Elementary Arabic Morphology 2

The Definition of Morphology

1. What is morphology?

2. How many kinds of words are there?

3. Is morphology applied to every kind of word?

4. What is the changing of a word from one form to another called?

5. How is morphology applied to verbs?

6. How is morphology applied to nouns?

7. Morphology is science of conjugating words into different forms due to the intended meaning.

8. There are three types of words:
   • Nouns: for example - شجرة(tree)

• Verbs: for example - اُکتُب(write)

• Prepositions: for example - علی(on)

3. Morphology is only applied to nouns and verbs because they are able to be conjugated into different forms, but prepositions are not able to be conjugated, rather they always remain in one form.

4. The changing of a word from one form to another is called conjugation.

5. Morphology is applied to verbs by conjugating them from the preterite tense, to the aorist tense, and to the imperative. For example**:** فَرِحَ یَفرَحُ اِفرَح(be happy, he is happy, he was happy)

6. Morphology is applied to nouns by conjugating them:

• into the dual and plural forms: نهر نهرانِ أنهار(rivers, two rivers, a river)

• into the diminutive pattern: نُهَیر(a small river)

• into a possessive noun form: نَهرِﻱّ (a person of the river)