Lesson 57 – الدَّرْسُ السَّابِعُ وَالْخَمْسُونَ

The six nouns - الأَسْمَاءُ السِّتَّة

Conditions of the six nouns – شُرُوط الأَسْمَاء السِّتَّة

  • We are still in lesson fifty seven of our free Arabic language course. This Arabic course with images and audios will help you learn Arabic.
  • In the beginning of this lesson we learnt that the Arabic six nouns are like all Arabic nouns in the matter that they can be in one of the three cases (nominative, accusative, or genitive), but they differ from all normal Arabic nouns in that they have irregular declension signs. The following table summarizes that difference of declension signs between the normal nouns and the six nouns:

Sign

Case

Six nouns

Normal nouns

/wāw/

الواو

/đammah/

Nominative

/alif/

الأَلِف

/fatħah/

Accusative

/yā’/

اليَاء

/kasrah/

Genitive

  • We now clearly understand that the six nouns are ended with /wāw/ if they are in the nominative case, and ended with /alif/ if they are in the accusative case, and with /yā’/ if they are in the genitive case.
  • There are some conditions under which the six nouns are declinable as shown above with letters (/alif/, /wāw/, and /yā’/). However, if one or more of these conditions is not found in one of the six nouns, it will be declinable on the regular signs (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/) on the last letter.
  • Now we will study the condition under which six nouns are signed (declinable) irregularly with letters (long vowels) In-Shā’-Allâh (God willing):

1-    The first condition is that the six nouns have to be in singular form in order to be declinable with the signs of letters (long vowels) as the following examples:

Picture

English

Arabic

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I saw your father.

رَأَيْتُ أَبَاكَ

/ra’aytu abāka/

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Like for your brother what you like for yourself.

حِبّْ لِأَخِيكَ ما تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ

/ħibba li’akhīka mā tuħibbu linafsika/

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You are of (you possess) a useful  knowledge of science.

أَنْتَ ذُو عِلْمٍ مُفِيدٍ

/anta dhū ξilmin mufīdin/

If the noun is not singular it will not be signed (ended) with letters (long vowels), it will have a normal signs on its last letters (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/) as follows:

Picture

English

Arabic

Madinaharabic.com lesson image

I saw your fathers.

رَأَيْتُ أَبَاءَكُم

/ra’aytu ābā’akum/

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Like for your brothers what you like for yourself.

حِبّْ لأِخْوَانِكَ ما تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ

/hibba li’ikhwānika ma tuħibbu linafsika/

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You are of (you possess) knowledge of useful science.

أَنْتُم ذُوِي عِلْمٍ مُفِيدٍ

/antum dhawī ξilmin mufīdin/

In the above mentioned table we notice that the word (آباء /ābā’/) is the plural of (أب /ab/), and the word (إخْوَان /ikhwān/) is the plural of (أَخ /akh) and the word (ذَوِي /dhawī/) is the plural of (ذُو /dhū/). These all plural words are signed regularly with short vowels (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/) on their last letters, this is unlike the six nouns; because they are not in the singular form.

2-    The second condition under which the six nouns are declinable with the long vowels ending, is in the case of annexing nouns (مُضاف /muđâf/) followed by an annexed noun or pronoun. You can notice this condition in all the above mentioned sentences, and the following examples clarify it:

Annexed noun

Annexing noun

English meaning

Annexation structure

خُلُقٍ

ذُو

/dhū/

Of good manners

ذُو خُلُقٍ

البَشَرِ

/al bashari/

أَبُو

/abū/

Father of mankind

أَبُو البَشَرِ

/abū al bashari/

كَ

/ka/

أَبَا

/abā/

Your father

أَبَاكَ

/abāka/

كَ

/ka/

حَمُو

/ħamū/

Your wife’s father

حَمُوكَ

/ħamūka/

الأُسْتَاذِ

/al ustādhi/

أَخُو

/akhū/

The brother of the professor

أَخُو الأُسْتَاذِ

/akhū al ustādhi/

الرَّجُلِ

/ar-raĵuli/

هَنُو

/hanū/

The thing of the man

هَنُو الرَّجُلِ

/hanū ar-raĵuli/

كَ

/ka/

فُو

/fū/

Your mouth

فُوكَ

/fūka/

If any of the six nouns is not an annexing noun (اسم مُضاف) it will not be declinable with long vowels, it will be, instead, signed with one of the original signs on the last letter (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/)

However, there is an important exception in this condition of annexation: that is the noun has to be annexing to any noun or pronoun except the pronoun of the first person singular, i.e. the /yā’/ of the speaker (ياء المُتَكَلِّم /yā’ al mutakallim/). If one of the six nouns is annexing to this pronoun it will neither be declinable with long vowels (/wāw/, /alif/ or /yā’/) nor be signed with short vowel (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/)on its last letter. The following table shows us how the six nouns are declinable and signed when annexing to the possessive pronoun of the first person singular (ياء المُتَكَلِّم /yā’ al mutakallim/):

With the pronoun  /yā’/ of the speaker

/yā’ al mutakallim/(ياء المُتَكَلِّم)

Without the pronoun  /yā’/ of the speaker

 /yā’ al mutakallim/(ياء المُتَكَلِّم)

Case

Sign

English

Arabic

Sign

English

Arabic

Virtual đammah

الضمة المُقَدَّرَة

This is my father

هَذا أَبِي

/hādhā abī/

/wāw/

الواو

This is your father

هَذا أَبُوكَ

/hādhā abūka/

Nominative

Virtual fatħah

الفتْحَة المُقَدَّرَة

I saw my father

رَأَيْتُ أَبِي

/ra’aytu abī/

/alif/

الألِف

I saw your father

رَأَيْتُ أَبَاكَ

/ra’aytu abāka/

Accusative

Virtual kasrah

الكَسْرَة المُقَدَّرَة

I went with my father

ذَهَبْتُ مَعَ أَبِي

/dhahabtu maξa abī/

/yā’/

الياء

I went with your father

ذَهَبْتُ مَعَ أَبِيكِ

/dhahabtu maξa abīka/

Genitive

In the above mentioned table, the word (أب /ab/) of the six nouns when annexing to the /yā’/ of the speaker (ياء المُتَكَلِّم /yā’ al mutakallim/) is declinable with virtual vowels (/đammah/, /fatħah/, or/kasrah/) on its last letter, in the three cases (nominative, accusative and genitive).

The virtual vowel (sign) means that it is assumed to be there, but it is not written or pronounced, because the following /yā’/ of the speaker make the preceding letter signed always with /kasrah/, (أبيكتابي), and it is not possible to put any declension signs because of the existence of that /kasrah/.

3-    The third condition under which the six nouns are declinable with the long vowels ending, is a special condition related only to the noun (فُو /fū/). meaning a mouth.

In Arabic this word has another form ending with the letter (م /m/). This form is (فَمٌ /fam/). So the condition under which this noun is declinable with the long vowels ending is that it mustn’t be ended with the letter (م /m/). If it is ended with that (م /m/) it will be declinable regularly with short vowels (/fatħah/, /đammah/, or/kasrah/) on its last letter. The following table shows the difference between the declension of the two forms: (فُو /fū/) and (فَمٌ /fam/).

/fam/(فَمٌ)

/fū/(فُو)

Case

Sign

English

Arabic

Sign

English

Arabic

/đammah/

الضمة

This is your mouth

هَذا فَمُكَ

/hādhā/ famuka/

/wāw/

الواو

Your mouth is clean

فُوكَ نَظِيفٌ

/fūka nađhīfun/

Nominative

/fatħah/

الفتْحَة

Wash your mouth

اِغْسِلْ فَمَكَ

/ighsil famaka/

/alif/

الألِف

Wash your mouth

اِغْسِلْ فَاكَ

/ighsil fāka/

Accusative

/kasrah/

الكَسْرَة

Put the food in your mouth

ضَعِ الطَّعَامَ فِي فَمِكَ

/đaξ aŧ-ŧaξāma fī famika/

/yā’/

الياء

Put the food in your mouth

ضَعِ الطَّعَامَ فِي فِيكَ

/đaξ aŧ-ŧaξāma fī fīka/

Genitive