Overview
Primary Use: Reference guide to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) grammar as per the curriculum at the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo Format: 43 very concise chapters Pages: 107 Exercises: No Meant For: Beginner/advanced beginner and up
Details
This book is your classic no-frills reference guide to Arabic grammar. If you are looking for nothing more than the concise, bare-bones explanation of a grammatical concept in MSA then this is the book that you are looking for. The English is clear without any antiquated grammatical terminology. Arabic grammatical terminology is also given, which is a clear benefit for those wishing to continue their Arabic studies to the highest level. However, some concepts and tables are written entirely in Arabic, as are some of the examples, occasionally without English translations.
This book does not include an index and does not cross-reference other chapters, even though some concepts and terms that appear in early chapters may be explained further in later chapters. It does not include the meanings of the Arabic derived forms II-X. However, it does get into some intermediate grammatical issues not touched upon by other basic grammar books, such as conditional sentences and the different types of laa ل (the latter all in Arabic).
Many concepts are explained through the use of charts that are written entirely in Arabic, so this book is recommended particularly for those who are comfortable reading Arabic or wish to become immersed in Arabic grammatical terminology.
This book is divided into the following chapters (listed in both English and Arabic):
Chapter 1: Derivation and the Pattern System
Chapter 2: The Definite Article and Solar and Lunar Letters
Chapter 3: Interrogative Particles
Chapter 4: Case
Chapter 5: Singular, Dual, and Plural
Chapter 6: Demonstratives
Chapter 7: Nasab Adjectives
Chapter 8: Idaafa Construction
Chapter 9: Pronouns: Separate Pronouns and Pronominal Suffixes
Chapter 10: Prepositions
Chapter 11: Followers
Chapter 12: Types of Sentences
Chapter 13: Verbs
Chapter 14: Verb Conjugations
Chapter 15: Kana and Its Sisters
Chapter 16: Inna and Its Sisters
Chapter 17: Kada and Its Sisters
Chapter 18: Passive Voice
Chapter 19: Jussive and Subjunctive
Chapter 20: Negation
Chapter 21: Relative Pronouns
Chapter 22: The Five Nouns
Chapter 23: Abbreviated and Defective Nouns
Chapter 24: Diptotes
Chapter 25: Verbal Nouns
Chapter 26: Active Participles
Chapter 27: Passive Participles
Chapter 28: Nouns of Place
Chapter 29: Accusative of State
Chapter 30: Accusative of Cognate
Chapter 31: Accusative of Cause or Purpose
Chapter 32: Adverbials of Time and Place
Chapter 33: Accusative of Specification
Chapter 34: Comparatives and Superlatives
Chapter 35: Exceptions
Chapter 36: Vocative
Chapter 37: Wonder Construction
Chapter 38: Absolute Negation
Chapter 39: Conditional Sentence
Chapter 40: Sentences That Function as Words
Chapter 41: Types of Laa
Chapter 42: Types of Maa
Chapter 43: Types of Hatta
How to Use It
In order to use this book to the fullest extent, one must already know the following:
- how to read Arabic
- command of basic Arabic vocabulary
- command of basic English grammatical terms
The chapters do move from the simple to the fairly complex, so it is possible to read this book straight through. However, it functions best as a reference guide, particularly considering that some chapters include grammatical concepts not introduced until later.
This book has no index, so the best way to look up a grammatical concept is by the table of contents. Here the reader might be stuck in a kind of Catch-22, as one has to know the name of the grammatical concept to look up a grammatical concept not formerly encountered. As such, it would be worthwhile for the new user to read the chapters with titles using unknown terms to acquaint him/herself with their meanings. The chapters are relatively short – seldom more than two pages – so doing this would not be too much of a hardship.
Citation
Hassanein, Azza. Modern Standard Arabic Grammar: A Concise Guide. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2006.
