Nahw: i'rab, sentence structure and particles
Nahw questions are mechanical: identify the word, name its grammatical role, and give its case and the sign of that case. The examiner wants i'rab you can defend, so always name the 'amil (governing factor).
Sentence types
- Jumlah ismiyyah: mubtada' (raf') + khabar (raf').
- Jumlah fi'liyyah: fi'l + fa'il (raf') + maf'ul bihi (nasb).
- Kana wa akhawatuha make the khabar mansub; inna wa akhawatuha make the ism mansub and the khabar marfu'.
- Huruf al-jarr govern jarr; idafah gives the mudaf ilayhi jarr.
- Na't, hal, tamyiz and maf'ul bihi are mansub.
Signs of case
Raf' by damma; by waw in jam' mudhakkar salim; by alif in muthanna; by waw in asma' khamsah. Nasb by fatha, by ya in muthanna and jam' mudhakkar salim, by alif in asma' khamsah. Jarr by kasra, by ya in the same two plurals/duals, and by fatha in mamnu' min al-sarf.
Worked example
إنَّ الطالبَ المجتهدَ نجحَ في الامتحانِ. إنّ makes الطالبَ its ism, mansub with fatha; المجتهدَ is na't, also mansub. نجحَ is fi'l madin mabni 'ala al-fath, its fa'il a hidden pronoun (huwa), and the whole jumlah fi'liyyah is the khabar of inna in mahall raf'. في الامتحانِ is jar wa majrur.
Traps
Calling the khabar of inna marfu' when the noun is meant; forgetting that verbs are mabni, not mu'rab; using ya for the raf' of a muthanna.