Here are some prepositions--those little words that show the relation of one thing to another. Prepositions are an important part of putting sentences together. They are not always the exact equivalent of the English translation.
Prepositions: Fii - In, at Fawqa - Above Tata - Below cAlaa - On, upon Janba - Next to, beside Maca - With
Let's practice putting sentences together using some new vocabulary words as well as the ones we know already:
Madrasah - School Bayt - House Maktab - Office Macam - Restaurant Shaaric - Street
Philadelphia madiinah fii Pennsylvania. = Philly is a city in Pennsylvania. Beirut madiinah fii Lubnaan. = Beirut is a city in Lebanon. Amad fii al-maktab maca John. = Ahmad is in the office with John. Ayna al-macam al-jadiid? = Where is the new restaurant? Al-macam al-jadiid fii shaaric Walnut. = The new restaurant is on Walnut Street. As-sayyaarah fii ash-shaari c. = The car is in the street. Faimah taskun fawqa al-maktab. = Fatimah lives above the office. Anaa askun maca usratii. = I live with my family. Al-bayt janba al-madrasah. = The house is next to the school. Al-asad janba al-arnab. = The lion is beside the rabbit. Al-daftar calaa a-aawilah. = The notebook is on the table. Ayna al-qaamuus? = Where is the dictionary? Al-qaamuus tat al-kursii. = The dictionary is under the chair.
LESSON 35
POSSESSION
There are several ways to express possession in Arabic. The easiest ways are to just use a preposition, which is followed by a pronoun suffix. The preposition "li" means "to or for" so if you add the suffix "-k" for you, masculine, you get "liik" meaning "to you, for you," but it also is used to mean "you have." This expression is usually used for things that you cannot possess physically (intangibles) such as relationships.
Lii = I have Liik (laka) = you m. have Liiki (laki) = you f. have Lahu = he has Lahaa = she has Linaa (lana) = we have Liiku (lakum) = you pl. have Lahum = they have
Lii akh wa ukht. = I have a brother and a sister Lahaa sadiiq min Lubnaan. = She has a friend from Lebanon. Lahu usrah kabiirah. = He has a big family. Lahum jadd fii Kuwayt. = They have a grandfather in Kuwait.
The preposition "cinda" (sometimes pronounced "canda") is used to indicate possession of things you own, like a car or a pencil.
cindii = I have cindak = you m. have cindik = you f. have cinduh = he has cindahaa = she has cindanaa = we have cindakum = you pl. have cindahum = they have
cIndii sayyaarah qadiimah. = I have an old car. cIndahaa qaamuus jadiid. = She has a new dictionary. cIndanaa maktab kabiir. = We have a large office.
Sometimes you can use either "li" or "cinda." Lii su'aal/ cindii su'aal. = I have a question.
When you are asking a yes or no question, you put the short word "hal" in front of the question. This is used usually if you are writing or speaking formally. Usually, in conversation, you do not say "hal" but indicate that you are asking a question by your intonation, raising the tone of the word you are asking about.
(Hal) cindak qalam?/cindik qalam? = Do you (m/f) have a pen? (Hal) cinduh sayyaarah? = Does he have a car? (Hal) Liik akh? / Liiki akh? = Do you (m/f) have a brother? (Hal) taskun fii bayt? = Do you (m.) live in a house?
