Arabic A2, Unit 4: Possessive endings: my, your, his, her

Possessive endings: my, your, his, her

Arabic A2 · Unit 4

GoalSay “my, your, his, her” by adding a short ending to the noun.

New words

كِتَابِي (kitābī) · my bookكِتَابُك (kitābuk) · your book (to a man)كِتَابُكِ (kitābuki) · your book (to a woman)كِتَابُه (kitābuh) · his bookكِتَابُهَا (kitābuhā) · her bookدَفْتَر (daftar) · notebookهَاتِف (hātif) · phoneصَدِيق (ṣadīq) · friend (m)

Explanation

Arabic has no separate words for “my” or “your”. It adds a short ending to the noun. Take كِتَاب, “book”, and add ـِي for “my”: كِتَابِي. For “your” add ـُك to a man and ـُكِ to a woman. For “his” add ـُه, and for “her” add ـُهَا. A noun with an ending never has الْ, so you do not say الْكِتَابِي. Before ـِي the vowel is always i, and in a plain sentence it is u before the other endings.

Who	Ending	Example	Say
my	ـِي	كِتَابِي	kitābī
your (to a man)	ـُك	كِتَابُك	kitābuk
your (to a woman)	ـُكِ	كِتَابُكِ	kitābuki
his	ـُه	كِتَابُه	kitābuh
her	ـُهَا	كِتَابُهَا	kitābuhā

Worked examples

My, your and his house. Press each card and repeat.

Omar

أَيْن هَاتِفِي؟

Layla

هَاتِفُك هُنَا.

Omar

وَأَيْن هَاتِفُكِ؟

Layla

هَاتِفِي فِي الْبَيْت.

Omar looks for his phone. Press each line.

Two short sentences about a friend.

Class activity

Say it with your things. Choose six things that you own (a book, a notebook, a phone…) and say “my …” for each one with the ending ـِي. Then point at the things of a friend and say “your …” (to a man or to a woman), “his …” or “her …”. Write six phrases on paper, one for each ending, and underline the ending.

Practice

Press Listen. Is it “his pen” or “her pen”?

Write in Arabic: “my friend” (a man).

The picture shows a notebook. You ask a woman where her notebook is. What do you say?

The picture shows a phone. Write “his phone”.

Which ending means “your” to a woman: ـُك or ـُكِ?

Possession and the construct

Possessive endings: my, your, his, her