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Arabic grammar for dictation

The rules behind the mistakes learners make most often in Arabic dictations, each with examples and the trap to avoid.

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Where does the hamza go in Arabic?

The hamza is a glottal stop written on a seat. At the start of a word it sits on an alif: above for with a or u, below for with i. In the middle and at the end, the vowels around it choose the seat: , , . A wrong hamza counts as half a mistake.

  • أكل الولد خبزا.
  • إن الطقس جميل.
  • سأل سؤالا.

The trap: An alif with a madda, , is a hamza and a long a together, as in .

How do I tell taa marbuta from haa, and alif maqsura from yaa?

At the end of a word, taa marbuta sounds like a soft h when you pause, just like , but it marks most feminine nouns and adjectives: , . Alif maqsura sounds like a long a and has no dots, while final has two dots below: , .

  • هذه مدرسة جميلة.
  • ذهبت إلى المدينة.
  • الكتاب على الطاولة.

The trap: Taa marbuta sounds like t before another word, as in , so listen for it.

Why is the l of the article sometimes not heard?

The article is always written, but before a sun letter its l is not pronounced and the next letter doubles: sounds like ash-shams. Before a moon letter the l is heard: . Sun letters include t, d, r, z, s, sh, n and their emphatic forms.

  • الشمس حارة.
  • القمر جميل.
  • ذهب الرجل إلى السوق.

The trap: You only hear the doubled letter, so write anyway.

When does an Arabic adjective agree?

An adjective follows its noun and copies it: gender, number and the article. A feminine noun takes a feminine adjective, usually with : . A definite noun takes a definite adjective: . Plurals of things take a feminine singular adjective: .

  • بنت صغيرة
  • البيت الكبير
  • كتب جديدة

The trap: Without on the adjective it becomes a sentence: means the house is big.

Which punctuation marks does Arabic use?

Arabic uses the full stop like English, but its comma , semicolon and question mark face the other way, because the text runs from right to left. Arabic keyboards type them directly. Put a comma between items in a list and a question mark after every direct question.

  • هل أنت جاهز؟
  • اشتريت خبزا، وجبنا، وتفاحا.

The trap: An English comma or question mark in Arabic text counts as a punctuation mistake.