Chapter 08: Sentence Nominal 2

Arabic sentences 2 : Noun + Adjective
Nominal sentences with adjectives. You learnt in a previous lesson a kind of nominal sentence made up of two nouns.

The first one is definite while the second is indefinite. Now we will study another way of forming a nominal sentence.

In the place of the second noun we will use an adjective (see note below). The adjective must be indefinite.

You will notice that each sentence above starts with a definite noun followed by an adjective (which is indefinite).

NOTE
1. In Arabic an adjective is a type of noun, so this type of nominal sentence is actually made up of a definite noun and an indefinite one, like the first kind.

Notice also that, because of the adjective, there is no indefinite article after the verb "to be" in the English translation of the sentences above as in the first type.
Two or more adjectives

If the first noun is qualified by more than one adjective, we separate them by the conjunction وَ meaning "and".

Nominal sentences with adjectives

English	Arabic
The man is nice and generous	الرَجُلُ طَيِّبٌ وَكَرِيْمٌ
The house is new and beautiful	البيتُ جديدٌ وَجميلٌ

NOTE
The conjunction وَ is NOT separated from what follows it.
Summary
1. The second part (noun) of a nominal sentence can be an adjective.
2. It should be indefinite, unlike the first noun.
3. When translated into English, it is not preceded by an indefinite article.

Vocabulary

English	Arabic
tired	مُتْعَبٌ
heavy	ثَقِيْلٌ
light	خَفِيْفٌ
far	بَعِيْدٌ
near	قَرِيْبٌ

Exercise

Using the words you already know, make nominal sentences of both kinds. Pay close attention to (in)definiteness of all words.