2.5 PRONOUNS
Before we continue with our study of the remaining 3 properties of the Ism, let’s take a look at Isms that don’t follow the rules of status mentioned above: Pronouns.
Pronouns are a special type of اسم that do not display their four properties in a standard way. We will learn about two types of pronouns in this chapter. They are independent pronouns (الضَّمائِر المُنْفَصِلَة) and attached pronouns (الضَّمائِر المتَّصِلَة). We will see how each type of pronoun shows status. Pronouns are an integral part of the Arabic language, as almost every sentence contains a pronoun.
INDEPENDENT PRONOUNS
Independent pronouns are pronouns that stand alone as their own word and do not attach to another word. Independent pronouns are always in the رفع status. As for type, pronouns are always proper. The number and gender of each pronoun is based on its meaning and labelled in the chart below.
MEMORIZE the pronouns and their meanings and know their properties.
(ضَمِيرٌ مُنْفَصِلٌ)
(All RAFA by Default)
|
Plural |
Pair/Dual |
Singular |
|
هُمْ |
هُما |
هُوَ |
|
All of Them (Male) |
Both of Them (Male) |
He |
|
هُنَّ |
هُما |
هِيَ |
|
All of Them (Female) |
Both of Them (Female) |
She |
|
أَنْتُمْ |
أَنْتُما |
أَنْتَ |
|
All of You (Male) |
Both of You (Male) |
You (Male) |
|
أَنْتُنَّ |
أَنْتُما |
أَنْتِ |
|
All of You (Female) |
Both of You (Female) |
You (Female) |
|
نَحْنُ |
أَنَا |
|
|
We |
I |
|
ATTACHED PRONOUNS
Every independent pronoun has an attached counterpart. Attached pronouns attach either to a حرف or a فعل or another اسم. Attached pronouns are always either in the نصب or جر status. All attached pronouns look the same in the نصب and جر status except for the أنا version. The way to tell what is نصب and what is جر is to look at what the pronoun is attached to. This will be discussed further in later chapters.
MEMORIZE the attached pronouns and their meanings. Review the independent pronouns. MEMORIZE the two in conjunction.
(ضَمِيرٌ متَّصِلٌ)
(All Nasb or Jarr by Default)
|
هِ or هُ |
هُما or هِما |
هُمْ or هِمْ |
|
Him/His |
Both of Them (Male) |
All of Them (Male) |
|
ها |
هُما or هِما |
هِنَّ or هُنَّ |
|
Her |
Both of Them (Female) |
All of Them (Female) |
|
كَ |
کُما |
کُمْ |
|
You/Your (Male) |
Both of You (Male) |
All of You (Male) |
|
كِ |
کُما |
کُنَّ |
|
You/Your (Female) |
Both of You (Female) |
All of You (Female) |
|
نِيْ or ي |
نا |
|
|
Me/My |
Us |
|
Notice that for many of the pronouns, there are two variations with differences in the حركة .These variations do not indicate a change in status or any other property. Rather, the حركة on the attached pronoun may change depending on the last حركة on the word it attaches to. You will get a feel for this with time. The only exception to this is the أنا version, where the different versions indicate different statuses.
SUMMARY OF STATUS
So far in our discussion of status, we have seen the 3 forms of status, جر نصب رفع , show themselves in many different ways. The following chart is a summary of the different ways we see the 3 forms of status:
|
Pronouns (Independent vs Attached) |
Ending Combination (Feminine Plural) |
Ending Combination (Masculine Plural) |
Ending Combination (Pair/Dual) |
Ending Sound (Partly-Flexible) |
Ending Sound (Non-Flexible) |
Ending Sound (Fully Flexible) |
|
|
هُوَ |
مُسْلِمَاتٌ |
مُسْلِمُوْنَ |
مُسْلِمانِ |
يُوْسُفُ |
مُوْسَىى |
مُسْلِمٌ |
رفع |
|
ـهُ |
مُسْلِمَاتٍ |
مُسْلِمِيْنَ |
مُسْلِمَيْنِ |
يُوْسُفَ |
مُوْسَىى |
مُسْلِماً |
نصب |
|
ـهُ |
مُسْلِمَاتٍ |
مُسْلِمِيْنَ |
مُسْلِمَيْنِ |
يُوْسُفَ |
مُوْسَىى |
مُسْلِمٍ |
جر |
**Remember the whole objective behind our study of the ways status is shown is so that we can accurately and confidently identify whether a word is رفع , نصب , or جر**