Arabic A1, Unit 11: Describing things

Describing things

Arabic A1 · Unit 11

GoalPut nouns, adjectives, colours and pointing words together in sentences and phrases.

New words

هَذَا بَيْت كَبِير (hādhā bayt kabīr) · this is a big houseالْبَيْت كَبِير (al-bayt kabīr) · the house is bigالْبَيْت الْكَبِير (al-bayt al-kabīr) · the big houseهَذِهِ سَيَّارَة حَمْرَاء (hādhihi sayyāra ḥamrāʾ) · this is a red carتِلْكَ الشَّجَرَة طَوِيلَة (tilka sh-shajara ṭawīla) · that tree is tallذَلِكَ الْكِتَاب قَدِيم (dhālika l-kitāb qadīm) · that book is oldالْغُرْفَة صَغِيرَة (al-ghurfa ṣaghīra) · the room is smallالْمَدْرَسَة الْجَدِيدَة (al-madrasa l-jadīda) · the new school

Explanation

Now join the pieces. هَذَا بَيْت كَبِير is a sentence: “this is a big house”. If the noun and the adjective both have الْ, you get a phrase, not a sentence: الْبَيْت الْكَبِير is “the big house”. If only the noun has الْ, the adjective says what it is like: الْبَيْت كَبِير means “the house is big”. There is no word for “is” in these sentences. A pointing word before a noun with الْ means “this house” or “that tree”: ذَلِكَ الْكِتَاب is “that book”. Add an adjective after it and you have a sentence: ذَلِكَ الْكِتَاب قَدِيم, “that book is old”.

Arabic	Kind	Meaning
قَلَم أَزْرَق	phrase	a blue pen
الْقَلَم الْأَزْرَق	phrase	the blue pen
الْقَلَم أَزْرَق	sentence	the pen is blue

Worked examples

A phrase and a sentence from the same words. Listen: the red car, the car is red.

Pointing word + noun with الْ + adjective. Listen: this chair is new, that window is big, this bag is black.

Layla

هَذَا كِتَاب جَدِيد.

Karim

الْكِتَاب جَمِيل.

Layla

هَذِهِ حَقِيبَة حَمْرَاء.

Karim

الْحَقِيبَة جَمِيلَة جِدًّا.

A short talk between Layla and Karim. Read each line before you listen.

Class activity

Describe your desk. Write five sentences about things on your desk or in your room. Use هَذَا or هَذِهِ, a noun, a colour or an adjective, for example هَذَا قَلَم أَزْرَق. Then change two sentences into the form “the ... is ...”, such as الْقَلَم أَزْرَق. Read all sentences aloud and check every adjective for gender.

Practice

Press Listen. Is it a phrase (“the big kitchen”) or a sentence (“the kitchen is big”)?

What is the difference between الْقَلَم الْأَزْرَق and الْقَلَم أَزْرَق?

Write in Arabic: “the book is new”.

The picture shows a tree. Write “this tree is big” in Arabic.

The picture shows a key. Write “that key is small” in Arabic.

Adjectives and colours, this / that

Describing things