Learning Arabic Through Short Stories: أُحِبُّ الطَّبْخَ (I Love Cooking)

This lesson is designed for beginner English speakers. We will break down the story sentence by sentence. First, we'll look at each word individually – its meaning, its type (noun, verb, etc.), and how it might change form (a concept known as صَرْف - sarf or morphology). Then, we'll examine how these words fit together to form sentences, looking at sentence structure and grammatical analysis (known as نَحْو - nahw or syntax, including إِعْرَاب - i'rab or case endings).

Our goal is to help you enrich your Arabic vocabulary and gain a foundational understanding of Arabic grammar through this simple narrative. Let's begin!

1. The Story: أُحِبُّ الطَّبْخَ (I Love Cooking)

Here is the full story in Arabic, followed by its English translation:

Arabic Text:

أُحِبُّ الطَّبْخَ

تُحِبُّ مَرْيَمُ الطَّبْخَ

تَتَعَلَّمُ وَصْفَاتٍ جَدِيْدَةً مِنَ الْكُتُبِ

تُعِدُّ طَعَامًا لَذِيْذًا لِعَائِلَتِهَا

يَسْتَمْتِعُوْنَ بِالطَّعَامِ الَّذِيْ تُعِدُّهُ

تَفْرَحُ عِنْدَمَا يَمْدَحُوْنَ طَبْخَهَا

English Translation:

I love cooking.

Maryam loves cooking very much.

She learns new recipes from books.

She prepares delicious food for her family.

They enjoy the food that she prepares.

She is happy when they compliment her cooking.

2. Vocabulary and Word Analysis (صَرْف - Sarf)

Now, let's break down each sentence word by word.

Sentence 1: أُحِبُّ الطَّبْخَ

Meaning: I love cooking.

• أُحِبُّ (aḥibbu)

• Meaning: I love

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), first person singular.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): حَبَّ (ḥabba - he loved)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يَحِبُّ (yaḥibbu - he loves)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): حُبًّا (ḥubban - loving)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): حَابٌّ (ḥaabbun - lover/loving one)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): حَبِيْبٌ (ḥabiibun - beloved); مَحْبُوْبٌ (maḥbuubun - beloved)

• الطَّبْخَ (aṭ-ṭabkha)

• Meaning: cooking

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism). The base noun is طَبْخٌ (ṭabkhun). The 'ال' (al-) is the definite article "the". The final 'a' sound indicates its grammatical case in this sentence (accusative case/منصوب), which we'll discuss later.

Sentence 2: تُحِبُّ مَرْيَمُ الطَّبْخَ

Meaning: Maryam loves cooking.

• تُحِبُّ (tuḥibbu)

• Meaning: She loves

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person feminine singular.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): أَحَبَّ (aḥabba - he loved very much)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يُحِبُّ (yuḥibbu - he loves very much)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): إِحْبَابًا (iḥbaaban - loving)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): مُحِبٌّ (muḥibbun - lover/loving one)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مُحَبٌّ (muḥabbun - beloved)

• مَرْيَمُ (maryamu)

• Meaning: Maryam

• Part of speech: Proper Noun (اِسْم عَلَم - ism ʿalam)

• Form: Feminine singular.

• الطَّبْخَ (aṭ-ṭabkha)

• Meaning: cooking

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• (See Sentence 1 for details)

Sentence 3: تَتَعَلَّمُ وَصْفَاتٍ جَدِيْدَةً مِنَ الْكُتُبِ

Meaning: She learns new recipes from books.

• تَتَعَلَّمُ (tataʿallamu)

• Meaning: She learns

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person feminine singular.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): تَعَلَّمَ (taʿallama - he learned)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يَتَعَلَّمُ (yataʿallamu - he learns)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): تَعَلُّمًا (taʿalluman - learning)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): مُتَعَلِّمٌ (mutaʿallimun - learner)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مُتَعَلَّمٌ (mutaʿallamun - learned/studied)

• وَصْفَاتٌ (waṣfātun)

• Meaning: recipes

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• Form: Feminine plural.

• Singular: وَصْفَةٌ (waṣfatun - recipe)

• جَدِيْدَةٌ (jadīdatun)

• Meaning: new

• Part of speech: Adjective (technically a type of noun/اِسْم - ism in Arabic grammar, acting as صِفَة - ṣifah or نَعْت - naʿt)

• Form: Feminine singular (modifies the plural 'recipes' - note that inanimate plurals often take feminine singular adjectives).

• Masculine singular: جَدِيْدٌ (jadīdun)

• Plural: جُدُدٌ (jududun)

• مِنَ (min)

• Meaning: from

• Part of speech: Preposition (حَرْفُ جَرٍّ - ḥarf jarr)

• كُتُبٌ (kutubun)

• Meaning: the books

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• Form: Plural. The base noun is كُتُبٌ (kutubun). 'ال' (al-) is the definite article.

• Singular: كِتَابٌ (kitābun - book)

Sentence 4: تُعِدُّ طَعَامًا لَذِيْذًا لِعَائِلَتِهَا

Meaning: She prepares delicious food for her family.

• تُعِدُّ (tuʿiddu)

• Meaning: She prepares

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person feminine singular.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): أَعَدَّ (aʿadda - he prepared)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يُعِدُّ (yuʿiddu - he prepares)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): إِعْدَادًا (iʿdādan - preparation)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): مُعِدٌّ (muʿiddun - preparer)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مُعَدٌّ (muʿaddun - prepared)

• طَعَامًا (ṭaʿāman)

• Meaning: food

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• Form: Masculine singular. Base noun طَعَامٌ (ṭaʿāmun).

• Plural: أَطْعِمَةٌ (aṭʿimatun)

• لَذِيْذًا (ladhīdhan)

• Meaning: delicious

• Part of speech: Adjective (اِسْم - ism, acting as نَعْت - naʿt)

• Form: Masculine singular (modifies 'food'). Base form لَذِيْذٌ (ladhīdun).

• Plural: لِذَاذٌ (lidhādhun), لُذٌّ (ludhdhun)

• لِ (li)

• Meaning: for / to

• Part of speech: Preposition (حَرْفُ جَرٍّ - ḥarf jarr)

• عَائِلَتِ (ʿā'ilati)

• Meaning: family

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• Form: Feminine singular. Base noun عَائِلَةٌ (ʿā'ilatun).

• Plural: عَائِلَاتٌ (ʿā'ilātun), عَوَائِلُ (ʿawā'ilu)

• هَا (hā)

• Meaning: her

• Part of speech: Attached Pronoun (ضَمِيْر مُتَّصِل - ḍamīr muttaṣil)

• Form: Third person feminine singular possessive suffix.

Sentence 5: يَسْتَمْتِعُوْنَ بِالطَّعَامِ الَّذِيْ تُعِدُّهُ

Meaning: They enjoy the food that she prepares.

• يَسْتَمْتِعُوْنَ (yastamtiʿūna)

• Meaning: They enjoy

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person masculine plural.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): اِسْتَمْتَعَ (istamtaʿa - he enjoyed)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يَسْتَمْتِعُ (yastamtiʿu - he enjoys)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): اِسْتِمْتَاعًا (istimtāʿan - enjoyment)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): مُسْتَمْتِعٌ (mustamtiʿun - one who enjoys)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مُسْتَمْتَعٌ (mustamtaʿun - enjoyed)

• بِ (bi)

• Meaning: with / by / in (often used with 'enjoy' in Arabic, not directly translated here)

• Part of speech: Preposition (حَرْفُ جَرٍّ - ḥarf jarr)

• الطَّعَام (aṭ-ṭaʿāmu)

• Meaning: the food

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• (See Sentence 4 for details)

• الَّذِيْ (alladhī)

• Meaning: that / which / who

• Part of speech: Relative Pronoun (اِسْم مَوْصُول - ism mawṣūl)

• Form: Masculine singular (refers back to 'food', الطَّعَامِ).

• تُعِدُّ (tuʿiddu)

• Meaning: She prepares

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• (See Sentence 4 for details)

• هُ (hu)

• Meaning: it / him

• Part of speech: Attached Pronoun (ضَمِيْر مُتَّصِل - ḍamīr muttaṣil)

• Form: Third person masculine singular object suffix (refers back to 'food').

Sentence 6: تَفْرَحُ عِنْدَمَا يَمْدَحُوْنَ طَبْخَهَا

Meaning: She is happy when they compliment her cooking.

• تَفْرَحُ (tafraḥu)

• Meaning: She is happy / She rejoices

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person feminine singular.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): فَرِحَ (fariḥa - he was happy)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يَفْرَحُ (yafraḥu - he is happy)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): فَرَحًا (faraḥan - happiness, joy)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): فَرِحٌ (fariḥun), فَارِحٌ (fāriḥun), فَرْحَانُ (farḥaahun) -  - happy one

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مَفْرُوْحٌ بِهِ (mafrūḥun bihi - rejoiced about)

• عِنْدَمَا (ʿindamā)

• Meaning: when

• Part of speech: Adverb of time (ظَرْف زَمَان - ẓarf zamān)

• يَمْدَحُوْنَ (yamdaḥūna)

• Meaning: They praise / compliment

• Part of speech: Verb (فِعْل - fiʿl)

• Form: Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ), third person masculine plural.

• Base Verb Forms:

• Past tense (الماضي - al-māḍī): مَدَحَ (madaḥa - he praised)

• Present tense (المضارع - al-muḍāriʿ): يَمْدَحُ (yamdaḥu - he praises)

• Verbal Noun (مَصْدَر - maṣdar): مَدْحًا (madḥan - praise)

• Active Participle (اِسْم فَاعِل - ism fāʿil): مَادِحٌ (mādiḥun - praiser)

• Passive Participle (اِسْم مَفْعُول - ism mafʿūl): مَمْدُوْحٌ (mamdūḥun - praised)

• طَبْخَ (ṭabkha)

• Meaning: cooking

• Part of speech: Noun (اِسْم - ism)

• (See Sentence 1 for details)

• هَا (hā)

• Meaning: her

• Part of speech: Attached Pronoun (ضَمِيْر مُتَّصِل - ḍamīr muttaṣil)

• Form: Third person feminine singular possessive suffix.

3. Sentence Structure and Syntactic Analysis (نَحْو - Nahw / إِعْرَاب - I'rab)

Now let's look at how the words function within some of the sentences. In Arabic, sentences often begin with a verb (Verbal Sentence - جُمْلَة فِعْلِيَّة - jumlah fiʿliyyah) or a noun (Nominal Sentence - جُمْلَة اِسْمِيَّة - jumlah ismiyyah). All sentences in our story are verbal sentences.

We also need to understand grammatical case endings (i'rab), which indicate the function of a noun or adjective in a sentence. The main cases are:

• Nominative (مَرْفُوع - marfūʿ): Subject of the verb. Often ends in u / un (ــُ / ــٌ - ḍammah / ḍammatān).

• Accusative (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb): Direct object of the verb. Often ends in a / an (ــَ / ــً - fatḥah / fatḥatān).

• Genitive (مَجْرُور - majrūr): Object of a preposition, or possession. Often ends in i / in (ــِ / ــٍ - kasrah / kasratān).
  (Note: These endings apply primarily to singular nouns and change for plurals, duals, etc.)

Analysis of Sentence 2: تُحِبُّ مَرْيَمُ الطَّبْخَ

Meaning: Maryam loves cooking.

• Type: Verbal Sentence (جُمْلَة فِعْلِيَّة - jumlah fiʿliyyah)

• Structure: Verb (فِعْل) + Subject (فَاعِل) + Object (مَفْعُول بِه)

• Breakdown:

• تُحِبُّ (tuḥibbu): Verb (present tense, 3rd person feminine singular). It is in the default nominative state for present tense verbs when not affected by other particles.

• مَرْيَمُ (maryamu): Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil - the doer) of the verb تُحِبُّ. It is in the Nominative case (مَرْفُوع - marfūʿ), indicated by the ḍammah (u) sound at the end.

• الطَّبْخَ (aṭ-ṭabkha): Direct Object (مَفْعُول بِه - mafʿūl bihi - the thing being acted upon) of the verb تُحِبُّ. It is in the Accusative case (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb), indicated by the fatḥah (a) sound at the end.

Analysis of Sentence 3: تَتَعَلَّمُ وَصْفَاتٍ جَدِيْدَةً مِنَ الْكُتُبِ

Meaning: She learns new recipes from books.

• Type: Verbal Sentence (جُمْلَة فِعْلِيَّة - jumlah fiʿliyyah)

• Structure: Verb (فِعْل) + [Implicit Subject] + Object (مَفْعُول بِه) + Adjective (نَعْت) + Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة)

• Breakdown:

• تَتَعَلَّمُ (tataʿallamu): Verb (present tense, 3rd person feminine singular).

• Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil): The subject "she" is implicit (ضَمِيْر مُسْتَتِر تَقْدِيْرُهُ هِيَ - ḍamīr mustatir taqdīruhu hiya - hidden pronoun estimated as 'she'). It's understood from the verb form.

• وَصْفَاتٍ (waṣfātin): Direct Object (مَفْعُول بِه - mafʿūl bihi). It is in the Accusative case (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb). Important Note: Sound feminine plurals (like this one) show their accusative case with a kasrah/kasratān (i/in) ending, not fatḥah.

• جَدِيْدَةً (jadīdatan): Adjective (نَعْت - naʿt) describing وَصْفَاتٍ. Adjectives usually follow the noun they describe in case, definiteness, gender, and number. Here, it's feminine singular (common for inanimate plurals) and Accusative (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb), indicated by fatḥatān (an).

• مِنَ الْكُتُبِ (mina l-kutubi): Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة - shibh jumlah).

• مِنْ (min): Preposition (حَرْف جَرّ - ḥarf jarr).

• الْكُتُبِ (al-kutubi): Noun, object of the preposition. It is in the Genitive case (مَجْرُور - majrūr), indicated by the kasrah (i) sound at the end.

Analysis of Sentence 4: تُعِدُّ طَعَامًا لَذِيْذًا لِعَائِلَتِهَا

Meaning: She prepares delicious food for her family.

• Type: Verbal Sentence (جُمْلَة فِعْلِيَّة - jumlah fiʿliyyah)

• Structure: Verb (فِعْل) + [Implicit Subject] + Object (مَفْعُول بِه) + Adjective (نَعْت) + Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة)

• Breakdown:

• تُعِدُّ (tuʿiddu): Verb (present tense, 3rd person feminine singular).

• Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil): Implicit "she" (ضَمِيْر مُسْتَتِر تَقْدِيْرُهُ هِيَ).

• طَعَامًا (ṭaʿāman): Direct Object (مَفْعُول بِه - mafʿūl bihi). Accusative case (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb), indicated by fatḥatān (an).

• لَذِيْذًا (ladhīdhan): Adjective (نَعْت - naʿt) describing طَعَامًا. It matches in case (Accusative - مَنْصُوب), definiteness (both indefinite), gender (masculine), and number (singular). Indicated by fatḥatān (an).

• لِعَائِلَتِهَا (li-ʿā'ilatihā): Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة - shibh jumlah). This phrase also contains a possessive structure.

• لِ (li): Preposition (حَرْف جَرّ - ḥarf jarr).

• عَائِلَتِ (ʿā'ilati): Noun, object of the preposition لِ. Genitive case (مَجْرُور - majrūr), indicated by kasrah (i). It also acts as the first part of a possessive construction (مُضَاف - muḍāf).

• هَا (hā): Attached possessive pronoun ("her"). It acts as the second part of the possessive construction (مُضَاف إِلَيْه - muḍāf ilayhi). Pronouns don't change their endings for case in the same way, but they are considered to be in the genitive position here.

Analysis of Sentence 5: يَسْتَمْتِعُوْنَ بِالطَّعَامِ الَّذِيْ تُعِدُّهُ

Meaning: They enjoy the food that she prepares.

• Type: Verbal Sentence (جُمْلَة فِعْلِيَّة - jumlah fiʿliyyah)

• Structure: Verb (فِعْل) + Subject (Attached Pronoun) + Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة) + Relative Pronoun (اِسْم مَوْصُول) + Relative Clause (صِلَة)

• Breakdown:

• يَسْتَمْتِعُوْنَ (yastamtiʿūna): Verb (present tense, 3rd person masculine plural).

• Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil): The subject "they" is indicated by the وُنَ (-ūna) ending on the verb (specifically the و - wāw al-jamāʿah). This is an attached pronoun acting as the subject.

• بِالطَّعَامِ (bi-ṭ-ṭaʿāmi): Prepositional Phrase (شِبْه جُمْلَة - shibh jumlah).

• بِ (bi): Preposition (حَرْف جَرّ - ḥarf jarr).

• الطَّعَامِ (aṭ-ṭaʿāmi): Noun, object of the preposition بِ. Genitive case (مَجْرُور - majrūr), indicated by kasrah (i).

• الَّذِيْ (alladhī): Relative Pronoun (اِسْم مَوْصُول - ism mawṣūl) meaning "that/which". It refers back to الطَّعَامِ. Relative pronouns link a noun to a descriptive clause.

• تُعِدُّهُ (tuʿidduhu): Relative Clause (صِلَة - ṣilah). This is a mini-sentence describing الَّذِيْ (which refers to the food).

• تُعِدُّ (tuʿiddu): Verb (present tense, 3rd person feminine singular). The subject is implicit "she".

• هُ (hu): Attached pronoun ("it"), acting as the Direct Object (مَفْعُول بِه - mafʿūl bihi) of the verb تُعِدُّ. It refers back to الَّذِيْ (and ultimately, الطَّعَامِ).

Analysis of Sentence 6: تَفْرَحُ عِنْدَمَا يَمْدَحُوْنَ طَبْخَهَا

Meaning: She is happy when they compliment her cooking.

• Type: Complex Verbal Sentence.

• Structure: Main Clause + Adverb of Time (ظَرْف زَمَان) + Subordinate Clause (Adverbial Clause of Time)

• Breakdown:

• Main Clause: تَفْرَحُ (tafraḥu)

• تَفْرَحُ: Verb (present tense, 3rd person feminine singular).

• Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil): Implicit "she" (ضَمِيْر مُسْتَتِر تَقْدِيْرُهُ هِيَ).

• عِنْدَمَا (ʿindamā): Adverb of Time (ظَرْف زَمَان - ẓarf zamān) meaning "when". It links the main clause to the time clause.

• Subordinate Clause (Adverbial Clause of Time): يَمْدَحُوْنَ طَبْخَهَا (yamdaḥūna ṭabkhahā) - This whole clause describes when she is happy.

• يَمْدَحُوْنَ (yamdaḥūna): Verb (present tense, 3rd person masculine plural).

• Subject (فَاعِل - fāʿil): Attached pronoun وُنَ (-ūna) indicating "they".

• طَبْخَ (ṭabkha): Direct Object (مَفْعُول بِه - mafʿūl bihi) of يَمْدَحُوْنَ. Accusative case (مَنْصُوب - manṣūb), indicated by fatḥah (a). It is also muḍāf.

• هَا (hā): Attached possessive pronoun ("her"). Muḍāf ilayhi (مُضَاف إِلَيْه).

4. Conclusion

By carefully reading this short story and analyzing its components, we've practiced several key aspects of Arabic:

• Vocabulary: We learned words related to cooking, family, feelings, and learning.

• Morphology (Sarf): We saw how verbs change for tense and person (e.g., أَحَبَّ, يُحِبُّ, تُحِبُّ) and how nouns can be singular or plural (e.g., كِتَابٌ, كُتُبٌ). We also encountered verbal nouns and participles.

• Syntax (Nahw): We identified basic sentence structure (Verb-Subject-Object), saw how case endings (i'rab) mark the function of words (nominative, accusative, genitive), and learned about implicit subjects, adjectives, prepositional phrases, possessive constructions (iḍāfah), relative clauses, and subordinate clauses.

Using stories like "أُحِبُّ الطَّبْخَ" provides a practical context for these grammatical concepts. Keep practicing, read more stories, and pay attention to these patterns. Gradually, the structure of Arabic will become more familiar and intuitive. Good luck with your studies!

5. List of Arabic vocabulary used in this story