Expressing and Responding to Opinions in Arabic

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Daily Conversation: Expressing Opinion and How to Respond the Opinion

Learning Objectives

After completing this material, students will be able to:
  • Understand and use the expression for asking for an opinion (مَا رَأْيُكَ؟) and its responses.
  • Learn new vocabulary from the conversation.
  • Grasp relevant basic grammatical rules (nahwu) and word changes (sarf).
  • Participate in a simple role-play conversation.

Expressing and Responding to Opinions in Arabic



Today, we will learn how to communicate in Arabic in a fun and engaging way. We will look at a conversation between two friends, Ibrahim and Umar, who are planning something. Through this conversation, we will learn how to ask for someone's opinion and how to respond. Are you ready?

Let's take a look at the conversation text below.

arabic conversation: express and respond opinion

Source: At-Tariq ila al-'Arabiyyah Book volume 3 from Fanar Qatar

Conversation Text and Translation

السلامُ عليكُم
(Peace be upon you.)

 وعليكُمُ السلامُ يا إبراهيمُ
(And upon you be peace, O Ibrahim.)

كيفَ حالُكَ؟
(How are you?)

بخيرٍ، والحَمدُ لِلّٰه
(Fine, and praise be to God.)

هل أنتَ مشغولٌ الآنَ؟
(Are you busy now?)

لا، لستُ مشغولًا
(No, I am not busy.)

إذًا فما رأيُكَ في جَولةٍ قصيرةٍ في مدينةِ الدوحةِ؟
(So, what is your opinion on a short tour in the city of Doha?)

فِكرةٌ جَيّدةٌ
(good idea)


Expression notes

  • These expressions show How do you greet someone in Arabic and the response.

[
السلامُ عليكُم
(Peace be upon you.)

 وعليكُمُ السلامُ يا إبراهيمُ
(And upon you be peace, O Ibrahim.)]

  • These expressions are the examples of What do you say after exchanging greetings and the response.

[كيفَ حالُكَ؟
(How are you?)

بخيرٍ، والحَمدُ لِلّٰه
(Fine, and praise be to God.)]

Word-by-Word Translation

1. هَلْ أَنْتَ مَشْغُولٌ الآنَ؟ 

This is an example of yes/no question using 'هَلْ'.

The response are 'نَعَمْ' meaning 'yes' or 'لاَ' meaning 'no'.

The words:

  • هَلْ : 'to be' (is/am/are/do/did/etc.)
  • أَنْتَ : you (2nd person masculine singular)
  • مَشْغُوْلٌ : busy
  • الْآنَ : now

2. لَا, لَسْتُ مَشْغُوْلًا

This is a response of yes/no question above.

The words:

  • لَا : no
  • لَسْتُ : I am not
  • مَشْغُوْلًا : busy
Base form: لَيْسَ (meaning 'he is not')

لَيْسَ (base form) + تُ (suffix that indicates 1st person singular) ➡️ لَسْتُ  that means 'I am not'.

Additional notes:

لَيْسَ (base form) + نَا (suffix that indicates 1st person plural) ➡️ لَسْنَا that means 'We are not'.
لَيْسَ (base form) + تَ (suffix that indicates 2nd person masculine singular) ➡️ لَسْتَ that means 'You are not'.

Base form: مَشْغُولٌ (in nominative case).

In this sentence, مَشْغُوْلًا is in accusative case because it is acted as khabar laysa. 


3. إِذًا فَمَا رَأْيُكَ فِي جَوْلَةٍ قَصِيْرَةٍ فِي مَدِيْنَةِ الدَّوْحَةِ؟

The words:

  • إِذًا : so/in that case
  • فَ : then
  • مَا : what
  • رَأْيُكَ : your opinion
  • فِي : about
  • جَوْلَةٍ : trip/tour/outing
  • قَصِيْرَةٍ : short
  • فِي : in
  • مَدِيْنَةِ : city
  • الدَّوْحَةِ : Doha

4. فِكْرَةٌ جَيِّدَةٌ
  • فِكْرَةٌ : idea/opinion
  • جَيِّدَةٌ : good


The key expression: Semantic meaning, grammatical rules, and word changing/sarf

1. مَا رَأْيُكَ؟ 

a. Semantic Meaning: literally means "What is your opinion?". It is the standard expression for asking for an opinion.

b. Opinion question formula:  ما رأيك في then followed by noun.

c. Grammatical rules:

  • مَا : ism istifham (question word) meaning "what".
  • Possessive Construction (إضافة):
    • رأي + ـك ➡️ ra'yu is mudaf, ka is mudaf ilaih.
  • في : harf jar (preposition), in this context means "about". This preposition introduces the topic about the opinion.
  • جَوْلَةٍ : it is in genitive case because of the preposition "في".
  • جَوْلَةٍ قَصِيْرَةٍ  ➡️ The phrase "جَوْلَةٍ قَصِيْرَةٍ" (jawlahin qashīratin) is a fundamental structure in Arabic grammar called a Noun-Adjective Phrase (al-na't wa al-man'ūt).
    • جَوْلَةٍ : is a noun, it is in genitive case, indefinite, feminine, singular.
    • قَصِيْرَةٍ : is an adjective that modifies the noun, it is in genitive case, indefinite, feminine, singular.
Review na't and man'ut rules

A key rule in Arabic grammar is that the na't (adjective) must always agree with the man'ūt (noun) in four grammatical aspects.

The four aspects are:

  • I'rāb (Case): The adjective must have the same ending case as the noun.
    • Example: Since جَوْلَةٍ is in the genitive case (kasrah), قَصِيْرَةٍ must also be in the genitive case (kasrah).
  • Jins (Gender): The adjective must match the gender of the noun.
    • Example: جَوْلَةٍ is a feminine noun because it ends with a tā' marbūṭah (ة). Therefore, its adjective, قَصِيْرَةٍ, must also be in the feminine form with a tā' marbūṭah (ة).
  • 'Adad (Number): The adjective must match the number of the noun (singular, dual, or plural).
    • Example: جَوْلَةٍ is a singular noun, so قَصِيْرَةٍ must also be in the singular form.
  • Ta'rīf (Definite/Indefinite): The adjective must have the same definite/indefinite status as the noun.
    • Example: جَوْلَةٍ is indefinite (nakirah) because it ends in tanwīn. Consequently, قَصِيْرَةٍ must also be indefinite (nakirah) because it ends in tanwīn.

Na't and man'ut Recap

In short, جَوْلَةٍ قَصِيْرَةٍ translates to "a short tour." The word قَصِيْرَةٍ is an adjective that describes the noun جَوْلَةٍ. Both words agree in all four grammatical aspects:

  • They are both in the genitive case (jar).
  • They are both feminine.
  • They are both singular.
  • They are both indefinite.

d. Word Changes (Sarf):

  • To ask a female : مَا رَأْيُكِ؟ 
  • To ask a group of people (2nd person plural) : مَا رَأْيُكُمْ؟ 
  • To ask about his opinion (3rd person masculine singular): مَا رَأْيُهُ؟ 
  • To ask about her opinion (3rd person feminine singular): مَا رَأْيُهَا؟ 

2. فِكْرَةٌ جَيِّدَةٌ

a. Semantic Meaning: literally means "a good idea". It is the standard expression for positive response.

b. Grammatical rules: In Arabic grammar, this is a noun-adjective phrase, where the adjective ("good") describes the noun ("idea").

فِكْرَةٌ (fikratun): idea

Word Type: This is the noun, or the word being described (man'ūt).

Grammatical Features:

  • Case: It ends with dammah tanwīn (ـةٌ), which indicates the marfū' case (the nominative or subjective case).
  • Gender: It is feminine (mu'annath) because it ends with a tā' marbūṭah (ة).
  • Number: It is singular (mufrad).
  • Definite/Indefinite: It is indefinite (nakirah) because of the tanwīn ending.

جَيِّدَةٌ (jayyidatun): good

Word Type: This is the adjective, or the word doing the describing (na't).

Grammatical Features:

  • Case: It also ends with dammah tanwīn (ـةٌ), agreeing with the noun in the marfū' case.
  • Gender: It is feminine (mu'annath) because it ends with a tā' marbūṭah (ة), agreeing with the noun's gender.
  • Number: It is singular (mufrad), agreeing with the noun's number.
  • Definite/Indefinite: It is indefinite (nakirah) because of the tanwīn ending, agreeing with the noun's status.
The Rule of Agreement Recap

The key rule for a noun-adjective phrase is that the adjective must match the noun in four aspects:

  • Case (I'rāb): Both are marfū'.
  • Gender (Jins): Both are feminine.
  • Number ('Adad): Both are singular.
  • Definite/Indefinite (Ta'rīf/Ta'nīd): Both are indefinite.

Responding to "Maa ra'yuka?"

  • Positive Response: فِكْرَةٌ جَيِّدَةٌ ( A good idea.)
  • Negative Response: لَا أَعْلَمُ  (I don't know.)


Summary

"Excellent! We have learned a lot of new things today."

Today's Lesson Summary:

  • How to ask for an opinion: We use the expression مَا رَأْيُكَ؟ (for a male) or مَا رَأْيُكِ؟ (for a female).
  • How to respond: We can reply with فِكْرَةٌ جَيِّدَةٌ (a good idea) or لَا أَعْلَمُ  (I don't know).
  • New vocabulary: We also learned new words like جَوْلَةٌ (trip), مَشْغُوْلٌ (busy), قَصِيْرٌ (short), الْآنَ  (now), دَوحَة (Doha), and مَدِيْنَةٌ (city).

Keep practicing with your friends. See you in the next lesson!