arabic grammar rules

What are Arabic Grammar rules?

The Arabic language, like any other language in the world, has a grammar that is separated into two sections. The first is Sarf (Tasrif), which refers to verb conjugation, and the second is Nahw (Irab), which refers to how and why words are written in that way.

When it comes to the Arabic language you need to keep in mind that it is written and read from right to left, unlike the English language which is written the opposite way. Furthermore, Arabic is a root language, the root of the Arabic words normally consists of three or four letters. To make a new word letters and vowels are added to the root (base) of the word.

For instance, the word “wrote كتب” is the root of the world you can use it to form new words like “he writes يكتب”, “written مكتوب”, “she writes تكتب”, and “book كتاب”.

Arabic grammar rules.

Now that we understand the meaning of Arabic grammar it is time to learn its different rules so here is a simple explanation of the Arabic grammar rules.

Types of sentences.

There are two main types of sentences in the Arabic Grammar rules and they are:

Nominal sentence which is the sentence that starts with a noun “إسم”. Here is an example to help you understand what we mean:

الولد ذهب الى السوبرماركت

The boy went to a supermarket.

dhahab alwalad ‘iilaa alsuwbar markit

Verbal sentence which is the sentence that starts with a verb “فعل”. Here is an example to help you understand what we mean:

ذهب الولد الى السوبرماركت.

Went the boy to the supermarket (The boy went to the supermarket.)

dhahab alwalad ‘iilaa alsuwbar markit.

Plurality and dual rule.

Among the Arabic rules of grammar that you need to learn is the rule of Plurality and dual. Plurality exists in the English language and it is used when referring to more than two entities, so it is not difficult to comprehend. What is not present in English is the dual rule which is used when talking about two people or entities.

Single form: tree شجرة

Dual form: trees الشجرتين

Plurality form: trees الأشجار

Tenses in the Arabic Grammar rules.

All Arabic grammar rules are not complicated or difficult to understand you just need to give yourself time to practice the rule once you learn it. another important thing to know about Arabic grammar is its tenses. In Arabic, there are three tenses past, present, and future tenses.

Here are some examples of the different Arabic tenses:

Past tense:

The boy went to the supermarket.

ذهب الولد إلى السوبر ماركت

dhahab alwalad ‘iilaa alsuwbar markit

Present tense:

The boy goes to the supermarket.

يذهب الولد إلى السوبر ماركت.

yadhhab alwalad ‘iilaa alsuwbar markit.

Future tense:

The boy will go to the supermarket.

سوف يذهب الولد إلى السوبر ماركت.

sawf yadhhab alwalad ‘iilaa alsuwbar markit.

Arabic nouns, verbs, and pronouns

Among the Arabic grammar rules is the word. The word in the Arabic language can be a verb “fi’l”, noun “ism”, or the letter “harf”. We will also learn about adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, articles, adverbs, and particles.

The noun consists of Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

Harf consists of Prepositions, prefixes, and conjunctions.

Verbs are the verbs or action that takes place in a sentence.

Nouns in Arabic grammar rules.

The nouns in the Arabic grammar rules can be nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. And nouns normally come before the adjective like in the following example:

The fast car

السيارة السريعة

alsayaarat alsariea.

When it comes to the adverb in the sentence a particle often precedes it, here is an example to make it easier to comprehend.

إنها تمشي ببطء

‘iinaha tamshi bibut’

Verbs in Arabic grammar.

The verb must match the plurality and gender of the subject therefore it needs to be conjugated. Sometimes the conjugation is just made by changing the vowel marks “harakat”, and sometimes it is done by adding letters to the end of the word. Here are some examples to clarify:

The boy reads the novel

يقرأ الولد الرواية

alwalad yaqra alriwaya

The two boys read the novel

يقران الولدان الرواية

yuquraan alwaldan alriwaya

The girl reads the novel

تقرأ البنت الرواية

taqra albint alriwaya.

From the above examples, we can see that the verb change happens based on the plurality and gender of the subject.

Particles in Arabic grammar rules.

In the Arabic Grammar rules, there are different types of particles. pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and articles are all referred to as particles. The particle can be a simple letter, like in the following example:

She wrote with a pencil

كتبت بالقلم الرصاص

katabt biqalam rasas

Another example of the particles in the Arabic grammar rules is the Possessive pronouns, here are some examples:

My pen

قلمي

Qalmi

Your pen

قلمك

Qalamuk.

Her pen

قلمها

Qalamha.

It could also be object pronouns, here are some examples:

She told you قالت لك

She told them قالت لهم

Arabic sentence structure.

How to form a correct Arabic sentence? Here is how to make a simple sentence using the Arabic grammar Rules: all you have to do is use a subject or a subject pronoun then an adjective or a preposition and a noun.

She is hungry

انها جائعة

aniha jayiea

The weather is warm

الجو دافئ

aljawu dafi

They are from Egypt

انهم من مصر

ainhum min misr.

Then how can I ask a question using the Arabic rules of grammar? Simply by adding a question word at the beginning of the sentence. The question words are who (من), what (ماذا), where (أين), and why (لماذا).

Where is the restaurant?

أين المطعم؟

‘ayn almateami?

Who called you?

من اتصل بك؟

man atasal bika?

What did she say about the movie?

ماذا قالت عن الفيلم؟

madha qalat ean alfilmi?

Why didn’t you eat?

لماذا لم تأكل؟

limadha lam takuli?

How to master the Arabic Grammar Rules easily?

Learning Arabic is not as difficult as many people believe; the difficulty varies depending on why you want to learn it. If someone wants to learn Arabic to speak with Arabs, he does not need to understand all Arabic grammatical rules. If the learner wants to become a scholar, he must first acquire and understand the Arabic grammar rules of the language.

We have talked and explained the most important Arabic grammar rules that you need to understand, revise them every now and then to comprehend them better and with time you will be able to use all the rules correctly without even knowing it.

In any case, here are some simple steps to get you started.

1. Practice the language.

The most important thing to do when learning a language is to practice it. Continue to read Arabic articles, blogs, and even books. Additionally, you could Watch movies, listen to music, or watch television to improve your listening skills. To enhance your writing skills, you might rewrite what you heard in the movie or a section of an article or book you read, this will greatly enhance your understanding of the Arabic grammar rules.

You can also practice your listening skills by watching Arabic cartoons and news on YouTube. You can also view Quranic children’s stories.

2. Study the Arabic language with a teacher or Online course.

The second step is to enroll in an online Arabic grammar rules course, which is referred to as Sarf and Nahw. You could learn it on your own, but you could find it difficult, so you should enroll in a course or study with an instructor to make it easier for you to grasp and thrive.

Here are some books that will help you:

Nahw books include:

al-Ajrumiyyah.
Qatr-ul-Nada.
Qawa’id ul-I’rab.
Alfiyyatuibnu Malik.
Mughni al-Labib.

Sarf books include:

Imam al-Taftazani’s explanation of Tasrif ul-Izzi
Lamiyyatul-Af’al
Alfiyyatuibnu Malik
Taysir-ul-I’lal wal Ibdal

Balaghah books:

Durus-ul-Balaghah
Al-Balaghatul-Wadihah
Sharh Mukhtasar Sa’d

3. Learn the Advanced Arabic Grammar rules.

In this step you will learn about the advanced Arabic grammar rules, and here are some books that will help you.

Nahw books:

Imam al-Ushmuni’s, Abu Hayyan, al-Shatibi, Ibn-Aqil explanations of the Alfiyyah.
Imam al-Zamaskhari’s works
Kafiyatu-ibn-il-Hajib explanations.

Sarf books:

Shafiyyatu-ibn-il-Hajib and its explanation.
Al-Munsif
Al-Mumti by ibn Usfur.
Al-Mustaqsa by Dr. AbdulLatif alKhatib