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שش

Grammar

Arabic grammar will feel oddly familiar: the same three-letter roots, a definite article glued to the front of the noun, and sentences that can drop the verb “to be” — just like Hebrew. These lessons walk through the machinery, one parallel at a time.

Nouns & the Noun Phrase

8 lessons · 47 min

  1. Gender: Two Teams, Same RulesMasculine and feminine work almost exactly like Hebrew — down to the same irregular words5 min
  2. The Definite Article: ال Meets ה־One prefixed article, no indefinite article, and agreement that copies Hebrew word for word5 min
  3. Plurals and the Dual־ים and ־וֹת have Arabic twins — and Hebrew's ־ַיִם is the Arabic dual, alive and well7 min
  4. Pronouns: You Already Know Theseאני, אתה, הוא, אנחנו — now hear them in Arabic4 min
  5. Possessive Suffixes: ביתי, ביתך, ביתו — in ArabicThe system Hebrew speakers already own, except Arabic uses it every single day6 min
  6. Iḍāfa: The Construct State IS Smichutבית המנהל = بيت المدير — Hebrew's smichut, running at full power in Arabic6 min
  7. This and That: Demonstrativesهٰذَا is זֶה with a pointing finger — standing on the other side of the noun7 min
  8. Bigger, Better, Best: The ElativeArabic builds "bigger" into the word itself — and says "than" with מִן, just as the Bible did7 min

Roots & Verbs

6 lessons · 41 min

  1. The Root SystemTriliteral roots: the shared engine of Hebrew and Arabic6 min
  2. Awzān Meet BinyanimArabic's ten verb forms mapped onto the seven בניינים you already know8 min
  3. The Past Tenseكَتَبْتُ is כָּתַבְתִּי — the suffixes are nearly identical6 min
  4. The Present TenseArabic's present prefixes are Hebrew's future prefixes — א,ת,י,נ6 min
  5. Negation and the FutureOne Hebrew לא, several Arabic negators — plus سـ, سوف and Levantine رح7 min
  6. Commands: The ImperativeWrite! Listen! Sit down! — Arabic cuts its commands from the present exactly as Hebrew cuts them from the future8 min

Building Sentences

8 lessons · 55 min

  1. The Sentence With No VerbArabic drops "is" and "are" exactly where Hebrew does6 min
  2. Verb First: An Order You Already KnowMSA loves verb–subject–object — and so did the Hebrew of the Tanakh5 min
  3. Asking Questionsמה, מי, מתי — you already know most of the question words6 min
  4. The Little Words Are Cognates Tooבְּ, לְ, מִן, עַל, תַּחַת — Arabic's prepositions are the ones you grew up with7 min
  5. Counting ThingsArabic's strangest number rule is Hebrew's strangest number rule8 min
  6. Was, Will Be, and Havingكَانَ does the job of היה, and عِنْدِي does the job of יש לי8 min
  7. Telling TimeHours, quarters, days, and the school timetable, from הַשָּׁעָה שָׁלוֹשׁ to السَّاعَة الثَّالِثَة8 min
  8. Relative Clauses: Arabic's ש־الَّذِي, الَّتِي, الَّذِينَ, and the one place Arabic leaves the ש־ out7 min