Lesson 69 – الدَّرْسُ التَّاسِعُ والسِّتُّونَ

The Circumstantial object (Adverbs of Time and Place) - الْمَفْعُولُ فِيهِ

Adverb of Place – ظَرف المَكان

  • We are still in lesson sixty nine of our free Arabic language course. This Arabic course with images and audios will help you learn Arabic.
  • We studied in the previous parts the Arabic adverb of time. We learnt that it is the noun which indicates the time of the action of the verb.
  • In this part, we will learn the Arabic adverb of place, which indicates the place in which the action of the verb occurs. Look at the following example:

Meaning

Example

Muhammad slept on the bed

نامَ مُحَمَّدٌ عَلَى السَّرِيرِ

/nāma Muħammadun ξalā as sarīri/

  • The word (السرير) in the above mentioned example indicates the place in which Muhammad slept, so it is an adverb of place.
  • As we studied earlier in the adverb of time, also the adverb of place can be limited or vague.
  • When the adverb of place is limited, it refers to a certain location or place as (بَيْتمَدْرَسَة - مُسْتَشْفَى). In this case it is mostly in the genitive case after the preposition (في /fī) as in the following examples:

Meaning

Example

Khalid reads Quran in the mosque

يَقْرَأُ خالِدٌ القُرْآنَ فِي المَسْجِدِ

/yaqra’u khâlidun al qur’ānu fī al masĵidi/

The doctor works at the hospital

يَعْمَلُ الطَّبِيبُ فِي المُسْتَشْفى

/yaξmalu aŧ ŧabību fī al mustashfā/

My friend lives in a flat

يَسْكُنُ صَدِيقِي فِي شَقَّةٍ

/yaskunu ŝadīqī fī shaqqatin

The friends sleep at one house

ينامُ الأصْدِقاءُ فِي بَيْتٍ وَاحِدٍ

/yanāmu al aŝdiqâ’u fī baytin wāħidin/

  • Some other adverbs of place are vague (not limited). These adverbs need another annexed noun to complete the meaning of the adverb of place as follows:

Adverb of place

فَوْقَ

تَحْتَ

يَمِينَ

شِمالَ

أَمامَ

خَلْفَ

meaning

Above

Undue

To the right of

To the left of

In front of

behind

  • When the adverb of place is a vague (not limited) it is mostly in the accusative case as in the following examples:

Picture

English meaning

Example

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Sparrows sing on the tree

العَصَافِيرُ تُغَرِّدُ فَوْقَ الشَّجَرَةِ

/al ξaŝâfīru tugharridu fawqa al ashĵāri/

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And the farmer is sleeping under it

والفَلاحُ نائِمٌ تَحْتَها

/wal fallāħu nā’imun taħtaha/

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And the waterwheel is turning at his right

والساقِيَةُ تَدُورُ يَمِينَ الفَلاحِ

/was sāqiyatu tadūru yamīna al fallāhħi/

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The farmer slept between the trees

نامَ الفلاحُ بَيْنَ الأَشْجارِ

/nāma al fallāħu bayna al ashGāri/

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The farmer slept where the fresh air is

نامَ الفَلاحُ حَيْثُ الهَواءُ النَّقِيُّ

/nāma al fallāħu ħaythu al hawā’I an naqiyyi/

  • The adverbs in all the above mentioned examples are in the accusative case, and they all consist of two annexed parts, each of the annexation parts is dispensable, i.e. cannot be dropped or omitted, as (فوْقَ الشَّجَرَةِ).
  • Please notice carefully that the adverb in the last example is indeclinable on the /đammah/, and it has to be annexed to a sentence, so the noun after it is a subject and signed with /đammah/ because it is in the nominative case.