One fascinating aspect of the Arabic language is the use of demonstrative pronouns, which play a crucial role in communication.
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, understanding these pronouns and how they differ from their English counterparts is essential for mastering Arabic.
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of demonstrative pronouns in Arabic, exploring their various types, their usage in different contexts, and uncovering the key distinctions that set them apart from English pronouns.
Lesson Contents
- Demonstrative pronoun basic concept
- Demonstrative Pronoun in a sentence
- Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as a subject or mubtada’ (مبتدأ) in a sentence.
- Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as a doer or fa’il (فاعل) in a sentence.
- Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as an object or maf’ul bih (مفعول به) in a sentence.
- Recap
- Quiz
Demonstrative pronoun basic concept
1. Demonstrative pronoun in Arabic is called اِسْمُ الإشارة (ism al-isharah) in Arabic.
2. They are used to point someone or something specific.
3. They can vary in gender (masculine/مذكّر and feminine/مؤنّث) and number (singular/مفرد, dual/مثنّى, and plural/جمع).
4. There are two forms of demonstrative pronoun, they are:
a. اِسْمُ الإِشارَةِ لِلْقَرِيْبِ (ism al-isharah lilqarib): demonstrative pronoun for near distance.
b. اِسْمُ الإِشارَةِ لِلْبَعِيدِ (ism al-isharah lilba’id): demonstrative pronoun for far distance.
5. I list the all forms of demonstrative pronoun below:
5.1 Near distance
- ismul isharah lilqarib mudhakkar mufrad (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, masculine, singular): هَذَا (hadha).
- ismul isharah lilqarib mudhakkar muthanna (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, masculine, dual): هَذَانِ (hadhaani).
- ismul isharah lilqarib mudhakkar jama’ (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, masculine, plural): هَؤُلاَءِ (ha-ulaa-i).
- ismul isharah lilqarib mu-annath mufrad (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, feminine, singular): هَذِهِ (hadhihi).
- ismul isharah lilqarib mu-annath muthanna (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, feminine, dual): هَاتَانِ (haataani).
- ismul isharah lilqarib mu-annath jama’ (demonstrative pronoun for near distance, feminine, plural): هَؤُلاَءِ (ha-ulaa-i).
5.2 Far distance
- ismul isharah lilba’id mudhakkar mufrad (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, masculine, singular): ذَلِكَ (dhalika).
- ismul isharah lilba’id mudhakkar muthanna (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, masculine, dual): ذَانِكَ (dhanika).
- ismul isharah lilba’id mudhakkar jama’ (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, masculine, plural): أُولَئِكَ (ulaa-ika).
- ismul isharah lilba’id mu-annath mufrad (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, feminine, singular): تِلْكَ (tilka).
- ismul isharah lilba’id mu-annath muthanna (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, feminine, dual): تَانِكَ (taanika).
- ismul isharah lilba’id mu-annath jama’ (demonstrative pronoun for far distance, feminine, plural): أُولَئِكَ (ulaa-ika).
Demonstrative pronoun / Ism Isharah in a table
All Forms of demonstrative pronoun in Arabic with English meaning
6. Demonstrative pronouns are considered definite nouns (اسم معرفة) in Arabic grammar. This is because they refer to specific entities, as opposed to indefinite nouns (اسم نكرة), which refer to general entities.
7. There is an agreement between the demonstrative pronoun and its noun in terms of these factors: gender and number.
Examples:
a. If the noun is masculine singular, the corresponding demonstrative pronoun should be masculine singular as well.
هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ = This is a teacher.
مُدَرِّسٌ (mudarrisun) is a masculine singular noun. So, the demonstrative pronoun must be هَذَا.
b. If the noun is masculine plural, the corresponding demonstrative pronoun should be masculine plural as well.
هَؤُلاَءِ مُدَرِّسُوْنَ = These are teachers.
مُدَرِّسُوْنَ (mudarrisuuna) is a masculine plural noun.
So, the demonstrative pronoun must be هَؤُلاَءِ.
Sentence Examples using all forms of Demonstrative pronoun in Arabic
You can observe the complete examples in the table below.
Demonstrative Pronoun in a sentence
Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as a subject or mubtada’ (مبتدأ) in a sentence.
In nominal sentence or jumlah ismiyyah (جملة اسميّة), ism isharah functions as a subject (mubtada’).
Things to remember:
a. If predicate or khabar (خبر) is mufrad, then the sentence structure is definite noun or ism ma’rifah (اسم معرفة) as a mubtada’, and indefinite noun or ism nakirah (اسم نكرة) as a khabar.
Note: The khabar Mufrad in this context means the khabar is not a sentence (jumlah) or phrase (shibhul jumlah).
Please review the previous lesson about this matter in the following lesson: jumlah ismiyyah is comprised of mubtada’ and khabar.
b. Demonstrative pronoun or ism al-isharah (اسم الإشارة) is definite noun or ism ma’rifah.
Let’s study the sentence examples using demonstrative pronoun or ism al-isharah as a subject or mubtada’.
Sentence examples
- هَذَا تِلْمِيْذٌ (hadha tilmiidhun): This is a student.
هَذَا تِلْمِيْذٌ is an example of nominal sentence or jumlah ismiyyah.
هَذَا is demonstrative pronoun or ism al-isharah. It is definite noun or ism ma’rifah. It is acted as subject or mubtada’.
تِلْمِيْذٌ is indefinite noun or ism nakirah because it has tanwiin at the end. It is acted as predicate or khabar.
Now I will show you that there is a demonstrative pronoun that functions as a mubtada, but it is not a sentence but just a phrase.
Observe the example below:
هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ (hadha at-tilmiidhu). Is this a sentence? The answer is “this is not a sentence”. Why? Because the structure is not the same as nominal sentence (jumlah ismiyyah) structure.
Jumlah ismiyyah structure (when the khabar is mufrad) is definite noun (ism ma’rifah) as a subject or mubtada’, and indefinite noun (ism nakirah) as a predicate or khabar.
Let’s look at the components of this sentence one by one.
هَذَا: demonstrative pronoun. It is definite noun or ism ma’rifah.
التِّلْمِيْذُ: It is a noun or ism. It’s not a jumlah or shibhul jumlah.
But التِّلْمِيْذُ is definite noun or ism ma’rifah.
So, it is not a sentence.
The meaning of هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ is “This student”.
If you want to make it a sentence, you have to add a predicate or khabar.
For example, I add the word “مُجْتَهِدٌ” as a khabar.
So, it becomes هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ مُجْتَهِدٌ (hadha at-tilmiidhu mujtahidun).
هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ مُجْتَهِدٌ means “This student is diligent.”
هَذَا: subject or mubtada’.
التِّلْمِيْذُ: apposition or badal (بدل). It has the same syntactic function as هَذَا
مُجْتَهِدٌ : predicate or khabar.
Recap
هَذَا تِلْمِيْذٌ is a sentence. It means “This is a student”.
هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ is not a sentence. It means “This student”.
If you want to make a sentence, you have to add a khabar.
هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ مُجْتَهِدٌ is a sentence. It means “This student is diligent”.
Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as a doer or fa’il (فاعل) in a sentence.
In verbal sentence or jumlah fi’liyyah (جملة فعليّة), ism isharah functions as a fa’il (فاعل).
Sentence examples:
- حَضَرَ هَذَا التِّلْمِيْذُ (hadara hadha at-tilmiidhu). It means “This student attended”.
حَضَرَ: fi’l madi (فعل ماض).
هَذَا: ism isharah (اسم إشارة). It functions as fa’il (في محل فاعل).
التِّلْمِيْذُ: badal (بدل). It has the same syntactic function as هَذَا.
- حَضَرَ هَذَانِ التِّلْمِيْذَانِ (hadara hadhaani at-tilmiidhaani). It means “These two students attended”.
- حَضَرَ هَؤُلاَءِ التَّلَامِيْذُ (hadara ha-ulaa-i at-talaamiidhu). It means “These students attended”.
- حَضَرَتْ هَذِهِ التِّلْمِيْذَةُ (hadarat hadhihi at-tilmiidhatu). It means “This female student attended”.
- حَضَرَتْ هَاتَانِ التِّلْمِيْذَتَانِ (hadarat haataani at-tilmiidhataani). It means “These two female students attended”.
- حَضَرَتْ هَؤُلاَءِ التِّلْمِيْذَاتُ (hadarat ha-ulaa-i at-tilmidhaatu). It means “These female students attended”.
Demonstrative pronoun or ism isharah (اسم الإشارة) functions as an object or maf’ul bih (مفعول به) in a sentence.
Sentence examples:
- ضَرَبْتُ هَذَا الوَلَدَ (darabtu hadha al-walada). It means “I hit this boy”.
ضَرَبْتُ: fi’l madi with damir muttasil “تُ” that is acted as fa’il.
هَذَا: ism isharah. It functions as maf’ul bih (في محلّ نصب مفعول به).
الوَلَدَ: badal lil maf’ul bih. It has the same syntactic function as هَذَا.
- ضَرَبْتُ هَذَيْنِ الوَلَدَيْنِ (darabtu hadhaini al-waladaani). It means “I hit these two boys”.
- ضَرَبْتُ هَؤُلاَءِ الأَوْلاَدَ (darabtu ha-u-laa-i al-awlada). It means “I hit these boys”.
- ضَرَبْتُ هَذِهِ الوَلَدَةِ (darabtu hadhihi al-waladati). It means “I hit this girl”.
- ضَرَبْتُ هَاتَيْنِ الوَلَدَتَيْنِ (darabtu haataini al-waladataini). It means “I hist these two girls”.
- ضَرَبْتُ هَؤُلاَءِ الوَلَدَاتِ (darabtu ha-ulaa-i al-waladaati). It means “I hit these girls”.
Recap
Ism Isharah / Demonstrative pronoun recap in a picture.
Quiz
Multiple choice
The type of quiz is multiple choice question. Each question will have four options and only one correct answer. Ready? Let’s begin!
- What does “هَذَا” mean in English?
a) You
b) This
c) That
d) These
- هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ translates to
a) This teacher
b) That is a teacher
c) This is a teacher
d) These are teachers
- The appropriate meaning of تِلْكَ مُدَرِّسَةٌ is:
a) This is a teacher
b) These are two teachers
c) The teacher is that
d) That is a teacher
- Which of these pronouns means ‘These are two teachers’?
a) هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ
b) ذَلِكَ مُدَرِّسٌ
c) هَاتَانِ مُدَرِّسَتَانِ
d) ذَانِكَ مُدَرِّسَانِ - Match this phrase with its right translation: ‘أُولَئِكَ مُدَرِّسُوْنَ’
a) These are two teachers (masculine)
b) Those are teachers (masculine)
c) Those are two teachers (feminine) - ‘هَذِهِ مُدَرِّسَةٌ’, represents:
a) This is a teacher (masculine)
b) These is a teacher (feminine)
c) This is a teacher (feminine) - Translate this phrase: ‘ذَلِكَ مُدَرِّسٌ’
a) These are teachers
b) This is a teacher
c) That is a teacher - What is the English equivalent for ‘ذَانِكَ مُدَرِّسَانِ’?
a) These are teachers
b) These are two teachers
c) Those are two teachers - How would one say ‘Those are teachers (feminine, plural)’ in Arabic?
a) هَذِهِ مُدَرِّسَةٌ
b) أُولَئِكَ مُدَرِّسَاتٌ
c) هَاتَانِ مُدَرِّسَتَانِ - Which phrase correctly translates to ‘These are two teachers (feminine)’?
a) هَاتَانِ مُدَرِّسَتَانِ
b) هَاتَانِ مُدَرِّسَانِ
c) هَؤُلاَءِ مُدَرِّسَاتٌ - Identify the intended khabar in ‘هَؤُلاَءِ مُدَرِّسَاتٌ’:
a) Teachers (masculine, plural, near distance)
b) Teachers (feminine, plural, near distance)
c) Students (feminine, plural, near distance) - The masculine equivalent of ‘هَؤُلاَءِ مُدَرِّسَاتٌ’ is?
a) ذَلِكَ مُدَرِّسٌ
b) هَؤُلاَءِ مُدَرِّسُوْنَ
c) هَذَانِ مُدَرِّسَانِ - The Arabic phrase for ‘that is a teacher (feminine)’ in English is:
a) تِلْكَ مُدَرِّسَةٌ
b) هَذَا مُدَرِّسٌ
c) تَانِكَ مُدَرِّسَةٌ - ‘هَذَا’ and ‘هَذِهِ’ shows difference in:
a) Distance
b) Quantity
c) Gender - What is the Arabic word for “these” when referring to a masculine dual noun in near distance? a) هَذَانِ
b) هَاتَانِ
c) ذَانِكَ
d) تَانِكَ - What is the Arabic word for “those” when referring to a feminine plural noun in far distance?
a) أُولَئِكَ
b) هَؤُلاَءِ
c) مُدَرِّسَاتٌ
d) مُدَرِّسُوْنَ - How do you say “This is a book” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and masculine singular noun?
a) هَذِهِ كِتَابٌ
b) هَذَا كِتَابٌ
c) ذَلِكَ كِتَابٌ
d) تِلْكَ كِتَابٌ - How do you say “Those are two cars” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for far distance and feminine dual noun?
a) تَانِكَ سَيَّارَتَانِ
b) هَاتَانِ سَيَّارَتَانِ
c) أُولَئِكَ سَيَّارُوْن
d) ذَانِكَ سَيَّارُوْن - How do you say “These are students” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and feminine plural noun?
a) هَؤُلاَءِ طُلّابٌ
b) أُولَئِكَ طُلّابٌ
c) هَؤُلاَءِ طالباتٌ
d) أُولائك طالباتٌ - What is the Arabic word for “that” when referring to a masculine singular noun in far distance? A) هذا
B) هذه
C) ذلك
D) تلك - What is the Arabic word for “these” when referring to a feminine dual noun in near distance?
A) هذان
B) هاتان
C) ذانك
D) تانك - What is the Arabic word for “those” when referring to a masculine plural noun in far distance? A) أولئك
B) هؤلاء
C) مدرسون
D) مدرسات - How do you say “That is a pen” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for far distance and feminine singular noun?
A) هذا قلمٌ
B) هذه قلمٌ
C) ذلك قلمٌ
D) تلك قلمٌ - How do you say “These are two flowers” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and feminine dual noun?
A) هذان زهرتان
B) هاتان زهرتان
C) ذانك زهرتان
D) تانك زهرتان - How do you say “This is a door” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and feminine singular noun?
A) هذا بَابٌ
B) هذه بَابٌ
C) تلك بَابٌ
D) ذلك بَابٌ - How do you say “That is a chair” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for far distance and masculine singular noun?
A) هذا كُرْسِيٌّ
B) هذه كُرْسِيٌّ
C) ذلك كُرْسِيٌّ
D) تلك كُرْسِيٌّ - How do you say “These are two dogs” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and masculine dual noun?
A) هذان كَلْبَانِ
B) هاتان كَلْبَانِ
C) ذانك كَلْبَانِ
D) تانك كَلْبَانِ - How do you say “This is a tree” in Arabic, using the correct demonstrative pronoun for near distance and feminine singular noun?
A) هذا شَجَرَةٌ
B) هذه شَجَرَةٌ
C) تلك شَجَرَةٌ
D) ذلك شَجَرَةٌ
Fill in the blank
Write the appropriate demonstrative pronoun/ism al-isharah
