Arabic is the sixth most spoken language worldwide, making it a valuable skill to learn for business, travel, or education opportunities. The Arabic verb patterns and rules for plural agreements differ from English, so lessons help new speakers adjust to the rules. Familiarizing yourself with grammar rules early can enhance your fluency and comprehensive as you learn Arabic. Here are some common Arabic grammar rules:

Arabic Nouns

Similar to English, Arabic nouns describe people, places, or things. Nouns can be singular, dual, or plural but are also categorized by:

Gender

Arabic nouns are masculine or feminine. The language assigns gender by semantic criteria, or the way words convey meanings. Gendered nouns are also categorized by formal properties, or their sounds and appearances. Most masculine nouns are not marked in writing, while feminine nouns can be identified by their suffixes.

Derivation

Nouns can be derived from a source or non-derived. In English, noun derivation occurs through prefixes or suffixes. Standard Arabic requires that derived nouns alter the internal structure of a word instead of the beginning or end.

Definiteness 

Nouns can be definite or indefinite. Indefinite nouns describe non-specific things, while definite nouns refer to known people or objects. Definite nouns require the addition of the article “Al,” similar to the English article “the.” Pronouns, proper nouns, and demonstrative nouns may also indicate known objects.

Arabic Verbs

In Arabic, every sentence should contain a verb. When writing and speaking Arabic, you mustconjugate the verbs to match the gender and plurality of the person performing the action. Unlike English, which has 12 verb tenses, Arabic only has three: present, past, and command. As you learn Arabic, creating charts for conjugation rules can help you recall the letter patterns for alternate verb tenses and pluralities.

Arabic Sentence Construction

When composing sentences in Arabic, words have a flexible order. Most sentences are verb-subject-object, but this order is customizable to emphasize different parts of the sentence. Six sentence structure variations are possible in Arabic.

Sentences also use a case system to indicate a word’s function within the sentence. Arabic grammatical cases include:

  • Nominative: for nominal predicates and subjects
  • Accusative: for direct objects
  • Genitive: to indicate possession

In Arabic, adjectives come after the noun they modify. Adjectives must also be modified to agree in gender, plurality, and case. Arab Academy offers beginner Arabic courses to teach sentence composition. Advanced courses work with Arabic texts, such as newspapers and books, to improve comprehension and conversation skills.

Arabic Pronouns

Modern Standard Arabic has three types of pronouns: singular, dual, and plural. Dual pronouns are used when you are talking to or about two people. Arabic speakers use plural pronouns for three or more people. Genders can be assigned to pronouns for the second and third person, unlike English’s “you,” which has no gender.

Arabic object and possessive pronouns are joined to words as suffixes. Letters are added to a verb for object pronouns and a noun for possessive pronouns. In everyday speech, Arabic speakers often drop the pronouns since the verb’s conjugation can indicate them. Our Egyptian Colloquial Arabic courses teach this and other colloquial speech patterns, enabling students to understand and communicate with many native speakers.

Learn Arabic Today

At Arab Academy, students work one-on-one with native speakers and experienced teachers to master the basics of Arabic. Our advisors will help you select which courses match your skill level and learning goals. Contact us today to learn more about our course offerings and start learning Arabic.