3.3 TYPE – القسم

 

The fourth property of the اسم is type. Every word in the Arabic language is either common (نَكِرَة) or proper (مَعْرِفَة). Common words are generic words that do not refer to something specific. Proper words are specific. An example of a معرفة/نكرة pair would be “a girl,” which refers to an unspecified girl and “Maryam,” which refers to a specific person. Another example of a معرفة/نكرة pair would be “a chair,” which refers to an unspecified chair and “the chair,” which refers to a specific chair. COMMON (نَكِرَة) is the DEFAULT for a word. There are seven categories of proper (مَعْرِفَة) words. Unless something falls under one of these categories, it is assumed to be common (نَكِرَة).

1)      WORDS WITH ال (لام التعريف)

The ال in Arabic means “the,” which makes a word specific. As mentioned before, remember that تنوين and ال NEVER come together. For example, the word المسلمٌ is incorrect. You can only say المسلمُ.

**Remember, a partly-flexible word is made fully flexible in two ways:

a.      by adding an ال

b.      by making it a مضاف

 

2)      SPECIFIC NAMES (اسم علم)

Specific names of people and places such as حَمْزَةُ or مَكَّةُ are always معرفة.

3)      PRONOUNS (الضمائر)

Pronouns (he, she, they, we, etc.) are always معرفة .The following are the ضمائر for recognition purposes. We have discussed pronouns in detail previously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4)      POINTERS (أسماء الإشارة)

Words used to point (this, that, those, these) are always معرفة .Below are the أسماء الإشارة for recognition purposes. We will learn their definitions and how to use them in a later chapter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5)      الأسْماء الموصملة

Below are the الأسْماء الموصملة for recognition purposes. We will learn their definitions and how to use them in a later chapter.

 

 

 

                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)      THE ONE BEING CALLED (المنادى)

The حرف used to call a person is يا .The word following يا is always معرفة .This is because when calling someone, you are addressing a specific person. So both the word وَلَد in يا وَلَدُ and the name حَمْزَةُ in يا حَمْزَةُ are معرفة.

 

7)      IF THE مضاف إليه IS معرفة, THE مضاف IS ALSO معرفة.

The مضاف gets its type from the مضاف إليه.If the مضاف إليه is proper, the مضاف is also proper. If the مضاف إليه is common, the مضاف is also common.

➢ DRILL 3 Are the following proper or common? Why?

 

APPENDIX

Note that the meaning of كُلُّ changes depending on the number and type of the مضاف إليه. Below are the possible scenarios:

1)      If the مضاف إليه is SINGULAR AND COMMON, the meaning is each and every.

E.g. كُلُّ مَسْجِدٍ – Each and every masjid.

 

2)      If the مضاف إليه is SINGULAR AND PROPER, the meaning is the entire.

E.g. كُلُّ المَسْجِدِ – The entire masjid.

3)      If the مضاف إليه is PLURAL AND PROPER, the meaning is all of.

E.g كُلُّ المَساجِدِ – All of the masjids.

 

➢ DRILL 4 Translate the following fragments. Use the word bank below.