VWO Arabisch (elementair) key terms

The short vowel marks written above or below a consonant: fatḥa (a), ḍamma (u), kasra (i). They tell the reader which vowel follows the consonant and are essential for correct reading and pronunciation of vocalised texts.

A small circle placed above a consonant to show that no vowel follows it, so the consonant closes the syllable. Recognising sukūn helps a candidate divide words into syllables and read clusters correctly.

The double vowel ending written on a noun, pronounced -an, -un or -in. It usually marks indefiniteness, as in كِتَابًا ('a book', accusative). Candidates must recognise it in reading and use it in formal writing.

A sign above a consonant showing that it is doubled, i.e. pronounced twice: once closing the previous syllable and once opening the next. It affects both pronunciation and spelling, for example in مُدَرِّس ('teacher').

The glottal-stop letter ء, written on its own or seated on ا, و or ي. Its correct spelling depends on the surrounding vowels, and candidates are expected to write common words such as سُؤَال and مَسْأَلَة correctly.

The long ā sound, written as ا and held for about two counts. Together with long ū (و) and long ī (ي) it distinguishes pairs such as كَتَبَ ('he wrote') and كَاتِب ('writer').

The full set of diacritics added to a text: short vowels, sukūn, shadda and tanwīn. Vocalised texts are easier to read aloud, while unvocalised texts demand that the candidate supply the vowels from knowledge of grammar and vocabulary.

The root: usually three consonants that carry a word's core meaning. From ك-ت-ب come كَتَبَ, كِتَاب, كَاتِب and مَكْتَبَة. Recognising roots lets a candidate guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in a reading text.

The pattern of vowels and extra letters built around a root, conventionally shown with the letters ف-ع-ل, e.g. فَاعِل or مَفْعُول. Knowing patterns such as فَاعِل for doers helps candidates form and understand new vocabulary.

Derivation: forming new words from one root by changing the pattern, as كَتَبَ → كَاتِب → مَكْتُوب → كِتَابَة. It explains how a single root yields verbs, nouns, adjectives and verbal nouns, and is a core vocabulary-building strategy.

The verbal noun, naming the action of a verb: كِتَابَة ('writing') from كَتَبَ. Arabic often uses a maṣdar where Dutch or English uses an infinitive or a gerund, so candidates must learn the common ones by heart.

A personal pronoun, either separate (أَنَا, هُوَ, هُمْ) or attached as a suffix to verbs, nouns and prepositions (ـهُ, ـكِ, ـنَا). Attached pronouns show possession (كِتَابُهُ, 'his book') and act as verb objects.

The attached pronoun suffix that cannot stand alone, such as ـنِي, ـكَ, ـهُ, ـهَا, ـنَا, ـكُمْ. It appears on verbs (يَكْتُبُهُ, 'he writes it') and on nouns and prepositions (بَيْتُهَا, 'her house').

The possessive construction in which two nouns are joined: the first takes no article and no tanwīn, the second stands in the genitive: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ ('the student's book'). It is the normal way to express possession and belonging in Arabic.

The case system shown by the final vowel of a noun or adjective: -u for nominative, -a for accusative, -i for genitive. Case endings reveal whether a word is subject, object or possessive, especially in unvocalised texts.

The nominative case, normally ending in -u (ḍamma): الطَّالِبُ. It marks the subject of a verbal sentence and the predicate of a nominal sentence, e.g. الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ ('the student is diligent').

The accusative case, normally ending in -a (fatḥa): الْكِتَابَ. It marks the direct object of a verb, and also appears after prepositions in some fixed expressions and with adverbs of time and place.

The genitive case, normally ending in -i (kasra): فِي الْبَيْتِ. It follows prepositions and marks the second noun of an iḍāfa. Spotting kasra at the end of a word is a quick clue to these two structures.

A nominal sentence that begins with a noun and has no verb in the present tense: الطَّقْسُ جَمِيلٌ ('the weather is nice'). It consists of a subject (مُبْتَدَأ) and a predicate (خَبَر), and is extremely common in descriptive texts.

A verbal sentence that begins with a verb, followed by its subject and optionally an object: كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ ('the student wrote the lesson'). Arabic normally puts the verb first when reporting an action.

The topic or subject at the start of a nominal sentence, usually a definite noun in the nominative: الْبَيْتُ in الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ. It is what the sentence is about, and the predicate gives information about it.

The predicate of a nominal sentence: the word or phrase that says something about the subject, as كَبِيرٌ in الْبَيْتُ كَبِيرٌ. It normally agrees with the subject in gender and number and stands in the nominative.

A verb. Arabic verbs are built on patterns and carry person, gender and number in their endings: كَتَبْتُ ('I wrote'), تَكْتُبِينَ ('you write', feminine). Recognising the pattern tells you who is doing the action.

The past tense, describing completed actions: كَتَبَ ('he wrote'), ذَهَبْنَا ('we went'). Its basic form is the third person masculine singular, and suffixes mark the other persons and genders.

The present or imperfect tense, describing actions in progress or habitual: يَكْتُبُ ('he writes'). It usually begins with a prefix (ي-, ت-, أ-, ن-) and its ending changes with person, gender and number.

The doer of a verb in a verbal sentence, always in the nominative: كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ ('the student wrote'). It normally follows the verb and agrees with it in gender, though not always in number.

The direct object: the thing affected by the verb, standing in the accusative: قَرَأَ الطَّالِبُ الْكِتَابَ ('the student read the book'). It usually follows the subject and may be a noun, pronoun or phrase.

The plural. Arabic has a sound masculine plural (ـُونَ/ـِينَ), a sound feminine plural (ـَات) and broken plurals that change the word's shape, such as كِتَاب → كُتُب. Broken plurals must be learned with each noun.

The dual form, used for exactly two: كِتَابَانِ ('two books'), كِتَابَيْنِ in the oblique cases. Arabic marks duality on nouns, adjectives and verbs, so candidates must recognise the ـَانِ/ـَيْنِ endings.

Masculine and feminine gender. Most feminine nouns end in ة (تَاء مَرْبُوطَة), as in مُدَرِّسَة, and gender controls adjective agreement and verb endings. Some nouns are feminine without the ending, such as أُمّ ('mother').

An adjective describing a noun. In Arabic it follows the noun and agrees with it in definiteness, gender, number and case: الْبَيْتُ الْكَبِيرُ ('the big house'), بَيْتٌ كَبِيرٌ ('a big house').

Question words such as مَنْ ('who'), مَاذَا ('what'), أَيْنَ ('where'), مَتَى ('when'), كَيْفَ ('how') and لِمَاذَا ('why'). Recognising them quickly is essential for answering comprehension questions about a dialogue or text.

Prepositions such as فِي ('in'), عَلَى ('on'), مِنْ ('from'), إِلَى ('to') and بِـ ('with'). They are followed by a genitive noun, and many common expressions are fixed with them, e.g. فِي الْبَيْتِ ('in the house').

An adverb of time or place, often in the accusative: الْيَوْمَ ('today'), أَمَامَ ('in front of'), بَعْدَ ('after'). These words place an action in time or space and are frequent in narrative and descriptive texts.

Numbers. Arabic uses masculine forms with feminine nouns and vice versa for 3–10, and the counted noun after 11–99 stands in the accusative singular. Reading prices, dates and times depends on knowing these rules.

The singular form of a noun or adjective, referring to one item, as opposed to the dual (الْمُثَنَّى) and plural (الْمَجْمُوع). Dictionaries list words in this form, so candidates need it to look up vocabulary.

The final 'soft alif', written as ـى in words such as هُدَى or عَلَى, pronounced as long ā. It is easily confused with the dotted ي in spelling, so candidates must learn which words take which letter.