Lesson 2 – الدرس الثاني The Definite Article

Lesson 2 – الدرس الثاني

The Definite Article ال

In this lesson, we learn that the definite article ال means “the”. Read the examples below out loud, both the indefinite (a car) and the definite (the car).

سيارة

A car

السيارة

The car

كتاب

A book

الكتاب

The book

قلم

A pen

القلم

The pen

Good job! Now we move on to constructing sentences using the definite article ال. Remember in Lesson 1, الدرس الاول, we learned that there is no equal to the word “is” in Arabic? Bet you did! The word “is” can be implied in the following sentences in which the predicate adjective (“big”) tells us something about the subject (“the car”). Please read sentences aloud:

.القلم كبير

The pen is big.

.المسجد صغير

The mosque is small.

.الكتاب قديم

The book is old.

Now, we’re going to create longer descriptive sentences by adding و، /waw/, which means “and.” Read the following sentences out loud:

.المسجد صغير و البيت كبير

The mosque is small and the house is big.

.الكتاب قديم و القلم جديد

The book is old and the pen is new.

.الخبز حار و الماء بارد

The bread is hot and the water is cold.

Good job! You have learned how to construct a sentence in which the predicate adjective describes the subject using the definite article ال: The house is big, or البيت كبير. You have also learned how to create longer descriptive sentences by adding و، /waw/, which means “and”: The house is big and the mosque is small, or البيت كبير و المسجد صغير. Congratulations! Can’t wait to see what you will learn in the next Arabic lesson!

Arabic Lesson #1: How to say “this is..”

Lesson 1 – الدرس الاول

This is … هذا

In this lesson, we learn how to use the pronoun هذا, which means “This” and is pronounced /hādhā/. Please read the following sentences out loud:

.هذا كتاب

This is a book.

هذا بيت

This is a house.

.هذا كرسي

This is a chair.

Have you noticed that there is no equal to the word “is” in Arabic? Bet you have! For example, you probably noticed that the pronoun هذا and the noun-predicate بيت to which it refers without “is”: هذا بيت. The word “is” can be implied in this sentence, so it reads, “This is a house”.

Congratulations! You’ve learnt to use the phrase هذا in order to say “This is.” Now, you can move on to using هذا (/hādhā/) in order to ask the question “What is this?”, or ما هذا؟

Question: ما هذا؟ What is this?

Answer: .هذا كتاب This is a book.

Question: ما هذا؟ What is this?

Answer: .هذا بيت This is a house.

Question: ما هذا؟ What is this?

Answer: .هذا كرسي This is a chair.

Congratulations! You have learnt how to say “What is this?” or ما هذا؟. Now, you will learn the phrase أهذا …؟, which means “Is this …?” For example, أهذا كتاب؟, or “Is this a book? To answer these questions, you are ready to learn the words “yes” and “no” in Arabic. The word “yes” is نعم and the word “no” is لا. Read the following sentences:

Question: أهذا بيت؟ Is this a house?

Answer: .لا، هذا مسجد. No, this is a mosque.

Question: أهذا كرسي؟ Is this a chair?

Answer: .لا، هذا سرير No, this is a bed.

Question: أهذا قلم؟ Is this a pen?

Answer: .نعم، هذا قلم Yes, this is a pen.

Well-done! You have mastered the basics of the phrase هذا to say “This is …”, … هذا , as well as to ask, “What is this?”, ما هذا؟, and “Is this …?”،أهذا …؟. To answer these questions, you have already learned the word “yes”, or نعم, and the word “no”, لا. Congratulations! Can’t wait to see what you will learn in the next Arabic lesson!

English words with Arabic origins

Did you know that many of the words in English were first used and introduced by Arabs? Notice how similar the word is in English when compared to the Arabic version.

admiral – ami:r-al-bahr ‘ruler of the seas’ (and other similar expressions) – amara command

candy – short for ‘sugar candy’, from sugar + qandi ‘candied’, from qand ‘cane sugar’

checkmate – sha:h ma:t ‘the king is dead’

chemistry – see alchemy

cotton – qutn

genie – jinni: ‘spirit’

lemon – laymu:n

mummy – mu:miya: ’embalmed body’ – mu:m ‘(embalming) wax’

racket – râh’et ‘palm of the hand

sofa – s,uffah ‘raised dais with cushions’

spinach – isfa:na:kh

sugar – sukkar – from Sanskrit

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For the complete list, visit this site.