Derived Nouns and Adjectives Prerequisite for ALL GCL Intermediate and Advanced Arabic Courses Prepared by CTI2 Doris Espelien

Why do I need to know this?  Many words in Arabic are descended from verbal roots.  Understanding the patterns can expand your vocabulary without having to resort to those pesky little vocab drill cards.

What will I learn in this lesson?  Nouns of Place and Time  Nouns of Instance  Nouns of Intensity and Profession  Nouns of Instruments, Vehicles or Vessels  Relative Adjectives (Nisba)  Nouns of Concepts (Feminine Nisba)

First, a few ground rules…  Arabic does not have as many classifications for grammar as English does. Thus, most words can be broken into three categories: Verbs, Nouns and Particles.  These items can be easily identified by their Arabic names: افعال اسماء حروف  Just because something is labeled “noun” does not mean it will always behave as a noun. It can also behave verbally or adjectively. Just keep these ideas in the back of your head as you progress through the presentation.

Nouns of Place and Time اسماء المكان والزمان  These nouns indicate the place or time of the action of their root verb: قعد مقعد To sit A place of sitting (chair) استشفى مستشفى To seek a cure A place of seeking a cure (hospital) طلع مطلع To riseA time of rising, start سبّق مسبّق To precedePreceding, previous

Forming the Noun of Place and Time:  Measure I has three common patterns for this noun:  مَفْعَلٌمَقْعَدٌ  مَفْعِلٌمَجْلِسٌ  مَفْعَلَةٌمَدْرَسَةٌ  Measures II – X follow the same pattern as the passive participle (covered in class), which means you will have to use common sense in your translation: “Does this word mean ‘a place to seek treatment’ or ‘treatment was sought’?”  The pattern is as simple as starting with a “Moo”, adding the verb in its current measure (less any alifs at the beginning), and putting a fatha over Radical 2 (the 2 nd letter of the root).   استشفىمُسْتَشْفَى

Application! Convert the verb root to a common noun of place and time!  صنع  ركب  ركز  استقبل مَصْنَعٌ factory مَرْكَبٌ vessel مَرْكَزٌcenter مُسْتَقْبَلٌ future

More Application!  اختبر (مُفْتَعَلٌ)  صرف (مَفْعِلٌ)  دخن (مَفْعَلَةٌ)  خرج (مَخْرَجٌ) مَدْخَنَةٌchimney مَخْرَجٌexit مَصْرِفٌ bank مُخْتَبَرٌlaboratory

Nouns of Instance اسماء المرة  These nouns indicate one instance of the action being done.  ضرب ضربة A hit to hit These nouns are very simple to form: Take the verb as it is found in Measure I and add a ة on the end. These nouns are very simple to form: Take the verb as it is found in Measure I and add a ة on the end. لكم to hit/punch جلس to sit لَكْمَةٌ a hit/punch جَلْسَةٌ a session

Nouns of Intensity and Profession اسماء المبالغة  These nouns, which also sometimes function as adjectives, indicate that something is done very well or is done as a profession.  VerbActive participleNoun of Intensity  To doDoerEffective (done very well)  فَعَلَفَاعِلٌفَعَّالٌ  طَبَخَطَابِخٌطَبَّاخٌ  To cookcook/cookingchef  The other most common pattern is فَعِيلٌ :  طَبَّطَبِيبٌ For other, less common patterns, see A Student Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic by Eckehard Schulz, pg. 74.

Application: carry these verbs through the progression of meaning from verb to active participle to noun of intensity.  خَبَزَ  To bake  قَنَصَ  To shoot  جَمَلَ  To be pretty  خَبَرَ  To know well خَابِزٌ s.o. who bakes قَانِصٌShooterجَمِيلٌPrettyخَبِيرٌ Expert (s.o. who knows a lot) خَبَّازٌbakerقَنَّاصٌsniper

Nouns of Instruments, Vehicles and Vessels (Device) اسماء الآلة والوعاء  The feminine form of the اسم مبالغة often denotes the device used for performing that action:  To dive = professional diver = submarine  غَوَّاصة = غَوَّاص = غاص (غوص)  To wash = launderer (profession) = washing machine  غَسَّالة = غَسَّال = غَسَلَ  There are several other common patterns, available in the Schulz book, pg However, using the above pattern usually indicates that the device being used is the largest and most powerful: Look up جرف and notice the difference between جرّافة, which comes from the noun of intensity, and مجرفة, which does not. * Some common patterns include the active participle, مِفْعَلٌ, مِفْعَالٌ, مِفْعَلَةٌ,فِعَالٌ

Application!  If فتح means to open, the مِفتاحٌ most likely means:  If قدح means to strike fire (with a flint), قدّاحة most likely means:  If كنس means to sweep, مكنسة most likely means: key lighter broom

The Relative Adjective النسبة  One of the easiest and most common ways to form an adjective is to add a يّ or يّة to the end of a noun. (Make sure the adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in gender!)  بغداد بغداديّ \ بغداديّة  If a noun ends in ة, drop the ة and add the appropriate ending:  جامعةجامعيّ \ جامعيّة  If a noun ends in ا, drop the ا and add the appropriate ending:  امريكاامريكيّ \ امريكيّة  If a noun takes ال, but the noun it modifies does not, drop the ال and add the appropriate ending:  القاهرةرجل قاهريّاللهجة القاهريّة

Nouns of Concept النسبة المؤنّثة  The noun of concept looks EXACTLY like the feminine form of the relative adjective, which is why it is known as the feminine nisba.  You must be careful when you look at a word to determine if you are looking at a noun or an adjective, and this will aid your translation.  A noun of concept is an abstract noun, which in English usually ends in –ism, -ence, -ance, -ness, -ty and –cy  الرأسماليةCapitalism  أهميّةImportance

Determine whether the following are nouns of concept or relative adjectives:  الاشتراكيّة نظريّة سياسيّة.  Socialism is a political theory.  العبوديّة كانت سائدة في روما أيام الإمبراطوريّة الرومانيّة.  Slavery was prevalent in Rome during the days of the Roman Empire. N.O.C. R.A. N.O.C. R.A.

Bibliography  All the Arabic You Never Learned the First Time Around by Jim Price  A Student Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic by Eckehard Schulz by Eckehard Schulz

Please proceed to the assessment. Don’t forget to print your certificate! Don’t forget to print your certificate! * All students will be expected to demonstrate applied knowledge on the first day of all MSA and Arabic dialect courses. Last updated: Dec. 2007