Jumlah Ismiyyah : Mubtada & Khabar Examples

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I've illustrated subject and predicate in nominal Arabic sentence in the former lesson.

Now, I want to you revisit nominal sentence lesson above, then read recap of the summary here.

After observing the summary, let's grasp more nominal sentence examples which contains mubtada' (مبتدأ) and khabar (خبر).

mubtada khabar examples

Recap on the previous lesson: Mubtada & Khabar

Infographic cheat sheet explaining Arabic nominal sentences (Jumlah Ismiyyah), Mubtada (subject), and Khabar (predicate) rules for beginners.
Mubtada and Khabar Cheat Sheet!
1. المبتدأ اسم مرفوع

Mubtada is ism marfu' (noun is in nominative case).

Revisit here to more detail: noun cases in Arabic

2. المبتدأ يقع في أوّل الجملة

The position of mubtada is at the beginning of the sentence.

3. أصل مبتدأ أن يكون معرفة

Basically, mubtada is ma'rifah (definite noun).

4. خبر : مَا يكمّل مَعنى المبتدإ

Khabar is completing the meaning of mubtada.

5. There is an agreement between mubtada and khabar in terms of:
  • a. gender (masculine / مذكَر, feminine / مؤنّث)
  • b. amount (singular / مفرد, dual / مثنّى, plural / جمع)
  • c. case (nominative / مرفوع, accusative / منصوب, genitive / مجرور)

Types of jumlah ismiyyah | Recap & Examples

variation of mubtada & khabar in jumlah ismiyyah

Mubtada & Khabar Examples

1. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains ism zahir as a mubtada, and khabar.

a. الطَّالِبُ نَشِيْطٌ

The meaning: The student is diligent.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- الطَّالِبُ : مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمّة
at-talibu: mubtada, marfu, the indication of the rafa' is dammah "u"

- نَشِيْطٌ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمّة
nashiitun: khabar, marfu, the indication of the rafa' is dammah "u"

b. الطُّلاَّبُ نَشِيْطُوْنَ

The meaning: The students are diligent.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- الطُّلاَّبُ : مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمّة
at-tullaabu: mubtada, marfu', the indication of the rafa' is dammah

- نَشِيْطُوْنَ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الواو
nashiituuna: khabar, marfu', the indication of the rafa' is harf waw (و).

Notes:
* الواو is a representation of dammah "u"
* الواو is the sign of rafa' because نَشِيْطُوْنَ is ism jam' mudhakkar saalim (اسم جمع مذكّر سالم)

2. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains ism ishaarah as a mubtada, and khabar.

a. هَذَا طَالِبٌ

The meaning: This is a student.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- هَذَا : اسم إشارة مبنيّ على السكون فى محل رفع مبتدأ
hadha: ism ishaarah (demonstrative pronoun), indeclinable on sukuun, hadha is acted as mubtada marfu'.

- طَالِبٌ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمّة
taalibun: khabar, marfu', the indication of the rafa' is dammah.

b. هَذِهِ طَالِبَةٌ

The meaning: This is a (female) student.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- هَذِهِ : اسم إشارة مبنيّ على الكسر في محلّ رفع مبتدأ
hadhihi: ism ishaarah (demonstrative pronoun), mabniy 'ala al-kasri (indeclinable on kasr "i"), acted as mubtada marfu'.

- طَالِبَةٌ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضمّة
talibatun: khabar, marfu' (nominative case), the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

3. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains ism damir as a mubtada, and khabar.

Mubtada and khabar sentence examples:

a. هُمَا طَالِبَانِ

The meaning: They are both students.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- هُمَا : ضمير منفصل مبنيّ على السكون في محلّ رفع مبتدأ
huma: ism damiir munfasil, mabniy 'ala as-sukuun (indeclinable on sukun), acted as mubtada marfu'.

- طَالِبَانِ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الألف
taalibaani: khabar, marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is harf al-alif (ا).

Notes:
* الألف (alif) is representation of dammah (ُ) "u"
* الألف (alif) is representation of dammah (ُ) "u" because طَالِبَانِ is ism mutsanna (dual noun).

b. أَنْتُنَّ طَالِبَاتٌ

The meaning: You are (female) students.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- أَنْتُنَّ : ضمير منفصل مبنيّ على الفتح في محلّ رفع مبتدأ
antunna: damir munfasil (demonstrative pronoun), mabniyy 'ala al-fathi (indeclinable on fath "a"), acted as mubtada marfu'.

- طَالِبَاتٌ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
taalibaatun: khabar, marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

4. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains ism istifham as a mubtada, and khabar.

a. مَنْ جَالِسٌ؟

The meaning: Who is sitting?

The i'rab (إعراب)

- مَنْ : اسم استفهام مبنيّ على السّكون في محلّ رفع مبتدأ
man: ism istifham (question word), mabniy 'alas sukuun (indeclinable on sukun), acted as mubtada marfu'.

- جَالِسٌ : خبر مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
jalis: khabar, marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

Above are the examples of khabar which is mufrad (خبر مفرد).
Khabar mufrad: khabar is not a sentence (غير جملة).

== Notes ==

Khabar comprises three types, they are:

  1. مفرد (not a sentence)
  2. شبه جملة (jar and majrur or zaraf)
  3. جملة (a sentence: nominal sentence / jumlah ismiyyah or verbal sentence / jumlah fi'liyyah)
== Notes ==
A diagram showing the 4 variations of the Mubtada in Arabic grammar: Ism Zahir, Ism Isharah, Ism Damir, and Ism Istifham with English translation and full harakat.
Visual guide to the 4 common types of Mubtada (The Subject) in Arabic nominal sentences.

Now, we are going to look at mubtada khabar examples that the khabar is shibhu jumlah.

5. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains mubtada and khabar. The khabar is shibh jumlah.

a. الطَّالِبُ فِي الفَصْلِ

The meaning: The student is in the class.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- الطَّالِبُ : مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
at-taalibu: mubtada' , marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

- فِي : حرف جرّ مبنيّ على السّكون
fii: harf jar, mabniy 'ala as-sukuun
لا محل له من الإعراب : there is no position of fii in the i'rab.

- الفَصْلِ : اسم مجرور ب (فِي) وعلامة جرّه الكسرة
al-fasli: ism majrur because of harf jar "فِي", the indication of it's jar is kasrah "i"
this shibh jumlah (شبه جملة), i.e. فِي الفَصْلِ, acted as khabar marfu'.

b. المَسْجِدُ أَمَامَ البَيْتِ

The meaning: The mosque is in front of the house.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- المَسْجِدُ : مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
al-masjidu = mubtada, marfu', the indication of the rafa' is dammah.

- أَمَامَ : ظرف مكان منصوب وعلامة نصبه الفتحة وهو مضاف
amaama: zarf makaan (adverb of place), mansub, the indication of it's nasab is fat-hah "a". amaama is mudaaf.

- البَيْتِ : مضاف إليه مجرور وعلامة جرّه الكسرة
al-baitu: mudaaf ilaih, majrur, the indication of it's jar is kasrah "i"
shibh jumlah (أَمَامَ البَيْتِ) is acted as khabar marfu'.

6. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains mubtada and khabar. The khabar is jumlah ismiyyah.

زَيْدٌ زَمِيلُهُ مُدَرِّسٌ

The meaning: Zaid's colleague is a teacher.

The i'rab (إعراب)

- زَيْدٌ : مبتدأ أَوّل مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
zaid: the first mubtada, marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

- زَمِيلُ : مبتدأ ثأن مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة وهو مضاف
zamiilu: the second mubtada, marfu, the indication of it's rafa is dammah. zamiilu is also mudaaf.

- هُ : ضمير متّصل مبنيّ على الضّم في محلّ جرّ مضاف إليه
hu: damir muttasil, mabniy 'ala ad-dammi (indeclinable on dammah "u").
Acted as jar mudaaf ilaih.

- مُدَرِّسٌ : خبر المبتدأ الثّاني مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
mudarrisun: khabar for the second mubtada, marfu', the indication of the rafa' is dammah.

جملة اسميّة من المبتدأ الثّاني وخبره في محلّ رفع خبر المبتدأ الأوّل
and jumlah ismiyyah (the second mubtada and the khabar) is acted as khabar for the first mubtada marfu'.

7. Nominal sentence (جملة اسميّة) which contains mubtada and khabar. The khabar is jumlah fi'liyyah.

الطَّالِبُ حَضَرَ

The meaning: The student attended (the class).

The i'rab (إعراب)

- الطَّالِبُ : مبتدأ مرفوع وعلامة رفعه الضّمّة
at-taalibu: mubtada, marfu', the indication of it's rafa' is dammah.

- حَضَرَ : فعل ماض مبنيّ على الفتح, الفاعل ضمير مستتر جوازا تقديره هو
hadara: fi'l madi, mabniy 'ala al-fat-hi. And fa'il damir mustatir that points to huwa (هو)

جملة فعليّة (فعل وفاعل) في محلّ رفع خبر
and this jumlah fi'liyyah (fi'l and fa'il) is acted as khabar marfu'.

An educational diagram illustrating the three structural forms of Khabar (Predicate) in Arabic grammar: Mufrad (single word), Shibh Jumlah (phrase), and Jumlah (sentence), with examples for beginners.
The three structural forms of Khabar

Summary

Here are the key points detailing the rules and structures of Jumlah Ismiyyah (Arabic nominal sentences) composed of a Mubtada (subject) and a Khabar (predicate):

Core Rules of Mubtada and Khabar

  • Mubtada Definition: The Mubtada is an ism marfu' (a noun in the nominative case) that is typically positioned at the very beginning of a sentence.

  • Definiteness: By default, the Mubtada is ma'rifah (a definite noun).

  • Khabar Definition: The Khabar is the element that completes the meaning of the Mubtada.

  • Grammatical Agreement: The Mubtada and Khabar must match each other in three main areas:

    • Gender: Masculine (مذكَر) or Feminine (مؤنّث)

    • Amount: Singular (مفرد), Dual (مثنّى), or Plural (جمع)

    • Case: Nominative case status (مرفوع)

Variations of the Mubtada

The subject of a nominal sentence doesn't always have to be a standard noun. The article highlights four common types:

  1. Ism Zahir: A plain, explicit noun (e.g., الطَّالِبُ / "The student").

  2. Ism Isharah: A demonstrative pronoun acting as the subject (e.g., هَذَا / "This").

  3. Ism Damir: A detached personal pronoun (e.g., هُمَا / "They both").

  4. Ism Istifham: A question word/interrogative pronoun acting as the subject (e.g., مَنْ / "Who").

Three Types of Khabar

The predicate can take different structural forms to complete the sentence:

  • Mufrad (Singular/Not a sentence): A single word that completes the sentence, matching the subject directly in case and gender (e.g., نَشِيْطٌ / "diligent").

  • Shibh Jumlah (Semi-sentence): The predicate is composed of either a prepositional phrase (Jar wa Majrur, like "in the class") or an adverbial phrase of place/time (Zarf, like "in front of the house").

  • Jumlah (Sentence): The predicate itself is a whole separate sentence that describes the subject. This can be:

    • A Jumlah Ismiyyah (a smaller nominal sentence inside the main one).

    • A Jumlah Fi'liyyah (a verbal sentence, starting with a verb and hidden pronoun actor).

Test Your Knowledge: Mubtada & Khabar Quiz

Instruction: Answer the following 10 randomized questions to check your understanding of Arabic nominal sentences.

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