamdu lillāh): useful for showing how the definite al- word behaves as the named piece.

Why Arabic Has No "Is"

Arabic simply does not have the word "is." This is why an Arab learning English says he late, it time for ṣalāh, and then, once corrected, over-applies it: it is exist everywhere. The "is" is invisible in Arabic and surfaces only in your English translation.

The faṣl (referee) pronoun

So how do you say this is the masjid, keeping both the "is" and the "the"? If you put al- right after the pointer, the "is" dies. The solution: place a referee pronoun (the faṣl pronoun) between them. It stands in the middle saying, "I'm here to make sure the is stays."

• هٰذَا هُوَ الْمَسْجِدُ (hādhā huwa l-masjid): this is the masjid. The pronoun huwa is the referee; it preserves the sentence (with the "is") even though the next real word has al-.

Translation discipline: muḍāf takes "the" in English

When you translate a muḍāf into English, you normally put the on it, even if the muḍāf is common in Arabic. English says the weight of a speck, not a weight of a speck. A clear example is مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ (mithqāla dharrah): the weight of a speck. Respect English; do not force it into Arabic standards.

And always translate a muḍāf construction in order: render the muḍāf first, insert of, then the muḍāf ilayhiMuḍāf Ilayhiمُضَاف إِلَيْهThe second word of an Iḍāfah, the possessor (the word after "of"). It must be in Jar status.Introduced on Day 3, the master of this house, not "this house master." Follow the process; do not produce word salad.

Demonstrative Practice (Determine if Fragment or Sentence)

This exercise asks you to "determine if the following are fragments or sentences." The items are:

Further answer-key sentences:

• إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ (inna yaʾjūja wa-maʾjūja mufsidūna fī l-arḍ): indeed Gog and Magog are corrupters in the land (al-Kahf 18:94).
• إِلٰهُكُمْ إِلٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ (ilāhukum ilāhun wāḥid): your god is one god.
• ذٰلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ (dhālika ʿīsā bnu maryam): that is ʿĪsā the son of Maryam.
• أَنَا رَبُّكَ (anā rabbuk): I am your Lord.
• فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ (fa-laʿallaka bākhiʿun nafsak): so perhaps you would kill yourself (al-Kahf 18:6).
• أَنَا أَكْثَرُ مِنْكَ مَالًا (anā aktharu minka mālan): I am greater than you in wealth (al-Kahf 18:34).

Closing the Ism Semester: and a Look at the Verb

With this fragment, the world of the ism is complete, THE END for the ism. The pre-work for the verb (fiʿl) and pronouns is:

1. Memorize the pronouns.
2. Know the meanings of each.
3. Know the attached versions of each.
4. Know how to go from independent to attached, and attached to independent.
5. Know that the independents are rafʿ and the attached are n or j.
6. Know that the attached ones have 4 situations: attached to an ism (j), to a ḥarf of jarrHarf Jarrحَرْف جَرّA preposition: a particle whose one job is to force the noun right after it into Jar status. There are 17 in all, of which 11 occur in the Qur’an (bi, ka, li, wa, ta, rubba, mundhu, ḥattā, khalā, min, fī, ʿan, ʿalā).Introduced on Day 4 (j), to a ḥarf of naṣb (n), and to a fiʿl (n).

A glimpse of the verb's jobs: naṣb has 16 jobs (the doerFāʿilفَاعِلThe doer of the verb: the one performing the action, which is in Rafaʿ. In Arabic the doer is built inside the verb, but an outside Rafaʿ noun can supply it instead.Introduced on Day 7 of the fiʿl is the default), while jarr has 2 jobs (detail regarding the fiʿl; and the ism of a ḥarf of jarr).

Recap

• Demonstratives come in near ("this/these") and far ("that/those") sets, with one row reserved for humans only.
• هٰذِهِ (hādhihi) and تِلْكَ (tilka) can also mean these / those when pointing at a non-human broken plural.
• The is-killer rule: pointer + immediately-following al- = a fragment with no "is"; pointer + a word with no al- = a sentence where the "is" surfaces.
• The al- must follow the pointer immediately, an intervening ḥarf al-jarr or other word does not kill the "is."
• In a fragment, the pointer is the ism al-ishāra and the al- word is the mushār ilayhi; their four properties match, but it is not a ṣifah.
• Arabic has no word for "is"; to keep both the "is" and the "the," insert a faṣl (referee) pronoun, as in هٰذَا هُوَ الْمَسْجِدُ (hādhā huwa l-masjid).
• The ism semester is complete; the verb (fiʿl) and pronouns come next.