In Unit 11 you met the comparative: أَكْبَر “bigger”, أَرْخَص “cheaper”, أَجْمَل “more beautiful”. Here is the rule. Take the three root letters of the adjective and put أَ in front, with a sukun on the first root letter: كَبِير becomes أَكْبَر and طَوِيل becomes أَطْوَل. The comparative is the same for masculine, feminine and plural. “Than” is مِن: أَخِي أَطْوَل مِن أَبِي. The comparative never takes الْ when two things are compared. A few comparatives are learned as whole words: جَيِّد becomes أَحْسَن, and غَالٍ becomes أَغْلَى.
Salma and Omar talk about the new school. Press each line.
The comparative does not change.
Class activity
Compare five pairs of things around you (people, places, things). For each pair write one sentence with a comparative and مِن, for example about size, length, speed or price. Then change one sentence from “bigger” to “smaller”.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Which is heavier: the book or the notebook?
The book: الْكِتَاب أَثْقَل مِن الدَّفْتَر (al-kitāb ʾathqal min ad-daftar). أَثْقَل is new, from ثَقِيل “heavy”.
2
Write: “My brother is shorter than my father.”
أَخِي أَقْصَر مِن أَبِي (ʾakhī ʾaqṣar min ʾabī).
3
The picture shows a bicycle and a car. Write: “The car is faster than the bicycle.” (bicycle: دَرَّاجَة)
السَّيَّارَة أَسْرَع مِن الدَّرَّاجَة (as-sayyāra ʾasraʿ min ad-darrāja).
4
The picture shows a school and a library. Write: “Our school is nearer than the library.”
مَدْرَسَتُنَا أَقْرَب مِن الْمَكْتَبَة (madrasatunā ʾaqrab min al-maktaba).
