Glossary Lesson 4 Unit 16 Version 2

Question 1

UNIT16 (Rule No. 30)

What is the “Construct Phrase” (الإِضَافَةُ) in Arabic grammar and how does it work?

Answer 1

The Idāfah (الإِضَافَةُ) is a phrase made of two connected nouns to show possession or close relationship:

🔹 1st noun (called مُضَاف – “the possessed thing”):

Comes first

Has no “al” and no tanween

Its case (dammah, fatha, kasrah) depends on sentence position

Its definiteness follows the 2nd noun

🔹 2nd noun (called مُضَاف إِلَيْهِ – “the possessor”):

Always in genitive case (مجرور)

Can be definite, indefinite, or a pronoun

🧠 Tip to Remember:
Think of it like “X of Y” → “Book of Allah” = كِتَابُ اللَّهِ

Examples:

كِتَابُ اللَّهِ — Book of Allah

كِتَابُ = possessed thing (مُضَاف)

اللَّهِ = possessor (مُضَاف إِلَيْهِ, definite & genitive)

كِتَابُهُ — His book

هُ is a pronoun for the possessor (no genitive marker needed)

عَالِمُ بَلَدٍ — A scholar of a town

Both words are indefinite, and بَلَدٍ is in genitive

Question 2

Unit

What does the phrase “كَتَبْتُ بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ” teach us about Idāfah (الإِضَافَةُ) and grammar?

Answer 2

📘 كَتَبْتُ بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ = I wrote in the name of Allah

✅ Key Grammar Breakdown:

🔹 تُ = “I” → Subject (attached pronoun)
🔹 بِاسْمِ اللَّهِ = Predicate → Prepositional phrase made of:

بِـ = preposition (“in/with”)

اسْمِ اللَّهِ = Idāfah phrase (“the name of Allah”)

🔹 Inside the Idāfah:

اللَّهِ = Second noun (مُضَاف إِلَيْهِ)

Definite & in genitive case (kasrah)

اسْمِ = First noun (مُضَاف)

Made definite by link to اللَّهِ

Also in genitive case due to بِـ (preposition before it)

🧠 Remember:
When a preposition like بِـ comes before an Idāfah, the first noun also goes into genitive case, even though that’s usually for the second noun.

📌 Grammar tip:

Kasrah (ـِ) = genitive

Fathah (ـَ) / Tanwin (ـً) = accusative (used when NOT after a preposition)

Question 3

Rule No. 31

What happens when the vocative particle (يَا) comes before a construct phrase (إِضَافَةٌ)?

Answer 3

🗣️ When “يَا” (O!) comes before an Idāfah phrase:

🔸 The first noun (المُضَاف) changes to the accusative case → takes a fathah (ـَ)
🔸 The second noun (المُضَاف إِلَيْهِ) stays in the genitive case → takes a kasrah (ـِ)
🔸 This happens even though vocatives usually take the nominative, but mudāf is special!

📘 Example:
يَاعَبْدَ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟
“O ‘Abdallah, how are you?”

🔹 عَبْدَ = mudāf (first noun), accusative with fathah because of يَا
🔹 اللَّهِ = mudāf ilayh (second noun), genitive with kasrah
🔹 Together: عَبْدَ اللَّهِ = “servant of Allah”

🧠 Memory Tip:
Vocative **“يَا” pulls the first noun into accusative, but the second noun stays loyal to genitive!