Arabic Lesson 4: All About Pronouns116

In Arabic, pronouns are used to refer to people or things without using their names. They can be used as subjects, objects, or possessive adjectives. There are three main types of pronouns in Arabic: personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and relative pronouns.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to refer to the speaker, the person being spoken to, or the person or thing being spoken about. The following table shows the personal pronouns in Arabic:

Person
Singular
Plural


First person
أنا (ʾanā)
نحن (naḥnu)


Second person
أنت (ʾanta)
أنتم (ʾantum)


Third person masculine
هو (huwa)
هم (hum)


Third person feminine
هي (hiya)
هن (hunna)

Personal pronouns can be used as subjects or objects. For example:* Subject: أنا أدرس اللغة العربية. (ʾanā ʾadrusu l-luġa l-ʿarabiyya.) - I am studying Arabic.
* Object: أراك لاحقًا. (ʾarāka lāḥiqan.) - I will see you later.

Personal pronouns can also be used as possessive adjectives. For example:* Possessive adjective: هذا كتابي. (hāḏā kitābī.) - This is my book.
* Possessive adjective: هذه سيارتها. (hāḏihi sayyāratuhā.) - This is her car.

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to people or things. The following table shows the demonstrative pronouns in Arabic:

Person
Singular
Plural


This
هذا (hāḏā)
هؤلاء (hāʾulāʾ)


That
ذلك (ḏālika)
أولئك (ʾulāʾika)

Demonstrative pronouns can be used as subjects or objects. For example:* Subject: هذا قلمي. (hāḏā qalamī.) - This is my pen.
* Object: أعطني ذلك الكتاب. (aʿṭinī ḏālika l-kitāb.) - Give me that book.

Demonstrative pronouns can also be used as possessive adjectives. For example:* Possessive adjective: هذا بيتي. (hāḏā baytī.) - This is my house.
* Possessive adjective: تلك سيارتها. (tilka sayyāratuhā.) - That is her car.

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to connect two clauses. The following table shows the relative pronouns in Arabic:

Person
Singular
Plural


Who
الذي (alladhī)
الذين (alladhīna)


Which
الذي (alladhī)
اللتان (allatāni)


That
الذي (alladhī)
اللتان (allatāni)

Relative pronouns can be used as subjects or objects. For example:* Subject: هذا الرجل الذي أعطاني الكتاب. (hāḏā r-rajulu lladhī aʿṭānī l-kitāb.) - This is the man who gave me the book.
* Object: أعطني الكتاب الذي قرأته. (aʿṭinī l-kitāb alladhī qaraʾtuhu.) - Give me the book that I read.

Relative pronouns can also be used as possessive adjectives. For example:* Possessive adjective: هذا الرجل الذي هو والدي. (hāḏā r-rajulu lladhī huwa wālidī.) - This is the man who is my father.
* Possessive adjective: هذه المرأة التي هي زوجتي. (hāḏihi l-marʾatu lladhī hiya zawjatī.) - This is the woman who is my wife.

2024-12-04

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