إبْريق root: ب-ر-ق / noun / plural: أَباريق / definition: teapot, jug With the pouring of a never-emptying teapot and the stealing of smiling glances, another Sunday passed and this week has left me in unfamiliar but exciting territory. I served the dolma and wondered if any of the leaves had gotten stuck between myContinue reading “A Useful Structure: ما إن ـــــ حتى ـــــ”
Category Archives: grammar explanations
Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence
التَّدَرُّج root: د-ر-ج / form V verbal noun / definition: gradual advance or progression I’ve gone straight from floating to hitting the ground running. And between that landing and my approaching take-off, things have progressed unexpectedly quickly in the space of a week. I could get used to this pace. But Arabic’s form VI verbsContinue reading “Form VI: Gradualness, Exchange, and Pretence”
Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف
اِنْتِظار root: ن-ظ-ر / form VIII verbal noun / definition: waiting Time and tide wait for no man. Yesterday was the first day I came across this English proverb. Its meaning resonated, but what really drew me to this phrase was the word “tide”. You see, I’ve been thinking about the sea a lot lately.Continue reading “Arabic Diptotes: الممنوع من الصرف”
إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots
صُداع root: ص-د-ع / noun / definition: headache I keep forgetting I’m 27. In my head, I’m already 28, and I’m not sure why. It’s slightly ironic that I can’t digest the number 27; it seems I recognise 27 in everything but myself. (I wonder if I lost a year in the time difference betweenContinue reading “إيمان: Form IV Verbal Nouns of Hamza-Initial Roots”
Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an
مَخْفيّ root: خ-ف-ي / adjective / definition: hidden, concealed Last week, I attended an online talk about developing a writing system for Cypriot Arabic. As a Cypriot linguist who’s studying Arabic, I kind of couldn’t miss it. I hadn’t realised, though, that it was a “camera-on” event—so I quickly threw on a headscarf and smoothedContinue reading “Hidden Form V Verbs in the Qur’an”
Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals
إنْسان root: ء-ن-س / noun / definition: a human I was thinking about the root of the word إنْسان (“human”)—how ء-ن-س is associated with friendliness and familiarity, and how even the dictionary knows that humanity can be lost and corrupted if you muddle its origin (see ء-س-ن). And the humanness of language is very muchContinue reading “Non-Human Nouns, Human Plurals”
Prepositional Interrogatives: When Does عَمّا Become عَمَّ?
بَوصَلة root: ب-و-ص-ل / noun / plural: بَوصَلات / definition: a compass I wonder if it means anything that “time” is ud in Sumerian and öd in Göktürkçe. Then I think back to my friend telling me that the ancient Egyptians associated east with this life and west with the afterlife; and language and cultureContinue reading “Prepositional Interrogatives: When Does عَمّا Become عَمَّ?”
What’s the Difference Between ما إذا and إذا ما?
نِسْيان root: ن-س-ي / form I verbal noun / definition: oblivion, forgetfulness Winter is deepening and I realised I left my productive research routine somewhere between نيسان (last April) and نسيان (oblivion), and the upward crawl to find it again over the rim of the crater is proving to be a… task. I don’t knowContinue reading “What’s the Difference Between ما إذا and إذا ما?”
The “Would-Be” Active Participle in Arabic
مُتَفَلْسِف root: ف-ل-س-ف / form II quadriliteral active participle / definition: philosophaster There’s something comforting about being in this library as the Sun goes down and spills through the vast windows in waves of golden orange light, deluging everything around me in a soft, forgiving glow. Or maybe I’m just a would-be academic romanticising thisContinue reading “The “Would-Be” Active Participle in Arabic”
Small Arabic Words with Conditional Powers
قُوّة root: ق-و-ي / noun / plural: قُوًى / definition: power, force Big things come in small packages—oh wait, that’s not how it goes. Nor is it what I meant actually. Maybe I meant “small but mighty” but didn’t want to sound like I’m advertising laundry detergent pods. Ahem… today we’re looking at a groupContinue reading “Small Arabic Words with Conditional Powers”
The Feminine Superlative in Arabic: When to Use It
سوق root: س-و-ق / noun / plural: أَسْواق / definition: market, bazaar It’s nearing midnight and I’ve just returned from Souq Waqif having mistakenly ordered a very sugary tea of which I could only drink half before succumbing to the headache and nausea that now strike whenever I consume sugar. A cup of (very muchContinue reading “The Feminine Superlative in Arabic: When to Use It”
Form I Active Participles of Hollow Roots
فَراغ root: ف-ر-غ / noun / definition: void, emptiness I’m wrapping up my last week in London for the next few months on the emptiness of fallen-through plans and the urge to claw out a silent space to curl up in and calm my mind. In the corner of my field of vision, I seeContinue reading “Form I Active Participles of Hollow Roots”
Prepositions and Pronoun Suffixes: Pronunciation Shifts
نُطْق root: ن-ط-ق / noun / definition: pronunciation We’re probably all aware that Arabic prepositions can take pronoun suffixes to denote the object. For example, we can add the suffix ـكَ (you) to مَعَ (with) to give us مَعَكَ (with you). However, when we add (certain) pronoun suffixes to certain prepositions, the spelling and pronunciationContinue reading “Prepositions and Pronoun Suffixes: Pronunciation Shifts”
The لِ and كَ of Distance
هَزّاز root: ه-ز-ز / adjective / definition: rocking Even after ten sweet days in Morocco, there’s nothing like coming back home and falling into the gentle swing of my rocking chair. I rock, and lull my prodding thoughts about the angle of the chair’s swing into silence to make way for some other brain activity.Continue reading “The لِ and كَ of Distance”
Case Endings on the Alif Maqsoora (ى)
مَقْصور root: ق-ص-ر / form I passive participle / definition: limited, shortened I’ve been thinking recently about this blog. Well, of course I have—I’ve been writing posts twice a week, every week, for four-and-a-half years now—I can’t think of a way not to think about it. But I guess my dedication to writing here doesContinue reading “Case Endings on the Alif Maqsoora (ى)”
Using إيّا and an Object Pronoun
مُقابَلة root: ق-ب-ل / noun / plural: مُقابَلات / definition: interview I woke up very early on Monday morning to a sprawling breakout across my forehead and scratches across my chest that weren’t there the night before—two signs telling me I was stressed. Not that I didn’t know it, because I had a 7:30am interviewContinue reading “Using إيّا and an Object Pronoun”
One-Letter Imperatives in Arabic
أَناقة root: ء-ن-ق / noun / definition: elegance, grace Modelling is tough work, I thought as I posed as a muse for my photographer friend who was practising using her new camera. And by posing, what I mean is that I was walking through Central London in the evening at 0.25x speed with an expressionContinue reading “One-Letter Imperatives in Arabic”
Arabic Words for “Perhaps”
أَمَل root: ء-م-ل / noun / plural: آمال / definition: hope I’ve been feeling a sense of peace recently that had remained elusive for a while. Or maybe I mean a sense of relief. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that some internal pressure has been lifted, and my mind isn’t beating me upContinue reading “Arabic Words for “Perhaps””
The مِـ of Tools
آلة root: ء-و-ل / noun / plural: آلات / definition: tool, instrument, device Last week, we explored ten Arabic words for “refuge” which all followed one of the place and time noun patterns (مَفعَل or مَفعَلة or مَفعِل). Today, I thought we’d cover another group of patterns—this time for nouns referring to tools (collectively: اسمContinue reading “The مِـ of Tools”
Fixed-Form Passive Participles with Prepositions
شَرْح root: ش-ر-ح / form I verbal noun / definition: explanation One of my classmates, a while back, asked me if I could clarify the grammar of the phrase غير المُبلَغ عنه, which translates as “unreported”. We’ve talked before about the different meanings of غَير—here, it gives the word its un- prefix in English, soContinue reading “Fixed-Form Passive Participles with Prepositions”
The Arabic Pages 