ضمائر الملكية

A1 — الضمائر

Suffixed possessive pronouns: ـي (my), ـكَ (your m), ـكِ (your f), ـهُ (his), ـها (her), ـنا (our), ـهم (their)

Examples

هذا كتابي. — This is my book.
أين بيتكَ؟ — Where is your (m) house?
غرفتها كبيرة. — Her room is big.
سيارتنا جديدة. — Our car is new.

الضمائرA1

ضمائر الملكية

Suffixed possessive pronouns: ـي (my), ـكَ (your m), ـكِ (your f), ـهُ (his), ـها (her), ـنا (our), ـهم (their)

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

هذا كتابي.

This is my book.

أين بيتكَ؟

Where is your (m) house?

غرفتها كبيرة.

Her room is big.

سيارتنا جديدة.

Our car is new.

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

ضمائر الملكية — Possessive Pronouns

Arabic expresses possession by suffixing pronouns directly to nouns. There are no separate possessive words like English "my/your."

Suffix	Meaning	Example
ـي	my	كتابي (my book)
ـكَ	your (m)	كتابكَ
ـكِ	your (f)	كتابكِ
ـهُ	his	كتابهُ
ـها	her	كتابها
ـنا	our	كتابنا

Rule: When a noun ends in تاء مربوطة (ة), it becomes ت before the suffix: غُرفة → غُرفتي (my room).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Learners forget to change ة to ت before suffixes (غرفةي instead of غرفتي). English speakers: English uses separate words (my, your) — the suffix system feels unfamiliar. Remember: the pronoun attaches directly to the noun. Russian speakers: Russian мой/твой are separate adjectives. Arabic suffixes are closer to how Russian adds -ов/-ев for family names. Czech speakers: Czech uses separate můj/tvůj. The concept of gluing the pronoun onto the noun is new.

هذا كتابي.

This is my book.

ـي (ii) = my. كتاب (book) + ي = كتابي (my book).

أين بيتكَ؟

Where is your (m) house?

ـكَ (ka) = your (masculine). بيت (house) + كَ = بيتكَ (your house).

غرفتها كبيرة.

Her room is big.

ـها (haa) = her. غرفة becomes غرفت before the suffix: غرفتها (her room).

سيارتنا جديدة.

Our car is new.

ـنا (naa) = our. سيارة → سيارتنا (our car). Note the ة→ت change.

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

3. Family, possession and number

Frequently asked questions

When is ضمائر الملكية used?: Arabic expresses possession by suffixing pronouns directly to nouns. There are no separate possessive words like English "my/your."
How is ضمائر الملكية formed?: Rule: When a noun ends in تاء مربوطة (ة), it becomes ت before the suffix: غُرفة → غُرفتي (my room).
What are common mistakes with ضمائر الملكية?: Learners forget to change ة to ت before suffixes (غرفةي instead of غرفتي). English speakers: English uses separate words (my, your) — the suffix system feels unfamiliar. Remember: the pronoun attaches directly to the noun. Russian speakers: Russian мой/твой are separate adjectives. Arabic suffixes are closer to how Russian adds -ов/-ев for family names. Czech speakers: Czech uses separate můj/tvůj. The concept of gluing the pronoun onto the noun is new.