Lesson 75: Commands at Home

Step 1 of 5: Learn

This lesson is a workshop. The passage below contains more than a dozen commands and prohibitions addressed to one man, one woman and a group, and several sentences with كَانَ before an imperfect. Read it aloud first, paying attention to where the hamzat al-waṣl is heard and where it is swallowed, then work through the three points explained here before you attempt the exercises.

Rule 1: 1. Imperatives with an object pronoun

The object pronouns you know (ـهُ, ـهَا, ـهُمْ, ـنِي and the rest) attach directly to the imperative. Two spelling points: the silent alif written after ـُوا is dropped once a suffix follows (اِفْتَحُوا but اِفْتَحُوهُ), and a final sukūn stays as it is (اِفْتَحْهُ, iftaḥhu).

اِفْتَحِ الْبَابَ. اِفْتَحْهُ.
iftaḥi l-bāba. iftaḥhu
Open the door. Open it.
اِغْسِلِي الْمَنَاشِفَ. اِغْسِلِيهَا.
ighsili l-manāshifa. ighsilīhā
Wash (f.) the towels. Wash them.
اِحْمِلُوا الصُّنْدُوقَ. اِحْمِلُوهُ.
iḥmilu ṣ-ṣundūqa. iḥmilūhu
Carry (pl.) the box. Carry it.
The alif of اِحْمِلُوا disappears before ـهُ.
اُكْتُبْ لِي رِسَالَةً وَلَا تَتْرُكْنِي بِلَا خَبَرٍ.
uktub lī risālatan wa-lā tatruknī bi-lā khabarin
Write me a letter and do not leave me without news.
ـنِي 'me' after the jussive of the prohibition.

Rule 2: 2. كَانَ يَفْعَلُ: used to, or was doing?

كَانَ with the imperfect has two English faces. With a time phrase of repetition (كُلَّ يَوْمٍ, دَائِمًا) it is a habit, used to. With a single moment in the past (لَمَّا دَخَلْتُ when I came in) it is an action in progress, was doing. Negate it with مَا كَانَ يَفْعَلُ or, more often, لَمْ يَكُنْ يَفْعَلُ.

كَانَ جَدِّي يَنْشُرُ الْحَبَّ لِلطُّيُورِ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ.
kāna jaddī yanshuru l-ḥabba li-ṭ-ṭuyūri kulla ṣabāḥin
My grandfather used to scatter grain for the birds every morning.
لَمَّا دَخَلْتُ الْمَطْبَخَ كَانَتْ أُمِّي تَغْسِلُ الدَّلْوَ.
lammā dakhaltu l-maṭbakha kānat ummī taghsilu d-dalwa
When I entered the kitchen my mother was washing the bucket.
لَمْ يَكُنْ أَخِي يَحْمِلُ الْحَطَبَ وَحْدَهُ.
lam yakun akhī yaḥmilu l-ḥaṭaba waḥdahu
My brother did not use to carry the firewood alone.
هَلْ كُنْتُمْ تَجْلِسُونَ عَلَى السَّطْحِ فِي الصَّيْفِ؟
hal kuntum tajlisūna ʿala s-saṭḥi fi ṣ-ṣayfi
Did you (pl.) use to sit on the roof in summer?

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).

جِدَارٌ

jidārun

wall

سِتَارَةٌ

sitāratun

curtain

مِكْنَسَةٌ

miknasatun

broom

دَلْوٌ

dalwun

bucket

صَابُونٌ

ṣābūnun

soap

مِنْشَفَةٌ

minshafatun

towel

خِزَانَةٌ

khizānatun

cupboard, wardrobe

رَفٌّ

raffun

shelf

فُرْنٌ

furnun

oven

حَطَبٌ

ḥaṭabun

firewood

حَبْلٌ

ḥablun

rope, line

سَطْحٌ

saṭḥun

roof, flat roof

عِيدٌ

ʿīdun

feast, Eid

نَشَرَ يَنْشُرُ

nashara, yanshuru

to spread out, hang out (washing), scatter

رَفَعَ يَرْفَعُ

rafaʿa, yarfaʿu

to lift, raise

حَضَرَ يَحْضُرُ

ḥaḍara, yaḥḍuru

to come, attend, be present

ثَقِيلٌ

thaqīlun

heavy

خَفِيفٌ

khafīfun

light (in weight)

Step 2 of 5: Read

Before the feast

قَبْلَ الْعِيدِ

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Why did the father want the house cleaned?
2.What was the brother told not to do?
3.Where did the sister wash the curtains?
4.What did the grandmother use to bake, and where?
5.What did the father tell the children to do in the evening?

In the Quran

وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ
Surah Maryam · 19:55
وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ: perfect كَانَ before an imperfect, 'he used to command his family to pray', a habit.
- وَكَانَwakānaAnd he used
- يَأْمُرُyamuru(to) enjoin
Read in context
۞ يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍۢ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
Surah Al-A'raf · 7:31
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا: the imperative اِشْرَبُوا (second radical a, hamza i, silent after وَ) beside a prohibition with لَا and the jussive.
Read in context
وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
Surah Al-Baqarah · 2:35
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ: a prohibition addressed to two people, the dual jussive without its ن.
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 60/0 correct

Transform

Replace the object noun with a pronoun suffix:

اُنْشُرُوا السَّتَائِرَ.

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

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

1.

يَا أَوْلَادُ، اِحْمِلُوا الصَّنَادِيقَ الْخَفِيفَةَ وَلَا تَرْفَعُوا الثَّقِيلَةَ.

2.

اِغْسِلِي السَّتَائِرَ بِالْمَاءِ وَالصَّابُونِ ثُمَّ انْشُرِيهَا عَلَى الْحَبْلِ.

3.

كَانَ أَبِي يَحْمِلُ الْحَطَبَ إِلَى الْفُرْنِ كُلَّ صَبَاحٍ.

4.

لَمَّا حَضَرَ الضُّيُوفُ كُنَّا نَكْنُسُ السَّطْحَ.

5.

اُكْنُسِ الْغُرْفَةَ بِهٰذِهِ الْمِكْنَسَةِ وَامْسَحِ الْجُدْرَانَ.

6.

لَمْ تَكُنْ أُخْتِي تَفْتَحُ الْخِزَانَةَ بِلَا مِفْتَاحٍ.

Translate from English to Arabic

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

1.

Lift (m. sg.) this bucket; it is light.

2.

Wash (f. sg.) the towels and put them on the shelf.

3.

Do not open (m. pl.) the oven before supper.

4.

My grandmother used to sweep the house before dawn.

5.

When I came in, my brother was spreading the carpet.

6.

Carry (m. sg.) the rope to the roof and do not leave it on the wall.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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