Arabic case system

Introduction Nominative case Genitive case Accusative case Additional notes

Introduction
First, what are case endings in Arabic? They are little markings (!"#$% Harakaat) that are attached to the ends of words to indicate the words' grammatical function. That is, if a word is the subject of a sentence, you use a case ending to indicate that; if a word is the object of a verb, you use another case ending to indicate that. So clearly, using case endings correctly requires a solid knowledge of grammar. If you're a native English speaker who hasn't studied a language with a case system, like Latin or Russian, getting used to this may be difcult. Case endings are usually not written (with one exception) outside of the Qur'an/Bible and children's books. But you will hear newscasters pronounce them, and if you want to speak fuSHa well, it's a good idea to be familiar with the case system. Each case marker corresponds to one of three different cases nominative (&'($) marf!3), genitive (*+$,) majr!r), and accusative (-'./) manS!b) and is pronounced as a short vowel. Here are the three case markers:

On the left is the 012 (Damma). It resembles a tiny +, goes above the end of a word, and is pronounced as a short "u." It marks words in the nominative case. In the middle is the 3$4# (kasra), which goes below the end of a word and is pronounced as a short "i." It marks words in the genitive case. On the right is the 056( (fatHa), which goes above the end of a word and is pronounced as a short "a." It marks words in the accusative case. Note: If the word you're marking is an indenite adjective or noun, the case marker will be nunated. That is, the Damma will be pronounced "-un" instead of "-u," the kasra will be pronounced "-in" instead of "-i," and the fatHa will be pronounced "-an" instead of "-a." And the markings will look like this:

Some examples: (al-liqaa'a) 8 7 "9:;< (liqaa'an) 8 = "9; (al-maktabu) >?6@A< (maktabun) B?6@)

(al-maktabata) 0 7 C6@A< (maktabatan) 0 = C6@) (Taawilati) 0 D ;+"E (Taawilatin) 0 F ;+"E Note: If a word in the accusative case (i.e. that needs a fatHa) is nunated and does not end in a taa marbuuTa or hamza, it would take an alif along with the nunated fatHa. (al-walada) G 7 ;';< (waladan) <G;+ (al-binta) 7H/C;< (bintan) "6/I (as-sa3iida) G 7 JK4;< (sa3iidan) <GJKL (al-Haziina) M 7 NO5;< (Haziinan) "/NO% So when exactly do you use these case markers? Let's go on to discuss the three cases.

Nominative case - !"#$%& (al-marf!3)

This case is marked by a Damma. Words that fall into the following categories are nominative: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. "the subject of a verbal sentence - 0J:K( 0:1P Q( RS"T; (.dahaba l-waladu ila l-madrasati) .0 D L*GA< U;V G > ;';< 7?WX The boy went to school. "the subject and predicate of a nominal sentence - 0J1L< 0:1P Q( $CY;<+ ZG6CA (.al-waladu Taw#lun) . BRN'E G > ;';< The boy is tall. Note that RN'E is nunated (-un instead of just -u) because it is indenite. (.beitu l-binti kab#run) .$ B JC# DH/C;< >HJI The girl's house is large. Again, note the nunation of the indenite adjective $JC#. "(the vocative (addressing someone directly - 8<G/; (...ayyuha s-sayyid$tu was-s$datu) ...>3["4;<+ >!<GJ4;< "\NZ Ladies and gentlemen... The nominative case is also the default for words that are on their own. ]L+^< _$`;< (a%-%arqu l-awsaTu) the Middle East It's also used with certain adverbs regardless of their position in the sentence. >a/) (mundu) since; ago

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. (Haytu) b > J%

16. where; whereas

Genitive case - '($)%& (al-majr!r)

This case is marked by a kasra. Words that fall into the following categories are genitive: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. The object of a preposition c1J;< U;V (ila l-yam#ni) to the right ( l-maktabati) 0 D C6@A< Q( in the library (taHta n!ri %-%amsi) d1`;< D * D 'e 7H5f the object of a locative adverb - g")h i$j+ g"@) i$j under the sunlight (lit. light of the sun) (qabla ayy$min) F k"NZ 7RCl [a few] days ago (lit. before days) - Note the nunation of the indenite noun k"NZ. (mud#ru l-mu'assasati) 0 D 4LmA< $ > NG) the second term of an iD$fa - nJ;< i"oA< the foundation's director (or "the director of the foundation") (&urfatu t-tij$rati) 3 D *",6;< 0($p the chamber of commerce

Accusative case - *"+,%& (al-manS!b)

This case is marked by a fatHa. Words that fall into the following categories are accusative: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. (la tu%3il n$ran) <*"e RK`f q the object of a transitive verb - nI r'KTA< Don't light a re. Again, *"e is nunated because it is indenite. It has an alif because it ordinarily would have a regular fatHa, and doesn't end in a taa marbuuTa or hamza. (HaDar! l-liq$'a) 8 7 "9:;< <+$o% They attended the meeting. adverbial expressions of time, place, and manner, indicating the circumstances - nJ( r'KTA< (.tastamirru yooman w$Hidan) .<G%<+ ")'N $ > 164f under which an action takes place It lasts one day. (.j$'! fajra yoomi l-iqtir$3i) .D &<$6lq< D k'N $ 7 ,( <+8"P They came at dawn on the day of balloting. (.HaSaltu Had#tan 3ala l-jinsiyyati) .0 D J4/,;< U:S "sNG% >H:.% I recently obtained citizenship.

14. the internal object or cognate accusative structure. What does that mean? It's - t:uA< r'KTA< just a way of intensifying an action by following the verb with its corresponding verbal noun Hallati l-mawD!3a) ."N*aP v% & 7 '2'A< Hw:% .maSdar) and an adjective modifying it *G.)) (.Hallan jidriyyan 15. It solved the issue fundamentally. 16. 17. (.s$ham$ mus$hamatan fa33$latan) .0 7 ;"wK( 0 7 1W"4) "1W"L 18. They [dual] participated effectively. 19. the circumstantial accusative. This is a way to describe a condition/action going on at - r"5;< (.rafa3a yadahu mu3tariDan) ."2$6K) x7GN 7y(* .the same time as the main action 20. He raised his hand objecting. 21. 22. (.daxala S-Saffa muta'axxiran) .<$z{6) 7|.;< 7Rz[ 23. He entered class late. 24. 25. (.qafazat mad3!ratan) .=3*'Sa) }!OTl 26. She jumped, frightened. 27. 28. (...wa-q$la raddan 3ala su'$lin) ... Dr<mL U:S <[* 7r"l+ 29. [And] he said, replying to a question... 30. M > `f >!<'9;< .*G.) shows the purpose of an action, usually using an indenite - n:P^ r'KTA< (.al-quww$tu ta%unnu Hamlatan baHtan 3an asliHatin) .0 F 5:LZ MS "s5I 0 = :1% 31. The forces are launching a campaign searching for weapons. 32. 33. (xil$la Haatin istiqb$lin aq$m!ha takr#man lahu) n; "1N$@f "W')"lZ Fr"C96L< 0 D :T% 7rvz 34. during a reception they gave in his honor 35. the accusative of specication; often answers the question "in what way?" Includes - OJJ16;< .vK(+ q'l ~<X 7 M > :Ke .the comparative/superlative and counted nouns between 11 and 99 (.nu3linu d$ka qawlan wa-3lan) 36. We announce that in speech and action. 37. 38. (.k$nat akbara 3$Simatin j$han wa-fax$matan) .0 = )"Y(+ "W"P 0 F 1"S $ 7 C#Z }He"# 39. It was the greatest capital in fame and splendor. 40. 41. (f# 3i%r#na mujalladan) <Gw:,) M 7 N$`S Q( 42. in twenty volumes 43. 44. (3ala mada xamsata 3a%ra 3$man) ")"S $ 7 `S 0 = 41z G) U:S 45. for fteen years Those are the main instances where you use the accusative. There are also other, special words that shift words into the accusative case: "\f<'zZ+ M w j - "\f<'zZ+ g w V - "\f<'zZ+ g"# Click here for more information on that.

A couple of notes:

With feminine plural nouns ending in !", change any fatHa that would ordinarily go at the end to a kasra. (.&asala l-rajulu s-sayy$r$ti) . D!<*"J4;< >RP$;< 7R4p The man washed the cars. It has to be sayy$r$ti, not sayy$r$ta! Note that dual and regular plural nouns like g"6/I (bint$n, two girls) or g'N$.) (miSriy!n, Egyptians) change endings in the genitive case; the g" ($n) becomes c (-ein), and the g' (!n) becomes c (-#n). (h$d$ni l-kitaabaanu) g > "I"6@;< Dg<aW (f# h$deini l-kit$beini) DcI"6@;< DMNaW Q( these two books in these two books ' (.3aqada l-mud#ru ijtim$3an ma3a l-muwaZZaf#na) .c 7 Tj'A< y) = "S"16P< $ > NGA< G 7 9S The director held a meeting with the employees.