Tag Archives: hans wehr

Active Participles of Defective Roots

مُمارَسة root: م-ر-س / verbal noun of form III / definition: practice So I got the chance to practise speaking Arabic today and it’s safe to say that I’m… rusty. I shouldn’t be overly surprised seeing as it’s somehow been three and a half months since my final Arabic oral exam in Jordan, and I’veContinue reading “Active Participles of Defective Roots”

Three Ways to Say “Seize the Opportunity” in Arabic

حَرّ root: ح-ر-ر / noun / definition: heat I’ve been making the most of the heat and sun these two days with (very) mini sunbathing sessions in the garden fuelled by several litres of water and regular respite inside the somewhat-cooler house. Living in the UK, I feel like I need to make the mostContinue reading “Three Ways to Say “Seize the Opportunity” in Arabic”

Seats of the Hamza (ء)

هَمْزة root: ه-م-ز / noun / plural: هَمَزات / definition: the letter ء, the glottal stop This is a post I’ve been meaning to make for a while—for my own sake as well as yours, fellow Arabic nerds. I’m sure we’ve all noticed that the hamza (ء) sometimes appears independently in a word and, atContinue reading “Seats of the Hamza (ء)”

Four Words for “Contradiction” in Arabic

قِطار root: ق-ط-ر / noun / plural: قِطارات / definition: train I’m back in London as of Sunday and I’m relieved. It feels much less… claustrophobic. The two-hour train journey here was neither fun nor productive though, because although I had planned to get some dissertation reading done on the journey, I only managed aboutContinue reading “Four Words for “Contradiction” in Arabic”

Arabic Roots: the Different Types

نَوْع root: ن-و-ع / noun / plural: اَنْواع / definition: type I’ve thought about writing a book about Arabic grammar for a long time. Just because I love it so much. I thought that maybe I’d start off with a small one about Arabic verbs, focusing on the forms perhaps, but when I start makingContinue reading “Arabic Roots: the Different Types”

Passive Form I Quadriliteral Verbs

رُباعي root: ر-ب-ع / adjective / definition: quadriliteral Quadriliterals… we meet again. And this time, we’re looking at how to transform form I quadriliteral verbs from active to passive.

The Causative بـ

ذاكِرة root: ذ-ك-ر / noun / definition: memory Ahh, finally, a grammar post! My brain feels at least somewhat refreshed now that I’ve had a week of doing nothing (except what we can call passive learning: watching Lebanese and Iraqi TV series and having الجزيرة on in the background every day while I play solitaireContinue reading “The Causative بـ”

Another Small But Useful Phrase: جاء في

تَقرير root: ق-ر-ر / verbal noun of form II / plural: تَقارير / definition: report With my last deadline until September out of the way as of Monday, my brain has finally had time to do… nothing. And it’s really needed that break to be honest—since we started semester two way back in January, it’sContinue reading “Another Small But Useful Phrase: جاء في”