Arabic sentences : The Nominal Sentence

Types of Arabic sentences

Arabic sentences are of two types: nominal and verbal. In this lesson we shall learn how to form the Arabic nominal sentence. We'll leave the verbal sentence for later in the course.

You are expected to have studied the two previous lessons: Indefinite nouns & Definite nouns. We will use both types of nouns to make nominal sentences.

The simple Nominal Sentence : Noun + Noun

In the previous lesson on definite nouns, you learnt how to make a noun definite. In this lesson, you will learn how to form a simple Arabic sentence using nouns you learnt earlier.

By definition, a nominal sentence is a sentence which starts with a noun. The nominal sentence starts with a definite noun. This first noun is then followed by another noun which is indefinite.

You will have noticed that each of the Arabic sentences above starts with a definite noun followed by an indefinite one. The translation reflects this by the use of "the" and "a" for each noun respectively.

However, there is no mention of the English "is" in the Arabic sentences, whereas the nouns were translated exactly. This brings us to the main difference between English and Arabic sentences: a complete English sentence must contain a verb, whereas a complete Arabic sentence needs not (in fact there is a verb, but it does not show when in the present tense; we'll keep the details for later).

Summary

• We can form an Arabic sentence using a definite noun followed by an indefinite one.
• The verb "to be", when in the present tense, is not translated into arabic.

Vocabulary

English	Arabic
father	وَالـِدٌ
(di)rector	مُدِيْرٌ
tourist	سَائـِحٌ
writer	كَاتـِبٌ
friend	صَدِيْقٌ

Exercise

Form nominal sentences using the words you have learnt so far.

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Related pages

• Indefinite nouns — The Indefinite Article
• Definite nouns — The Definite Article
• Arabic sentences : Nominal sentence (2)

Other topics availabe on this site:

Arabic alphabet — Indefinite nouns — Definite nouns — Nominal sentences
Adjectives — Feminine — Singular pronouns — Dual nouns — Dual pronouns
Basic declension of nouns — Demonstrative: This — Demonstrative: That
Plural — Plural pronouns — Preposition — There is/are — To have
Possessive case — Broken Plural — Possessive Adjectives