Elementary Arabic Syntax 2

Nominative Cases of a Noun: The Actor

  1. What is an actor?
    An actor is a noun that is mentioned after an active verb and indicates the doer of the verb. For example: لَعِبَ الصَّغیرُ (the child played.)

  2. How many kinds of actors are there?
    An actor can be:
    • A clear noun, for example: طَلَعَتِ الشّمسُ (The sun rose.)

• A mentioned pronoun, for example: نَجَحتُ في الامتحانِ (I passed the exam.)

• An implied pronoun, for example: التِّلمیذُ المجتهد یَنجحُ (A hardworking student will succeed.)

• An verb that is changed into the infinitive form because of the an preposition, for example:

بَلَغني أنَّکَ نَجَحتَ (It has reached me that you have been saved.)

  1. Does the verb remain the same if the actor is feminine?
    If the actor is feminine the verb is made feminine:
    • in the preterite tense by adding a vowel-less tā' to the end of the verb. For example: سافَرَت مَریمُ (Maryam travelled.)

• in the aorist tense by adding the feminine letter to the beginning of the verb. For example:

تُسافرُ مریمُ (Maryam is travelling.)

  1. Does the verb change if the actor is a noun in the dual form?
    The dual letters are not added to the verb if the actor is a clear noun in the dual form, rather it remains single. For example: قام الرَّجلان (Two men stood up.)

  2. Does the verb change if the actor is a noun in the plural form?
    The plural letters are not added to the verb if the actor is a clear noun in the plural form, rather it remains single. For example: تَکَلَّمَ الخطباء (The speakers spoke.)

  3. When is it permissible to make the verb masculine or feminine?
    A verb can be put into the feminine or masculine form in three cases:
    • If the actor is feminine and is separated from the verb, for example: سافرت أو سافر الیومَ مریمُ (Maryam traveled today.)

• If the actor is an unnatural feminine, for example: أثمَرَت أو أثمَرَ الشَّجَرَةُ (The tree produced fruit.)

• If the actor is a broken plural, for example: جاءَت أو جاءَ الجواري (The female servants came.)

  1. What is a sentence comprised of a verb and an actor called?
    A sentence that is comprised of a verb and an actor is called a verbal sentence. For example:
    نزلَ المَطرُ (Rain fell down.)