Lesson 76: The Fox and the She-Goat

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Fables were among the first texts Arabic learners read, because they repeat a small vocabulary, move quickly, and end with a point worth remembering. Read the story of the fox and the she-goat twice: once for the plot, and once marking every command and every verb ending in ى. The grammatical points below prepare you for both.

Rule 1: 1. The perfect of رَأَى

In رَأَى he saw the third radical is a weak letter, written as alif maqṣūra. Before the feminine ending ـَتْ it disappears altogether: رَأَتْ she saw keeps only the stem رَأَ; before the dual ending ـَا it is written as ي: رَأَيَا they two saw; before a consonant ending the weak letter appears as ـيْـ: رَأَيْتُ I saw. The only surprise is the masculine plural رَأَوْا they saw, where the weak letter is swallowed by the ending ـوْا. When a suffix follows, رَأَى is written رَآ: رَآهَا he saw her.

رَأَيْتُ ثَعْلَبًا فِي الْكَرْمِ.
raʾaytu thaʿlaban fi l-karmi
I saw a fox in the vineyard.
رَأَتِ الْعَنْزُ الْحُفْرَةَ وَلَمْ تَنْزِلْ.
raʾati l-ʿanzu l-ḥufrata wa-lam tanzil
The she-goat saw the pit and did not go down.
هَلْ رَأَيْتُمُ الْقَمَرَ أَمْسِ؟
hal raʾaytumu l-qamara amsi
Did you (pl.) see the moon yesterday?
رَأَوْا صَاحِبَ الْكَرْمِ فَهَرَبُوا.
raʾaw ṣāḥiba l-karmi fa-harabū
They saw the owner of the vineyard and fled.
رَأَوْا, not رَأَيُوا.
لَمَّا رَآهَا الثَّعْلَبُ ضَحِكَ.
lammā raʾāha th-thaʿlabu ḍaḥika
When the fox saw her he laughed.
رَأَى + هَا is written رَآهَا.

رَأَى in the perfect

بَنَى، بَكَى، أَتَى، رَمَى follow the same pattern: بَنَتْ، بَنَيْتُ، بَنَوْا، بَنَيْنَا.
Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
3 m.	رَأَىraʾāhe saw	رَأَيَاraʾayāthey two saw	رَأَوْاraʾawthey saw
3 f.	رَأَتْraʾatshe saw	رَأَتَاraʾatāthey two saw	رَأَيْنَraʾaynathey saw
2 m.	رَأَيْتَraʾaytayou saw	رَأَيْتُمَاraʾaytumāyou two saw	رَأَيْتُمْraʾaytumyou saw
2 f.	رَأَيْتِraʾaytiyou saw	رَأَيْتُمَاraʾaytumāyou two saw	رَأَيْتُنَّraʾaytunnayou saw
1	رَأَيْتُraʾaytuI saw	—	رَأَيْنَاraʾaynāwe saw

Rule 2: 2. بَنَى، بَكَى، أَتَى، رَمَى

These verbs have no hamza in the middle, so they are even simpler than رَأَى: keep the first two radicals with their fatḥas and add the same endings. Remember that a verb placed before its subject stays singular (أَتَى الضُّيُوفُ), as you learnt in lesson 63.

بَنَى جَدِّي هٰذَا الْبَيْتَ قَبْلَ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً.
banā jaddī hādha l-bayta qabla khamsīna sanatan
My grandfather built this house fifty years ago.
بَكَتِ الْبِنْتُ لَمَّا وَقَعَتْ مِنَ السُّلَّمِ.
bakati l-bintu lammā waqaʿat mina s-sullami
The girl wept when she fell off the ladder.
أَتَى الضُّيُوفُ فِي الْمَسَاءِ وَأَتَتِ النِّسَاءُ بَعْدَهُمْ.
ata ḍ-ḍuyūfu fi l-masāʾi wa-atati n-nisāʾu baʿdahum
The guests came in the evening and the women came after them.
رَمَى الْوَلَدُ حَجَرًا فِي الْبِئْرِ.
rama l-waladu ḥajaran fi l-biʾri
The boy threw a stone into the well.
بَنَوْا جِدَارًا حَوْلَ الْكَرْمِ وَبَكَوْا عَلَى الْعِنَبِ الَّذِي أَكَلَتْهُ الثَّعَالِبُ.
banaw jidāran ḥawla l-karmi wa-bakaw ʿala l-ʿinabi lladhī akalat-hu th-thaʿālibu
They built a wall around the vineyard and wept over the grapes the foxes had eaten.

Rule 3: 3. The imperative in dialogue

Stories told in speech are full of commands, and each one tells you who is speaking to whom. A fox addressing a she-goat uses the feminine singular; a farmer addressing his sons uses the masculine plural. Direct speech follows قَالَ and a colon, often with a vocative يَا.

قَالَ الثَّعْلَبُ: اِنْزِلِي يَا أُخْتِي وَاجْلِسِي مَعِي.
qāla th-thaʿlabu: inzilī yā ukhtī wa-jlisī maʿī
The fox said: Come down, my sister, and sit with me.
قَالَتِ الْعَنْزُ: اِسْمَعْ كَلَامِي وَلَا تَتْرُكْنِي.
qālati l-ʿanzu: ismaʿ kalāmī wa-lā tatruknī
The she-goat said: Listen to what I say and do not leave me.
قَالَ صَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ لِأَوْلَادِهِ: اُنْظُرُوا إِلَى الْحُفْرَةِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقْفِزُوا.
qāla ṣāḥibu l-karmi li-awlādihi: unẓurū ila l-ḥufrati qabla an taqfizū
The owner of the vineyard said to his sons: Look at the pit before you jump.
لَا تَصْرُخْ يَا ثَعْلَبُ، فَصَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ قَرِيبٌ.
lā taṣrukh yā thaʿlabu, fa-ṣāḥibu l-karmi qarībun
Do not shout, fox, for the owner of the vineyard is near.

Conjugations: "To Have"

Person	Singular			Plural
	Arabic	Transliteration	English	Arabic	Transliteration	English
he	رَأَى	raʾā	he saw	رَأَوْا	raʾaw	they (m.) saw
she	رَأَتْ	raʾat	she saw	رَأَيْنَ	raʾayna	they (f.) saw
you (m.)	رَأَيْتَ	raʾayta	you (m.) saw	رَأَيْتُمْ	raʾaytum	you (m. pl.) saw
you (f.)	رَأَيْتِ	raʾayti	you (f.) saw	رَأَيْتُنَّ	raʾaytunna	you (f. pl.) saw
I	رَأَيْتُ	raʾaytu	I saw	رَأَيْنَا	raʾaynā	we saw
they two (m. / f.)	رَأَيَا	raʾayā	they two (m.) saw	رَأَتَا	raʾatā	they two (f.) saw
you two	رَأَيْتُمَا	raʾaytumā	you two saw	-	-	-
he (بَنَى)	بَنَى	banā	he built	بَنَوْا	banaw	they (m.) built
she (بَنَى)	بَنَتْ	banat	she built	بَنَيْنَ	banayna	they (f.) built
I (بَنَى)	بَنَيْتُ	banaytu	I built	بَنَيْنَا	banaynā	we built

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).

ثَعْلَبٌ

thaʿlabun

fox

عَنْزٌ

ʿanzun

she-goat

كَرْمٌ

karmun

vineyard

عِنَبٌ

ʿinabun

grapes (collective)

حُفْرَةٌ

ḥufratun

pit, hole

ظَهْرٌ

ẓahrun

back

خَبِيثٌ

khabīthun

sly, wicked

عَمِيقٌ

ʿamīqun

deep

رَأَى يَرَى

raʾā, yarā

to see

بَنَى يَبْنِي

banā, yabnī

to build

بَكَى يَبْكِي

bakā, yabkī

to weep

أَتَى يَأْتِي

atā, yaʾtī

to come

رَمَى يَرْمِي

ramā, yarmī

to throw

وَقَعَ يَقَعُ

waqaʿa, yaqaʿu

to fall

قَفَزَ يَقْفِزُ

qafaza, yaqfizu

to jump

صَعِدَ يَصْعَدُ

ṣaʿida, yaṣʿadu

to climb, go up

صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ

ṣarakha, yaṣrukhu

to shout, cry out

Step 2 of 5: Read

The fox and the she-goat

اَلثَّعْلَبُ وَالْعَنْزُ

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.Why did the fox enter the vineyard?
2.What did the fox tell the goat was in the pit?
3.How did the fox get out of the pit?
4.Who finally rescued the goat, and how?

In the Quran

رَأَىٰٓ
Surah An-Najm · 53:11
مَا رَأَى: the third-person masculine singular perfect of رَأَى, written with alif maqṣūra.
- رَأَىٰٓraāit saw
Read in context
أَتَىٰٓ
Surah An-Nahl · 16:1
أَتَى أَمْرُ اللّٰهِ: the perfect أَتَى before its subject, 'the command of God has come'.
- أَتَىٰٓatāWill come
Read in context
فَمَا بَكَتْ
Surah Ad-Dukhan · 44:29
فَمَا بَكَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّمَاءُ: بَكَتْ, the feminine singular perfect of بَكَى, with the weak letter dropped before ـَتْ.
- فَمَاfamāAnd not
- بَكَتْbakatwept
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 60/0 correct

Conjugate

Give the perfect of رَأَى for 'we':

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

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

1.

رَأَيْتُ ثَعْلَبًا خَبِيثًا فِي كَرْمِ جَدِّي.

2.

وَقَعَتِ الْعَنْزُ فِي حُفْرَةٍ عَمِيقَةٍ وَبَكَتْ.

3.

أَتَى صَاحِبُ الْكَرْمِ وَرَأَى الثَّعْلَبَ عَلَى الْجِدَارِ.

4.

اِصْعَدِي عَلَى ظَهْرِي وَاقْفِزِي مِنَ الْحُفْرَةِ.

5.

بَنَوْا جِدَارًا عَالِيًا حَوْلَ الْكَرْمِ.

6.

لَا تَصْرُخُوا، فَالثَّعْلَبُ يَسْمَعُكُمْ.

Translate from English to Arabic

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

1.

We saw the fox and it did not see us.

2.

The she-goat jumped into the pit and did not climb out.

3.

Who built this wall? My father built it.

4.

The children came to the vineyard and ate the grapes.

5.

Look (f. sg.) before you jump, my sister.

6.

They (f.) wept when they saw the deep pit.

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