Arabic Language and Literature
Grammar Core
Candidates must handle i'rab (case and mood marking), the three word classes (ism, fi'l, harf), the nominal and verbal sentence, and the functions of raf', nasb, jarr, and jazm. Know the particles: inna and her sisters, kana and her sisters, and the tools of jarr and jazm. Understand the derived verb forms (awzan) and how each form shifts meaning (e.g., Form II intensifies or transitivizes, Form X seeks or deems).
Morphology and Rhetoric
Sarf (morphology) governs roots, patterns, and inflection. Balagha covers the simile (tashbih), metaphor (isti'ara), metonymy (kinaya), and the science of eloquence in word order (ma'ani). Expect questions asking why a word precedes another - the answer usually involves emphasis, restriction (hasr), or context.
Literature
Know the pre-Islamic ode (qasidah) and its parts, the mu'allaqat as a genre, and the shift to the Qur'anic text as the pinnacle of Arabic eloquence. Recognize major Abbasid and modern figures only where confident.
Traps
- Confusing the grammatical subject (fa'il) with the topic of a nominal sentence (mubtada').
- Assuming every jarr particle is interchangeable.
- Applying English word order to Arabic.
Worked Example
In a sentence opening with a prepositional phrase before an indefinite subject, the fronting signals restriction or emphasis. Rule of thumb: fronted elements carry rhetorical weight; ask what is being restricted.