LC Arabic cheat sheet

Arabic distinguishes emphatic consonants (ص ض ط ظ) from their plain counterparts (س د ت ذ); minimal pairs like سَيف (sword) vs صَيف (summer) test this contrast.

Long vowels are written with ا و ي but short vowels are not normally written; listening must supply the short vowels from context, e.g., كَتَبَ (he wrote) vs كُتُب (books).

The definite article ال is assimilated before sun letters (ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن): الشمس is pronounced ash-shams, not al-shams.

Arabic has pharyngeal (ح ع) and uvular (ق) sounds absent in English; hearing ح vs ه and ق vs ك is a frequent listening discriminator.

Case endings (إعراب) are usually pronounced in formal speech but dropped in pausa; a final -u/-a/-i signals nominative/accusative/genitive and can identify the grammatical role of a noun.

The imperative is formed from the imperfect by dropping the prefix and adding a helping hamza if the verb begins with a consonant cluster: تَكْتُبُ → اُكْتُبْ (write!).

Numbers 3–10 take the opposite gender from the counted noun (e.g., ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ 'three books' with masculine plural), and this agreement is audible and testable.

Listen for the future marker سَـ (sa-) prefixed to the imperfect vs the separate word سَوْفَ (sawfa); both mean 'will' but differ in formality and immediate vs distant future.

Arabic reads right to left; the definite article is ال (al-), and the hamzat al-wasl is dropped in connected speech but written as ا at the start of a word.

Root-and-pattern morphology: most nouns and verbs derive from a three-consonant root (e.g., ك-ت-ب 'write') fitted into patterns like فاعل (doer) or مفعول (done-to); recognizing the pattern reveals meaning.

The idafa construct (إضافة) links two nouns without a word for 'of': كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ = 'the student's book'; the first noun takes no ال and no tanwin, and the second is genitive.

Adjectives follow the noun and agree in gender, number, case, and definiteness: بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ (a big house) vs الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ (the big house).

Broken plurals (جمع التكسير) change the internal vowel pattern (كِتَاب → كُتُب) and are not predictable from the singular; sound plurals add ـونَ/ـينَ (masc.) or ـات (fem.).

Verb-initial (verbal) sentences default to VSO order and the verb stays singular even with a plural subject: ذَهَبَ الطُّلَّابُ (the students went).

The particle إِنَّ and its sisters (أَنَّ, كَأَنَّ, لَكِنَّ) put the following noun in the accusative: إِنَّ الْكِتَابَ جَدِيدٌ (Indeed, the book is new).

Negation differs by tense: مَا + past, لَا + imperfect (habitual), لَنْ + subjunctive (future), and لَيْسَ + nominative predicate for 'is not'.

Arabic letters connect within a word but not after non-connectors (ا د ذ ر ز و); the same letter has isolated, initial, medial, and final forms, so shape selection depends on position.

The hamza (ء) sits on a carrier (أ إ ؤ ئ) or alone; its seat is determined by the surrounding vowels, and writing it wrongly changes the word (سَأَلَ vs سَالَ).

Tanwin (ـً ـٌ ـٍ) marks indefinite case endings and is written as a doubled vowel sign; it is not pronounced in pausa, so written ـًا often sounds -a.

The tā' marbūṭa (ة) appears only at word end and becomes ت in construct or before a suffix: مُعَلِّمَة (teacher, fem.) → مُعَلِّمَةُ الْفَصْلِ.

Formal written Arabic uses the accusative after إِنَّ and after verbs of saying/thinking; write قَالَ إِنَّ الْأَمْرَ سَهْلٌ, not the nominative after إِنَّ.

The passive is formed by internal vowel change: كَتَبَ (he wrote) → كُتِبَ (it was written); the pattern فُعِلَ signals a passive past verb.

Use the correct conjunction: وَ (and), ثُمَّ (then, sequential), فَـ (so/then, immediate), لَكِنْ (but); each affects clause cohesion in written prose.

Punctuation: Arabic uses ، (comma), ؛ (semicolon), ؟ (question mark), and ـ for tatweel; the question mark is mirrored relative to Latin script.

Arabic has three short vowels (فَتْحَة a, ضَمَّة u, كَسْرَة i) and three long counterparts (ا و ي); length is phonemic (كَتَبَ 'he wrote' vs كَاتِب 'writer').

Emphatic consonants (ص ض ط ظ) involve velarization/pharyngealization; pronouncing them plain changes meaning (طَالَ 'to be long' vs تَالَ).

The glottal stop hamza (ء) contrasts with the pharyngeal ع and the glottal h; minimal pairs like أَلَم (pain) vs عَلَم (flag) test this.

In connected speech, the definite article assimilates to sun letters and the final vowel of one word often elides before the next (وصل); speaking naturally requires this liaison.

Stress in Arabic is predictable: it falls on the last long syllable or, absent that, the antepenultimate; e.g., كَتَبَ (KAtaba) vs كِتَاب (kiTAAB).

Gender agreement in speech: address a male with أَنْتَ and a female with أَنْتِ; verb and adjective forms change accordingly (تَكْتُبُ vs تَكْتُبِينَ).

Useful conversational formulas: مَرْحَبًا (hello), كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟ (how are you, m.), شُكْرًا (thanks), عَفْوًا (excuse me/you're welcome); register differs between MSA and dialects.

The imperative for 'speak' is تَكَلَّمْ (m.) / تَكَلَّمِي (f.); Form V verbs take تَـ prefix in the imperfect and a helping hamza in the imperative: تَكَلَّمَ → تَكَلَّمْ.