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The definite and
indefinite noun explained
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Recognize a/an in Arabic.
What do we mean by
definite and
indefinite nouns?
Definite nouns in
English have a "the" in
front of the noun.
The "the" allows us to
refer to a specific
noun.
e.g. The book is on the
table.
(Book is definite)
Indefinite
nouns in English
have an "a/an" in front
of the noun. The "a/an" allows us to
refer to a general
class of nouns.
e.g. A book is on the
table.
(Book is indefinite)
Only nouns – unlike
verbs – can be definite
or indefinite.
In Arabic to make a noun definite place:
"The" = 1-1
اَلْ
OR
اِل
in
front of the
noun.
اَلْ
(MSA/Classical)=
“al”=
the
اِل (Egyptian Colloquial/Spoken)=
“il”
=
the
But for an
indefinite noun
there is
no
"a/an" in
Arabic. Nothing
is placed before
the noun
For MSA/Classical
Arabic the article
is pronounced
"al"
and in Egyptian Colloquial/Spoken
Arabic the article
is pronounced "il"
unless there is
assimilation.
Note (Only read if
interested in MSA/Classical):
In
MSA/Classical
nunation appears at the
end of
indefinite
nouns and
adjectives in
the form of TWO
dammas
ٌ
. Nunation
gives nouns and
adjectives a
unique "un"
sound to the
ending.
So whenever you
hear a noun
ending in an
"un" sound,
guess what? It's
indefinite.
To make life
joyously complicated
for MSA/Classical:
Nunation can
be
nominative,
accusative,
and
genitive in
form carrying two
dammas, two
fathas, or
two
kasras.
In this lesson the
focus is on the nominative. But
still, for future
reference... Nominative nunation = two dammas ٌ
sounding like un
صَبيٌ
Accusative nunation = two
fathas ً
sounding like an
صَبيً
Genitive nunation = two
kasras ٍsounding
like in
صَبيٍ
Oh, my. You say, kinda get
nunation -- "it
makes words end in a
"un" sound when
indefinite" --
but how do I know if
a word is
nominative,
accusative,
or
genitive in
case??
You will learn that
as you go along.
For now, just think
of the
nominative case
ُ
orٌ
as the
default
form in Arabic.
If the noun is definite it carries one dammaُ
If the noun is
indefinite it
carries two
dammasٌ
Why two
dammas?
Imagine the
indefinite noun
as deficient (or
lacking) for not
having an "a/an" in
front of it.
Therefore,
it is compensated by two
dammas instead
of just one -- to
tell us it is
indefinite.
How does this
effect the
"sound ending"
of the word?
Well, you hear
at the end of
the noun:
un= a/an =
two damma
u= the =
one damma
Arabic is a
musical language --
think of case endings
similar to musical notes.
Beware: Nunation is
written but not
heard for word lists
(Referred to as
"pausal").
Therefore, for the
words listed below
you will not hear
nunation in the
recordings.
Examples of
the definite and indefinite noun
Examples:
Example
for masc.
صَبيٌ
وَلَدْ 1
walad
a
boy
(masc. noun)
اَلصَبيُ
اِلْوَلَدْ 2
Il
walad
the
boy
Example
for fem.
فَتاةٌ
بِنْتْ
3
bint
a
girl
(fem. noun)
اَلْفَتاةُ
اِلْبِنْتْ 4
Il
bint
the
girl
Example
for plural
مَلابِسٌ
هُدومْ 5
hoduum
cloths
(plural
noun)
اَلْمَلابِسُ
اِلْهُدومْ 6
Il
hoduum
the
cloths
Got
it?
Pretty simple,
right?
Of course the real
challenge is
memorizing your
nouns. While making
a noun definite or
indefinite is easy.
What do we mean by definite and indefinite nouns?
Note (Only read if interested in MSA/Classical):
Examples:
