ʾIʿrāb (إﻋﺮﺍﺏ IPA: [ʔiʕraːb]) is an Arabic term for the system of nominal and adjectival suffixes of Classical Arabic. These suffixes are written in fully vocalized Arabic texts, notably the Qurʾān or texts written for children or Arabic learners, and they are articulated when a text is formally read aloud, but they do not survive in any spoken dialect of Arabic. Even in Literary Arabic, these suffixes are often not pronounced in pausa (الوقف al-waqf); i.e. when the word occurs at the end of the sentence, in accordance with certain rules of Arabic pronunciation. (That is, the nunation suffix -n is always dropped at the end of a sentence or line of poetry; the vowel suffix may or may not be, depending on the requirements of metre.) Depending on the knowledge of ʾiʿrāb, some Arabic speakers may omit case endings when reading out in Modern Standard Arabic, thus making it similar to spoken dialects. Many Arabic textbooks for foreigners teach Arabic without a heavy focus on iʿrāb, either omitting the endings altogether or only giving a small introduction. Arabic without case endings may require a different and strict word order, similar to spoken Arabic dialects.
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The term literally means "making [the word] Arabic". It is the stem IV masdar of ع-ر-ب, meaning "Arab" or "Arabic". The term is cognate to the word Arab itself.
Case is not shown in standard orthography, with the exception of indefinite accusative nouns ending in any letter but tāʾ marbūṭah (ة) or ʾalif followed by hamzah (ء), where the -a(n) "sits" on the letter before an alif added at the end of the word (the alif shows up even in unvowelled texts). Cases, however, are marked in the Qur'an, children's books, and to remove ambiguous situations. If marked, it is shown at the end of the noun. Further information on the types of declensions is discussed in the following section, along with examples. Grammatical case endings are not pronounced in pausa and in less formal forms of Arabic. Note that in vocalised Arabic (where vowel points are written), the case endings may be written even if they are not pronounced. Some Arabic textbooks or children's books skip case endings in vocalised Arabic, thus allowing both types of pronunciation.
For singular nouns and broken plurals, it is marked as a usually unwritten ضمة ḍammah (-u) for the definite or ḍammah + nunation (-un) for the indefinite. The dual and regular masculine plural are formed by adding ـان -an(i) and ـون -ūn(a) respectively (just ـا -ā and ـو -ū in the construct state). The regular feminine plural is formed by adding ـات -āt(u) in the definite and ـات -āt(un) in the indefinite (same spelling).
For singular nouns and broken plurals, it is marked as a usually unwritten فتحة fatḥah (-a) for the definite or fatḥah + nunation (-an) for the indefinite. For the indefinite accusative, the fatḥah + nunation is added to an ا ʾalif, e.g. ـًا, which is added to the ending of all nouns not ending with a an ʾalif followed by hamzah or a tāʾ marbūṭah. Note, that this is the only case (when alif is written), which affects the unvocalised written Arabic (e.g. بيتاً bayt-an). The dual and regular masculine plural are formed by adding ـين -ayn(i) and ـين -īn(a) respectively (spelled identically!) (ـي -ay and -ī in the construct state, again, spelled identically). The regular feminine plural is formed by adding ـات -āt(i) in the definite and -āt(in) in the indefinite (spelled identically). Some forms of indefinite accusative are mandatory even for spoken and pausal forms of Arabic, sometimes -an is changed to a simple -a in pausa or spoken Arabic.
Diptotes never take an alif ending in the written Arabic and are never pronounced with the ending "-an".
For singular nouns and broken plurals, it is marked as a usually unwritten كسرة kasrah (-i) for the definite or kasrah + nunation (-in) for the indefinite. The dual and regular masculine plural are formed by adding ـين -ayn(i) and -īn(a) respectively (spelled identically!) (ـي -ay and -ī in the construct state, again, spelled identically). The regular feminine plural is formed by adding ـات -āt(i) in the definite and -āt(in) in the indefinite (spelled identically in Arabic).
The suffixes are -u, -a, -i for nominative, accusative, and genitive case, respectively, with the addition of a final /n/ (nunation, or tanwīn) to produce -un, -an, and -in when the word is unmarked for definiteness (that is, when it is not preceded by al-).
This system applies to most singular nouns in Arabic, including feminine nouns ending in ة -a/-at (tāʾ marbūṭah) and ء hamzah but ا alif is not written after them in the accusative case. It also applies to many "broken plurals". The effect on words ending in -a/-at (tāʾ marbūṭah) is that the t is pronounced in this case, thus رسالة risālah ("message") in pausal form, while in Classical Arabic, becomes risālatun, risālatan, and risālatin with case endings (all usually spelled رسالة when written without the vowel points).
The final /n/ is also dropped when the noun is in ʾiḍāfah (construct state). Thus:
Nominative (مرفوع marfūʿ ; literally, "raised") :
baytun بَيتٌ : a house
al-baytu البَيتُ : the house
baytu r-raǧuli بَيتُ الرَّجُلِ : the house of the man.
Accusative (منصوب manṣūb):
baytan بَيتًا
al-bayta البَيتَ : the house
bayta r-raǧuli بَيتَ الرَّجُلِ : the house of the man.
Genitive (مجرور maǧrūr; literally, "dragged"):
baytin بَيتٍ : a house
al-bayti البَيتِ : the house
bayti r-raǧuli بَيتِ الرَّجُلِِ : the house of the man.
A few singular nouns (including many proper names and names of places), and certain types of "broken plural", are known as diptotes (الممنوع من الصرف al-mamnūʿ min aṣ-ṣarf, literally meaning both "those forbidden purity" and "those forbidden case endings", as the same word, ṣarf, refers to both) meaning that they only have two case endings (Greek ptosis, case).
When the noun is indefinite, the endings are -u for the nominative and -a for the genitive and accusative with no nunation. The genitive reverts to the normal -i when the diptotic noun becomes definite (preceded by al- or is in the construct state)).
Diptotes never take an alif in the accusative case in written Arabic.
In the case of sound masculine plurals (mostly denoting male human beings), the suffixes are respectively ون -ūn(a), ين -īn(a) and ين -īn(a). These stay the same whether ال al- precedes or not. The final a is usually dropped in speech. In less formal Arabic only -īn(a) is used for all cases and "a" is dropped in pausa and in less formal Arabic.
The ن "na" is dropped when the noun is in ʾiḍāfah (construct state). Thus:
Nominative:
والدون wālidūn(a): parents (more than two)
الوالدون al-wālidūn(a): the parents
والدو الرجال wālidū r-riǧāl(i): the parents of the men
Accusative and genitive:
والدين wālidīn(a): parents
الوالدين al-wālidīn(a): the parents
والدي الرجال wālidī r-riǧāl(i): the parents of the men
Note: ending ين -īn(a) is spelled identically to ين -ayn(i) (see above).
In the case of sound feminine plurals, the suffixes are respectively ات -ātu(n), ات -āti(n) and ات -āti(n) (identical spelling). The n is only there when the noun is indefinite (not preceded by al-). Again the final vowel is dropped in speech and pausa, leaving only ات -āt, making all cases pronounced identically.
The final "n" is dropped when the noun is in ʾiḍāfah (construct state).
Nominative:
مدرسات mudarrisāt(un): (female) teachers
المدرسات al-mudarrisāt(u): the teachers
مدرسات الأولاد mudarrisāt ul-ʾawlād(i): the teachers of the children
Accusative and genitive:
مدرسات mudarrisāt(in): (female) teachers
المدرسات al-mudarrisāt(i): the teachers
مدرسات الأولاد mudarrisāt il-ʾawlād(i): the teachers of the children
5 The Dual - These nouns denote two of something. They decline very similarly to the sound masculine plurals because they are not marked for definiteness and look the same in both the accusative and genitive cases. For the nominative, the marking is "-āni" and for the accusative/genitive, "-ayni." An example is "parents," which is wālidāni and wālidayni respectively.
6 ism ul-manqūṣ (Deficient Nouns Ending with yāʾ ) - These nouns, like their close relative 'ism ul-maqṣūr, behave differently due to the instability of a final vowel. When indefinite, these nouns take a final "-in" in the nominative/genitive, and "-iyan" in the accusative. When definite, they take a long "-ī" in the nominative/genitive, and "-iya" in the accusative. These nouns were reckoned by the grammarians to have originally taken the triptotic endings, but through morpho-phonotactic processes, the latter resulted. An example is "judge," which is qāḍin, qāḍiyan, and al-qāḍī, and al-qāḍiya respectively. Also, a noun can be both ism ul-manqūṣ and diptotal: for example, layālin, the word meanings "nights," is a broken plural with a final unstable vowel. This word combines the two declensional paradigms and is layālin, layāliya, and al-layālī, and al-layāliya respectively.
7 ism ul-maqṣūr (Deficient Nouns Ending with ʾalif or ʾalif maqṣūrah) - These nouns, like their close relative ism ul-manqūṣ, behave differently due to the instability of a final vowel. These nouns are marked ONLY for definiteness, as morpho-phonotactic processes have resulted in the complete loss of the case distinction. When indefinite, they take "-an," which rests on an 'alif maqṣūra or occasionally ʾalif. When definite, they are not marked, and they simply retain their long ʾalif or ʾalif maqṣūrah. An example is "hospital," which is mustašfan and al-mustašfā respectively. If a noun is both ism ul-maqṣūr and diptotic, then it is completely invariable for case and belongs to declensional paradigm eight.
8 Invariable Nouns - Invariable nouns are usually those foreign names that end in 'alif or nouns that end in an additional ʾalif or ʾalif maqṣūrah (when that ʾalif or ʾalif maqṣūrah is not part of the root). Also, nouns that are both ism ul-maqṣūr and diptotic fall into this category. Additionally, there are rare invariable nouns which have other endings, like any name ending with "-ayhi," like sībawayhi (colloquially pronounced, for example, in Egypt: [sebæˈweː]. An example of a common invariable noun is fuṣḥā (al-fuṣḥā), meaning "the most eloquent [Arabic]." Another example is dunyā (ad-dunyā), or "world."
A noun's case depends on the role that the noun plays in the sentence. There are multiple sentence structures in Arabic, each of which demands different case endings for the roles in the sentence. "Subject" does not always correspond to "nominative", nor does "object" always correspond to "accusative".
In a verbal sentence, there is verb–subject–object word order. This is the preferred word order of Classical Arabic.
In a verbal sentence, the subject takes nominative case and the object takes accusative case. Such a sentence ("This writer wrote the book") would be formed as follows (read from right to left):
| Verbal Sentence | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | Subject | Verb |
| Arabic label | مفعول به mafʿūl bihi |
فاعل fāʿil |
فعل fiʿl |
| case | accusative | nominative | (verb) |
| example | الكتابَ al-kitāb(a) (the book) |
هذا الكاتبُ hāḏā l-kātibu (this writer) |
كتب kataba (wrote) |
In a nominal sentence, there is subject–verb–object word order.
If the verb would be "is" (that is, the predicate merely attributes something to the subject—see Predicative (adjectival or nominal)), then there is no verb used. Both the subject and the predicate take nominative case when there is no overt verb. Such a sentence ("This writer is famous") is formed as follows (read from right to left):
| Nominal Sentence without Verb | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | (no verb) | Subject |
| Arabic label | خبر ḫabar |
(no verb) | مبتدأ mubtadaʾ |
| case | nominative | (no verb) | nominative |
| example | مشهورٌ mašhūrun (famous) |
(no verb) | هذا الكاتبُ hāḏā l-kātibu (this writer) |
If there is an overt verb, the subject takes nominative and the predicate takes accusative. Such a sentence ("This writer wrote the book") is formed as follows (read from right to left):
| Nominal Sentence with Verb | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | Verb | Subject |
| Arabic label | خبر ḫabar |
فعل fiʿl |
مبتدأ mubtadaʾ |
| case | accusative | (verb) | nominative |
| example | الكتابَ al-kitāb(a) (the book) |
كتب kataba (wrote) |
هذا الكاتبُ hāḏā l-kātibu (this writer) |
There is a class of words in Arabic called the "sisters of ʾinna" (أخوات إنّ ʾaḫawāt ʾinna) that are cognates/derivatives of أنّ ("that"). Among them are:
If one of the sisters of إنّ begins a clause, then the subject takes accusative case instead of nominative.
Such a sentence using the particle إنّ ("Verily, this writer wrote the book") would be formed as follows (read from right to left):
| Nominal Sentence with Verb with إنّ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | Verb | Subject | Sister of ʾinna |
| Arabic label | خبر ḫabar |
فعل fiʿl |
مبتدأ mubtadaʾ |
أخت إنّ ʾuḫtu ʾinna |
| case | accusative | (verb) | accusative | (sister of ʼinna) |
| example | الكتابَ al-kitāb(a) (the book) |
كتب kataba (wrote) |
هذا الكاتبَ hāḏā l-kātiba (this writer) |
إنّ ʾinna (verily) |
Note that although there was an overt verb in the above example, a nominal sentence without an overt verb will also have its subject take accusative case because of the introduction of one of ʾinna's sisters. (The predicate of an equation is unaffected and will remain in the nominative.)
Consider the following example ("Verily, this writer is famous"):
| Nominal Sentence without Verb with إنّ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | (no verb) | Subject | Sister of ʼinna |
| Arabic label | خبر ḫabar |
(no verb) | مبتدأ mubtadaʾ |
أخت إنّ ʾuḫtu ʾinna |
| case | nominative | (no verb) | accusative | (sister of ʼinna) |
| example | مشهورٌ mašhūrun (famous) |
(no verb) | هذا الكاتبَ hāḏā l-kātiba (this writer) |
إنّ ʾinna (verily) |
The verb kān (كان) and its sisters form a class of 13 verbs that mark the time/duration of actions, states, and events.
Sentences that use these verbs are considered to be a type of nominal sentence according to Arabic grammar, not a type of verbal sentence. Although the word order may seem to be verb–subject–object when there is no other verb in the sentence, note that it is possible to have a sentence in which the order is subject–verb–object. Such a non-equation sentence clearly shows subject–verb–object word order.
Among the sisters of kāna are:
If one of the sisters of كان begins a clause, then the subject takes nominative case and the object takes accusative case. (Note that because of this, Arabic contrasts [The man]NOM is [a doctor]NOM in the present tense with [The man]NOM was [a doctor]ACC in the past tense.)
Such a sentence using the verb كان ("This writer was famous") would be formed as follows (read from right to left):
| Nominal Sentence with كان | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| grammatical role | Object | (no verb) | Subject | Sister of Kāna |
| Arabic label | خبر ḫabar |
(no verb) | اسم ism |
أخت كان ʾuḫtu kāna |
| case | accusative | (no verb) | nominative | (sister of kāna) |
| example | مشهوراً mašhūran (famous) |
(no verb) | هذا الكاتبُ hāḏā l-kātibu (this writer) |
كان kāna (was) |
In a sentence with an explicit verb, the sister of kāna marks aspect for the actual verb. A sentence like كان الكاتب يكتب الكتاب (was the.writer he.writes the.book, "the writer was writing the book"), for instance, has both a main verb (يكتب) and a sister of kāna that indicates the non-completed aspect of the main verb.
The imperfective tense of the verb also has suffixed vowels, which determine the mood of the verb. Thus:
All three forms are spelled يكتب in unvocalised Arabic, and the final vowel is not pronounced in pausa and in informal Arabic, leaving just one pronunciation: yaktub.
Traditional Arab grammarians equated the indicative with the nominative of nouns, the subjunctive with the accusative, and the jussive with the genitive, as indicated by their names (the only pair that is not borne out in the name is the jussive-genitive pair, probably because the -i vowel is usually dropped). It is not known whether there is a genuine historical connection or whether the resemblance is mere coincidence, caused by the fact that these are the only three short vowels available.
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