Demonstrative Pronouns

A1 — أسماء الإشارة

Arabic demonstratives هٰذا / هٰذِهِ (this), ذٰلِكَ / تِلْكَ (that) and هٰؤُلاءِ (these): agreement in gender and number, هٰذا كِتابٌ (this is a book) against هٰذا الكِتابُ (this book), هٰذِهِ for plurals of things, and introducing people.

I can point out and identify people and things near and far with the right demonstrative, tell "this is a book" from "this book", and introduce people (هٰذا أَخي، هٰذِهِ أُخْتي).

Examples

هٰذا كِتاب — This is a book
هٰذا الكِتاب — this book
هٰذِهِ مَدْرَسَة — This is a school
ذٰلِكَ الرَّجُل — that man
هٰؤُلاءِ أَصْدِقائي مِنَ الجامِعَةِ. — These are my friends from university.
تِلْكَ المِئْذَنَةُ قَديمَةٌ جِدّاً. — That minaret is very old.
هٰذا هُوَ سوقُ الحَميدِيَّةِ. — This is the Hamidiyya souk.
هٰذِهِ التُّمورُ مِنَ المَدينَةِ المُنَوَّرَةِ. — These dates are from Medina.

PronounsA1

Demonstrative Pronouns

Learning Goal

I can point out and identify people and things near and far with the right demonstrative, tell "this is a book" from "this book", and introduce people (هٰذا أَخي، هٰذِهِ أُخْتي).

Exam Skills:ReadingSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

هٰذا كِتاب

This is a book

هٰذا الكِتاب

this book

هٰذِهِ مَدْرَسَة

This is a school

ذٰلِكَ الرَّجُل

that man

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Demonstratives: هٰذا، هٰذِهِ، ذٰلِكَ، تِلْكَ

Arabic "this" and "that" agree with the noun they point to, in gender and in number.

	Masculine	Feminine
Near: this	هٰذا - hādhā	هٰذِهِ - hādhihi
Far: that	ذٰلِكَ - dhālika	تِلْكَ - tilka
Plural, people: these / those	هٰؤُلاءِ - hāʾulāʾi / أُولٰئِكَ - ulāʾika

The small upright alif over ه and ذ is a long ā: say hā-dhā, not "hadha". Everyday print leaves it out (هذا، هذه، ذلك), and so do keyboards. The ذ is the "th" of this. For two people or things there are dual forms (هٰذانِ, هاتانِ); recognise them for now.

"This is a book" or "this book"

This is the rule that decides everything. The demonstrative is the same word in both; the article on the noun makes the difference:

هٰذا كِتابٌ - This is a book. (no article: a complete sentence)
هٰذا الكِتابُ - this book... (article: normally read as a phrase, waiting for more)
هٰذا الكِتابُ جَديدٌ - This book is new.

It is the same machinery as البَيْتُ كَبيرٌ (the house is big) against البَيْتُ الكَبيرُ (the big house). To say "this is the book", with a definite predicate, Arabic slips in a pronoun: هٰذا هُوَ الكِتابُ.

Choosing the form

By the gender of the Arabic noun: هٰذا البَيْتُ, هٰذِهِ المَدينَةُ, هٰذِهِ الشَّمْسُ (شَمْس is feminine without ة).
For several people: هٰؤُلاءِ الطُّلّابُ - these students.
For several things: هٰذِهِ, because plurals of things take feminine singular agreement: هٰذِهِ الكُتُبُ جَديدَةٌ - these books are new.
Far away, or something mentioned earlier: ذٰلِكَ اليَوْمُ (that day), تِلْكَ السَّنَةُ (that year).

Introducing people

With a name or a noun that has a possessive ending, there is no article to add, so the demonstrative makes a sentence: هٰذا سامي - this is Sami; هٰذِهِ أُخْتي - this is my sister. To say "this sister of mine", the demonstrative goes after the noun: أُخْتي هٰذِهِ.

English speakers tend to use هٰذا for everything, as English "this" has no gender. Check the noun first: a feminine noun, or a plural of things, takes هٰذِهِ.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

1. هٰذا with a feminine noun: *هٰذا المَدينَةُ. Say هٰذِهِ المَدينَةُ. 2. Confusing هٰذا كِتابٌ (this is a book) with هٰذا الكِتابُ (this book). 3. هٰؤُلاءِ for things: these books is هٰذِهِ الكُتُبُ. 4. Adding ال to a noun with a possessive ending: *هٰذِهِ الغُرْفَتي. Say هٰذِهِ غُرْفَتي. 5. A short first syllable: hādhā has a long ā, even though the alif is written small. English speakers: "this" and "these" have no gender in English. In Arabic the noun chooses the word, and a plural of things chooses the feminine singular هٰذِهِ.

Common Error Patterns

Used masculine demonstrative with feminine noun or vice versa

هذا/ذلك for masculine, هذه/تلك for feminine

Confused phrase (هذا الكتاب) with sentence (هذا كتاب)

With ال = phrase ('this book'). Without ال = sentence ('This is a book')

هٰذا كِتاب

This is a book

hādhā kitāb - no ال on كتاب = full sentence 'This is a book'.

هٰذا الكِتاب

this book

hādhā l-kitāb - WITH ال it is normally read as the phrase 'this book', still waiting for its predicate.

هٰذِهِ مَدْرَسَة

This is a school

hādhihi madrasa - feminine هذه because مدرسة ends in ة.

ذٰلِكَ الرَّجُل

that man

dhālika r-rajul - ذلك for distant masculine. Solar assimilation on ر.

هٰؤُلاءِ أَصْدِقائي مِنَ الجامِعَةِ.

These are my friends from university.

hāʾulāʾi aṣdiqāʾī mina l-jāmiʿa - several people, so هٰؤُلاءِ. أَصْدِقائي has a possessive ending, so it takes no article and the sentence is complete.

تِلْكَ المِئْذَنَةُ قَديمَةٌ جِدّاً.

That minaret is very old.

tilka l-miʾdhanatu qadīmatun jiddan - far away and feminine (مِئْذَنَة ends in ة), so تِلْكَ. The article on مِئْذَنَة makes "that minaret" a phrase, and قَديمَة completes the sentence.

هٰذا هُوَ سوقُ الحَميدِيَّةِ.

This is the Hamidiyya souk.

hādhā huwa sūqu l-ḥamīdiyya - the predicate is definite (a named souk), so the pronoun هُوَ comes between: "this is the...". The Hamidiyya is the great covered market of old Damascus.

هٰذِهِ التُّمورُ مِنَ المَدينَةِ المُنَوَّرَةِ.

These dates are from Medina.

hādhihi t-tumūru mina l-madīnati l-munawwara - dates are things, and a plural of things takes feminine singular agreement, so هٰذِهِ, not هٰؤُلاءِ. Medina is famous for its dates, ʿajwa above all.

The check for this topic is still being prepared

Ask Sofi

Ready-made hints are free

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

← Back to topics

Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

9. The house, the weather and the seasons

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Demonstrative Pronouns?: Arabic "this" and "that" agree with the noun they point to, in gender and in number.
How do you form Demonstrative Pronouns?: The small upright alif over ه and ذ is a long ā: say hā-dhā, not "hadha". Everyday print leaves it out (هذا، هذه، ذلك), and so do keyboards. The ذ is the "th" of this . For two people or things there are dual forms ( هٰذانِ , هاتانِ ); recognise them for now. This is the rule that decides everything. The demonstrative is the same word in both; the article on the noun makes the difference: It is the same machinery as البَيْتُ كَبيرٌ (the house is big) against البَيْتُ الكَبيرُ (the big house). To say "this is the book", with a definite predicate, Arabic slips in a pronoun: هٰذا هُوَ الكِتابُ .
What are common mistakes with Demonstrative Pronouns?: 1. هٰذا with a feminine noun: *هٰذا المَدينَةُ. Say هٰذِهِ المَدينَةُ. 2. Confusing هٰذا كِتابٌ (this is a book) with هٰذا الكِتابُ (this book). 3. هٰؤُلاءِ for things: these books is هٰذِهِ الكُتُبُ. 4. Adding ال to a noun with a possessive ending: *هٰذِهِ الغُرْفَتي. Say هٰذِهِ غُرْفَتي. 5. A short first syllable: hādhā has a long ā, even though the alif is written small. English speakers: "this" and "these" have no gender in English. In Arabic the noun chooses the word, and a plural of things chooses the feminine singular هٰذِهِ.

Sources

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§ 340 (p. 265): the simple demonstrative ذا, masculine singular, with a feminine singular and a plural of common gender (أُولاءِ), "is used to indicate a person or thing which is near to the speaker".
W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§§ 342-343 (pp. 266-267): adding the second-person suffix ك gives forms that "differ from the simple pronoun in indicating a distant object"; inserting the demonstrative syllable ل gives the longer ذٰلِكَ (masc.) and تِلْكَ (fem.), and ذٰلِكَ is "often written" with the small alif of § 6, rem. a.
W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896
§ 344 (p. 268): the particle ها, "the particle that excites attention", is prefixed to ذا; "before ذا it is usually written defectively", هٰذا, with feminine هٰذِهِ and plural هٰؤُلاءِ. This is why the long ā of hādhā is written as a small alif.
W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. II (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1898
§ 123 (p. 258): a definite noun with an indefinite adjective forms a sentence, as هٰذا مَريضٌ, "this man (is) sick", "whereas هٰذا المَريضُ would mean either this (is) the sick (man) or this sick (man)". Without the article the words can only be a sentence; with it they are ambiguous, which is why the course reads هٰذا الكِتابُ as a phrase and uses هٰذا هُوَ الكِتابُ for "this is the book".
A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Karin C. Ryding) — Cambridge University Press, 2005
Chapter 13, "Demonstrative pronouns" (pp. 315-321) is the modern reference treatment of the demonstratives of Modern Standard Arabic. Cited from the publisher's catalogue record; the chapter text was not consulted.

Masculine

Feminine

Near: this

هٰذا - hādhā

هٰذِهِ - hādhihi

Far: that

ذٰلِكَ - dhālika

تِلْكَ - tilka

Plural, people: these / those

هٰؤُلاءِ - hāʾulāʾi / أُولٰئِكَ - ulāʾika

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Demonstrative Pronouns?

Arabic "this" and "that" agree with the noun they point to, in gender and in number.

How do you form Demonstrative Pronouns?

The small upright alif over ه and ذ is a long ā: say hā-dhā, not "hadha". Everyday print leaves it out (هذا، هذه، ذلك), and so do keyboards. The ذ is the "th" of this . For two people or things there are dual forms ( هٰذانِ , هاتانِ ); recognise them for now. This is the rule that decides everything. The demonstrative is the same word in both; the article on the noun makes the difference: It is the same machinery as البَيْتُ كَبيرٌ (the house is big) against البَيْتُ الكَبيرُ (the big house). To say "this is the book", with a definite predicate, Arabic slips in a pronoun: هٰذا هُوَ الكِتابُ .

What are common mistakes with Demonstrative Pronouns?

1. هٰذا with a feminine noun: *هٰذا المَدينَةُ. Say هٰذِهِ المَدينَةُ. 2. Confusing هٰذا كِتابٌ (this is a book) with هٰذا الكِتابُ (this book). 3. هٰؤُلاءِ for things: these books is هٰذِهِ الكُتُبُ. 4. Adding ال to a noun with a possessive ending: *هٰذِهِ الغُرْفَتي. Say هٰذِهِ غُرْفَتي. 5. A short first syllable: hādhā has a long ā, even though the alif is written small. English speakers: "this" and "these" have no gender in English. In Arabic the noun chooses the word, and a plural of things chooses the feminine singular هٰذِهِ.

Sources

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§ 340 (p. 265): the simple demonstrative ذا, masculine singular, with a feminine singular and a plural of common gender (أُولاءِ), "is used to indicate a person or thing which is near to the speaker".

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§§ 342-343 (pp. 266-267): adding the second-person suffix ك gives forms that "differ from the simple pronoun in indicating a distant object"; inserting the demonstrative syllable ل gives the longer ذٰلِكَ (masc.) and تِلْكَ (fem.), and ذٰلِكَ is "often written" with the small alif of § 6, rem. a.

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. I (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1896

§ 344 (p. 268): the particle ها, "the particle that excites attention", is prefixed to ذا; "before ذا it is usually written defectively", هٰذا, with feminine هٰذِهِ and plural هٰؤُلاءِ. This is why the long ā of hādhā is written as a small alif.

W. Wright, A Grammar of the Arabic Language, Vol. II (3rd ed., rev. W. Robertson Smith and M. J. de Goeje) — Cambridge University Press, 1898

§ 123 (p. 258): a definite noun with an indefinite adjective forms a sentence, as هٰذا مَريضٌ, "this man (is) sick", "whereas هٰذا المَريضُ would mean either this (is) the sick (man) or this sick (man)". Without the article the words can only be a sentence; with it they are ambiguous, which is why the course reads هٰذا الكِتابُ as a phrase and uses هٰذا هُوَ الكِتابُ for "this is the book".

A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic (Karin C. Ryding) — Cambridge University Press, 2005

Chapter 13, "Demonstrative pronouns" (pp. 315-321) is the modern reference treatment of the demonstratives of Modern Standard Arabic. Cited from the publisher's catalogue record; the chapter text was not consulted.