But first, a review on Arabic cases....

(This is just going to be here as a review for whoever needs it.)

Slavic, Celtic, and some Germanic languages follow what we call a "case system". This is sort of like conjugating nouns based on whether they are the subject, the object, or possessing another noun.

Some languages can have up to 7 cases, but Arabic, like English, just has 3. Let's discuss them below.

Nominative case:

If a noun is the subject, it is in the nominative case. Fully-written Arabic denotes this by the ٌ (tanween kasra) at the end of the word.

Example: .ٌيَركُد فأر

Transliteration: yarkud faa'run. | A mouse runs.

Accusative case:

If a noun is the object of the sentence, it is in the accusative case. This is marked by a ً (tanween fatha).

Example: .يُساعد طَبيبٌ رَجُلً

Transliteration: Yusaa3d tabeebun rajulan. | A doctor helps a man.

Genitive case:

In English, we don't say "Joye books". We say "Joye's books". This shows that Joye owns the books. This is called the genitive case.

In Arabic, the genitive case is used in more than one way. The most common is to show possession....

الرُّكّانُ جُيٍ. :Example

Transliteration: Juyin rrukkaan. | Joye's shop. (Literally: the shop of Joye)

The genitive case is also used after prepositions....

Example: ٍفي بَيت.

Transliteration: Fee baytanin. | In a house.

You'll get the hang of the cases as we use them more. But now, let's get on with al-....

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Al- (-ال) is a prefix in Arabic meaning "the". It goes on any noun or adjective and makes it a definite article. We'll cover adjectives more later, but for now, see these examples.

الفأر| Al-faa'r | the mouse

المَسجِد| the mosque|al-masjid

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However, when Al- is before certain letters, the ل is not pronounced. How do we know which letters?

In Arabic, there are 28 letters, and they are divided into "solar" and "lunar" types. Solar letters require the tip of the tongue to say. Lunar letters don't.

Solar letters: ذ د ث ت ر ظ ط ض ص س ش ز ن ل

Lunar letters: ي/ى ح ج خ ب ف غ ع ا و ه م ك ق

When ال comes before a SOLAR letter, ل is dropped. Example: الشَّمس (the sun) is "ash-shams", not "al-shams".

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When -وَ and -ال are both prefixed onto a word, a contraction is formed when you pronounce it. It is "wal-" and not "wa'al-". Example:

السُكَّر وَاللَبَن.
Transliteration: Assukkar wal-laban. | The sugar and the milk.

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When al- is added to a noun, the case ending also changes! Let's look at the previous examples:

Nominative:  .يَركُد الفأرُ

Transliteration: Yarkud al-faa'ru. | The mouse runs.

Accusative: .الطَبيبُ يُساعر الرَجُلَ

Transliteration: Al-tabeebu yusaa3d al-rajula. | The doctor helps the man.

Genitive: .الرَجُلِ كِتَاب

Transliteration: Al-rajuli kitaab. | The man's book.

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Want to memorize solar and lunar letters? Check out this Quizlet set: https://quizlet.com/418041061/solar-and-lunar-letters-flash-cards/

Practice idea for case endings: Decide below which ending goes on each noun:

طَبيب (subject)

حِمار (subject)

الكِتاب (object)

سِرير (possessive)

قِط (object)

الكَلب (possessive)

المَسجِد (subject)

قَميص (possessive)

الرَجُل (object)

ديك (possessive)

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Up next: common Arabic interrogatives (who, what, when, where, why).