Elementary Arabic Syntax 2
Adjectives
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes a characteristic found in the word before it. For example:
جاءَ التلمیذُ المجتهدُ (The striving student came.)How many types of adjectives are there?
There are two types of adjectives: essential and non-essential.What is an essential adjective?
An essential adjective indicates a characteristic that is in the described word. For example:
جاء الرجل العاقلُ (The rational man came.)What is the ruling regarding an essential adjective?
An essential adjective follows the described word in:
• being definite or indefinite: الثوبُ الممزّقُ (torn clothes)
• being masculine or feminine: وَلَدٌ مُهَذَّبٌ (well-behaved child)
• being singular, dual, or plural: عاملانِ ماهرانِ (two skilled workers)
• the state of the word: عاملَین ماهرَین (two stilled workers)
What is a non-essential adjective?
A non-essential adjective indicates a characteristic of a word that follows the described word. For example: جاء الرجلُ الکثیرُ مالُهُ (The man who has a lot of money came.)What is the ruling regarding a non-essential adjective?
A non-essential adjective is
• always singular: رأیتُ الوَلَدَینِ الممزَّقَ ثَوبُهُما (I saw two children with torn clothes)
• follows the word after it in being masculine or feminine: رَأیتُ الغلامَ المُهَذَّبَةَ أختُهُ (I saw a servant whose sister was well behaved.)
• follows the described word in being definite or indefinite and the state that the described word has: رَأیتُ غلاماً عالمةً أمُّهُ (I saw a servant whose mother was a scholar.)
- What state does the word that comes after a non-essential adjective
have?
The word that comes after the non-essential adjective is:
• an actor in the nominative state if the non-essential adjective is an active participle noun or an adjective that is similar to a verb: رَأیتُ غلاماً عالمةً أمُّهُ (I saw a servant whose mother was a scholar.)
• a subject of the predication if the non-essential adjective is a passive participle:
رأیتُ الوَلَدَینِ الممزَّقَ ثَوبُهُما
- When is a sentence or fragment considered an adjective?
A sentence or fragment can be an adjective only after an indefinite word, for example:
سمعتُ شاعراً یُنشدُ (I heard a poet reciting poetry.)