Tag Archives: grammar

What Does إذ Mean and How Do We Use It?

سَبَب root: س-ب-ب / noun / plural: أَسْباب / definition: reason, rationale So many milestones! It’s been two years now since my first post on this blog, where I was pretty much writing for an audience of one (thanks Mum <3). In this time, I’ve received so many messages from you guys—blog readers and fellowContinue reading “What Does إذ Mean and How Do We Use It?”

How to Form Words with the “Re-” Prefix in Arabic

تَشْكيل root: ش-ك-ل / verbal noun of form II / definition: forming, formation I’ve never been great when it comes to time perception. But I do know that it feels like ages since we last had a grammar post on here (the last was Quadriliteral Active Participles in Arabic, it seems). I can’t stay away fromContinue reading “How to Form Words with the “Re-” Prefix in Arabic”

Arabic Headline Analysis #7

جامِعة root: ج-م-ع / noun / plural: جامِعات / definition: university So I’m finally here, at university (!), after a four-hour drive which depleted my already-sunken energy levels and temporarily numbed my arm that had the misfortune of being the support pillar of a precariously-balanced bag. But who cares about the fatigue, the six hillsContinue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis #7”

Quadriliteral Active Participles in Arabic

اِسم فاعِل root: ف-ع-ل / phrase / definition: active participle If you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have told you that I lead a somewhat minimalist life—I hate having *things* cluttering up spaces around me which could very well be left empty. (This is, of course, ignoring my book-filled shelves and surfaces—books are entirelyContinue reading “Quadriliteral Active Participles in Arabic”

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #8

سيرة root: س-ي-ر / noun / plural: سِيَر / definition: biography For this post in the literature translation series, we’ll be going word-by-word through a non-fiction excerpt, taken from بغداد: سيرة مدينة (Baghdad: Biography of a City) by the Iraqi writer نجم والي (Najem Wali).

The Grammar of Using Arabic Numbers

عَدَد root: ع-د-د / noun / plural: أَعْداد / definition: number I remember learning the grammar for using Arabic numbers at university. It seemed fairly simple as there were essentially three sets of rules: one for the numbers 3-10, one for 11-99, and another for whole hundreds, thousands, etc. But when I looked a littleContinue reading “The Grammar of Using Arabic Numbers”

Root Exploration: ع-ر-ق

زَمَن root: ز-م-ن / noun / plural: أَزمان / definition: stretch of time It’s been a long time since our last post in the Root Exploration series. (In all honesty, though, it hasn’t felt long at all to me since I explore roots in the dictionary every day!) I’ve had a few roots written downContinue reading “Root Exploration: ع-ر-ق”

Two of My Favourite Arabic Blogs

مُدَوَّنَة root: د-و-ن / noun / plural: مُدَوَّنات / definition: a blog The Arabic Pages certainly isn’t the only blog out there focused on the Arabic language, and I’ve come across so many brilliant online resources since I started studying Arabic. My intention is to (eventually) make a list of all the best Arabic resourcesContinue reading “Two of My Favourite Arabic Blogs”

Step-by-Step Arabic Literature Translation #7

مُؤَلِّف root: ء-ل-ف / noun / plural: مُؤَلِّفون / definition: author, writer We’re adding to the literature translation series this week—it’s been a while!—with a short excerpt from عائد إلى حيفا (Returning to Haifa) by غسان كنفاني (Ghassan Kanafani).

Academic Pursuits

مَسْعى root: س-ع-ي / noun / plural: مَساعٍ / definition: pursuit, endeavour It’s been over a year since my last update about my language learning journey, where I wrote about all the uncertainties surrounding my return to the formal study of Arabic. And the reason I haven’t given any updates until now is that myContinue reading “Academic Pursuits”

Using كاد

مَشغولة root: ش-غ-ل / passive participle of form I, feminine / definition: busy I’ve finally got round to writing this post, as you can see, five or six months after I mentioned I would in Four Arabic Roots to Express the Phrase “on the Verge of”. But time’s not an issue for us Arabic learners, right?Continue reading “Using كاد”

How to Say “Post-” in Arabic

مَرْحَلة root: ر-ح-ل / noun / plural: مَراحِل / definition: stage, phase Don’t get confused, it’s not البريد (the post, mail) that we’re talking about this week—we’re actually looking at how to create words with the post- prefix, such as: postcolonial, postmodern, post-pandemic, etc.

Arabic Headline Analysis #6

شَهر root: ش-ه-ر / noun / plural: أَشهُر or شُهور / definition: month Seeing as it’s the first week of Ramadan (!رمضان مبارك)—and hopefully it still is by the time I finish this post—I’ve chosen a fitting headline to analyse in our latest addition to the series. Let’s begin our word-by-word vocabulary and grammar explanationContinue reading “Arabic Headline Analysis #6”

The Three Types of “If” in Arabic

إمْكانِيّة root: م-ك-ن / noun / plural: إمْكانِيّات / definition: possibility I intended for this week’s post to be a headline analysis or root exploration—neither of which we’ve had in a while. But then someone mentioned they’d like to see a post about the different types of “if” in Arabic, which happens to be oneContinue reading “The Three Types of “If” in Arabic”