Lesson 64: Sentence Practice

Step 1 of 5: Learn

A family outing is a story full of subjects: two parents, two uncles, several children, a grandfather and a grandmother. Every time one of them acts, the verb must take the right shape, and that shape depends on whether the verb comes before or after its subject. Read the four points below, then follow the family through a Friday in the village and watch each verb choose its ending.

Rule 1: 1. Word order in the verbal sentence

The usual order is verb, subject, object, followed by expressions of place and time: رَكِبَ أَبِي السَّيَّارَةَ صَبَاحَ الْجُمُعَةِ. The object is in the accusative. A time expression may also open the sentence for emphasis: أَمْسِ رَكِبَ أَبِي السَّيَّارَةَ. When the subject is a pronoun it is simply contained in the verb: رَكِبْنَا السَّيَّارَةَ.

رَكِبَ أَبِي وَعَمِّي السَّيَّارَةَ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ.
rakiba abī wa-ʿammi-s-sayyārata qabla-ẓ-ẓuhri
My father and my uncle got into the car before noon.
Verb singular before a compound subject.
بَلَغَتِ الْأُسْرَةُ الْقَرْيَةَ فِي السَّاعَةِ الْعَاشِرَةِ.
balaghati-l-usratu-l-qaryata fi-s-sāʿati-l-ʿāshirati
The family reached the village at ten o'clock.
لَعِبَ الْأَطْفَالُ فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ بَعْدَ الْغَدَاءِ.
laʿiba-l-aṭfālu fi-l-ḥadīqati baʿda-l-ghadāʾi
The children played in the garden after lunch.
فَتَحَ جَدِّي الصُّنْدُوقَ الْقَدِيمَ.
fataḥa jaddi-ṣ-ṣundūqa-l-qadīma
My grandfather opened the old box.

Rule 2: 2. Agreement carries across the clause

After لَمَّا when the first verb precedes its subject and stays singular, but the main verb that follows refers to a subject already named and therefore agrees with it fully. The same happens after أَمَّا ... فَ as for, where the subject is named first, and in answers that begin with a pronoun: هُمْ, هُمَا, هُنَّ.

لَمَّا دَخَلَتِ النِّسَاءُ الْبَيْتَ جَلَسْنَ فِي الْغُرْفَةِ الْكَبِيرَةِ.
lammā dakhalati-n-nisāʾu-l-bayta jalasna fi-l-ghurfati-l-kabīrati
When the women entered the house they sat in the big room.
لَمَّا رَجَعَ الْأَخَوَانِ مِنَ الْحَقْلِ غَسَلَا أَيْدِيَهُمَا.
lammā rajaʿa-l-akhawāni mina-l-ḥaqli ghasalā aydiyahumā
When the two brothers returned from the field they washed their hands.
أَمَّا أَوْلَادُ عَمِّي فَلَعِبُوا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.
ammā awlādu ʿammī fa-laʿibū fi-l-ḥadīqati
As for my cousins, they played in the garden.
أَيْنَ ذَهَبَتْ أُخْتَاكَ؟ – هُمَا ذَهَبَتَا إِلَى بَيْتِ خَالَتِي.
ayna dhahabat ukhtāka? – humā dhahabatā ilā bayti khālatī
Where did your two sisters go? – They went to my aunt's house.

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

أُسْرَةٌ

usratun

family

قَرِيبٌ

qarībun

relative; near

زَوْجٌ

zawjun

husband

طِفْلٌ

ṭiflun

child

حَفِيدٌ

ḥafīdun

grandson

قَرْيَةٌ

qaryatun

village

غَدَاءٌ

ghadāʾun

lunch

شَهْرٌ

shahrun

month

صُنْدُوقٌ

ṣundūqun

box, chest

وَرْدٌ

wardun

roses (collective)

رَكِبَ

rakiba

to ride, to get into (a vehicle)

بَلَغَ

balagha

to reach, to arrive at

لَعِبَ

laʿiba

to play

ضَحِكَ

ḍaḥika

to laugh

قَطَفَ

qaṭafa

to pick (fruit, flowers)

Step 2 of 5: Read

A day at my grandfather's

يَوْمٌ عِنْدَ جَدِّي

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.On which day did the family go to the village?
2.With whom did the children ride?
3.How many books did the two sisters read?
4.Who did the books in the box belong to?
5.Who stayed the night in the village?

In the Quran

قَالَ رَجُلَانِ
Surah Al-Ma'idah · 5:23
قَالَ رَجُلَانِ: the verb precedes a dual subject and remains masculine singular, exactly as رَكِبَ أَبِي وَعَمِّي in this lesson.
- قَالَqālaSaid
- رَجُلَانِrajulānitwo men
Read in context
وَلَمَّا وَرَدَ مَآءَ مَدْيَنَ وَجَدَ عَلَيْهِ أُمَّةًۭ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ يَسْقُونَ وَوَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمُ ٱمْرَأَتَيْنِ تَذُودَانِ ۖ قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُمَا ۖ قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِى حَتَّىٰ يُصْدِرَ ٱلرِّعَآءُ ۖ وَأَبُونَا شَيْخٌۭ كَبِيرٌۭ
Surah Al-Qasas · 28:23
قَالَتَا لَا نَسْقِي: the two women, already introduced, answer with the feminine dual perfect قَالَتَا; the subject is known, so the verb shows full agreement.
Read in context
فَدَلَّىٰهُمَا بِغُرُورٍۢ ۚ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا ٱلشَّجَرَةَ بَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْءَٰتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ۖ وَنَادَىٰهُمَا رَبُّهُمَآ أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَن تِلْكُمَا ٱلشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُل لَّكُمَآ إِنَّ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
Surah Al-A'raf · 7:22
فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا الشَّجَرَةَ: after لَمَّا the verb carries the dual ending because its subject, Adam and his wife, has already been named in the preceding verses.
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 60/0 correct

Put in order

Put the words in the normal verbal order: 'The children played in the garden after lunch':

Tap the words below in order

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

لَمَّا بَلَغَتِ الْأُسْرَةُ الْقَرْيَةَ خَرَجَ الْجَدُّ وَالْجَدَّةُ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ.

2.

أَيْنَ لَعِبَ هٰؤُلَاءِ الْأَطْفَالُ؟ – هُمْ لَعِبُوا فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.

3.

قَطَفَتِ ابْنَتَا خَالِي الْوَرْدَ الَّذِي فِي الْحَدِيقَةِ.

4.

كَمْ كِتَابًا قَرَأْتُمْ فِي هٰذَا الشَّهْرِ؟ – قَرَأْنَا سَبْعَةَ كُتُبٍ.

5.

اَلْكُتُبُ الَّتِي كَانَتْ فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ كَانَتْ لِجَدِّي.

6.

رَكِبَ أَخَوَايَ السَّيَّارَةَ وَرَجَعَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ مَسَاءَ أَمْسِ.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

The children entered the garden and played there for two hours.

2.

When did your (m.) two sisters return from the village? – They returned on Friday.

3.

Three men sat under the big tree and drank coffee.

4.

My grandmother gathered the plates that were on the table.

5.

What did the two girls eat? – They ate bread and fruit.

6.

As for my uncle (paternal), he did not return with us.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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