Hidayatun Nahw – Core Concepts

A comprehensive set of Q&A flashcards covering the essential points of the Hidayatun Nahw lecture, including definitions, grammatical cases, governing agents, sentence elements, particles, verb moods, and special grammatical categories.

What is the main purpose of the science of Nahw?

To know the correct case-endings of Arabic words and avoid mistakes in Arabic speech.

Into how many primary word-classes does Nahw divide speech?

Three: Noun (اسم), Verb (فعل), and Particle (حرف).

Define an اسم (noun) in Nahw.

A word that has a meaning not tied to time (past, present, or future).

Give three common signs of an اسم (noun).

1) It can accept the definite article al- (ال), 2) It can take tanwīn, 3) It can function as a genitive after a preposition (min Zaydٍ, bi-Zaydٍ, etc.).

Define a فعل (verb) in Nahw.

A word whose meaning is tied to a time frame (past, present/future) and whose basic meaning is conveyed by its verbal noun (maṣdar).

List two clear signs of a فعل (verb).

1) Acceptance of particles such as qad (قد) or the future particle sa- (سـ / سوف), 2) Ability to be put in the jussive mood by lam (لم).

Define a حرف (particle) in Nahw.

A word that has no meaning by itself but conveys a meaning only with something else, and does not accept the signs of noun or verb.

What are the three basic grammatical cases expressed on nouns?

Rafʿ (nominative), Naṣb (accusative), and Jarr (genitive).

What is an ʿāmil (governing agent) in Arabic grammar?

Anything that causes the ending of a word to change (e.g., a verb, a preposition, ‘inna, etc.).

Which two parts of speech show full declension (iʿrāb) in Arabic?

The present verb (الفعل المضارع) and the fully declinable noun (الاسم المتمكن).

What do the terms muʿrab (معرب) and mabnī (مبني) mean?

Muʿrab: a word whose ending changes with grammatical function;

Mabnī: a word whose ending is fixed regardless of position.

Name the three major vowel endings that mark the triptote noun (الاسم المنصرف).

Ḍammah for rafʿ,

fatḥah for naṣb,

kasrah for jarr.

What is a غير منصرف) noun?

A noun that is prevented from taking tanwīn or jarr-kasrah due to having two causes (or one cause equal to two) of diptote status.

Give two causes that make a noun diptote.

1) Being a non-Arab proper name of more than three letters (e.g., إبراهيم), 2) Ending with the feminine tāʾ marbūṭah while being a proper name (e.g., طلحة).

How does a sound masculine plural decline?

It takes –ūna in rafʿ and –īna in naṣb and jarr: مسلمون / مسلمين.

How does a sound feminine plural decline?

It ends with –ātu (rafʿ) and –āti (naṣb/jarr): مسلماتُ / مسلماتِ.

What is the grammatical function of the فاعل (doer/subject)?

A noun in the rafʿ case that comes after a verb or verbal adjective and performs the action.

State the agreement rule between verb and its faʿil regarding gender and number.

The verb is singular by form; it reflects gender when the faʿil is a real feminine and is contiguous. Plural or gender agreement can be optional with broken plurals.

What is نائب الفاعل ?

The noun that takes the rafʿ position when the verb is put in the passive; it replaces the original faʿil.

Define مبتدأ and خبر.

Mubtadaʾ: the opening noun of a nominal sentence, usually definite.

Khabar: the predicate giving information about the mubtadaʾ, usually indefinite.

When may a khabar precede its mubtadaʾ?

It may precede when the khabar is a prepositional phrase, adverb, or there is stylistic emphasis, except after ‘inna and similar particles.

What primary effect do ‘inna and her sisters have on a nominal sentence?

They render the mubtadaʾ (now called ism ‘inna) mansūb and the khabar marfūʿ.

What is the core grammatical effect of kāna and her sisters?

They make the ism-kāna marfūʿ and the khabar mansūb.

Give two verbs from the “approach verbs” (أفعال المقاربة) family.

كاد (to nearly…) and عسى (to hopefully…).

What is the maṣdar in Arabic grammar?

The verbal noun that expresses the pure action or occurrence, free of time.

Explain the grammatical term mafʿūl muṭlaq.

An absolute object: a maṣdar agreeing with its verb used for emphasis, type, or number (e.g., ضربتُ ضربًا شديدًا).

What is the mafʿūl bihi?

The direct object upon which the action of the verb falls.

Define ظرف (adverb) of time or place.

A noun placed in the accusative to indicate the time or place of an action, often understood with an implied preposition (في).

What is the grammatical role of ḥāl (حال)?

An accusative noun describing the state or condition of the subject, object, or both at the moment of the action.

What is tamyīz (specification)?

An accusative or genitive noun that removes ambiguity from a preceding unclear quantity, measure, or comparative (e.g., عشرون درهمًا).

What function does غير and سوى play in sentences of exception?

They act like مستثنى (the excluded noun) and follow the case the word would take if إلا were used.

Which particle negates an entire genus and what case does the noun after it usually take?

Lā of absolute negation (لا النافية للجنس); the following noun is usually mansūb (e.g., لا رجلَ في الدار).

State the basic iʿrāb pattern for the present verb (fiʿl muḍāriʿ).

Rafʿ with ḍammah, naṣb with fatḥah (after نصب-particles like أن), jazm with sukūn or letter-dropping (after لم, etc.).

Name three particles that make the muḍāriʿ mansūb.

أنْ, لن, كي.

Name three particles that make the muḍāriʿ majzūm.

لم, لما, لام الأمر (لْ).

What is the sign of the passive perfect (māḍī majhūl) in triliteral verbs?

Dammah on the first radical and kasrah on the penultimate: ضُرِبَ.

How is the passive present (muḍāriʿ majhūl) formed?

Add ḍammah to the muḍāriʿ prefix and give kasrah to the penultimate: يُضْرَبُ.

Explain the difference between لازم (intransitive) and متعدٍّ (transitive) verbs.

Lāzim verbs’ actions stay with the subject; transitive verbs’ actions transfer to a mafʿūl bihi.

Give an example of a verb that can have three objects.

أعطى (he gave) – e.g., أعطيتُ زيدًا درهمًا كتابًا.

What distinguishes the category ‘Afʿāl al-Qulūb (verbs of cognition)?

They take two objects, turning a sentence into an object clause, e.g., ظننتُ زيدًا قائمًا.

How many grammatical followers (tawābiʿ) are there and name them.

Four: adjective (naʿt/ṣifah), conjunction (ʿaṭf), emphasis (tawkīd), and substitution/apposition (badal).

What are the ten agreement points between naʿt and manʿūt?

Iʿrāb, definiteness/indefiniteness, number, gender, and case; plus sometimes attachment factors such as possession distinctions—classically counted as ten aspects.

Which particles are used for oath-swearing?

Wa- (وَ), Ta- (تَ), and Ba- (بِ).

What is the particle of rectification (لكنَّ) used for?

To correct or exclude a previous statement, converting the following noun to mansūb and leaving the khabar marfūʿ.

State the five particles of vocative (nidāʾ).

يا, أيا, هيا, أيْ, أَ.

When is ‘bal (بل) used in speech?

To disregard the first statement and affirm the second.

What is the primary function of the explanatory particles أنْ and أي؟

They introduce a clause or phrase that explains or clarifies a preceding statement.

Which particle expresses hope or expectancy?

لعلّ.

Which two particles are specifically used for encouragement or reproach (targhīb/taʿnīb)?

هلاَّ and ألاَّ.

What is tanwīn al-tamkīn?

The normal tanwīn showing a noun is fully declinable (triptote).

What is tanwīn al-ʿiwaḍ? Give an example.

Tanwīn that substitutes for a deleted element, e.g., يومَئِذٍ (the tanwīn replaces a missing mudāf-ilayh).

When is nūn al-tawkīd heavy (نون التوكيد الثقيلة) attached to a verb?

When the speaker wants to emphasize an imperative or future action: لتفعلنَّ.

How does the light nūn of emphasis (نون التوكيد الخفيفة) appear?

As a final sukūned nūn: افعلنْ.

Define ḥurūf al-jar (prepositions) and give three examples.

Particles that assign the genitive to the following noun; examples: مِن, إلى, على.

What are conditional particles and give the most common one.

Particles that introduce a شرط and جزاء; the most common is إِنْ.

Explain the use of ḥattā as a conjunction.

It links the conjoined noun to a part of the preceding set and may indicate inclusion or climax (e.g., مات الناس حتى الأنبياء).

Which particle negates the past with expectation of future (لمّا)?

لما: ‘has not … yet’, leaving possibility that it will occur.

What is the difference between interrogative hamzah (أ) and hal (هل)?

Hamzah can be used for confirmation, disapproval, and offers broader placement; hal introduces yes/no questions in regular sentence order.

Give an example of lā of prohibition (لا الناهية) with a present verb.

لا تكتبْ على الجدارِ (Do not write on the wall).

What is the grammatical term for numbers one and two when used adjectivally?

Naʿt (they function as adjectives agreeing in gender with the counted noun).

How is the compound number 21 expressed for a masculine noun?

واحدٌ وعشرون رجُلًا.

What is the gender rule for numbers 3–10 relative to the counted noun?

They take opposite (discordant) gender to the noun: ثلاثةُ رجالٍ / ثلاثُ نساءٍ.

Explain the rule of gender for 11–19.

The unit agrees with the noun’s gender, while ‘ashar always appears in the opposite gender form.