Grammar (Nahw and Sarf): Parsing and Patterns
Domain focus
Grammar (nahw and sarf) is tested through i'rab, sentence analysis, and word formation. Nahw deals with sentence roles and case endings; sarf deals with roots, patterns (awzan), and derived forms. The exam expects you to parse a word, explain its ending, and choose the correct pattern, not just translate.
Core rules
- Classify each word as ism, fi'l, or harf; then decide whether it is mabni (fixed) or mu'rab (case-changing).
- In a nominal sentence, find mubtada' and khabar; both are normally marfu'. In a verbal sentence, find fi'l, fa'il (marfu'), and maf'ul bihi (mansub).
- After a preposition (harf jarr), the noun is majrur; after idafa, the mudaf ilayh is majrur and takes no al- or tanwin.
- For sarf, identify the root, the bab, and the wazn: kataba-yaktubu is fa'ala-yaf'ulu; masdar, ism fa'il, and ism maf'ul follow known patterns.
- Check gender, number, and person agreement between verb and fa'il.
Worked example
Sentence: kataba al-talibu al-darsa. Reasoning: kataba is fi'l madhi, mabni 'ala al-fath; al-talibu is fa'il, marfu' with damma; al-darsa is maf'ul bihi, mansub with fatha. If the sentence were qara'a al-talibatu al-kitaba, the fa'il would be marfu' with damma but feminine, and the verb remains singular because the fa'il follows it. This is how to show rule plus evidence.
Traps
Reading harakat carelessly; calling an indeclinable word mu'rab; putting tanwin on the mudaf ilayh; confusing fa'il with maf'ul in passive sentences; and inventing a wazn without checking the root. Parse from function, then ending.