Lesson 6 - Nominal Sentence

1) Is there a difference between using hal (هَلْ) and a’ (أَ)?

At this level, no in the nominal sentence there is no difference between the two. However, there are some tendencies toward using one of the other depending on the subject. For example if the subject begins with an alif lām it is common to use hal so that there isn’t a long alif sound created (although in some cases this occurs). On the other hand when beginning a sentence with a pronoun that begins with hamzah, such as ‘anta, it is common to use a’.

2) If adjectives are added to the nominal sentence, how can I keep track of the subject and predicate?

Remember that typically the subject is definite and the predicate is indefinite and adjectives copy these aspects from the words they are describing. So make sure you pay attention to the tanwīn and alif lām on the words in the nominal sentence.

Lesson 11 - Noun Endings

1) Are there other instances where these noun-cases are found?

Yes, there are many other places where these cases are found. They will be discussed in later levels.

2) Are patterns or roots more important for determining the meaning of a word?

Both are essential to understanding what a word means and a student cannot do without memorizing both a large number of roots and a large number of patterns. A root on its on will only give you the general underlying meaning and the pattern will focus it into a specific meaning, such as an active participle (doer of an action) or passive participle (the thing or person to whom the action is done). Both of these patterns will be discussed in the next lesson more in depth and in Level 2 later on in the curriculum we will learn additional patterns.