Lesson 3 — Where things are
Say where something is: in the house, on the desk, from Madinah. Three prepositions, and the one change they force on the word after them.
How it works
A preposition bends the ending of the next word
الْبَيْتُ is "the house". After فِي it becomes فِي الْبَيْتِ — the final vowel turns from -u to -i. This is the genitive (al-jarr), and it is the whole of the grammar in this lesson. You will hear it before you can explain it.
The same for an indefinite word
بَيْتٌ (baytun) becomes فِي بَيْتٍ (fī baytin) — the tanwīn shifts from -un to -in. One sound, one letter of transliteration, and it is the difference between sounding like a reader and sounding like a beginner.
The three you need first
فِي is "in". عَلَىٰ is "on". مِنْ is "from". Add أَيْنَ ("where?") and you can ask and answer about anything in the room.
Why the transliteration runs the vowels together
فِي الْبَيْتِ is written as two words and said as one run: fī-l-bayti. The alif of الْ is swallowed by the long vowel before it. Arabic is spoken in connected breath-groups, not in separate words, and the hyphens below show you where the joins fall.
Words
Sentences
Saying it to someone
Grammar you cannot use in a conversation is not yet Arabic. These are the lines that turn the words above into an exchange.
Practise
- Put three objects around the room, then say where each one is: الْقَلَمُ عَلَى…
- Ask أَيْنَ…؟ about five things and answer yourself.
- Say مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟ and answer with your own country — it is the question you will be asked most in Madinah.
Transliteration uses ḥ ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ for the emphatic letters, ʿ for ʿayn, ʾ for hamzah, and ā ī ū for long vowels. Read the Arabic, not the transliteration — the transliteration is a crutch to be dropped as early as you can.