Editing Arabic (section)

== Grammar ==
[[File:Fa33aalah EN.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works]]
{{Main|Arabic grammar}}The [[Arabic grammar|grammar of Arabic]] has similarities with the [[Semitic languages#Grammar|grammar of other Semitic languages]]. Some of the typical differences between Standard Arabic ({{Lang|ar|فُصْحَى}}) and vernacular varieties are a loss of [[Morpheme|morphological markings]] of [[grammatical case]], changes in [[word order]], a shift toward more [[Analytic language|analytic]] morphosyntax, loss of [[grammatical mood]], and loss of the inflected [[passive voice]].

=== Literary Arabic ===
{{main|Modern Standard Arabic}}
As in other Semitic languages, Arabic has a complex and unusual [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], i.e. method of constructing words from a basic [[root (linguistics)|root]]. Arabic has a [[nonconcatenative morphology|nonconcatenative]] "root-and-pattern" morphology: A root consists of a set of bare consonants (usually [[triliteral|three]]), which are fitted into a discontinuous pattern to form words. For example, the word for 'I wrote' is constructed by combining the root '''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}''' 'write' with the pattern '''{{transliteration|ar|-a-a-tu}}''' 'I Xed' to form ''{{transliteration|ar|katabtu}}'' 'I wrote'.

Other verbs meaning 'I Xed' will typically have the same pattern but with different consonants, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qaraʼtu}}'' 'I read', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|akaltu}}'' 'I ate', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|dhahabtu}}'' 'I went', although other patterns are possible, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|sharibtu}}'' 'I drank', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qultu}}'' 'I said', ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|takallamtu}}'' 'I spoke', where the subpattern used to signal the past tense may change but the suffix ''{{transliteration|ar|-tu}}'' is always used.

From a single root '''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}''', numerous words can be formed by applying different patterns:
* {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|katabtu}}'' 'I wrote'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَتَّبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kattabtu}}'' 'I had (something) written'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَاتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kātabtu}}'' 'I corresponded (with someone)'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktabtu}}'' 'I dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|اِكْتَتَبْتُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|iktatabtu}}'' 'I subscribed'
* {{Script/Arabic|تَكَاتَبْنَا}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|takātabnā}}'' 'we corresponded with each other'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتُبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktubu}}'' 'I write'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكَتِّبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'ukattibu}}'' 'I have (something) written'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكَاتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'ukātibu}}'' 'I correspond (with someone)'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكْتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'uktibu}}'' 'I dictate'
* {{Script/Arabic|أَكْتَتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'aktatibu}}'' 'I subscribe'
* {{Script/Arabic|نَتَكَتِبُ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|natakātabu}}'' 'we correspond each other'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتِبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kutiba}}'' 'it was written'
* {{Script/Arabic|أُكْتِبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|'uktiba}}'' 'it was dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتُوبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktūbun}}'' 'written'
* {{Script/Arabic|مُكْتَبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|muktabun}}'' 'dictated'
* {{Script/Arabic|كِتَابٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kitābun}}'' 'book'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتُبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kutubun}}'' 'books'
* {{Script/Arabic|كَاتِبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kātibun}}'' 'writer'
* {{Script/Arabic|كُتَّابٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|kuttābun}}'' 'writers'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتَبٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabun}}'' 'desk, office'
* {{Script/Arabic|مَكْتَبَةٌ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabatun}}'' 'library, bookshop'
* etc.

====Nouns and adjectives====
Nouns in Literary Arabic have three grammatical [[noun case|cases]] ([[nominative case|nominative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], and [[genitive case|genitive]] [also used when the noun is governed by a preposition]); three [[grammatical number|numbers]] (singular, dual and plural); two [[gender (grammar)|genders]] (masculine and feminine); and three "states" (indefinite, definite, and [[Status constructus|construct]]). The cases of singular nouns, other than those that end in long ā, are indicated by [[suffix]]ed short vowels (/-u/ for nominative, /-a/ for accusative, /-i/ for genitive).

The feminine singular is often marked by {{script/Arabic|ـَة}} /-at/, which is pronounced as /-ah/ before a pause. Plural is indicated either through endings (the [[sound plural]]) or internal modification (the [[broken plural]]). Definite nouns include all proper nouns, all nouns in "construct state" and all nouns which are [[prefix]]ed by the definite article {{script/Arabic|اَلْـ}} /al-/. Indefinite singular nouns, other than those that end in long ā, add a final /-n/ to the case-marking vowels, giving /-un/, /-an/ or /-in/, which is also referred to as [[nunation]] or [[tanwīn]].

[[Adjective]]s in Literary Arabic are marked for case, number, gender and state, as for nouns. The plural of all non-human nouns is always combined with a singular feminine adjective, which takes the {{script/Arabic|ـَة}} /-at/ suffix.

[[Pronoun]]s in Literary Arabic are marked for person, number and gender. There are two varieties, independent pronouns and [[Enclitic#Enclitic|enclitics]]. Enclitic pronouns are attached to the end of a verb, noun or preposition and indicate verbal and prepositional objects or possession of nouns. The first-person singular pronoun has a different enclitic form used for verbs ({{script/Arabic|ـنِي}} /-nī/) and for nouns or prepositions ({{script/Arabic|ـِي}} /-ī/ after consonants, {{script/Arabic|ـيَ}} /-ya/ after vowels).

Nouns, verbs, pronouns and adjectives agree with each other in all respects. Non-human plural nouns are grammatically considered to be feminine singular. A verb in a verb-initial sentence is marked as singular regardless of its semantic number when the subject of the verb is explicitly mentioned as a noun. Numerals between three and ten show "chiasmic" agreement, in that grammatically masculine numerals have feminine marking and vice versa.

====Verbs====
{{further|Arabic verbs}}
Verbs in Literary Arabic are marked for person (first, second, or third), gender, and number. They are [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] in two major paradigms ([[past]] and [[non-past]]); two [[grammatical voice|voices]] (active and passive); and six [[grammatical mood|moods]] ([[indicative]], [[imperative mood|imperative]], [[subjunctive]], [[Irrealis mood#Jussive|jussive]], shorter [[energetic mood|energetic]] and longer energetic); the fifth and sixth moods, the energetics, exist only in Classical Arabic but not in MSA.<ref>Rydin, Karin C. (2005). A reference grammar of Modern Standard Arabic. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> There are two [[participle]]s, active and passive, and a [[verbal noun]], but no [[infinitive]].

The past and non-past paradigms are sometimes termed [[perfective]] and [[imperfective]], indicating the fact that they actually represent a combination of [[Grammatical tense|tense]] and [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]]. The moods other than the [[indicative]] occur only in the non-past, and the [[future tense]] is signaled by prefixing {{Script/Arabic|سَـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|sa-}}'' or {{Script/Arabic|سَوْفَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|sawfa}}'' onto the non-past. The past and non-past differ in the form of the stem (e.g., past {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|katab-}}'' vs. non-past {{Script/Arabic|ـكْتُبـ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|-ktub-}}''), and use completely different sets of affixes for indicating person, number and gender: In the past, the person, number and gender are fused into a single [[suffix]]al morpheme, while in the non-past, a combination of [[prefix]]es (primarily encoding person) and suffixes (primarily encoding gender and number) are used. The passive voice uses the same person/number/gender affixes but changes the vowels of the stem.

The following shows a paradigm of a regular Arabic verb, {{Script/Arabic|كَتَبَ}} ''{{transliteration|ar|kataba}}'' 'to write'. In Modern Standard, the energetic mood, in either long or short form, which has the same meaning, is almost never used.

====Derivation====
Like other [[Semitic languages]], and unlike most other languages, Arabic makes much more use of [[nonconcatenative morphology]], applying many templates applied to roots, to [[Morphological derivation|derive]] words than adding prefixes or suffixes to words.

For verbs, a given root can occur in many different [[Derived stem|derived verb stems]], of which there are about fifteen, each with one or more characteristic meanings and each with its own templates for the past and non-past stems, active and passive participles, and verbal noun. These are referred to by Western scholars as "Form I", "Form II", and so on through "Form XV", although Forms XI to XV are rare.

These stems encode grammatical functions such as the [[causative]], [[intensive]] and [[reflexive verb|reflexive]]. Stems sharing the same root consonants represent separate verbs, albeit often semantically related, and each is the basis for its own [[Verb conjugation|conjugational]] paradigm. As a result, these derived stems are part of the system of [[derivational morphology]], not part of the [[inflection]]al system.

Examples of the different verbs formed from the root {{Script/Arabic|كتب}} ''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}'' 'write' (using {{Script/Arabic|حمر}} ''{{transliteration|ar|ḥ-m-r}}'' 'red' for Form IX, which is limited to colors and physical defects):
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Most of these forms are exclusively [[Classical Arabic]]
! Form !! Past !! Meaning !! Non-past !! Meaning
|-
| I || ''{{transliteration|ar|kataba}}'' || 'he wrote' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaktubu}}'' || 'he writes'
|-
| II || ''{{transliteration|ar|kattaba}}'' || 'he made (someone) write' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yukattibu}}'' || "he makes (someone) write"
|-
| III || ''{{transliteration|ar|kātaba}}'' || 'he corresponded with, wrote to (someone)' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yukātibu}}'' || 'he corresponds with, writes to (someone)'
|-
| IV || ''{{transliteration|ar|ʾaktaba}}'' || 'he dictated' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yuktibu}}'' || 'he dictates'
|-
| V || ''{{transliteration|ar|takattaba}}'' || ''nonexistent''|| ''{{transliteration|ar|yatakattabu}}'' || ''nonexistent''
|-
| VI || ''{{transliteration|ar|takātaba}}'' || 'he corresponded (with someone, esp. mutually)' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yatakātabu}}'' || 'he corresponds (with someone, esp. mutually)'
|-
| VII || ''{{transliteration|ar|inkataba}}'' || 'he subscribed' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yankatibu}}'' || 'he subscribes'
|-
| VIII || ''{{transliteration|ar|iktataba}}'' || 'he copied' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaktatibu}}'' || 'he copies'
|-
| IX || ''{{transliteration|ar|iḥmarra}}'' || 'he turned red' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yaḥmarru}}'' || 'he turns red'
|-
| X || ''{{transliteration|ar|istaktaba}}'' || 'he asked (someone) to write' || ''{{transliteration|ar|yastaktibu}}'' || 'he asks (someone) to write'
|}

Form II is sometimes used to create transitive [[denominative verb]]s (verbs built from nouns); Form V is the equivalent used for intransitive denominatives.

The associated participles and verbal nouns of a verb are the primary means of forming new lexical nouns in Arabic. This is similar to the process by which, for example, the [[English gerund]] "meeting" (similar to a verbal noun) has turned into a noun referring to a particular type of social, often work-related event where people gather together to have a "discussion" (another lexicalized verbal noun). Another fairly common means of forming nouns is through one of a limited number of patterns that can be applied directly to roots, such as the "nouns of location" in ''ma-'' (e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|maktab}}'' 'desk, office' < ''{{transliteration|ar|k-t-b}}'' 'write', ''{{transliteration|ar|maṭbakh}}'' 'kitchen' < ''{{transliteration|ar|ṭ-b-kh}}'' 'cook').

The only three genuine suffixes are as follows:
* The feminine suffix ''-ah''; variously derives terms for women from related terms for men, or more generally terms along the same lines as the corresponding masculine, e.g. ''{{transliteration|ar|maktabah}}'' 'library' (also a writing-related place, but different from ''{{transliteration|ar|maktab}}'', as above).
* The [[Arabic grammar#Nisba|nisbah]] suffix ''-iyy-''. This suffix is extremely productive, and forms adjectives meaning "related to X". It corresponds to English adjectives in ''-ic, -al, -an, -y, -ist'', etc.
* The feminine [[Arabic grammar#Nisba|nisbah]] suffix ''-iyyah''. This is formed by adding the feminine suffix ''-ah'' onto nisba adjectives to form abstract nouns. For example, from the basic root ''{{transliteration|ar|š-r-k}}'' 'share' can be derived the Form VIII verb ''{{transliteration|ar|ishtaraka}}'' 'to cooperate, participate', and in turn its verbal noun ''{{transliteration|ar|ištirāk}}'' 'cooperation, participation' can be formed. This in turn can be made into a nisbah adjective ''{{transliteration|ar|ištirākiyy}}'' 'socialist', from which an abstract noun ''{{transliteration|ar|ishtirākiyyah}}'' 'socialism' can be derived. Other recent formations are ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūriyyah}}'' 'republic' (lit. "public-ness", < ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'' 'multitude, general public'), and the [[Gaddafi]]-specific variation ''{{transliteration|ar|jamāhīriyyah}}'' 'people's republic' (lit. "masses-ness", < ''{{transliteration|ar|jamāhīr}}'' 'the masses', pl. of ''{{transliteration|ar|jumhūr}}'', as above).

=== Colloquial varieties ===
{{main|Varieties of Arabic}}
The spoken dialects have lost the case distinctions and make only limited use of the dual (it occurs only on nouns and its use is no longer required in all circumstances). They have lost the mood distinctions other than imperative, but many have since gained new moods through the use of prefixes (most often /bi-/ for indicative vs. unmarked subjunctive). They have also mostly lost the indefinite "nunation" and the internal passive.

The following is an example of a regular verb paradigm in Egyptian Arabic.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Example of a regular Form I verb in [[Egyptian Arabic]], ''kátab/yíktib'' "write"
! colspan="2" | Tense/Mood
! Past
! Present Subjunctive
! Present Indicative
! Future
! Imperative
|-
! style="width:100%;" colspan="7" | Singular
|-
! colspan="2" | 1st
| ''katáb-t''
| ''á-ktib''
| ''bá-ktib''
| ''ḥá-ktib''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2nd
! <small>masculine</small>
| ''katáb-t''
| ''tí-ktib''
| ''bi-tí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-tí-ktib''
| ''í-ktib''
|-
! <small>feminine</small>
| ''katáb-ti''
| ''ti-ktíb-i''
| ''bi-ti-ktíb-i''
| ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-i''
| ''i-ktíb-i''
|-
! rowspan="2" | 3rd
! <small>masculine</small>
| ''kátab''
| ''yí-ktib''
| ''bi-yí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-yí-ktib''
| rowspan="2" style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! <small>feminine</small>
| ''kátab-it''
| ''tí-ktib''
| ''bi-tí-ktib''
| ''ḥa-tí-ktib''
|-
! style="width:100%;" colspan="7" | Plural
|-
! colspan="2" | 1st
| ''katáb-na''
| ''ní-ktib''
| ''bi-ní-ktib''
| ''ḥá-ní-ktib''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|-
! colspan="2" | 2nd
| ''katáb-tu''
| ''ti-ktíb-u''
| ''bi-ti-ktíb-u''
| ''ḥa-ti-ktíb-u''
| ''i-ktíb-u''
|-
! colspan="2" | 3rd
| ''kátab-u''
| ''yi-ktíb-u''
| ''bi-yi-ktíb-u''
| ''ḥa-yi-ktíb-u''
| style="background: silver;" |"
|}