preposition and Prepositional Nouns In Arabic Language (الجر والمجرور من الأسماء)

 الجر والمجرور من الأسماء

Preposition and Prepositional Nouns

By: Yusuf Basirat Bolanle 

 

 In our previous lessons, we have discussed some particles in Arabic Language, like:  Kaana and its sisters, Inna and its sisters, present tense nazb particles, present tense jazm particles and so on. Today, InshaAllah, we are going to discuss, The Preposition and Prepositional Nouns in Arabic Language.

What is a Preposition in the Arabic Language?

A Preposition in the Arabic Language is known as (الجر) A preposition is a  word that shows the relationship between two nouns or a noun and a verb in a sentence. In the Arabic Language, a preposition is used to show the location or direction of an object. The preposition in the Arabic language usually comes before a noun and not before a verb. As a result of this, the noun proceeded by any of the prepositional particles is usually referred to as (اسم مجرور) The propositional noun or Genitive noun.

In the Arabic language, when a noun is preceded by any of the prepositional particles, such a noun changes from a nominative case to a genitive case.

A nominative case is a case when the noun takes ar-raf’u sign which is ad-dammah. The nominative case is regarded as the root case for all nouns in as much as they are not preceded by any particles, such as Nazb or Jazm particles, which can change them from such a nominative case position.

However, in the case of a noun preceded by one of the prepositional particles, such a noun automatically changes from the initial ar-raf’u sign to the al-jarru sign which is al-kasrah.
 
                                     genitive case
A genitive case is a case in which a word preceded by a prepositional particle changes sign from ar-raf’u with ad-dammah parsing mark to al-jarru, which is al-kasrah parsing mark.

The following are some of the prepositional particles in the Arabic language:

(إلى)-    Ilaa
(على)-  Alaa
(فى)-   Fii
(من)-   Min
(عن)-  An
(الباء)-  Alibaau
(الام)-   Allam

Now, let us look into the definition of each of the particles and their usage in sentences.

                                                                              (إلى) Ilaa

The first of these particles is (إلى) Ilaa, Ilaa means "To" or sometimes means "At". It is used to show the direction where someone or an object is heading to, it is also used to show the destination of an object or of someone. When a noun is preceded by (إلى) The parsing mark on its end automatically changes to Al-Kasrah. Let us look into the following examples:
 

Examples

ذهب أبى إلى المسجدِ
My father went to the mosque

تذهب راضية إلى المدرسةِ
Rodiyah is going to the school

سَعَى يوسف إلى الميدانِ
Yusuf ran to the field

يَمْشِى عيسى إلى الملعبِ
Issah is walking to the playground

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                                                                       (على) Alaa

The second prepositional particle is (على) Alaa. Alaa means “On”. It is used to describe a place where an object is located. It may be referred to in some cases as “On Top Of”, describing the location of something or where it can be found.  Alaa as well usually gives a noun it precedes, the al-Jarru sign which is Al-Kasrah. The following are the examples of Alaa in sentences.

Examples

 
سقط التفاح على الأرضِ
The apple fell to the ground

جلس يوسف على الكرسيِّ
Yusuf sat on the chair

وضع أستاذ القلمَ على المكتبِ
Ustaz put the pen on the table

يكتب عيسى على السبورةِ
Issah is writing on the board

.......................................................................

                                                                            (فى) Fii

The next of the prepositional particles is (فى) Fii. (فى) means “In”  or “Inside” as the case may be. Fii is used to describe a location and or a place where something can be found. Any noun that comes after a prepositional particle Fii, automatically takes Al-Kasrah parsing mark at the end like others. Thereby changing the noun from a Nominative case to a Genitive case. Here are some of the examples in sentences:

Examples

أخى يصلى فى المسجدِ
My brother is praying in the mosque

راضية تنام فى الغرفةِ
Rodiyah is sleeping in the room

يلعب الطير فى القفصِ
The bird is playing in the cage

يأكل عيسى فى الفصلِ
Issah is eating in the classroom

.......................................................................

 

                    (من) Min or (من) Minna

The next on the list of the prepositional particles here is (من)(منَ)  Min or Mina. Min denotes “From” or “Some Of” or “Part Of” . The particle is used to mean that an action is initiated from a particular place. It can also be used to mean a part of something or some of it.

The particle is pronounced as “Min” if it is not followed directly by another alphabet with an as-sukun parsing mark but pronounced as “Mina” if it is followed directly by an alphabet with as-sukun parsing mark, to avoid the combination of double as-sukun. However, both of them give the noun that follows them Al-Kasrah parsing mark at the end. Let us go through the following examples:

Examples

المطر ينزل من السماءِ
The rain is falling from the sky

رجع أبى من المسجدِ
My father returned from the mosque

جِئْتُ من المدرسةِ وصديقى جاء من السوقِ
I came from the school and my friend came from the Market

عاد جدِّى من المطارِ
My grandfather returned from the airport

......................................................................

 

                                                               (عن) An

The next prepositional particle is (عن) An. An is also a prepositional particle that means “From” or “About”. It is used to refer to mean that an action is initiated from a particular person or somewhere or something. It is also used to talk “about” a particular object, person, or something. If An is succeeded by a noun, it changes the parsing mark at its end from Ad-dammah to Al-Kasrah. Here are some of the examples.

Examples

سمعت الأخبار عن أخِيك
I heard the news about your brother

عن النبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم
From the Prophet, May peace and blessings be upon him

نَقَلَ زيدٌ عن عمرٍ
Zayd reported from Amr

لا تُفَكِّرْ كثيرا عن الطعامِ
Do not think a lot about the food

......................................................................

                                           (الباء) Al-Baa

The next particle of the preposition is (الباء). This can be simply referred to mean “With” or “By”  or “At” It is used to describe when two or more things are working together to achieve a goal, or describe a place where something can be found or located. Here are some of the examples

Examples

 
لا تُقْسِمْ بالله على الْكذبِ
Do not swear by Allah on the lie

أَشْربُ الماء بالكوبِ
I drink the water with the cup

قُتِلَ الخروفُ بالسكينِ
The ram was killed with the knife

تغسل راضية بالصبونِ
Rodiyah is bathing with soap

......................................................................

 

                                                    (الام) Laam

The last of these particles for this lesson is (الام) Laam. Laam means “For” It usually indicates the reasons why something is done or describes the possession of something by someone or other things.  Any noun that follows prepositional laam in the sentence automatically takes Al-Kasrah parsing mark on its end.

Examples

 
الحمد للهِ
The thank is for Allah

هذا الكتاب لأخِى عيسى
This book is for my brother Issah

وللهِ ما فى السموات والأرض
What is in the heaven and earth are for Allah

الغرفة الكبيرة لحبيبِ
The big room is for Habeeb

......................................................................

 

Terms used in the lesson:

Nominative case- A situation whereby a noun takes ar-raf’u sign which is ad-dammah. e g (الكتاب) (The book) or (كتاب)  (a book)

Genitive Case- A situation whereby a noun takes al-jarru sign which is al-kasrah as a result of being preceded by a prepositional particle. e.g (القلم على الكتاب) (The pen is on the book)

 

Note carefully:
All the aforementioned particles in this lesson can also be used for particles other than prepositions. But this lesson only concentrates on the prepositional usage of those particles. Thanks for the understanding.