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Free Language Lessons

An Overview of the Arabic Pronouns
By:Ling Tong

One of the most important lessons you have to learn when learning the Arabic language is that of Arabic pronouns. There are some pronouns that can be used in isolation in this language. This means you can use them by themselves without a verb and without having to conjugate them. These are I, you, he and she. If you wanted to tell someone your name, you would use the pronoun I or me and then your name. You would not use the word am or any conjugation of the verb to be. This may sound strange when you translate it to English, but it is perfectly fine in the Arabic language.

The Arabic translation for the various pronouns is:

- I ana

- You (singular masculine) anta

- You (singular feminine) anti

- He howa

- She hiya

- We nahnu

- You (plural masculine) antum

- You (plural feminine) antunna

- They (plural masculine) hum

- They (plural feminine) human

If you are speaking to several people , both male and female, and want to use the pronoun? the correct word to use is antuna. If you want to use the same kind of situation, you would use the word humaa. This aspect of the language is unique to Arabic in that it also has a dual form. So in addition to being specific about the gender, you also have to be specific about the number of people you are speaking to or about.

In order to denote possession using pronouns in Arabic, you would add affixes to the ends of words rather than use the pronouns themselves. These are written so that they are joined on to the ends of words and are not words used alone. To say that you own something, you add to the word. Other changes in pronouns in Arabic are:

- Your (singular masculine) add ka or k

- Your (singular feminine) add ki or k

- His add ho or h

- Her add ha or h

- Our add na

- Your (plural masculine) add kum

- Your (plural feminine) add kun

- Their (plural masculine) add hum

- Their (plural feminine) add han

There is also a dual form of possessive pronouns in Arabic. To say our when speaking to a group of mixed genders, you add kuman to the word and for you add human to the word.

Sometimes pronouns do not need to be used at all in Arabic sentences. When a verb is used the pronoun is considered to be implicit. The word arastu? which means studied can be used alone to mean I studied. However, if you want to add emphasis to the sentence, you can add a pronoun, so that it would then be naad arastu?

When choosing a course to help you learn Arabic, you need to choose one that gives you practice exercises in making using pronouns in sentences. You should also be able to submit the exercises for immediate feedback letting you know where you made mistakes so that you can review the lesson and learn from your mistakes.

For more information on Arabic pronouns, Arabic phrases and how to learn Arabic visit http://arabic.speak7.com






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