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."

SuffixMeaningExample
ـيmyكتابي (my book)
ـكَyour (m)كتابكَ
ـكِyour (f)كتابكِ
ـهُhisكتابهُ
ـهاherكتابها
ـناourكتابنا

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

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.

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