Lesson 80 – الدَّرْسُ الثَّمانون

The followers (3) The substitute - التَّــوَابِع(٣)الْـبَـدَل

The conditions of the substitute – أَحْكامُ الْبَدَلِ

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  • We learnt earlier that the substitute is one of the four Arabic followers. We also learnt that the followers take the same declension case of the followed noun, and some followers (the adjectives) take also the same gender, number, and definition of the followed noun. Consider the following examples of the adjective (for revision purpose):

English

Arabic

A hardworking student attended

حَضَرَ طالِبٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ

The hardworking student attended

حَضَرَ الطَّالِبُ الْمُجْتَهِدُ

1-    Unlike the adjective, the substitute can be different from the substituted for in definition or non-definition, as in the following examples:

Structure

Example

Substitute

Substituted for

English

Arabic

نِصْفَهُ

رَغِيفًا

I ate the bread, (I mean) a half of it

أَكَلْتُ رَغِيفًا نِصْفَهُ

ماءَهُ

كُوبًا

I drank the water of the glass

شَرِبْتُ كُوبًا ماءَهُ

وَاحِدٌ

الطُّلاَّبُ

The students attended, I.e. one of them

حَضَرَ الطُّلاَّبُ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُم

  • We notice that in the examples no. 1 and 2 the substitute is definite noun, while the substituted for is indefinite. In example no. 3 the substitute is indefinite while the substituted for is definite noun.

2-    The substitute falls after the substituted for without any intermediary particle. This helps us to differentiate the substitute from the coordinated noun, because the coordinated noun falls after a coordinating particle.

3-    The substitution structure can be formed of two nouns as in the following examples:

Type

Structure

English

Arabic

Second noun

 

First noun

Noun/ noun

مُحَمَّد

أَخِي

My brother Muhammad came

حَضَرَ أَخِي مُحَمَّدٌ

Noun/ noun

فاطِمَةُ

أُخْتِي

My sister Fatima was absent

غابَتْ أُخْتِي فاطِمَةُ

  • While it cannot be formed of a pronoun/ pronoun or of a noun/pronoun, as in the following examples:

Type

Structure

Example

Second noun

First noun

English

Arabic

Pronoun/pronoun

أَنْتَ

تَ

You attended

حَضَرْتَ أَنْتَ

Pronoun/pronoun

هُوَ

Latent pronoun

He was absent

غابَ هُوَ

Noun/pronoun

هِيَ

فاطِمَةُ

Fatima, she arrived

حَضَرَتْ فاطِمَةُ هِيَ

  • The structures in the above mentioned examples are not mistaken, but they are not substitution structures, rather they are confirmative structures (we will learn this type of follower in the following lesson, In-Shaa’-Allaah God willing).

4-    The substitution structure is generally formed of two noun, but it can also formed of two sentences, especially when the first sentence (the substituted for) needs some kind of clarification, and the clarification comes in the second sentence (the substitute sentence).

  • Consider the following examples:

Structure

Example

Substitute

Substituted for

English

Arabic

يَحْرِمُهُ مِنْ الْمَصْرُوف

يُعاقِبُ الأَبُ الْوَلَدَ

The father punishes his son, he deprives him of pocket money

يُعاقِبُ الأَبُ الْوَلَدَ، يَحْرِمُهُ مِنْ الْمَصْرُوف

يُعْطِيهِ قَلَمًا

يُكافِئُ الأُسْتاذُ الطَّالِبَ

The teacher rewards the student, he gives him a pen

يُكافِئُ الأُسْتاذُ الطَّالِب، يُعْطِيهِ قَلَمًا

5-    Here is another condition which is related to the inclusive and the partial substitutes; that it has to contain a pronoun related to the substituted for. This pronoun has to follow the substituted for in gender and number. Consider the following examples:

Structure

Example

Substitute

Substituted for

Type

English

Arabic

لَحْمَها

البَقَرَةَ

Inclusive

I ate the cow, I mean its meat

أَكَلْتُ البَقَرَةَ لَحْمَها

نِصْفَهُ

الدَّرْسَ

Partial

I understood the lesson, I mean its half

فَهِمْتُ الدَّرْسَ نِصْفَهُ

عِلْمُهُ

الأُسْتاذُ

Inclusive

I admired the teacher, I mean his knowledge of science

أَعْجَبَنِي الأُسْتاذُ عِلْمُهُ

بَعْضُهُم

الطُّلاَّبُ

Partial

The students went out, I mean some of them

خَرَجَ الطُّلاَّبُ بَعْضُهُم

  • You may notice from the above mentioned examples that the substitute (لَحْمَهانِصْفَهُعِلْمُهُ - بَعْضُهُم) is attached to a pronoun related to the substituted for. The attached pronoun matches the substituted for in gender and number. This only happens with the partial and the inclusive substitute.

6-    Here is not a condition; rather it is a general rule that may help you to know the correct declension of a certain structure. The rule is; if you find a demonstrative followed by a noun definite by (ال) this means that the structure is a concordant substitution structure. 

  • Consider the following examples (please read from right to left):

Structure

الأمثلة

substitute

Substituted for

English

Arabic

الطالِبُ

هَذا

This student is hardworking

هَذا الطالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ

الْبِنْتُ

هَذِهِ

This girl is generous

هَذِهِ الْبِنْتُ كَرِيمَةٌ

الْمَدِينَةَ

هَذِهِ

Did you visit this city

هَلْ زُرْتَ هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةَ

الْمَوْضُوعِ

هَذا

Did you talk about this issue

هَلْ تَكَلَّمْتَ فِي هَذا الْمَوْضُوعِ؟

In the above mentioned examples we notice that the noun after the demonstrative is a substitute, under a condition that it is definite by (ال). Therefore the noun (الطالِبُ) in the first example is in the nominative case because it follows the nominative subject (هَذا). And the noun (الْمَوْضُوعِ) is in the genitive case, because it follows the genitive noun (هَذا), which falls after a preposition.

If the demonstrative is followed by an indefinite noun, or by a definite noun without (ال) the structure will not be a substitution structure, rather it will be a normal nominal sentence consisting of a subject and predicate. Consider the following examples:

Structure

Example

Predicate

Subject

English

Arabic

كِتاب

هَذا

This is a book

  هَذا كِتاب

فاطِمَةُ

هَذِهِ

This is Fatima

هَذِهِ فاطِمَةُ

بَيْتُ

هَذَا

This is Ali’s house

هَذَا بَيْتُ عَليٍّ