6) Pronouns1

# The Basic Gender Recipe

As a beginner, you can make the following simplifying assumptions on gender, which we will refer to as the basic gender recipe:

• If a noun ends with Taa Marbuta (ـة), then it is most likely feminine, otherwise it is most likely masculine.

Examples: try to guess the gender of these random words

1. مُدَرِّس
2. مَدرسَةٌ
3. قاعٌ
4. قاعةٌ
5. دولة
6. جيِّدٌ
7. جَيّدةٌ

Solution: [♂️, ♀️, ♂️, ♀️, ♀️, ♂️, ♀️]

You may have noticed from these examples some pattern. The opposite is roughly a correct rule too but on adjectives:

• If an adjective is masculine, then adding Taa Marbuta (ة) will make it feminine.

# Reversed adjectives

Finally, an important note is that noun/adjectives order is reversed: so to say "Good pen" in Arabic, first you say the noun then the adjectives.

Exercises: We learned basic words from previous lessons, let's review some and make sentences:

Exercises:

• Beautiful sea

From the basic recipe we guess that بحر is masculine, and it should come before what describes it: جميل. So the translation is: بَحْرٌ جَميلٌ.

• Beautiful girl

Girl in Arabic is "بنتٌ" which is feminine, so "جميل" is converted to feminine by adding (ة): بِنتٌ جَميلَةٌ

# This

1. هَذَا: haaḏa

Means "this" for a masculine noun. We will denote it by "this [m]" for short.

2. هَذِهِ: haaḏehe

Means "this" for a feminine noun. We will denote it by "this [f]" for short.

Common mistake: هَذِهِ ends with a regular Haa (ه) not Taa Marbuta (ة)

Notice that in both Arabic "this" words, there is no Alif like: (هاذا), (هاذه) despite pronouncing it. Why is that? because "this" is so common that it became typical to drop its Alif.

Examples:

• This is a good boy

Good boy --> boy good --> وَلَدٌ جيِّدٌ

This is a good boy --> هذا وَلَدٌ جيِّدٌ

• This is a big sea

Big sea --> sea big --> بَحرٌ كَبيرٌ

This is a big sea --> هذا بَحْرٌ كَبيرٌ

To say this is a big sea, just add "this [m]".

# Pronouns

# 1) Ana (I am)

• أنا: I

Example1:

• I am good

If you are a woman you choose the feminine version of "good":

1. ♂️: أنا جَيّدٌ
2. ♀️: أنا جَيّدةٌ

Exercises: translate this in the comments.

• I am beautiful.

# 2) Anta (You [m])

• أَنْتَ: You [m]

# 3) Ante (You [f])

• أَنْتِ: You [f]

# 4) Huwa (he)

• هُوَ: he

# 5 Heya (she)

• هِيَ: she

# What about Am, Is, Are?

Arabic grammar is concise. Want to say "Sky is blue"? just put "blue" after "sky" in a sentence: "sky blue". Applying this concept, to say:

1. I am good --> أنا جيد
2. He is good --> هو جيد
3. She is good --> هي جيدة

Notice in the last example, since "She" is feminine, we had to transform masculine adjective to feminine by adding (ة).