Learn Arabic From Short Story: Cleaning a House | تَنْظِيْفُ المَنْزِلِ

Today, we'll learn Arabic using the story of Ahmad and Zaid, two brothers helping their mom with chores. We'll break down each sentence to understand words and learn the tasrif (verb conjugation).

To strengthen your understanding, I add question and answer section. Then, you can finish the quiz to test your understanding.

By the end, you'll know more about how Arabic words and sentences work!

The Story in Arabic

A word-by-word translation

1. أَنَا أَحْمَدُ وَهَذَا أَخِي, اِسْمُهُ زَيْدٌ
a. أَنَا: I
b. أَحْمَدُ: Ahmad
c. وَهَذَا: and this
d. أَخِي: my brother
e. اِسْمُهُ: his name
f. زَيْدٌ: Zaid

أَنَا أَحْمَدُ وَهَذَا أَخِي, اِسْمُهُ زَيْدٌ means "I am Ahmad, and this is my brother, his name is Zaid."

2. نَحْنُ نُسَاعِدُ أُمِّي فِي نَظَافَةِ المَنْزِلِ
a. نَحْنُ: we
b. نُسَاعِدُ: we help; assist; support; aid
نُسَاعِدُ is fi'l mudari' form of 1st person plural (we/نَحْنُ).
The base form of نُسَاعِدُ is سَاعَدَ - يُسَاعِدُ

note:
The base form of verb means the form of 3rd person masculine singular (he/هُوَ).

c. أُمِّي: my mother
d. نَظَافَةٌ: clean (noun); cleaning; cleanness
نَظَافَةٌ is masdar of the verb نَظُفَ - يَنْظُفُ
e. مَنْزِلٌ: house; home

نَحْنُ نُسَاعِدُ أُمِّي فِي نَظَافَةِ المَنْزِلِ means "We help my mother to clean the house."

3. وَكُلُّنَا نُحِبُّ التَّعَاوُنَ وَالنِّظَامَ
a. كُلُّ: all members; entirety; all of
b. نُحِبُّ: we love; like
نُحِبُّ is fi'l mudari' form of 1st person plural (we/نَحْنُ).
The base form of نُحِبُّ is أَحَبَّ - يُحِبُّ
c. تَعَاوُنٌ: synergy; assisting one another; cooperation
تَعَاوُنٌ is masdar of the verb تَعَاوَنَ - يَتَعَاوَنُ
d. نِظَامٌ: orderliness; tidiness; coordination; discipline; being organized
نِظَامٌ is masdar of the verb نَظَمَ - يَنْظِمُ

وَكُلُّنَا نُحِبُّ التَّعَاوُنَ وَالنِّظَامَ means "All of us love assissting one another and tidiness."

4. فَأَنَا أُنَظِّفُ نَافِذَةً
a. أَنَا: I
b. أُنَظِّفُ: clean
أُنَظِّفُ is fi'll mudari' form of 1st person singular (I/أَنَا).
The base form of  أُنَظِّفُ is نَظَّفَ - يُنَظِّفُ
c. نَافِذَةٌ: window

فَأَنَا أُنَظِّفُ نَافِذَةً means "I clean a window."


5. أُمِّي تَكْنُسُ
a. أُمِّي: my mother
b. تَكْنُسُ: she sweep a floor with a broom
تَكْنُسُ is fi'l mudari' form of 3rd person feminine singular (هِيَ/she).
The base form of تَكْنُسُ is كَنَسَ - يَكْنُسُ

أُمِّي تَكْنُسُ means "My mother cleans the dirt from the floor (with broom)."

6. وَزَيْدٌ يُنَسِّقُ الزُّهُورَ
a. زَيْدٌ: Zaid
b. يُنَسِّقُ: he arrange
يُنَسِّقُ  is fi'l mudari'.
Fi'l madi of يُنَسِّقُ is نَسَّقَ
c. زُهُورٌ: flowers
زُهُورٌ is plural form.
The singular form of زُهُورٌ is زَهْرَةٌ

وَزَيْدٌ يُنَسِّقُ الزُّهُورَ means "And Zaid arranges the flowers."

Lesson learned

From the story, we learn the following things:

1. Fi'l mudari form of:

a. 1st person singular (أَنَا/I): أُنَظِّفُ
b. 1st person plural (نَحْنُ/We): نُسَاعِدُ, نُحِبُّ
c. 3rd person feminine singular (هِيَ/she): تَكْنُسُ
d. 3rd person masculine singular (هُوَ/he): يُنَسِّقُ

2. Ism masdar (مصدر), they are:

a. نَظَافَةٌ
b. تَعَاوُنٌ
c. نِظَامٌ

Questions and Answers

Questions

1. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "أُنَظِّفُ" to the following damir:
a. نَحْنُ
b. هُوَ
c. هِيَ

2. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "نُسَاعِدُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا
b. هُوَ
c. هِيَ

3. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "نُحِبُّ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا
b. هُوَ
c. هِيَ

4. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "تَكْنُسُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا
b. هُوَ
c. نَحْنُ

5. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "يُنَسِّقُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا
b. هِيَ
c. نَحْنُ

Answers

1. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "أُنَظِّفُ" to the following damir:
a.  نَحْنُ نُنَظِّفُ
b. هُوَ يُنَظِّفُ
c. هِيَ تُنَظِّفُ

2. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "نُسَاعِدُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا أُسَاعِدُ
b. هُوَ يُسَاعِدُ
c. هِيَ تُسَاعِدُ

3. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "نُحِبُّ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا أُحِبُّ
b. هُوَ يُحِبُّ
c. هِيَ تُحِبُّ

4. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "تَكْنُسُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا أَكْنُسُ
b. هُوَ يَكْنُسُ
c. نَحْنُ نَكْنُسُ

5. Tasrif (conjugate verb) this fi'l mudari "يُنَسِّقُ" to the following damir:
a. أَنَا أُنَسِّقُ
b. هِيَ تُنَسِّقُ
c.  نَحْنُ نُنَسِّقْ

Quiz

Translate the sentences into Arabic.

1. I sweep the house with a broom.
2. He sweeps the house with a broom.
3. We clean the window.
4. She cleans the window.
5. He helps his father.
6. She helps her father.
7. I help my father to clean the house.
8. He loves cooperation.
9. She loves cooperation.
10. We arrange the flowers.

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Summary

This article offers a helpful guide to learning Arabic.  We use a story about brothers, Ahmad and Zaid, helping their mother to clean the house.  

The article also includes verb conjugation explanations and a quiz to test your knowledge.  To master Arabic, practice regularly, so don’t hesitate to revisit the lessons and quizzes as often as needed. Happy learning!