Arabic for Beginners: Verb Conjugation and Noun Cases with Bakar's Family Story

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Arabic Short Story

أُسْرَةُ بَكْرٍ

Bakar's Family

أُسْرَةُ بَكْرٍ صَغِيْرَةٌ

Bakar's family is small.

تَتَكَوَّنُ مِنْ وَالِدٍ، وَوَالِدَةٍ، وَأَخٍ، وَأُخْتٍ

It consists of a father, a mother, a brother, and a sister.

يَعْمَلُ الْوَالِدُ مُهَنْدِسًا، وَتَعْمَلُ الْوَالِدَةُ مُعَلِّمَةً

The father works as an engineer, and the mother works as a teacher.

اِسْمُ الْوَلَدِ سَعِيْدٌ، وَاسْمُ الْبِنْتِ زَيْنَبُ

The boy's name is Said, and the girl's name is Zainab.

يَدْرُسُ بَكْرٌ فِي جَامِعَةِ أُمِّ الْقُرَى، وَهُوَ طَالِبٌ فِي الْمُسْتَوَى الْأَوَّلِ

Bakar studies at Umm Al-Qura University, and he is a first-year student.

وَيَتَعَلَّمُ سَعِيْدٌ فِي مَدْرَسَةِ الْمَلِكِ فَيْصَلٍ الِابْتِدَائِيَّةِ

Said studies at King Faisal Elementary School.

وَهُوَ تِلْمِيْذٌ فِي الصَّفِّ الرَّابِعِ

He is a pupil in the fourth grade.

وَتَذْهَبُ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى رَوْضَةِ الْأَطْفَالِ

Zainab goes to kindergarten.

فِي الصَّبَاحِ يَذْهَبُ سَعِيْدٌ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ

In the morning, Said goes to school.

يَتَعَلَّمُ الْقِرَاءَةَ، وَالْكِتَابَةَ، وَالْحِسَابَ

He learns reading, writing, and arithmetic.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْجُغْرَافِيَا، وَالتَّارِيْخَ، وَالْعُلُوْمَ، وَالدِّيْنَ الْإِسْلَامِيَّ

As well as geography, history, science, and the Islamic religion.

وَفِي الْمَسَاءِ يَحْفَظُ الْقُرْآنَ الْكَرِيْمَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ

In the evening, he memorizes the Holy Quran in the mosque.

Infographic of Bakar's family story in Arabic and English showing masculine and feminine verb conjugation for beginners
Visualizing Arabic Sentence Structure: Bakar's Family Story

Vocabulary list

List of Nouns (Asmaa')

Arabic (Marfu') English Translation
أُسْرَةٌFamily
بَكْرٌBakar (Proper Name)
صَغِيْرَةٌSmall
وَالِدٌFather
وَالِدَةٌMother
أَخٌBrother
أُخْتٌSister
مُهَنْدِسٌEngineer
مُعَلِّمَةٌTeacher
اِسْمٌName
وَلَدٌBoy
سَعِيْدٌSaid (Proper Name)
بِنْتٌGirl
زَيْنَبُZainab (Proper Name)
جَامِعَةٌUniversity
أُمُّ الْقُرَىUmm Al-Qura (Proper Name)
هُوَHe (Pronoun)
طَالِبٌStudent (Higher education)
مُسْتَوًىLevel / Year
أَوَّلٌFirst
مَدْرَسَةٌSchool
اَلْمَلِكُ فَيْصَلٌKing Faisal (Proper Name)
اِبْتِدَائِيَّةٌElementary
تِلْمِيْذٌPupil / Student (Primary)
صَفٌّClass / Grade
رَابِعٌFourth
رَوْضَةُ الْأَطْفَالِKindergarten
صَبَاحٌMorning
قِرَاءَةٌReading
كِتَابَةٌWriting
حِسَابٌArithmetic / Math
جُغْرَافِيَاGeography
تَارِيْخٌHistory
عُلُوْمٌScience
دِيْنٌReligion
إِسْلَامِيٌّIslamic
مَسَاءٌEvening
قُرْآنٌQuran
كَرِيْمٌNoble / Holy
مَسْجِدٌMosque

List of Verbs (Fi'l)

Masculine Singular (هُوَ) Feminine Singular (هِيَ) English Translation
يَتَكَوَّنُ تَتَكَوَّنُ To consist of
يَعْمَلُ تَعْمَلُ To work
يَدْرُسُ تَدْرُسُ To study (academic)
يَتَعَلَّمُ تَتَعَلَّمُ To learn
يَذْهَبُ تَذْهَبُ To go
يَحْفَظُ تَحْفَظُ To memorize


From the short story we learn the following things:

This text is designed to help you understand basic sentence structure, gender agreement, verb conjugation, and the three noun cases.

1. Grammatical Gender: Masculine (Mudhakkar) vs. Feminine (Mu’annath)

In Arabic, every noun has a gender. Unlike English, even inanimate objects or concepts like "family" are assigned a gender.

The Adjective Rule (An-Na't wa al-Man'ut)

Adjectives in Arabic must follow the noun they describe in gender.

  • Example: أُسْرَةُ بَكْرٍ صَغِيْرَةٌ (Bakar's family is small).
  • The Breakdown: The word أُسْرَة (Usrah - Family) is a feminine singular noun (Ism Mu’annath Mufrad) because it ends with a Ta Marbuta (ة). Therefore, the adjective "small" must also be feminine: صَغِيْرَةٌ (Saghīratun).

2. Subject-Verb Agreement (Al-Mutabaqah)

Verbs in Arabic change their prefix based on the gender of the person doing the action.

Feminine Verb Forms (Prefix: تـ / Ta-)
  • تَتَكَوَّنُ مِنْ وَالِدٍ... (Tatakawwanu - It consists of): Used because the subject is أُسْرَة (Family), which is grammatically feminine.
  • تَعْمَلُ الْوَالِدَةُ (Ta’malu al-wālidatu - The mother works): The mother (الْوَالِدَةُ) is feminine, so we use تَعْمَلُ.
  • تَذْهَبُ زَيْنَبُ (Tadhhabu Zaynabu - Zainab goes): Zainab is a female name, requiring the تـ prefix.
Masculine Verb Forms (Prefix: يـ / Ya-)

When the subject is masculine, the verb starts with a يـ.

  • يَعْمَلُ الْوَالِدُ (Ya’malu al-wālidu - The father works): The father is masculine.
  • يَدْرُسُ بَكْرٌ (Yadrusu Bakrun - Bakar studies): Bakar is masculine.
  • يَتَعَلَّمُ سَعِيْدٌ (Yata’allamu Sa’īdun - Said learns): Said is masculine.

3. The Three Arabic Noun Cases (Al-I'rab)

To speak Fusha correctly, you must look at the last vowel of the noun. This indicates its "case" or its role in the sentence.

The Nominative Case (Al-Marfu')

  • Role: Usually the Subject (Al-Fa'il).
  • Ending: Ends in a Dammah ( ُ / ٌ ).
  • Examples: الْوَالِدُ (The father), بَكْرٌ (Bakar), سَعِيْدٌ (Said).

The Accusative Case (Al-Mansub)

  • Role: The Direct Object (Al-Maf'ul Bih) or a word describing a state/condition.
  • Ending: Ends in a Fatha ( َ / ً ).
  • Examples:
    • يَحْفَظُ الْقُرْآنَ (He memorizes the Quran): الْقُرْآنَ is the object.
    • يَتَعَلَّمُ الْقِرَاءَةَ (He learns reading): الْقِرَاءَةَ is the object.
    • يَعْمَلُ... مُهَنْدِسًا (He works as an engineer): مُهَنْدِسًا describes his state/role.

The Genitive Case (Al-Majrur)

  • Role: Comes after a Preposition (like fī / in, ilā / to, min / from) OR forms the second part of a Possession phrase (Mudaf Ilayh).
  • Ending: Ends in a Kasrah ( ِ / ٍ ).
  • Examples:
    • فِي جَامِعَةِ (In the university): Because of the preposition fī.
    • مِنْ وَالِدٍ (From a father): Because of the preposition min.
    • أُسْرَةُ بَكْرٍ (Usratu Bakrin - Bakar's family): Because Bakar is the "owner" of the family in this phrase.

Summary Table for Quick Reference

Grammatical Role Arabic Term Vowel Ending Key Example from Story
Subject Al-Fa'il Dammah ( ُ ) يَعْمَلُ الْوَالِدُ (The father works)
Direct Object Al-Maf'ul Bih Fatha ( َ ) يَحْفَظُ الْقُرْآنَ (He memorizes the Quran)
Preposition / Possession Al-Majrur Kasrah ( ِ ) فِي جَامِعَةِ (In the university)

How to Practice While Reading

Read the story again, focusing on the final vowels.

  1. Identify the Gender: Every time you see a noun, ask yourself: Is it Mudhakkar or Mu'annath?
  2. Check the Verb: Look at the prefix. Does it match the gender of the subject?

Reading Comprehension Practice

Test your understanding of the story! Try to answer the questions below, then click "Show Answer" to check if you are correct.

1. According to the story, what is the profession of Bakar's father?

Show Answer
He works as an engineer (مُهَنْدِسًا).

2. At which university does Bakar (بَكْرٌ) study?

Show Answer
He studies at Umm Al-Qura University (جَامِعَةِ أُمِّ الْقُرَى) as a first-year student.

3. Who is Zainab (زَيْنَبُ) and where does she go to school?

Show Answer
Zainab is the little sister, and she goes to kindergarten (رَوْضَةِ الْأَطْفَالِ).

4. What does Said (سَعِيْدٌ) do in the evening (فِي الْمَسَاءِ)?

Show Answer
In the evening, he memorizes the Holy Quran in the mosque (يَحْفَظُ الْقُرْآنَ الْكَرِيْمَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ).

5. The story mentions several subjects that Said learns at King Faisal Elementary School. Can you name three of them?

Show Answer
He learns reading (الْقِرَاءَةَ), writing (الْكِتَابَةَ), arithmetic (الْحِسَابَ), as well as geography, history, science, and the Islamic religion.

Source (المصدر):

تَعْلِيمُ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ لِلنَّاطِقِينَ بِغَيْرِهَا
الْكِتَابُ الْأَسَاسِيُّ
جَامِعَةُ أُمِّ الْقُرَى
مَعْهَدُ اللُّغَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ لِلنَّاطِقِينَ بِغَيْرِهَا

(Teaching of Arabic For Non-Native Speakers
The Primary Textbook
Umm Al-Qura University
Institute of Arabic Language for Non-Native Speakers)