Arabic Language and Linguistics
Arabic Language and Linguistics in QEALIS tests formal grammar (naḥw), morphology (ṣarf), phonology, and semantics rather than conversational fluency. Expect parsing, root-pattern analysis, and short passages where a case ending or particle changes the meaning.
Core rules
- Iʿrāb: nominative (rafʿ), accusative (naṣb), genitive (jarr), and jussive (jazm). Particles govern specific cases: إنَّ and its sisters make the predicate manṣūb; kāna and its sisters make the predicate marfūʿ.
- Verbal sentence: verb + fāʿil (marfūʿ) + mafʿūl (manṣūb). The subject may be an attached pronoun, so do not force an overt noun.
- Nominal sentence: mubtadaʾ + khabar, both normally marfūʿ. Kāna raises the mubtadaʾ and makes the khabar manṣūb; inna does the reverse.
- Iḍāfa: the first term loses tanwīn and al-, and definiteness comes from the second term.
- Agreement: non-human plurals take feminine singular verbs and adjectives, e.g. al-kutub mufīda.
- Morphology: triliteral roots and Forms I–X; identify masdar, active participle, and passive participle from the pattern, not just the meaning.
Worked example
Parse: ظنَّ الطالبُ الامتحانَ سهلاً. ظنَّ is a verb of the heart governing two objects. الطالبُ is fāʿil, marfūʿ. الامتحانَ is the first object, manṣūb. سهلاً is the second object, manṣūb. Writing سهلٌ would treat it as a predicate of a nominal sentence and ignore the verb's government.
Traps
Do not make both parts after إنَّ manṣūb; the subject remains marfūʿ. Do not give a non-human plural a masculine plural adjective. Do not call an iḍāfa definite because the first word looks definite; definiteness comes from the second. Do not confuse transitive and intransitive verbs, and do not ignore hamzat al-waṣl versus hamzat al-qaṭʿ in recitation or spelling.