Lesson 33: Two of Everything

Step 1 of 5: Learn

In the last lesson you learned the endings of the dual. In this one you will read them in running text, where the nominative ـَانِ and the oblique ـَيْنِ keep changing places as the two things become subject, object or genitive. Before the passage, four short points are explained with examples: the relative pronoun, the verb اِشْتَرَى, the words أَوَّلُ, آخَرُ and وَاحِدٌ, and the idiom كَبِيرُ السِّنِّ. Read each point, then watch for it in the story.

Rule 1: 1. The dual in a sentence

Decide the case of a dual noun exactly as you would for a singular: subject or predicate, nominative ـَانِ; after a preposition or as the second word of an iḍāfa, genitive ـَيْنِ; object of a verb, accusative ـَيْنِ. Remember too that the comparative أَكْبَرُ does not change: it is the same after a masculine, a feminine or a dual noun.

مَعَهُمَا سَلَّتَانِ.
maʿahumā sallatāni
They (two) have two baskets with them.
لِلْبَائِعِ حَانُوتَانِ فِي السُّوقِ.
li-l-bāʾiʿi ḥānūtāni fi-s-sūqi
The seller has two shops in the market.
اِشْتَرَيْتُ بَيْضَتَيْنِ وَسَمَكَةً وَاحِدَةً.
ishtaraytu bayḍatayni wa-samakatan wāḥidatan
I bought two eggs and one fish.
ثَمَنُ الرُّمَّانَتَيْنِ دِرْهَمٌ.
thamanu-r-rummānatayni dirhamun
The price of the two pomegranates is a dirham.
هَاتَانِ السَّمَكَتَانِ أَكْبَرُ مِنْ سَمَكَتَيْكَ.
hātāni-s-samakatāni akbaru min samakatayka
These two fish are bigger than your two fish.
أَكْبَرُ stays unchanged after a feminine dual.

Rule 2: 2. The relative pronoun اَلَّذِي / اَلَّتِي

You have seen that an indefinite noun can be followed directly by a describing clause: رَجُلٌ دَخَلَ الْحَانُوتَ a man who entered the shop. When the noun is definite, the clause must be introduced by a relative pronoun: اَلَّذِي who, which for a masculine noun and اَلَّتِي for a feminine one. If the noun is the object of the verb inside the clause, a pronoun suffix refers back to it: اَلسَّمَكَةُ الَّتِي اشْتَرَيْتُهَا the fish which I bought (it). Both pronouns begin with hamzat al-waṣl and are written with a shadda on the ل.

اَلْبَائِعُ الَّذِي فِي السُّوقِ طَيِّبٌ.
al-bāʾiʿu-lladhī fi-s-sūqi ṭayyibun
The seller who is in the market is kind.
اَلسَّلَّةُ الَّتِي عَلَى الْمَائِدَةِ جَدِيدَةٌ.
as-sallatu-llatī ʿala-l-māʾidati jadīdatun
The basket that is on the table is new.
اَلرُّمَّانُ الَّذِي اشْتَرَيْتُهُ رَخِيصٌ.
ar-rummānu-lladhi-shtaraytuhu rakhīṣun
The pomegranates that I bought are cheap.
ـهُ refers back to اَلرُّمَّانُ.
اَلْبِنْتُ الَّتِي قَسَمَتِ السَّمَكَةَ أُخْتِي.
al-bintu-llatī qasamati-s-samakata ukhtī
The girl who divided the fish is my sister.
أَيْنَ الْحَانُوتُ الَّذِي دَخَلْتَهُ؟
ayna-l-ḥānūtu-lladhī dakhaltahu
Where is the shop that you went into?

Indefinite and definite nouns before a clause

رَجُلٌ دَخَلَ الْحَانُوتَ

rajulun dakhala-l-ḥānūta

a man who entered the shop

اَلرَّجُلُ الَّذِي دَخَلَ الْحَانُوتَ

ar-rajulu-lladhī dakhala-l-ḥānūta

the man who entered the shop

After an indefinite noun the clause follows directly; after a definite noun اَلَّذِي or اَلَّتِي is required.

Rule 3: 3. The verb اِشْتَرَى 'to buy'

اِشْتَرَى he bought begins with hamzat al-waṣl, the same joining hamza as the article. At the start of an utterance it is read ishtarā; inside a sentence the hamza is not pronounced and the voice runs on from the previous vowel: وَاشْتَرَى wa-shtarā, مَا اشْتَرَيْتُ ma-shtaraytu. The verb ends in a weak letter, so its perfect endings sit on a ي: اِشْتَرَيْتُ I bought, اِشْتَرَتْ she bought. With a suffix the final alif is written tall: اِشْتَرَاهَا he bought it (f.). The imperfect is يَشْتَرِي.

اِشْتَرَى أَبِي سَمَكَةً كَبِيرَةً.
ishtarā abī samakatan kabīratan
My father bought a big fish.
اِشْتَرَتْ أُمِّي سَلَّةً وَاشْتَرَتْ أُخْتِي بَيْضَتَيْنِ.
ishtarat ummī sallatan wa-shtarat ukhtī bayḍatayni
My mother bought a basket and my sister bought two eggs.
مَا اشْتَرَيْتُ الرُّمَّانَ، اِشْتَرَيْتُ السَّمَكَ.
ma-shtaraytu-r-rummāna, ishtaraytu-s-samaka
I did not buy the pomegranates, I bought the fish.
هَلْ تَشْتَرِي رُمَّانًا الْيَوْمَ؟
hal tashtarī rummānani-l-yawma
Are you buying pomegranates today?
اَلسَّمَكَةُ الَّتِي اشْتَرَاهَا أَخِي رَخِيصَةٌ.
as-samakatu-llati-shtarāhā akhī rakhīṣatun
The fish that my brother bought is cheap.

اِشْتَرَى in the persons you know

Perfect and imperfect, singular, with the dual of the third person.
Person	Perfect	Imperfect
I	اِشْتَرَيْتُ	أَشْتَرِي
you (m.)	اِشْتَرَيْتَ	تَشْتَرِي
you (f.)	اِشْتَرَيْتِ	تَشْتَرِينَ
he	اِشْتَرَى	يَشْتَرِي
she	اِشْتَرَتْ	تَشْتَرِي
we	اِشْتَرَيْنَا	نَشْتَرِي
they two (m.)	اِشْتَرَيَا	يَشْتَرِيَانِ
they two (f.)	اِشْتَرَتَا	تَشْتَرِيَانِ

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

حَانُوتٌ

ḥānūtun

shop

بَائِعٌ

bāʾiʿun

seller, vendor

ثَمَنٌ

thamanun

price

رَخِيصٌ

rakhīṣun

cheap

رُمَّانَةٌ

rummānatun

a pomegranate

سَمَكَةٌ

samakatun

a fish

بَيْضَةٌ

bayḍatun

an egg

سَلَّةٌ

sallatun

basket

اِشْتَرَى

ishtarā

he bought

قَسَمَ

qasama

he divided

قِسْمٌ

qismun

part, portion

وَاحِدٌ

wāḥidun

one

أَوَّلُ

awwalu

first

آخَرُ

ākharu

other, another

اَلَّذِي

alladhī

who, which, that (m.)

دِرْهَمٌ

dirhamun

dirham (a silver coin)

سِنٌّ

sinnun

tooth; age

Step 2 of 5: Read

In the market

فِي السُّوقِ

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Who went to the market, and when?
2.What did Khalid buy, and from which shop?
3.Which is cheaper, the pomegranate or the fish?
4.Who are the two fish for?

In the Quran

ٱلَّذِى
Surah Al-'Alaq · 96:4
اَلَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ: the masculine relative اَلَّذِي referring back to رَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ in the previous ayah.
- ٱلَّذِىalladhīThe One Who
Read in context
ٱلَّتِى
Surah Al-Humazah · 104:7
اَلَّتِي تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى الْأَفْئِدَةِ: the feminine relative اَلَّتِي referring back to نَارُ اللّٰهِ, since نَارٌ is feminine.
- ٱلَّتِىallatīWhich
Read in context
وَمِن دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ
Surah Ar-Rahman · 55:62
وَمِنْ دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ: the dual suffix ـهِمَا after a preposition and the nominative dual جَنَّتَانِ as subject.
- وَمِنwaminBesides these two
- دُونِهِمَاdūnihimāBesides these two
- جَنَّتَانِjannatāni(are) two gardens
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 60/0 correct

Fill in the blank

Complete with the right relative pronoun: 'the basket that is on the table'.

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

اِشْتَرَى أَخِي رُمَّانَتَيْنِ وَاشْتَرَيْتُ أَنَا سَمَكَتَيْنِ.

2.

اَلْحَانُوتُ الَّذِي فِي السُّوقِ الْجَدِيدَةِ رَخِيصٌ.

3.

اَلسَّلَّةُ الَّتِي حَمَلَتْهَا أُخْتِي كَبِيرَةٌ.

4.

قَسَمَتْ أُمِّي السَّمَكَةَ إِلَى قِسْمَيْنِ: قِسْمٌ لِي وَقِسْمٌ لِأَخِي.

5.

اَلْبَائِعُ كَبِيرُ السِّنِّ، وَهُوَ أَكْبَرُ سِنًّا مِنْ جَدِّي.

6.

أَكَلْتُ الْبَيْضَةَ الْأُولَى وَوَضَعْتُ الْبَيْضَةَ الْأُخْرَى فِي السَّلَّةِ.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

The fish that I bought is cheap.

2.

The man who entered the shop is my uncle.

3.

She bought two baskets from the first shop.

4.

These two pomegranates are bigger than that pomegranate.

5.

He divided the bread into two parts.

6.

The price of one egg is a dirham.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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