Английская Википедия:Arabic grammar

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates

Файл:Quranic-arabic-corpus.png
Visualization of Arabic grammar from the Quranic Arabic Corpus

Arabic grammar (Шаблон:Lang-ar) is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with the grammar of other Semitic languages. Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic have largely the same grammar; colloquial spoken varieties of Arabic can vary in different ways.

The largest differences between classical and colloquial Arabic are the loss of morphological markings of grammatical case; changes in word order, an overall shift towards a more analytic morphosyntax, the loss of the previous system of grammatical mood, along with the evolution of a new system; the loss of the inflected passive voice, except in a few relict varieties; restriction in the use of the dual number and (for most varieties) the loss of the feminine plural. Many Arabic dialects, Maghrebi Arabic in particular, also have significant vowel shifts and unusual consonant clusters. Unlike in other dialects, first person singular verbs in Maghrebi Arabic begin with a n- (ن). This phenomenon can also be found in the Maltese language, which itself emerged from Sicilian Arabic.

History

The identity of the oldest Arabic grammarian is disputed; some sources state that it was Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, who established diacritical marks and vowels for Arabic in the mid-600s,[1] Others have said that the earliest grammarian would have been Ibn Abi Ishaq (died AD 735/6, AH 117).[2]

The schools of Basra and Kufa further developed grammatical rules in the late 8th century with the rapid rise of Islam,[3][4] using Quran as the main source for Arabic grammar rules.[5] From the school of Basra, generally regarded as being founded by Abu Amr ibn al-Ala,[6] two representatives laid important foundations for the field: Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi authored the first Arabic dictionary and book of Arabic prosody, and his student Sibawayh authored the first book on theories of Arabic grammar.[1] From the school of Kufa, Al-Ru'asi is universally acknowledged as the founder, though his own writings are considered lost,[7][8] with most of the school's development undertaken by later authors. The efforts of al-Farahidi and Sibawayh consolidated Basra's reputation as the analytic school of grammar, while the Kufan school was regarded as the guardian of Arabic poetry and Arab culture.[2] The differences were polarizing in some cases, with early Muslim scholar Muhammad ibn `Isa at-Tirmidhi favoring the Kufan school due to its concern with poetry as a primary source.[9]

Early Arabic grammars were more or less lists of rules, without the detailed explanations which would be added in later centuries. The earliest schools were different not only in some of their views on grammatical disputes, but also their emphasis. The school of Kufa excelled in Arabic poetry and exegesis of the Qur'an, in addition to Islamic law and Arab genealogy. The more rationalist school of Basra, on the other hand, focused more on the formal study of grammar.[10]

Division

For classical Arabic grammarians, the grammatical sciences are divided into five branches:

The grammar or grammars of contemporary varieties of Arabic are a different question. Said M. Badawi, an expert on Arabic grammar, divides Arabic grammar in Egypt into five different types based on the speaker's level of literacy and the degree to which the speaker deviates from Classical Arabic: Illiterate Spoken Arabic (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), Semi-literate Spoken Arabic (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), Educated Spoken Arabic (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), Modern Standard Arabic (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), and Classical Arabic (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration).[11]

Phonology

Шаблон:Main Classical Arabic has 28 consonantal phonemes, including two semi-vowels, which constitute the Arabic alphabet.

It also has six vowel phonemes (three short vowels and three long vowels). These appear as various allophones, depending on the preceding consonant. Short vowels are not usually represented in the written language, although they may be indicated with diacritics.

Word stress varies from one Arabic dialect to another. A rough rule for word-stress in Classical Arabic is that it falls on the penultimate syllable of a word if that syllable is closed, and otherwise on the antepenultimate.[12]

Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang), elidable hamza, is a phonetic object prefixed to the beginning of a word for ease of pronunciation, since Literary Arabic doesn't allow consonant clusters at the beginning of a word. Elidable hamza drops out as a vowel, if a word is preceding it. This word will then produce an ending vowel, "helping vowel" to facilitate pronunciation. This short vowel may be, depending on the preceding vowel, a Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang ), pronounced as Шаблон:IPA; a Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang ), pronounced as Шаблон:IPA; or a Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang: Шаблон:Lang ), pronounced as Шаблон:IPA. If the preceding word ends in a Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang), meaning that it is not followed by a short vowel, the Шаблон:Transliteration assumes a Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA. The symbol Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) indicates gemination or consonant doubling. See more in Tashkīl.

Nouns and adjectives

Шаблон:Main In Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), nouns and adjectives (Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration) are declined, according to case ([[ʾIʿrab|Шаблон:Transliteration]]), state (definiteness), gender and number. In colloquial or spoken Arabic, there are a number of simplifications such as the loss of certain final vowels and the loss of case. A number of derivational processes exist for forming new nouns and adjectives. Adverbs can be formed from adjectives.

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

In Arabic, personal pronouns have 12 forms. In singular and plural, the 2nd and 3rd persons have separate masculine and feminine forms, while the 1st person does not. In the dual, there is no 1st person, and only a single form for each 2nd and 3rd person. Traditionally, the pronouns are listed in the order 3rd, 2nd, 1st.

Person Singular Dual Plural
1st Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
2nd masculine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
feminine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
3rd masculine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
feminine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration

Informal Arabic tends to avoid the dual forms Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang. The feminine plural forms Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang are likewise avoided, except by speakers of conservative colloquial varieties that still possess separate feminine plural pronouns.

Enclitic pronouns

The enclitic forms of personal pronouns (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) are used both as accusative and genitive forms of the pronouns. As genitive forms they appear in the following contexts:

  • After the construct state of nouns, where they have the meaning of possessive determiners, e.g. "my, your, his"
  • After prepositions, where they have the meaning of objects of the prepositions, e.g. "to me, to you, to him"

As accusative forms they appear:

Only the first person singular makes a distinction between the genitive and accusative function.[13] As a possessive it takes the form while as an object form it has the form -nī (e.g. (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "you saw me").

Most of the enclitic forms are clearly related to the full personal pronouns.

Person Singular Dual Plural
1st Шаблон:Wikt-lang (poss.) Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang (obj.) Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
2nd masculine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
feminine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
3rd masculine Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
feminine Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Variant forms

For all but the first person singular, the same forms are used regardless of the part of speech of the word attached to. In the third person masculine singular, Шаблон:Transliteration occurs after the vowels u or a (Шаблон:Transliteration), while Шаблон:Transliteration occurs after i or y (Шаблон:Transliteration). The same alternation occurs in the third person dual and plural.

In the first person singular, however, the situation is more complicated. Specifically, Шаблон:Transliteration "me" is attached to verbs, but Шаблон:Transliteration "my" is attached to nouns. In the latter case, Шаблон:Transliteration is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a long vowel or diphthong (e.g. in the sound masculine plural and the dual), while Шаблон:Transliteration is attached to nouns whose construct state ends in a short vowel, in which case that vowel is elided (e.g. in the sound feminine plural, as well as the singular and broken plural of most nouns). Furthermore, Шаблон:Transliteration of the masculine sound plural is assimilated to Шаблон:Transliteration before Шаблон:Transliteration (presumably, Шаблон:Transliteration of masculine defective -an plurals is similarly assimilated to Шаблон:Transliteration). Examples:

Person Singular Plural
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Singular Plural
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Singular Singular
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Dual
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Genitive
Person Plural
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Plural
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Singular
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Singular
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Genitive Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Person Singular
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive
Person Singular
Nominative Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration
Accusative
Genitive

Prepositions use Шаблон:Transliteration, even though in this case it has the meaning of "me" (rather than "my"). The "sisters of Шаблон:Transliteration" can use either form (e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration or Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), but the longer form (e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) is usually preferred.

The second-person masculine plural past tense verb ending Шаблон:Transliteration changes to the variant form Шаблон:Transliteration before enclitic pronouns, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "you (masc. pl.) wrote it (masc.)".

Pronouns with prepositions

Some very common prepositions — including the proclitic preposition Шаблон:Transliteration "to" (also used for indirect objects) — have irregular or unpredictable combining forms when the enclitic pronouns are added to them:

Meaning Independent form With "... me" With "... you" (masc. sg.) With "... him"
"to", indirect object Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"in", "with", "by" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"in" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"to" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"on" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"with" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"from" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"on", "about" Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration

In the above cases, when there are two combining forms, one is used with "... me" and the other with all other person/number/gender combinations. (More correctly, one occurs before vowel-initial pronouns and the other before consonant-initial pronouns, but in Classical Arabic, only Шаблон:Transliteration is vowel-initial. This becomes clearer in the spoken varieties, where various vowel-initial enclitic pronouns exist.)

Note in particular:

Less formal pronominal forms

In a less formal Arabic, as in many spoken dialects, the endings -ka, -ki, and -hu and many others have their final short vowel dropped, for example, كِتابُكَ kitābuka would become كِتابُك kitābuk for ease of pronunciation. This doesn't make a difference to the spelling as the diacritics used to represent short vowels are not usually written.

Demonstratives

There are two demonstratives (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), near-deictic ('this') and far-deictic ('that'):

"This, these"
Gender Singular Dual Plural
Masculine nominative Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Feminine nominative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
"That, those"
Gender Singular Dual Plural
Masculine nominative Шаблон:Wikt-lang ،Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Feminine nominative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration

The dual forms are only used in very formal Arabic.

Some of the demonstratives (Шаблон:Transliteration, and Шаблон:Transliteration) should be pronounced with a long Шаблон:Transliteration, although the unvocalised script is not written with alif (Шаблон:Lang). Instead of an alif, they have the diacritic Шаблон:Lang (dagger alif: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration), which doesn't exist on Arabic keyboards and is seldom written, even in vocalised Arabic.

Qur'anic Arabic has another demonstrative, normally followed by a noun in a genitive construct and meaning 'owner of':

"Owner of"
Gender Singular Dual Plural
Masculine nominative Шаблон:Wikt-lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Feminine nominative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration

Note that the demonstrative and relative pronouns were originally built on this word. Шаблон:Transliteration, for example, was originally composed from the prefix Шаблон:Transliteration 'this' and the masculine accusative singular Шаблон:Transliteration; similarly, Шаблон:Transliteration was composed from Шаблон:Transliteration, an infixed syllable Шаблон:Transliteration, and the clitic suffix Шаблон:Transliteration 'you'. These combinations had not yet become completely fixed in Qur'anic Arabic and other combinations sometimes occurred, e.g. Шаблон:Transliteration, Шаблон:Transliteration. Similarly, the relative pronoun Шаблон:Transliteration was originally composed based on the genitive singular Шаблон:Transliteration, and the old Arabic grammarians noted the existence of a separate nominative plural form Шаблон:Transliteration in the speech of the Hudhayl tribe in Qur'anic times.

This word also shows up in Hebrew, e.g. masculine Шаблон:Script/Hebrew zeh (cf. Шаблон:Transliteration), feminine Шаблон:Script/Hebrew zot (cf. Шаблон:Transliteration), plural Шаблон:Script/Hebrew eleh (cf. Шаблон:Transliteration).

Relative pronoun

The relative pronoun is declined as follows:

Relative pronoun ("who, that, which")
Gender Singular Dual Plural
Masculine nominative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Feminine nominative Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
accusative/genitive Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration

Note that the relative pronoun agrees in gender, number and case, with the noun it modifies—as opposed to the situation in other inflected languages such as Latin and German, where the gender and number agreement is with the modified noun, but the case marking follows the usage of the relative pronoun in the embedded clause (as in formal English "the man who saw me" vs. "the man whom I saw").

When the relative pronoun serves a function other than the subject of the embedded clause, a resumptive pronoun is required: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration, literally "the man who I spoke with him".

The relative pronoun is normally omitted entirely when an indefinite noun is modified by a relative clause: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "a man that I spoke with", literally "a man I spoke with him".

Colloquial varieties

The above system is mostly unchanged in the colloquial varieties, other than the loss of the dual forms and (for most varieties) of the feminine plural. Some of the more notable changes:

  • The third-person Шаблон:Transliteration variants disappear. On the other hand, the first person Шаблон:Transliteration variation is preserved exactly (including the different circumstances in which these variants are used), and new variants appear for many forms. For example, in Egyptian Arabic, the second person feminine singular appears either as Шаблон:Transliteration or Шаблон:Transliteration depending on various factors (e.g. the phonology of the preceding word); likewise, the third person masculine singular appears variously as Шаблон:Transliteration, Шаблон:Transliteration, or Шаблон:Transliteration (no ending, but stress is moved onto the preceding vowel, which is lengthened).
  • In many varieties, the indirect object forms, which appear in Classical Arabic as separate words (e.g. Шаблон:Transliteration "to me", Шаблон:Transliteration 'to him'), become fused onto the verb, following a direct object. These same varieties generally develop a circumfix Шаблон:IPA for negation (from Classical Шаблон:Transliteration 'not ... a thing', composed of two separate words). This can lead to complicated agglutinative constructs, such as Egyptian Arabic Шаблон:IPA 'he didn't write it (fem.) to me'. (Egyptian Arabic in particular has many variant pronominal affixes used in different circumstances, and very intricate morphophonemic rules leading to a large number of complex alternations, depending on the particular affixes involved, the way they are put together, and whether the preceding verb ends in a vowel, a single consonant, or two consonants.)
  • Other varieties instead use a separate Classical pseudo-pronoun Шаблон:Transliteration for direct objects (but in Hijazi Arabic the resulting construct fuses with a preceding verb).
  • Affixation of dual and sound plural nouns has largely vanished. Instead, all varieties possess a separate preposition with the meaning of "of", which replaces certain uses of the construct genitive (to varying degrees, depending on the particular variety). In Moroccan Arabic, the word is dyal (also d- before a noun), e.g. l-kitab dyal-i "my book", since the construct-state genitive is mostly unproductive. Egyptian Arabic has bitā‘ , which agrees in gender and number with the preceding noun (feminine bitā‘it/bita‘t, plural bitū‘ ). In Egyptian Arabic, the construct-state genitive is still productive, hence either kitāb-i or il-kitāb bitā‘-i can be used for "my book" [the difference between them is similar to the difference between 'my book' and 'the book is mine'], but only il-mu‘allimūn bitū‘-i "my teachers".
  • The declined relative pronoun has vanished. In its place is an indeclinable particle, usually illi or similar.
  • Various forms of the demonstrative pronouns occur, usually shorter than the Classical forms. For example, Moroccan Arabic uses ha l- "this", dak l-/dik l-/duk l- "that" (masculine/feminine/plural). Egyptian Arabic is unusual in that the demonstrative follows the noun, e.g. il-kitāb da "this book", il-binti di "this girl".
  • Some of the independent pronouns have slightly different forms compared with their Classical forms. For example, usually forms similar to inta, inti "you (masc./fem. sg.)" occur in place of Шаблон:Transliteration, and (n)iḥna "we" occurs in place of Шаблон:Transliteration.

Numerals

Cardinal numerals

Numbers behave in a very complicated fashion. Шаблон:Transliteration "one" and Шаблон:Transliteration "two" are adjectives, following the noun and agreeing with it. Шаблон:Transliteration "three" through Шаблон:Transliteration "ten" require a following noun in the genitive plural, but disagree with the noun in gender, while taking the case required by the surrounding syntax. Шаблон:Transliteration "eleven" through Шаблон:Transliteration "nineteen" require a following noun in the accusative singular, agree with the noun in gender, and are invariable for case, except for Шаблон:Transliteration "twelve".

The formal system of cardinal numerals, as used in Classical Arabic, is extremely complex. The system of rules is presented below. In reality, however, this system is never used: Large numbers are always written as numerals rather than spelled out, and are pronounced using a simplified system, even in formal contexts.

Example:

Formal: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "2,912 years"
Spoken: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "2,912 years"
Formal: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "after 2,912 years"
Spoken: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "after 2,912 years"

Cardinal numerals (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) from 0–10. Zero is ṣifr, from which the words "cipher" and "zero" are ultimately derived.

It is very common, even by news announcers and in official speeches, to pronounce numerals in local dialects.[14]

The endings in brackets are dropped in less formal Arabic and in pausa. Шаблон:Lang (Шаблон:Transliteration) is pronounced as simple Шаблон:IPA in these cases. If a noun ending in Шаблон:Lang is the first member of an idafa, the Шаблон:Lang is pronounced as Шаблон:IPA, while the rest of the ending is not pronounced.

Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration is changed to Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration in oblique cases. This form is also commonly used in a less formal Arabic in the nominative case.

The numerals 1 and 2 are adjectives. Thus they follow the noun and agree with gender.

Numerals 3–10 have a peculiar rule of agreement known as polarity: A feminine referrer agrees with a numeral in masculine gender and vice versa, e.g. Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang) "three girls". The noun counted takes indefinite genitive plural (as the attribute in a genitive construct).

Numerals 11 and 13–19 are indeclinable for case, perpetually in the accusative. Numbers 11 and 12 show gender agreement in the ones, and 13–19 show polarity in the ones. Number 12 also shows case agreement, reminiscent of the dual. The gender of Шаблон:Lang in numbers 11–19 agrees with the counted noun (unlike the standalone numeral 10 which shows polarity). The counted noun takes indefinite accusative singular.

Number Informal Masculine
nominative
Masculine
oblique
Feminine
nominative
Feminine
oblique
11 Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
12 Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
13 Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang
Шаблон:Transliteration
Шаблон:Lang

Unitary numbers from 20 on (i.e. 20, 30, ... 90, 100, 1000, 1000000, etc.) behave entirely as nouns, showing the case required by the surrounding syntax, no gender agreement, and a following noun in a fixed case. 20 through 90 require their noun to be in the accusative singular; 100 and up require the genitive singular. The unitary numbers themselves decline in various fashions:

The numbers 20–99 are expressed with the units preceding the tens. There is agreement in gender with the numerals 1 and 2, and polarity for numerals 3–9. The whole construct is followed by the accusative singular indefinite.

Шаблон:Transliteration "100" and Шаблон:Transliteration "1,000" can themselves be modified by numbers (to form numbers such as 200 or 5,000) and will be declined appropriately. For example, Шаблон:Transliteration "200" and Шаблон:Transliteration "2,000" with dual endings; Шаблон:Transliteration "3,000" with Шаблон:Transliteration in the plural genitive, but Шаблон:Transliteration "300" since Шаблон:Transliteration appears to have no plural.

In compound numbers, the number formed with the last two digits dictates the declension of the associated noun, e.g. 212, 312, and 54,312 would all behave like 12.

Large compound numbers can have, e.g.:

Note also the special construction when the final number is 1 or 2:

Fractions

Fractions of a whole smaller than "half" are expressed by the structure Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang) in the singular, Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang) in the plural.

Ordinal numerals

Ordinal numerals (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) higher than "second" are formed using the structure Шаблон:Transliteration, Шаблон:Transliteration, the same as active participles of Form I verbs:

They are adjectives, hence there is agreement in gender with the noun, not polarity as with the cardinal numbers. Note that "sixth" uses a different, older root than the number six.

Verbs

Шаблон:Main

Файл:Arabic Verb Chart.png
Arabic Verb Chart

Verbs in Arabic (Шаблон:Lang fi‘l) are based on a root made up of three or four consonants (called a triliteral or quadriliteral root, respectively). The set of consonants communicates the basic meaning of a verb, e.g. k-t-b 'write', q-r-’ 'read', ’-k-l 'eat'. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as tense, person and number, in addition to changes in the meaning of the verb that embody grammatical concepts such as mood (e.g. indicative, subjunctive, imperative), voice (active or passive), and functions such as causative, intensive, or reflexive.

Since Arabic lacks an auxiliary verb "to have", constructions using li-, ‘inda, and ma‘a with the pronominal suffixes are used to describe possession. For example: Шаблон:Lang (ʿindahu bayt) – literally: At him (is) a house. → He has a house.

For the negation of Arabic verbs, see Negation in Arabic.

Prepositions

Common prepositions
Arabic English
True
prepositions
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration with, in, at
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration only used in the expression تٱللهِ Шаблон:Transliteration 'I swear to God'
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration certainly (also used before verbs)
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration to, for
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration like, as
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration to, towards
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration until, up to
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration on, over; against
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration from, about
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration in, at
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:TransliterationШаблон:Efn with, along with
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration from; than
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration since
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration since
Semi-prepositions Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration in front of
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration between, among
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration under, below
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration around
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration outside
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration during
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration inside
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration without
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration against
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration on the part of; at; at the house of; in the possession of
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration above
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration with
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration like
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration behind

There are two types of prepositions, based on whether they arise from the triconsonantal roots system or not. The 'true prepositions' (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) do not stem from the triconsonantal roots. These true prepositions cannot have prepositions preceding them, in contrast to the derived triliteral prepositions. True prepositions can also be used with certain verbs to convey a particular meaning. For example, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration means "to discuss" as a transitive verb, but can mean "to search for" when followed by the preposition Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration, and "to do research about" when followed by Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration.

The prepositions arising from the triliteral root system are called "adverbs of place and time" in the native tradition (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) and work very much in the same way as the 'true' prepositions.[15]

A noun following a preposition takes the genitive case.[16] However, prepositions can take whole clauses as their object too if succeeded by the conjunctions Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration or Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration, in which case the subject of the clause is in the nominative or the accusative respectively.

Syntax

Шаблон:Anchor Genitive construction (Шаблон:Transliteration)

Шаблон:Main

A noun may be defined more precisely by adding another noun immediately afterwards. In Arabic grammar, this is called Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration ("annexation, addition") and in English is known as the "genitive construct", "construct phrase", or "annexation structure". The first noun must be in the construct form while, when cases are used, the subsequent noun must be in the genitive case. The construction is typically equivalent to the English construction "(noun) of (noun)". This is a very widespread way of forming possessive constructions in Arabic,[17] and is typical of a Semitic language.[18]

Simple examples include:

The range of relationships between the first and second elements of the idafah construction is very varied, though it usually consists of some relationship of possession or belonging.[19] In the case of words for containers, the idāfah may express what is contained: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "a cup of coffee". The idāfah may indicate the material something is made of: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration "a wooden ring, ring made of wood". In many cases the two members become a fixed coined phrase, the idafah being used as the equivalent of a compound noun used in some Indo-European languages such as English. Thus Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration can mean "house of the (certain, known) students", but is also the normal term for "the student hostel".

Word order

Word order in classical Arabic

Classical Arabic tends to prefer the word order VSO (verb before subject before object), but uses the particle ʼinna and SVO (subject before verb) to emphasize the subject. Verb-initial word orders like in Classical Arabic are relatively rare across the world's languages, occurring only in a few language families including Celtic, Austronesian, and Mayan. The different Arabic word orders have an agreement asymmetry: the verb shows person, number, and gender agreement with the subject in SVO constructions but only gender (and possibly person) agreement in VSO, to the exclusion of number.[20]

Modern Standard Arabic tends to use SVO without ʼinna.

Full agreement: SVO order[21]
Шаблон:Interlinear
Шаблон:Interlinear
Partial agreement: VSO order
Шаблон:Interlinear
Шаблон:Interlinear

Despite the fact that the subject in the latter two above examples is plural, the verb lacks plural marking and instead surfaces as if it were in the singular form.

Though early accounts of Arabic word order variation argued for a flat, non-configurational grammatical structure,[22][23] more recent work[21] has shown that there is evidence for a VP constituent in Arabic, that is, a closer relationship between verb and object than verb and subject. This suggests a hierarchical grammatical structure, not a flat one. An analysis such as this one can also explain the agreement asymmetries between subjects and verbs in SVO versus VSO sentences, and can provide insight into the syntactic position of pre- and post-verbal subjects, as well as the surface syntactic position of the verb.

In the present tense, there is no overt copula in Arabic. In such clauses, the subject tends to precede the predicate, unless there is a clear demarcating pause between the two, suggesting a marked information structure.[21] It is a matter of debate in Arabic literature whether there is a null present tense copula which syntactically precedes the subject in verbless sentences, or whether there is simply no verb, only a subject and predicate.[24][25][26][27][28][29]

Subject pronouns are normally omitted except for emphasis or when using a participle as a verb (participles are not marked for person). Because the verb agrees with the subject in person, number, and gender, no information is lost when pronouns are omitted. Auxiliary verbs precede main verbs, prepositions precede their objects, and nouns precede their relative clauses.

Adjectives follow the noun they are modifying, and agree with the noun in case, gender, number, and state: For example, Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'a beautiful girl' but Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'the beautiful girl'. (Compare Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'the girl is beautiful'.) Elative adjectives, however, usually do not agree with the noun they modify, and sometimes even precede their noun while requiring it to be in the genitive case.

Word order in colloquial spoken Arabic

Colloquial spoken Arabic may employ different word order than Classical Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic.[30]

Regarding subject-verb order, Owens et al. (2009), examined three dialects of the Arabian peninsula from a discourse informational and a morpholexical perspective.[31] They show that subject-verb or verb-subject word order is correlated with the lexical class (i.e. pronoun, pronominal, noun), definiteness, and the discourse-defined lexical specificity of a noun.[31] Owens et al. (2009) argue that verb-subject order usually presents events, while subject-verb indicates available referentiality.[31]

In Modern Standard Arabic, the VSO and SVO word orders results in an agreement asymmetry between the verb and the subject: the verb shows person, number, and gender agreement with the subject in SVO constructions, but only gender (and possibly person) agreement in VS, to the exclusion of number.[20] In Lebanese Arabic and Moroccan Arabic, there is agreement between verb and subject in number under both the SV and the VS orders.[32]

[32] Lebanese Arabic Moroccan Arabic Modern Standard Arabic
SV example Lə-wlaad neemo. Lə-wlaad naʕs-u. ʔal-ʔawlaad-u naamuu.
the-children slept.3p the-children slept-3P the-children-NoM slept.3MP
'The children slept.' 'The children slept.' 'The children slept.'
VS example Neemo lə-wlaad. naʕs-u lə-wlaad Naama l-ʔawlaad-u.
slept.3p the-children slept.3p the-children slept.3Ms the-children-NoM
'The children slept.' 'The children slept.' 'The children slept.'

El-Yasin (1985) examined colloquial Jordanian Arabic, and concluded that it exhibits a SVO order.[33] This, according to El-Yasin, provides evidence of a language changing from a VSO (CA) into a SVO language (Jordanian Arabic).[33] On the other hand, Mohammad, M. A. (2000) showed that MSA allows all six possible word orders (VSO, SVO, VOS, SOV, OSV, OVS) while Palastinian Arabic (PA) allows only three word orders, namely: VSO, VOS, and SVO.[34]

In her book Spoken Arabic, Brustad, K. (2000) notes that in the dialects she studied (Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, and Kuwaiti) verb initial (VSO) and subject initial (SVO) word orders are present.[35] In the case of verb initial word order, it is common that the subject is marked on the verb and is not expressed as an independent verb.[35]

VSO in Syrian Arabic, where the subject is marked on the verb. Adapted from Brustad, K. (2000)[35]
jabit[h]a min maṣɘr min hɘnik la-hOn
brought-she-her from Egypt from there to here

Brustad, K. (2000) points out that if both VSO and SVO are basic typologies in spoken Arabic, then functional typology investigating the semantic and pragmatic roles can shed light on the different contexts where these word orders appear.[35] Despite the analysis that both VS and SV typologies are found in spoken Arabic dialects (Moroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, and Kuwaiti), Brustad, K. (2000) notes that sentence typologies found in spoken Arabic are not limited to these two word orders.[35] She adds that almost any basic constituent may begin an Arabic sentence. She argues that sentences other than VS and SV are marked forms of topic-prominent or subject-prominent sentences.[35]

’inna

The subject of a sentence can be topicalized and emphasized by moving it to the beginning of the sentence and preceding it with the word Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'indeed' (or 'verily' in older translations). An example would be Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'The sky is blue indeed'.

Шаблон:Transliteration, along with its related terms (or Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration "sister" terms in the native tradition) Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'that' (as in "I think that ..."), Шаблон:Transliteration 'that' (after Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'say'), Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'but' and Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'as if' introduce subjects while requiring that they be immediately followed by a noun in the accusative case, or an attached pronominal suffix.

Arabic English
Шаблон:Lang

Шаблон:Transliteration

Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration indeed
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration that (followed by noun clause)
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration as, as though
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration but
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration to express a wish or desire
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration perhaps
Шаблон:Wikt-lang Шаблон:Transliteration there is no, there is not

Definite article

Шаблон:Main As a particle, al- does not inflect for gender, number, person, or grammatical case. The sound of the final -l consonant, however, can vary; when followed by a sun letter such as t, d, r, s, n and a few others, it is replaced by the sound of the initial consonant of the following noun, thus doubling it. For example: for "the Nile", one does not say al-Nīl, but an-Nīl. When followed by a moon letter, like m-, no replacement occurs, as in al-masjid ("the mosque"). This affects only the pronunciation and not the spelling of the article.

Absolute object (al-maf'ūl al-muṭlaq)

The absolute object (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) is an emphatic cognate object construction in which a verbal noun derived from the main verb appears in the accusative (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) case.[36]

Arabic transliteration English
ضَحَكَ الوَلَدُ ضَحِكًا ḍaḥaka l-waladu ḍaḥikan The boy laughed much.
تَدُورُ الأَرْضُ حَوْلَ الشَمْسِ فِي السَنةِ دَوْرةً واحِدةً tadūru l-'arḍu ḥawla sh-shamsi fi s-sanati dawratan wāḥida The earth revolves around the sun once a year.
أُحِبُّكِ حُبًّا جَمًّا uḥibbuki ḥubban jamman I love you so much.

Object of purpose (al-maf'ūl li-'ajlihi)

The Шаблон:Interlanguage link (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) is an adverbial structure used to indicate purpose, motive, or reason for an action.[37] It consists of a verbal noun derived from the main verb that appears in the accusative (Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration) case.[37]

Arabic transliteration English
تَرَكَ بَلَدَهُ بَحْثًا عَنِ الرِزْقِ taraka baladahu baḥthan 'an ar-rizq He left his country in search of sustenance.
ذَهَبَتْ إلَى الجامِعةِ طَلْبًا لِلْعِلْمِ dhahabat ila l-jāmi'ati ṭalban lil-'ilm She went to the university seeking knowledge.
كَتَبَ لِحَبِيبَتِهِ رِسالةً عِشْقًا لَهَا kataba li-ḥabībatih risālatan 'ishqan laha He wrote his beloved a letter out of love for her.

Dynasty or family

Some people, especially in the region of Arabia, when they are descended from a famous ancestor, start their last name with Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA, a noun meaning "family" or "clan", like the dynasty Al Saud (family of Saud) or Al ash-Sheikh (family of the Sheikh). Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA is distinct from the definite article Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA.

Arabic meaning transcription IPA example
Шаблон:Lang the Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA Maytham al-Tammar
Шаблон:Lang family/clan of Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Шаблон:Lang tribe/people of Шаблон:Transliteration Шаблон:IPA Ahl al-Bayt

Other

Object pronouns are clitics and are attached to the verb; e.g., Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'I see her'. Possessive pronouns are likewise attached to the noun they modify; e.g., Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'his book'. The definite article Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration is a clitic, as are the prepositions Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'to' and Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'in, with' and the conjunctions Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'as' and Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transliteration 'then, so'.

Reform of the Arabic tradition

An overhaul of the native systematic categorization of Arabic grammar was first suggested by the medieval philosopher al-Jāḥiẓ, though it was not until two hundred years later when Ibn Maḍāʾ wrote his Refutation of the Grammarians that concrete suggestions regarding word order and linguistic governance were made.[38] In the modern era, Egyptian litterateur Shawqi Daif renewed the call for a reform of the commonly used description of Arabic grammar, suggesting to follow trends in Western linguistics instead.[39]

See also

Notes

Шаблон:Notelist

References

Шаблон:Reflist

External links

Шаблон:Arabic language books Шаблон:Varieties of Arabic Шаблон:Language grammars Шаблон:Authority control

  1. 1,0 1,1 Kojiro Nakamura, "Ibn Mada's Criticism of Arab Grammarians." Orient, v. 10, pgs. 89–113. 1974
  2. 2,0 2,1 Monique Bernards, "Pioneers of Arabic Linguistic Studies." Taken from In the Shadow of Arabic: The Centrality of Language to Arabic Culture, pg. 213. Ed. Bilal Orfali. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2011. Шаблон:ISBN
  3. Goodchild, Philip. Difference in Philosophy of Religion, 2003. Page 153.
  4. Archibald Sayce, Introduction to the Science of Language. p. 28, 1880.
  5. Шаблон:Cite web
  6. al-Aṣmaʿī at the Encyclopædia Britannica Online. ©2013 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Accessed 10 June 2013.
  7. Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. 5, pg. 174, fascicules 81–82. Eds. Clifford Edmund Bosworth, E. van Donzel, Bernard Lewis and Charles Pellat. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1980. Шаблон:ISBN
  8. Arik Sadan, The Subjunctive Mood in Arabic Grammatical Thought, pg. 339. Volume 66 of Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2012. Шаблон:ISBN
  9. "Sibawayh, His Kitab, and the Schools of Basra and Kufa." Taken from Changing Traditions: Al-Mubarrad's Refutation of Sībawayh and the Subsequent Reception of the Kitāb, pg. 12. Volume 23 of Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics. Ed. Monique Bernards. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1997. Шаблон:ISBN
  10. Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, pg. 350. Leiden: Brill Archive, 1954. New edition 1980.
  11. Alaa Elgibali and El-Said M. Badawi. Understanding Arabic: Essays in Contemporary Arabic Linguistics in Honor of El-Said M. Badawi, 1996. Page 105.
  12. Kees Versteegh, The Arabic Language (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1997), p. 90.
  13. Шаблон:Cite web
  14. Шаблон:Cite web
  15. Шаблон:Cite book
  16. Шаблон:Cite book
  17. Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 205–24 [§8.1].
  18. Adam Pospíšil, 'The Idafa construction in Arabic and its morphosyntactic behaviour' (unpublished BA thesis, Univerzita Karlova v Praze, 2015), §7.1.
  19. Karin C. Ryding, A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), pp. 206–11 [§8.1.1].
  20. 20,0 20,1 Benmamoun, Elabbas 1992. “Structural conditions on agreement.” Proceedings of NELS (North-Eastern Linguistic Society) 22: 17–32.
  21. 21,0 21,1 21,2 Benmamoun, Elabbas. 2015. Verb-initial orders, with a special emphasis on Arabic. Syncom, 2 edition
  22. Bakir, Murtadha. 1980. Aspects of clause structure in Arabic. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington.
  23. Fassi Fehri, Abdelkader. 1982. Linguistique Arabe: Forme et Interprétation. Rabat, Morocco, Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines.
  24. Jelinek, Eloise. 1981. On Defining Categories: Aux and Predicate in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Doctoral dissertation. University of Arizona, Tucson.
  25. Fassi Fehri, Abdelkader. 1993. Issues in the Structure of Arabic Clauses and Words. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
  26. Shlonsky, Ur 1997. Clause Structure and Word order in Hebrew and Arabic: An Essay in Comparative Semitic Syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  27. Heggie, Lorie. 1988. The Syntax of Copular Structures. Doctoral dissertation. USC, Los Angeles.
  28. Benmamoun, Elabbas. 2000. The Feature Structure of Functional Categories: A Comparative Study of Arabic Dialects. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  29. Aoun, Joseph, Elabbas Benmamoun, and Lina Choueiri. 2010. The Syntax of Arabic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  30. Шаблон:Cite web
  31. 31,0 31,1 31,2 Шаблон:Cite journal
  32. 32,0 32,1 Шаблон:Cite journal
  33. 33,0 33,1 Шаблон:Cite journal
  34. Шаблон:Cite book
  35. 35,0 35,1 35,2 35,3 35,4 35,5 Шаблон:Cite book
  36. Шаблон:Cite web
  37. 37,0 37,1 Шаблон:Cite web
  38. Shawqi Daif, Introduction to Ibn Mada's Refutation of the Grammarians (Cairo, 1947), p. 48.
  39. "The Emergency of Modern Standard Arabic," Шаблон:Webarchive by Kees Versteegh. Taken from The Arabic Language by permission of the Edinburgh University Press. 1997.