Master grammar with comprehensive explanations and examples
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Arabic Alphabet — Group 1
A good first topic
I can recognise, name, pronounce and write ا ب ت ث ج ح خ in all their positions, tell ب ت ث and ج ح خ apart by their dots, and hear the difference between ح and خ.
I can read and write د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض, join words correctly around the non-joining letters, and hear and say the difference between ص and س, ض and د.
I can read and write all 28 Arabic letters, pronounce ع, غ and ق distinctly, and read و and ي both as consonants and as long vowels.
I can read fully vowelled Arabic words aloud, hold long vowels and doubled consonants, read tanwīn, and know that everyday texts leave the vowels out.
I can make a noun definite with ال, pronounce it correctly before sun and moon letters and after a vowel, and know when a noun is definite without it.
I can say who I am and talk about other people with the right pronoun for a man, a woman, two people or a group, and address anyone correctly with أَنْتَ or أَنْتِ.
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).
I can say whose something is - my, your, his, her, our, their - choose the right ending for a man or a woman, and name my family and my things: أَبي، سَيّارَتُنا، بَيْتُكِ.
I can refer back to people and things without repeating their names - I saw him, she knows us, call me, cook for us - and use the pronoun endings on verbs and prepositions.
I can describe people, places and things in simple sentences without a verb (البَيْتُ كَبيرٌ، أَنا مِنْ مِصْرَ), say where things are, and tell a sentence from a noun phrase by the article.
I can say whose something is and name places and things with two-noun phrases such as كِتابُ الطّالِبِ and جامِعَةُ القاهِرَةِ, keeping الـ off the first noun.
I can say where someone or something is, where it is going and where it comes from, and how I travel, choosing between في، إِلى، مِنْ، عَلى، مَعَ and بِـ.
I can say what I don't do, what I didn't do and what is not the case, choosing لا، ما or لَيْسَ, and I can recognise لَمْ in written texts.
I can describe people, places and things with adjectives, telling a phrase (البَيْتُ الكَبيرُ) from a sentence (البَيْتُ كَبيرٌ) and making the adjective agree with the Arabic noun.
I can tell and understand short news and stories that start with the verb, keeping the verb singular before a plural subject and making it agree fully once the subject has been named.
I can report what someone said or what I know (قالَ إِنَّ، أَعْرِفُ أَنَّ), add but, because, perhaps and if only to a statement, and put the subject after these particles in the right case.
I can make plans and give advice with conditions (إِذا ... فَـ), say what happens when something comes round (إِذا جاءَ رَمَضانُ), say what I would do if things were different (لَوْ ... لَـ), and ask politely with لَوْ سَمَحْتَ.
I can compare people, places, prices and things (أَكْبَرُ مِنْ، أَغْلى مِنْ، أَصْغَرُ مِنّي بِسَنَتَيْنِ), say which is the biggest, the best or the cheapest (أَفْضَلُ مَطْعَمٍ), and use أَكْثَرُ with adjectives that do not fit the pattern.
I can say what I and other people have and don't have, and ask someone whether they have something.
I can say what there is and isn't in a place, ask whether something is nearby, and describe a flat or a neighbourhood.
I can tell masculine from feminine nouns, including the common feminines without ة, form the feminine of people's nouns and adjectives with ة, and make adjectives and pronouns agree.
I can ask and answer simple questions about people, things, places, time, number, price and reasons (مَنْ، ما، أَيْنَ، مَتى، كَمْ، لِماذا), and turn a statement into a yes/no question with هَلْ.
I can count to ten, read the digits ١ to ١٠, and say how many things or people there are, using the dual for two and the right form of 3-10 for masculine and feminine nouns.
I can say when something happens - today, tomorrow, yesterday, in the morning, on Thursday, next week - ask and tell the time, and arrange a meeting by the clock or by the prayer times.
I can count to 100, give my age with عُمْري ... سَنَةً and read prices, and I recognise that after 11-99 the noun is singular.
I can say what I and other people do every day and what we are doing now, choosing the right prefix, and addressing a man and a woman with the right form of "you".
I can say what I and other people did yesterday or on a trip, using the right ending for each person and telling "you" to a man from "you" to a woman.
I can talk about groups of people and things with sound plurals, using ـونَ or ـينَ according to the position, ـات for women and many things, and the right agreement afterwards.
I can use the plurals of common everyday nouns such as كُتُب، بُيوت، أَوْلاد، أَصْدِقاء, recognise a broken plural by its pattern, and make adjectives and verbs agree with plurals of things and of people.
I can talk about two people or two things with the dual ending, and make adjectives and pronouns agree with it.
I can say where people and things come from with a nisba (مِصْرِيّ، مِصْرِيَّة) and recognise nisba adjectives in what I read.
I can say what people, places and things were like and what someone's job was, say what they became or still are, and say what I had or didn't have.
I can tell or ask a man, a woman or a group to do something and not to do something, politely, and understand directions and instructions: اِذْهَبْ، خُذْ، قِفْ، لا تَنْسَ.
I can talk about my plans and about what will happen - tomorrow, next week, this summer - say what I won't do with لَنْ, and answer an invitation with سَآتي إِنْ شاءَ اللّٰهُ.
I can recognise Forms I, II and III of a verb and the u of their present tense, guess the meaning of a new verb or noun from its root and pattern (دَرَسَ - دَرَّسَ - مُدَرِّس), and look a word up by its root.
I can say what I and others must or must not do, and that something is not necessary, using يَجِبُ أَنْ and عَلَيَّ أَنْ.