Elementary Arabic Morphology 3

Indeclinable Words

  1. What is an indeclinable word and what are its signs?

  2. How many types of indeclinable words are there?

  3. Which nouns are necessarily indeclinable?

  4. How many types of nouns are there that are indeclinable for a reason?

  5. What are intended vocatives indeclinable on?

  6. What is the subject of a lā that denies a whole genius indeclinable on?

  7. What are compound numbers indeclinable on?

  8. What are the six directions indeclinable on?

  9. What verbs are necessarily indeclinable?

  10. What are preterite tense verbs indeclinable on?

  11. What are imperative verbs indeclinable on?

  12. What verbs are there that are indeclinable for a reason?

  13. Are the signs of indeclinable words ever implied?

  14. An indeclinable word is a word whose end does not change no matter where it is in the sentence, for example: مَن رأیتَ. It has four signs: a dummah, fathah, kasrah, and sakūn. The dummah and kasrah are specific to nouns, for example: حَیثُ , and prepositions, for example: مُنذُ. The fathah and sakūn are seen both in nouns, for example: أینَ , verbs, for example: قامَ, and prepositions, for example: لَیتَ.

  15. There are two types of indeclinable words: necessary indeclinable words, which are indeclinable in every state and words that are indeclinable for a reason which will be made declinable when the reason disappears.

  16. The nouns which are necessarily indeclinable are: personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, conjuncts, conditional nouns, interrogative nouns, some metonymies, some adverbial nouns of time and place, verbal nouns, and sounds.

  17. There are four types of nouns which become indeclinable for a reason: First; intended vocatives, second; the subject of a lā that denies a whole genius, third; compound numbers, and fourth; the six directions and similar words.

  18. If an implied vocative is singular it will become indeclinable on a vocalized dummah, for example: یا رجلُ or an implied dummah, for example: یا فتیَ. If it is in the dual form it becomes indeclinable on an alif, for example: یا مُؤمنانِ. If it is a masculine sound plural it becomes indeclinable on a wāw, for example: یا مؤمنونَ.

  19. If the subject of a lā that denies a whole genius is indefinite and singular (not a compliment to a prefixed noun or similar to a compliment to a prefixed noun) it is always made indeclinable on a fathah, for example: یا رَجُلَ في الدَّارِ. If it is in the dual form or a masculine sound plural it is made indeclinable on a yā', for example: لا عالِمَینِ و لا عالِمِینَ في المدینة.

  20. If the compound number is inbetween 11 and 19, excluding 12, both of its parts are made indeclinable on a fathah, for example: جاءنی خمسَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلاً.

  21. The six directions, which are:، تحتُ ، یمینُ ، شمالُ ، خلفُ و قُدَّامُ فوقُ and whatever else has their meanings, for example: قَبلُ ، بَعدُ ، أولُ ، دونُ ، و حسبُ, are all made indeclinable on a dummah.

  22. Verbs that are necessarily indeclinable are the preterite tense and the imperative.

  23. The preterite tense is made indeclinable on a fathah. Hence, it is correct to say that if a plural wāw or nominative pronoun is added to it, it would have an implied fathah due to the vowel sign in congruence with the wāw in the first case and the sakūn in the second.

  24. An imperative is made indeclinable on a sakūn if the feminine nūn is added to it, for example: اِحفَظنَ or its last letter is sound and there is nothing added to it, for example: اِحفَظ. It is made indeclinable by erasing its last letter if it is weak and nothing is added to it, for example: اُدنُ. It is made indeclinable by erasing the nūn if it is connected to the dual alif, the plural wāw, or the second person yā', for example: اِحفظا. It is made indeclinable on a fathah if it is connected to a nūn of emphasis, for example: اِحفَظَنَّ.

  25. The verbs which are made indeclinable for a reason are the aorist tense verb and no other. It is made indeclinable on a sakūn if the feminine nūn is added to it, for example: یَذهَبنَ. It is made indeclinable on a fathah if a nūn of emphasis is added to it, for example: لِیَحفَظَنَّ. If the aorist tense verb is not in these two cases then it is declinable.

  26. Indeclinable signs are implied just like declinable signs are, either because another sign takes its place or because there is a reason that it cannot be mentioned, for example in vocatives, whether they be indeclinable before the vocation (یا حِذامِ) or declinable before it (یا یحییَ), or in aorist tense verbs ending in an alif (دَعا), or the subject of a lā that denies a whole genius (لا فتیَ هُنا).