Definite vs. Indefinite Noun in Arabic: A Beginner's Guide from Durusul Lughah Vol. 1 Lesson 3

Key Concept of Lesson 3

الْ (al): حَرْفُ تَعْرِيفٍ 

يُحْذَفُ التَّنْوِينُ عِنْدَ دُخُولِ الْ

- 'al' is a definite article in Arabic (like 'the' in English).

The tanwiin (nunation) is dropped when 'al' is prefixed to a noun.

النَّكِرَةُ: شَيْءٌ غَيرُ مُعَيَّنٍ, نَحْوُ : بَيْتٌ

- an-Nakirah: an indefinite thing, example: baytun (a house).

المَعرِفَةُ: شَيْءٌ مُعَيَّنٌ, نَحْو : البَيْتُ

- al-ma'rifah: a definite thing, example: al-baytu (the house).

بَيْتٌ: يَشْمَلُ كُلَّ البُيُوتِ, وَلَيْسَ بَيْتًا مُعَيَّنًا

- baytun (a house): include all houses, and not a specific house.

البَيْتُ: يَدُلُّ عَلَى بَيْتٍ مُعَيَّنٍ بِذَاتِهِ

- al-baytu (the house): refers to a particular house itself. 

an-Nakirah vs. al-Ma'rifah

In Arabic, just like in English, nouns can be either indefinite (general) or definite (specific). This concept is crucial for understanding how Arabic nouns work.

1. an-Nakirah (Indefinite noun)

• An indefinite noun refers to something general or unspecified.
• Think of it like using "a" or "an" before a noun in English.
• In Arabic, indefinite nouns often end with a special sound called Tanween (تَنْوِين). Tanween is a double vowel mark (like two "u" sounds, two "a" sounds, or two "i" sounds) at the end of a noun, which adds an 'n' sound.

Example: بَيْتٌ (baytun) - This literally means "a house" or "any house." It's not referring to a particular house, but rather any house at all.

2. al-Ma'rifah (definite noun)

• A definite noun refers to something specific or known.
• Think of it like using "the" before a noun in English.
• In Arabic, to make a noun definite, you add the prefix الْ (al-) to the beginning of the noun. This "al-" is the equivalent of  "the."

Example: البَيْتُ (al-baytu) - This means "the house," referring to a specific house that both the speaker and listener know about.

The Rule of "الْ (al-)" and Tanween (تَنْوِين)

This is a very important rule:

• When you add الْ (al-) to the beginning of an indefinite noun to make it definite, the Tanween (تَنْوِين) at the end of the noun MUST be dropped.
• The noun will then end with a single vowel sound (e.g., a single "u", "a", or "i" sound), not the double Tanween sound.

In summary:

• Tanween (like the "un" sound) means "a/an" (indefinite).
• الْ (al-) means "the" (definite).
• You cannot have both Tanween and الْ (al-) on the same noun at the same time. If الْ (al-) is present, Tanween must be absent.

Let's read the Arabic texts and translate them into English

الدَّرْسُ الثَّالِثُ (ad-darsuth thaalithu): Third lesson/Lesson 3

بَيْتٌ : a house.

البَيْتُ : the house.

قَلَمٌ : a pen.

القَلَمُ : the pen.

كِتَابٌ : a book.

الكِتَابُ : the book.

جَمَلٌ : a camel.

الجَمَلُ : the camel.

القَلَمُ مَكْسُورٌ (al-qalamu maksuurun)

The pen is broken.

البَابُ مَفْتُوحٌ (al-baabu maftuuhun)

The door is open.

الوَلَدُ جَالِسٌ وَالمُدَرِّسُ وَاقِفٌ (al-waladu jaalisun walmudarrisu waaqifun)

The boy is sitting and the teacher is standing.

1. الكِتَابُ جَدِيدٌ وَالقَلَمُ قَدِيمٌ (al-kitaabu jadiidun walqalamu qadiimun)

The book is new, and the pen is old.

2. الحِمَارُ صَغِيرٌ وَالحِصَانُ كَبِيرٌ (al-himaaru saghiirun walhisaanu kabiirun)

The donkey is small, and the horse is big.

3. الكُرْسِيُّ مَكْسُورٌ (al-kursiyyu maksuurun)

The chair is broken.

4. المِنْدِيلُ وَسِخٌ (al-mindiilu wasikhun)

The handkerchief is dirty.

5. المَاءُ بَارِدٌ (al-maa-u baaridun)

The water is cold.

6. القَمَرُ جَمِيلٌ (al-qamaru jamiilun)

The moon is beautiful.

7. البَيْتُ قَرِيبٌ وَالمَسْجِدُ بَعِيدٌ (al-baytun qariibun walmasjidu ba'iidun)

The house is close, and the mosque is far.

8. الحَجَرُ ثَقِيلٌ وَالوَرَقُ خَفِيفٌ (al-hajaru thaqiilun walwaraqu khafiifun)

The stone is heavy and the paper is light. 

9. اللَّبَنُ حَارٌّ (al-labanu haarrun)

The milk is hot.

10. القَمِيصُ نَظِيفٌ (al-qamiisu naziifun)

The shirt is clean.

تَمَارِينُ (tamaariinu): Exercises

اقْرَأْ وَاكْتُبْ مَعَ ضَبْطِ أَوَاخِرِ الكَلِمَاتِ (iqra' waktub ma'a dabti awaakhiril kalimaati): Read and write with correct vowel marking (diacritics) of the word endings.

We have found the verb اقرأ and اكتب in the previous lesson, now we will take a look at these words: مَعَ, ضَبْطٌ , أَوَاخِرُ, كَلِمَاتٌ

a. مَعَ (ma'a): with

b. ضَبْطٌ (dabtun): correct.

In this context, dabtun often refers to applying the correct vowel marking/diacritical marking (harakat) to a word.

c. أَوَاخِرُ (awaakhiru) : last; end

d. كَلِمَاتٌ (kalimaatun): words

مَسْجِدٌ (masjidun): a mosque.

المَسْجِدُ (al-masjidu): the mosque.

المَاءُ (al-maa-u): the water.

مَاءٌ (maa-un): water.

البَيْتُ (al-baytu): the house.

بَابٌ (baabun): a door.

قَلَمٌ (qalamun): a pen.

القَلَمُ (al-qalamu): the pen.

الكَلْبُ (al-kalbu): the dog.

كَلْبٌ (kalbun): a dog.

قَمِيصٌ (qamiisun): a shirt.

وَلَدٌ (waladun): a boy.

الحَجَرُ (al-hajaru): the stone.

الوَلَدُ (al-waladu): the boy.

حِمَارٌ (himaarun): a donkey.

الحِمَارُ (al-himaaru): the donkey.

الحِصَانُ (al-hisaanu): the horse.

حِصَانٌ (hisaanun): a horse.

اقْرَأْ وَاكْتُبْ (iqra' waktub): Read and write

1. المَكْتَبُ مَكْسُورٌ (al-maktabu maksuurun).

The desk is broken.

2. المُدَرِّسُ جَدِيدٌ (al-mudarrisu jadiidun).

The teacher is new.

3. القَمِيصُ وَسِخٌ (al-qamiisu wasikhun).

The shirt is dirty.

4. اللَّبَنُ بَارِدٌ (al-labanu baaridun).

The milk is cold.

5. المَسْجِدُ مَفْتُوحٌ (al-masjidu maftuuhun).

The mosque is open.

6. الحَجَرُ كَبِيرٌ (al-hajaru kabiirun).

The stone is big.

7. اللَّبَنُ بَارِدٌ وَالمَاءُ حَارٌّ (al-labanu baaridun wal maa-u haarrun).

The milk is cold, and the water is hot.

8. الإِمَامُ جَالِسٌ وَالمُدَرِّسُ وَاقِفٌ (al-imaamu jaalisun walmudarrisu waaqifun).

The imam is sitting and the teacher is standing.

9. القَمَرُ بَعِيدٌ (al-qamaru ba'iidun).

The moon is far.

10. المِنْدِيلُ نَظِيفٌ (al-mindiilu naziifun).

The handkerchief is clean.