Introduction to Compounds and the Nominal Sentence (Subject and Predicate)

1. What Will We Learn in This Level?

● In this section, we will study how Arabic words combine to form compounds and phrases.
● We will learn the basic difference between an incomplete phrase and a complete expression, with examples.
● We will learn the basic idea of the nominal sentence and recognize its two important parts: the subject (mubtadaʾ) and the predicate (khabar).
● We will learn how to identify the subject and predicate when translating sentences into Arabic.

2. Definition of a Single Word and a Compound

● Arabic words have two states according to how they are arranged:
○ single word (mufrad): any noun, verb, or particle used by itself outside a sentence.
○ compound (murakkab): when one single word joins another, they form a compound:
■ single word + single word = compound
● Compounds have two main types:
1. incomplete phrase
2. complete expression, also called a sentence

3. The Incomplete Phrase and Its Types

● Incomplete phrase:
○ A combination of two or more words that does not communicate a complete thought is called an incomplete phrase.
○ Examples:
■ a good boy
■ the boy's book
■ this book
■ in the book
● An incomplete phrase has several types. Four are:
1. descriptive phrase
2. demonstrative phrase
3. iḍāfah/possessive construction
4. prepositional phrase

4. The Complete Expression and Types of Sentence

● Complete expression:
○ A combination of two or more words that communicates a complete thought is called a complete expression. It is also called a sentence.
○ Examples:
■ Hold the book
■ The boy is righteous
■ This is a book
● Arabic has two types of sentence:
1. nominal sentence: begins with a noun.
2. verbal sentence: begins with a verb.

5. The Two Parts of a Nominal Sentence

● Because we have studied only nouns so far, we will learn to make sentences by combining nouns.
● A nominal sentence has two basic parts:
1. subject (mubtadaʾ): the noun that begins the sentence and about which something is stated.
2. predicate (khabar): what is stated about the subject.
● Consider the sentence: Zayd is righteous
○ Zayd is the subject because the sentence begins with him.
○ is righteous is the predicate because it tells us something about Zayd.

6. Basic Method for Translating into Arabic

● A special feature of Arabic is that it does not use a separate word for 'is' or 'are'.
● This meaning arises naturally when the words are arranged in a particular order.
● When translating into Arabic, first identify the subject and predicate.
● Then apply their grammar rules to complete the sentence.
● Compare:

English sentenceSubjectPredicate
Zayd is righteousZaydis righteous
The boy is righteousthe boyis righteous