all the contexts are being quoted from wiley ,intermediate arabic for dummies.
The term nominative refers to nouns that are the subject of a sentence. In English
grammar, there are several pronouns that have a separate nominative form. For
example, in these sentences, “I” and “She” are nominative:
I study Arabic.
She is a fine doctor.
Any other form of the pronoun would create a grammatically incorrect sentence,
such as this one (my apologies to Tarzan):
Me study Arabic.
Unlike English, Arabic has separate nominative forms of all nouns, not just pronouns.
The primary use of the nominative is as the subject of a sentence. Nominative is used
in equational sentences, where the verb to be will be unstated. The nominative case is
also used in verbal sentences. (See Chapter 2 for more on equational and verbal sentences.) Here’s an example of an equational sentence and a verbal sentence with subjects in the nominative case:
الطّ باخُ في المَطْ بَخِ .
(aT-Tabbaakhu fii-l-maTbakhi. The cook is in the kitchen.)
قَرَأَالمُدَرِّسُ الإِمْ تِحاناتِ.
(qara’a al-mudarrisu al-’imtiHaanaati. The teacher read the tests.)
In the following sections, I show you the simple nominative and the indefinite nominative forms.
Keeping it simple: Simple nominative form
The simple nominative form is the form that’s used with definite nouns. To produce
the simple nominative form, you simply place a ُ) Damma) on the last consonant of
the noun. The ُ) Damma) is the tiny واو) waaw) shaped symbol that indicates a short
u vowel. If you’re uncertain about the writing of a ُ) Damma), you may want to review
Chapter 3, where I cover all the consonants and vowels in written Arabic. Here are
examples of a few definite nouns with a ُ) Damma) added to the last consonant:
البَيْتُ) al-baytu; the house)
الرِّجالُ) ar-rijaalu; the men)
اوِلاتُ الطّ) aT-Taawilaatu; the tables)
Ordinarily, the ة) taa’ marbuuTa) is pronounced as the vowel a at the end of a word.
But when you put the simple nominative ending u on the ة) taa’ marbuuTa), you pronounce the ة) taa’ marbuuTa) like a taa’ (a t sound). Here’s an example of a noun with
ة) taa’ marbuuTa) without the simple nominative, followed by the same word with
the additional ُ) Damma). Note how the t sound is inserted:
تاذة الأُسْ) al-’ustaadha; the professor)
تاذةُ الأُسْ) al-’ustaadhatu; the professor)
Chapter 4: Making Your Case with the Three Cases of the Arabic Noun 77
Adding an n for the indefinite nominative form
When a noun is indefinite, you still express the nominative case with a ُ) Damma),
but you add a final n in the pronunciation. However, this particular sound isn’t represented with the letter نون) nuun). Instead, it’s represented with a special form of the
vowel. The Arabic name for such a final vowel closed with an n is تَنْوين) tanwiin).
Western grammarians have coined the term nunation to refer to this addition of a final
n sound to the indefinite forms in Arabic. To write the indefinite nominative ending,
you use a unique shape, which resembles a Damma with a hook on it: ٌ .Here’s an
example of that indefinite nominative ending in action: كِتابٌ) kitaabun; a book).
In handwritten forms, sometimes you may see two Dammas simply drawn next to
each other or inverted beside each other. No matter which form you see, these
Dammas have the rather descriptive name Dammatayn (which literally means “two
Dammas”). The Dammatayn looks like this: ٌ
.
When you write equational sentences with all the vowels expressed, you use the nominative for both parts of the sentence. The subject can be definite, but the predicate is
indefinite. Here are two equational sentences with indefinite predicates:
السَّ يّارةُ جَديدةٌ.
(as-sayyaaratu jadiidatun. The car is new.)
الرَّئيسُ مَسْ رورٌ.
(ar-ra’iisu masruurun. The president is happy.)
An indefinite noun also can be the subject in a verbal sentence. Here’s an example:
سَ يُشْ رِفُ مُديرٌ عَلى هذا القِسْ مِ.
(sayushrifu mudiirun 3alaa-haadha-l-qismi. A director will oversee this
department.)
In this practice set, I give you a number of Arabic sentences. Rewrite the sentence
(for further writing practice) but add to the sentence the proper form of the nominative (Damma or the Dammatayn) wherever it should be found. Note that nominal sentences require you to fill in two nominatives.
Analsyis:
from these readings I understand that, if;
there are sentences that "to be " would be considered but unstated , then nominative case will be available (equational sentences).
This case can be divided two subcases
1) simple nominative case:
this subcase can be differentiated by the wovel "damma" , then this means whenever we see this sign , the simple nominative case happens. This sbcase is for the definite nouns.
2) the indefinite nominative case
this subcase is for indefinite nouns. Tanwin is used for this subcase and the predicate of the sentence is indefinite/unstated.
I could not judge very well this sentence (need confirmation)
An indefinite noun also can be the subject in a verbal sentence. Here’s an example:
but it seems here, "verbal" keyword is used for a sentence which its predicate was a verb.
because this sample is being examplified
سَ يُشْ رِفُ مُديرٌ عَلى هذا القِسْ م
ACCUSATIVE CASE
The English language preserves a few separate accusative forms for pronouns.
Consider these examples:
I love her.
She hates him.
In Arabic, however, separate pronouns are all nominative. When you need to put a
pronoun in a different case, it will always be a suffix on either a verb or a preposition.
In this section, I show you the simple accusative, indefinite accusative, and accusative as predicate forms.
Forming the simple accusative form with fatHa
In Arabic, the simple accusative is used with definite nouns. This case is formed by
adding a َ) fatHa) to the final consonant of a word. Here are three definite nouns with
the َ) fatHa) indicating the simple accusative case:
البَيْتَ) al-bayta; the house)
تاذَةَ الأُسْ) al-’ustaadhata; the professor)
الرِّجالَ) ar-rijaala; the men)
Nouns with a feminine sound plural ending, however, form their accusative with a ِ) kasra). For example, consider this feminine plural noun: اوِلاتِ الطّ) aT-Taawilaati; the
tables).
Using the indefinite accusative
The indefinite accusative ending is used to express the accusative case of an indefinite
noun. Like the nominative, the indefinite accusative adds a final نون) nuun) sound
after the َ) fatHa). This is indicated with a doubled fatHa, which is called fatHatayn.
The fatHatayn looks like this: ً.
When the fatHatayn is added to a singular feminine noun, there’s no other change in
spelling. You can see in these examples that the fatHatayn symbol is placed directly
above the ة) taa’ marbuuTa):
حَديقةً) Hadiiqatan; a park)
زِيارةً) ziyaaratan; a visit)
Because masculine nouns don’t have distinct and recognizable endings like the feminine nouns, Arabic uses the convention of putting the indefinite accusative ending on
a masculine noun after first adding a dummy أَلِف‘) alif) to carry the symbol. Here are
two masculine nouns in the indefinite accusative:
كِتاباً) kitaaban; a book)
ناراً) naaran; a fire)
Dealing with the accusative as predicate
As you probably know, an equational sentence in the present uses two nominatives.
(See the earlier section “Getting to the Point with the Nominative Case” for more
details.) But a special class of verbs that requires an accusative predicate exists in
Arabic. Here’s an example of an equational sentence:
from this reading,it is understood that accusative case is differentiated by the sign of fatha and double fatha (fathatayn), where
;in case fatha is used that would mean that the definite nouns appeared. if fathatayn, then indefinite nouns.
further reading:
الجَ وُّ لَطيفٌ اليَوْمَ.
(al-jawwu laTiifun al-yawma. The weather is nice today.)
Remember that you don’t have to state the verb to be in Arabic. It’s just understood.
You can use the verb كانَ) kaana; was) to create a subject-predicate sentence referring to the past tense. But كانَ) kaana) requires a predicate in the accusative case.
Notice in the following example how the subject of كانَ) kaana) is in the nominative,
but the predicate is in accusative:
كانَ الجَ وُّ لَطيفاً أَمْ سِ أَيْضاً.
(kaana-l-jawwu laTiifan ’amsi ’ayDan. Yesterday the weather was also nice.)
The predicate can also be another noun, as in this example:
كانَ الرَّجُلُ طَ بّاخاً جَيِّداً.
(kaana ar-rajulu Tabbaakhan jayyidan. The man was a good cook.)
The class of verbs that takes the accusative predicate is known by the quaint name,
وَأَخَواتُها كانَ) kaana wa’akhawaatuhaa; kaana and her sisters). Some words in this
group of verbs occur quite rarely. Here are examples of the most important ones that
you (as an intermediate student) should know:
لَيْسَ) laysa; [there is] not)
بَح أَصْ) aSbaHa; to become)
يَزالُ ما) maa yazaalu; yet, still)
يَعودُ لا) laa ya3uudu; no longer, anymore)
Here are a few important points to remember about some of these verbs:
لَيْسَ) laysa) allows you to negate a nominal sentence in the present. (To see all
the forms of laysa, check out Chapter 17 of this book.) Here are a few examples:
.الآنَ جائِعاً تُ لَسْ) lastu jaa’i3an al-’aana. I’m not hungry now.)
.تِحانِ تَعِدّاًلِلإمْ مُسْ لَيْسَ) laysa musta3iddan lil’imtiHaani. He isn’t ready
for the test.)
You can use يَزالُ ما) maa yazaalu) by itself to complement an equational sentence. Check out this example:
.mushkila-l-3alaa Haziinatan tazaalu maa (ما تَزالُ حَزينةً عَلى المُشْ كِلة.
She’s still sad about the problem.)
يَزالُ ما) maa yazaalu) can also be used as an auxiliary to give the meaning still to
a following verb. Consider this example:
لةِ؟ فْ الحَ إلى هَبُ يَذْ يَزالُ ما) maa yazaalu yadh-habu ’ilaa-l-Haflati? Is he
still going to the party?)
we understand that when the specifically classified verbs will be used such as:
لَيْسَ) laysa; [there is] not)
بَح أَصْ) aSbaHa; to become)
يَزالُ ما) maa yazaalu; yet, still)
يَعودُ لا) laa ya3uudu; no longer, anymore)
the accusative case will appear as form, but in fact, the case is nominative. because the case is for the verbs above which we do not have to show them as the property of arabic language.
that point; where we use prepositional particals (min ,ala ..etc) the kasra will be considered, is a known detail)
Writing All the Rest with the Genitive Case
The genitive case is generally used everywhere the nominative and accusative cases
aren’t used. In this section, I show you the simple and indefinite forms of the genitive
and offer several examples of how to use the genitive.
Working with simple genitive form
The simple genitive form is used whenever a definite noun follows a preposition or
follows the first member of an ’iDaafa (Refer to Chapter 7 for more on ’iDaafas.) You
form this case in Arabic by adding a ِ) kasra) — the short i vowel — to the final consonant of the noun. Like the nominative and accusative cases, you use the same ending regardless of gender and number. The following are two definite nouns in the
genitive:
الكِتابِ) al-kitaabi; the book)
الرَّجُلِ) ar-rajuli; the man)
Understanding indefinite genitive
The indefinite genitive ending is used to express the genitive case of an indefinite
noun. Like the nominative and accusative, the indefinite genitive adds a final ن
(nuun) sound after the ِ) kasra). This is indicated with a doubled kasra (called kasratayn). The kasratayn looks like this: ٍ .Take a look at a few examples:
كِتابٍ) kitaabin; a book)
رَجُلٍ) rajulin; a man)
Discovering the uses of the genitive case
You use the genitive case in two important situations: following the head of an ’iDaafa
and following a preposition. I explain each situation in the following sections.
Following the head of an ’iDaafa
You use the genitive case for all the words that follow the head of an ’iDaafa — no
matter how many there are. In the following two examples, you see how the second
and third words in an ’iDaafa are in the genitive case:
الرَّجُلِ يّارةُ سَ) sayyaaratu ar-rajuli; the man’s car)
الرَّجُلِ ديقِ صَ يّارةُ سَ) sayyaaratu Sadiiqi-r-rajuli; the man’s friend’s car)
Following a preposition
You use the genitive whenever a noun directly follows a preposition. Here are examples with several different prepositions. Notice the use of the genitive after each one:
الرَّجُلِ مَعَ) ma3a-r-rajuli; with the man)
ديقةِ الحَ إلى) ilaa-l-Hadiiqati; to the park)
البَيْتِ مِنَ) mina-l-bayti; from the house)
ديقٍ لِصَ) liSadiiqin; for a friend)
A noun can follow a preposition but also can be the head of an ’iDaafa. In the following example, I underline a word governed by a preposition and that starts out a long
’iDaafa:
وَجَدتُّ آلَتي التَّصْ ويرِ تَحْ تَ مَقْ عَدِ سَ يّارةِ بِنْتِ خالَتي.
(wajattu ’aalatii-t-taSwiiri tahta maq3adi sayyaarati binti khaalatii. I found my
camera under the seat of my cousin’s car.)
When a noun in the genitive has possessive pronoun suffixes, the suffixes هُ) hu) and
هُم) hum) change their vowels to i (written with a ِ] kasra]) to match the vowel of
the genitive ending. Linguists call this a euphonic change (meaning it just sounds better). Here are a few examples of nouns in the genitive with euphonically changed possessive pronoun suffixes:
أُمِّهِ مَعَ) ma3a ummihi; with this mother)
بَيْتِهِم في) fii baytihim; in their house)
as the beginning sentence appears that it summarize this case,I think I do not need to further analyse this case.
simply, it is a form where accusative and nominative cases do not exist.
a question:
unfortunately the places where (but WHY) we use all these cases is unclear and / or not sufficiently stated in this document.
one more query is that whether we have a chance to discriminate or more clearly define unknown harrakas in random arabic texts. by random word,I mean arabic texts that harrakas are not written which in daily routine commonly happens.