MATSEC IM Arabic cheat sheet

Arabic Language (MATSEC Intermediate Level)

• Verb patterns: Form I فَعَلَ; Form II فَعَّلَ (intensive/causative, doubles middle radical); Form III فَاعَلَ (mutual action); Form IV أَفْعَلَ (causative, initial hamza); Form V تَفَعَّلَ and VI تَفَاعَلَ add تَـ prefix to II and III.

• Form VII انْفَعَلَ, VIII افْتَعَلَ, IX افْعَلَّ, X اسْتَفْعَلَ: recognise by prefix (انْـ, افْـ, اسْتَـ) and by the infixed ت of Form VIII; Form IX applies to colours and defects only.

• Root system: most Arabic words reduce to a triliteral root (e.g. ك-ت-ب); identify the root by stripping prefixes, suffixes and pattern vowels before consulting a dictionary.

• Case endings: nominative ـُ for subject (فاعل), accusative ـَ for direct object (مفعول به), genitive ـِ after prepositions and as second term of إضافة.

• Definiteness: الـ marks a definite noun; an indefinite noun carries tanwīn (ـٌ ـً ـٍ). An إضافة first term never takes الـ nor tanwīn.

• Sentence types: جملة اسمية begins with a noun (مبتدأ + خبر); جملة فعلية begins with a verb (verb + فاعل + مفعول به).

• Broken plurals must be memorised by pattern (e.g. فُعُول, أَفْعَال, فِعَال); sound masculine plural adds ونَ/ِينَ, sound feminine plural adds ات.

• Numbers 3–10 take the opposite gender of the counted noun; 11–99 follow the masculine form; the counted noun after 11+ is singular accusative.

• Negation: مَا / لَا / لَمْ + jussive for past, لَنْ + subjunctive for future, لَيْسَ for nominal sentences; لَيْسَ behaves like a past-tense verb in conjugation.