2.2 Vocabulary and Grammar: Masculine and Feminine with Possessives
In this section:
- You will learn new vocabulary and be able to distinguish between masculine and feminine.
- You will learn charts on possessive pronouns and practice using them in complete sentences.
Vocabulary (1)
Listen, read, and repeat. Learn new vocabulary and notice how masculine and feminine are expressed in Arabic.
| English | Transcription | Arabic | English | Transcription | Arabic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| boy | walad | ولد | student | Taalib/Taaliba | طالب-طالبة |
| girl | bint | بنت | teacher | Ustaadh/Ustaadha | أستاذ-أستاذة |
| brother | akh | أخ | doctor | duktuur/duktuura | دكتور -دكتورة |
| sister | ukht | أخت | neighbor | jaar/jaara | جار -جارة |
| house | bayt | بيت | friend | SaaHib/SaaHiba | صاحب -صاحبة |
| street | sahri' | شارع | big | Kabiir/kabiira | كبير-كبيرة |
| city | madiina | مدينة | small | SaGhiir/ SaGhiira | صغير -صغيرة |
| office/desk | maktab | مكتب | new | Jadiid/Jadiida | جديد -جديدة |
| library | maktaba | مكتبة | excellent | mumtaaz/mumtaaza | ممتاز-ممتازة |
| class | faSl | فصل | good | jayyid/jayyida | جيد - جيدة |
| dog | kalb | كلب | beautiful | jamiil/jamiila | جميل- جميلة |
| cat | qiTTa | قطة | beloved | Habiib/Habiiba | حبيب -حبيبة |
| family | usra | أسرة | this is (m.) | haa-tha | هذا |
| universtiy | jami'aa | جامعة | this is (f.) | haa-thi-hi | هذه |
| man | rajul | رجل | car | sayyara | سيارة |
| woman | imra-ah | امرأة | homework | waajib | واجب |
Vocabulary notes
- When you start learning vocabulary in Arabic, you become aware of the use of grammatical gender. This means that for human-related nouns, there are two counterparts from the same noun, with the feminine word having an additional ending that you will learn about soon. For example, a male student is “Taalib” and a female student is “Taaliba”. Similarly, “duktoor” and “duktoora” for a “doctor”. Many other human nouns behave in the same way. Adjectives also have the same feature. So “Kabiir” is big (masculine), and “Kabiira” is big (feminine). Adjectives must match nouns in number and gender.
- Other nouns which are not human are either intrinsically masculine or feminine. For example “a book” is masculine and “a car” is feminine.
Activity (5): With your classmates, practice asking questions about the pictures below using the following expressions. In answering the questions, use a suitable adjective as well. Record your sentences below.
| Who is this? (m.) | Man-haa-tha? | من هذا؟ | What is this? (m.) | Maa haa-tha | ماهذا؟ |
| Who is this? (f.) | Man-haa-thi-hi | من هذه؟ | What is this? (f.) | Maa haa-thi-hi |
ما هذه؟ |
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Grammar (1)
Possessive pronouns
- The possessive structure in Arabic is formed by adding suffixes to the noun.
- Learn the following nouns and their possessive forms.
Activity (8): With your classmates, practice creating complete sentences that relate to the picture prompts. Record your sentences below.
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Key Takeaways
- You know how to form your nominal sentences in Arabic.
