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Huruf al-Jarr (Prepositions)
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Lesson 12
Huruf al-Jarr (Prepositions)
Prepositions in Arabic حُرُوف الجَرّ (hurūf al-jarr) are generally used to show position as in فِى fī (in) and مِن min (from) or time as in فى السّاعة الخَامِسَة fī as-sā’a al-ẖamisah (at five o’clock)
Sometimes they refer to more abstract concepts as in the case of عَن ‘an (about) or عَلَى الأقَل ‘ala al-aqall (at least).
Keep in mind that these work somewhat differently than their counter parts in English. So direct translations don't always apply.
The most common حُرُوف الجَرّ hurūf al-jarr are:
من، إلى، حتى، في، عن، على، اللام، الكاف، الباء
| مِن min | From | جِئتُ مِنَ المَسجِدِ | I came from the masjid |
| إِلَى ilā | To | إِلَى أَينَ تَذْهَبُ يا أَخِي؟ | (To) Where are you going, my brother? |
| فِي fī | In | أَسكُنُ في المَدِينَةِ | I live in the city |
| عَلَى ‘alā | On | نِمتُ عَلى السَّرِيرِ | I slept on the bed |
| لِ li | For | هَذَا الكِتَابُ لِزَيدٍ | This is Zaid’s book |
| كَ ka | Like | لَيسَ العَالِمُ كَالجَاهِلِ | The scholar is not like the ignorant one |
| بِ bi | With | كَتَبْتُ بِقَلَمٍ أَحمَرَ | I wrote with a red pen |
| حَتَّى hattā | Until | قَرَأتُ كِتَابِي حَتَّى نِمتُ | I read my book until I slept |
Important Notes
- The noun after a proposition is always genitive (it takes the state of Jarr)
- The letters ب,ك,لا,م are always attached to the noun, unlike the other preposition letters which occur separately
- Arabic prepositions are “mabni” which means that they have mostly fixed endings regardless of their position
Quiz Time!
Let's test your knowledge.
The prepositions cause the noun after them to be:
Accussative (Mansub)
Genitive (Majrur)
Mabni (Fixed)
Nominative (Marfu')
You have completed Lesson 12
You have now understood how Arabic prepositions work!
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Plurals
Learn about how plurals work in Arabic
