Lesson 43 – الدَّرْسُ الثَّالِثُ وَالأرْبَعونَ

Interrogative Words (3 of 3) – أدَوَات الاسْتِفْهام (٣من ٣)

The interrogative particles (questioning particles) Hal and the hamza - أدَوَات الاسْتِفْهام (أَ – هَــلْ)

  • We are still in lesson forty three of our free Arabic language course. This Arabic course with images and audios will help you learn Arabic.
  • These two Arabic particles are used for Yes/No questions. “Hal” is indeclinable with sukūn vowel-ending (sukūn on last letter) while the hamza “a-” is indeclinable with Fatħah vowel-ending.
  • The answer to the question of “Hal” should be Yes or No. View the following examples:

Picture

Answer

Question

English

Arabic

English

Arabic

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Yes, I am Egyptian.

نَعَم، أنا مِصْرِيُّ.

/Naξam, anā Miŝri-yyun./

Are you Egyptian?

هَلْ أَنْتَ مِصْرِي؟

/hal anta Miŝriyyun?/

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No, I am Lebanese.

لا، أنا لُبْنَانِيّ.

/la, anā Libnāniyyun./

Are you Syrian?

أَأَنْتَ سُورِي؟

/a-anta Sūriyyun?/

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Yes, he is a doctor.

نَعَمْ، هُوَ طَبِيبٌ.

/Naξam, huwa ŧabīb-un./

Is Muhammad a doctor?

هَلْ مُحَمَّدٌ طَبِيبٌ؟

/hal Muhammad ŧabīb-un?/

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No, he is not a doctor. He is an engineer.

لا، هوَ لَيْسَ طبيبًا، هُوَ مُهَنْدِسٌ.

/lā, huwa laysa ŧabībuan, huwa muhandis-un./

Is Muhammad a doctor?

هَلْ مُحَمَّدٌ طَبِيبٌ؟

/hal Muhammad ŧabīb-un?/

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Yes, I visited it.

نَعَم، زُرْتُهَا.

/Naξam, zurtuhā./

Have you visited Mecca?

هَلْ زُرْتَ مَكَّةَ؟

/hal zurta makka-ta?/

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No, I did not visit it.

لا، مَا زُرْتُها.

/la, mā zurtuhā./

Have you visited Mecca?

هَلْ زُرْتَ مَكَّةَ؟

/hal zurta makka-ta?/

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Yes, I play it.

نَعَم، أَلْعَبُها.

/Naξam, alξabuhā./

Do you play football?

أَتَلْعَبُ كُرَةَ القَدَمِ؟

/a-talξabu kurata al-qadam-i?/

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No, I do not play it.

لا، لا أَلْعَبُها.

/lā, lā alξabuhā./

Do you play football?

أَتَلْعَبُ كُرَةَ القَدَمِ؟

/a-talξabu kurata al-qadam-i?/

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Yes, I drink tea.

نَعَم، أَشْرَبُ الشَّايَ.

/Naξam, ashrabu ash-shāy-a./

Do you drink tea?

أَتَشْرَبُ الشَّايَ؟

/a-tashrabu al ash-shāy-a?/

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No, I do not drink tea.

لا، لا أَشْرَبُ الشَّايَ.

/lā, lā ashrabu ash-shāy-a./

Do you drink tea?

أَتَشْرَبُ الشَّايَ؟

/a-tashrabu al ash-shāy-a?/

  • From the examples above, we notice that “hal and a-” come before the verbal and nominal sentence and the answer to the question is yes or no. both “hal and a-” can replace each other.