Learn how Arabic sentences are built — verbs, adjectives, word order, and step-by-step patterns you can use right away
Arabic has two main sentence types. Start with the simpler one, then add verbs once you are comfortable.
Use when you want to say what something is: "The house is big," "She is a teacher."
Use when someone does something: "I read," "She drinks tea."
In Arabic, the adjective comes after the noun and must match its gender and number.
Put لا (la) before the verb for "not." Use question words at the start: ماذا (what), أين (where), كيف (how).
Arabic is written right-to-left (RTL). Every sentence is either a nominal sentence (جملة اسمية) or a verbal sentence (جملة فعلية).
Almost all Arabic verbs come from a 3-letter root (جذر). The same root creates many related words. Master the root, and you unlock past, present, and future forms.
Add a prefix to the verb stem. Example root: كتب (kataba = he wrote) → present stem كتب with prefixes:
| Person | Prefix | Arabic | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | أَ (a-) | أَكْتُبُ | Aktubu | I write |
| You (m.) | تَ (ta-) | تَكْتُبُ | Taktubu | You write |
| You (f.) | تَ (ta-) + ـين | تَكْتُبِينَ | Taktubeena | You write (f.) |
| He | يَ (ya-) | يَكْتُبُ | Yaktubu | He writes |
| She | تَ (ta-) | تَكْتُبُ | Taktubu | She writes |
| We | نَ (na-) | نَكْتُبُ | Naktubu | We write |
| They | يَ (ya-) + ـون | يَكْتُبُونَ | Yaktuboona | They write |
Past tense uses suffixes on the root. The base form كَتَبَ (kataba) means "he wrote."
| Person | Arabic | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | كَتَبْتُ | Katabtu | I wrote |
| You (m.) | كَتَبْتَ | Katabta | You wrote |
| He | كَتَبَ | Kataba | He wrote |
| She | كَتَبَتْ | Katabat | She wrote |
| We | كَتَبْنَا | Katabna | We wrote |
| They | كَتَبُوا | Kataboo | They wrote |
Arabic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and definiteness (whether "the" is used). They always come after the noun — never before it like in English.
| Noun | Noun (Arabic) | Adjective | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | بيت | كبير | Bayt kabir | a big house |
| Feminine | سيارة | كبيرة | Sayyara kabira | a big car |
| Masc. plural | بيوت | كبيرة | Buyut kabira | big houses |
| Fem. plural | سيارات | كبيرات | Sayyarat kabirat | big cars |
| Masc. | Fem. | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كبير | كبيرة | big |
| صغير | صغيرة | small |
| جديد | جديدة | new |
| قديم | قديمة | old |
| جميل | جميلة | beautiful |
| جيد | جيدة | good |
| سيئ | سيئة | bad |
| طويل | طويلة | tall / long |
| قصير | قصيرة | short |
| سريع | سريعة | fast |
Use these templates to build your own sentences. Replace the words in bold with vocabulary you know.
| Arabic | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| في | Fi | in | في البيت (in the house) |
| على | Ala | on | على الطاولة (on the table) |
| إلى | Ila | to | إلى المدرسة (to school) |
| من | Min | from | من مصر (from Egypt) |
| مع | Ma'a | with | مع صديقي (with my friend) |
| عن | An | about | عن العربية (about Arabic) |
Arabic nouns and adjectives are either masculine (مذكر) or feminine (مؤنث). Most feminine words end in ة (ta marbuta).
Arabic uses الـ (al-) as its definite article, equivalent to "the" in English. It is always attached to the word. When followed by a sun letter, the "l" assimilates.
Each example is labeled so you can see which grammar pattern it uses.
Arabic is a Semitic language belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language family, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. It originated in the Arabian Peninsula and has been spoken for over 1,500 years. The Quran, revealed in the 7th century CE, standardized Classical Arabic and ensured its preservation.
Modern Standard Arabic (MSA / الفصحى) is the formal written and broadcast language used throughout the Arab world today. It differs from the many spoken regional dialects (Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Moroccan, etc.).
Arabic flourished as the language of science, mathematics, and philosophy during the Islamic Golden Age (8th–13th centuries), when scholars preserved and translated Greek knowledge and made major advances in algebra, astronomy, and medicine.
Today, Arabic is the official language of 22 Arab League countries and is spoken by over 400 million people as a native or second language worldwide.