Language/North-levantine-arabic/Grammar/Pronouns

North Levantine Arabic Grammar - Pronouns

Hi North Levantine Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about pronouns in North Levantine Arabic. Pronouns are essential elements in any language, as they replace nouns and help avoid repetition. Knowing how to use pronouns perfectly will help you communicate more efficiently and confidently. Let's get started!

With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Nouns, How to Use "Have", Give your Opinion & Negation.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to replace the names of people, animals or things. They must be in agreement with their antecedent in gender, number, and person.

North Levantine Arabic has the following personal pronouns:

Person	Pronoun	Pronunciation	English Translation
1stpers.sing.male	أنا	ana	I
1stpers.sing.female	أنا	ana	I
2ndpers.sing.male	أنتَ	anta	you (singular, male)
2ndpers.sing.female	أنتِ	anti	you (singular, female)
3rdpers.sing.male	هو	huwa	he
3rdpers.sing.female	هي	hiya	she
1stpers.plural.male	نحن	nahnu	we
1stpers.plural.female	نحن	nahnu	we
2ndpers.plural.male	أنتم	antum	you (plural, male)
2ndpers.plural.female	أنتنَّ	antunna	you (plural, female)
3rdpers.plural.male	هُمْ	hum	they (males, or mixed group in which males predominate)
3rdpers.plural.female	هنَّ	hunna	they (females or mixed group in which females predominate)

Here are some examples of personal pronouns in sentences:

• قسمًا، أنا أحب نفسي. (Qasman, ana uhibbu nafsi.)
  

(Surely, I love myself.)

• هو يدرس اللغة العربية. (Huwa yadrusu al-lughah al-‘arabiyyah.)
  

(He studies the Arabic language.)

• هي كانت غاضبة جدًّا. (Hiya kanat ghadhibah jiddan.)
  

(She was very angry.)

• أين أنتَ في الطابور؟ (Ayna anta fi at-tabur?)
  

(Where are you in the queue?)

• نحن نتحدث اللّغة العربيّة. (Nahnu natakallamu al-lughah al-‘arabiyyah.)
  

(We speak the Arabic language.)

• أنتنَّ تتعلّمن اللغة العربية. (Antunna tata‘allamna al-lughah al-‘arabiyyah.)
  

(You (female plural) are studying the Arabic language.)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate possession or ownership in sentences. North Levantine Arabic has suffixes and independent possessive pronouns as well.

The independent possessive pronouns are as follows:

Person	Pronoun	Pronunciation	English Translation
1stpers.sing.male	لي	li	mine
1stpers.sing.female	لي	li	mine
2ndpers.sing.male	لكَ	laka	yours (singular, male)
2ndpers.sing.female	لكِ	laki	yours (singular, female)
3rdpers.sing.male	لهُ	lahu	his
3rdpers.sing.female	لها	laha	hers
1stpers.plural.male	لنا	lana	ours
1stpers.plural.female	لنا	lana	ours
2ndpers.plural.male	لكم	lakum	yours (plural, male)
2ndpers.plural.female	لكنَّ	lakunna	yours (plural, female)
3rdpers.plural.male	لهُمْ	lahum	theirs (males or mixed group)
3rdpers.plural.female	لهنَّ	lahunna	theirs (females)

Here are some examples of possessive pronouns in sentences:

• باسم يبحث عن سيارته. سيارة باسم هي بالشارع الآن. (Bassam yabhtaghi ‘an sayaratihi. Sayaratu Bassam hiya bish-shari‘i l-‘ana.)
  

(Bassam is looking for his car. Bassam's car is in the street now.)

• هذا هدية لَك. هذه هدية لي. (Hatha hadiyah laka. Hathih hadiyah li.)
  

(This is a gift for you. This is a gift for me.)

• الأم بدأتُ تغسل ثيابي. (Al-umm badat tu-ghsilu thayyabi.)
  

(My mother started washing my clothes.)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns point to the location or identity of a person, animal or thing in relation to the speaker. They are used to replace or refer to a noun previously mentioned. They agree in gender and number with the noun to which they refer. North Levantine Arabic demonstrative pronouns are similar to those in English:

Pronoun	Pronunciation	English Translation
هذَا	hatha	this (masculine)
هذِهِ	hathihi	this (feminine)
هُنَاكَ	hunaka	that (masculine)
هُنالِكَ	hunalika	that (feminine)
هُنَا	huna	here
هُنالِك	hunalik	there

Here are some examples of demonstrative pronouns in sentences:

• هذَا الكتاب لأخي. هذِهِ الحقيبة لأختي. (Hatha al-kitab li-’akhī. Hathihi al-haqibah li-’ukhtī.)
  

(This book is for my brother. This bag is for my sister.)

• ذهبتُ إلى المكتبة لأرى هذا الكتاب. (Thahabtu 'ila al-maktabati li-arra hatha al-kitab.)
  

(I went to the library to see this book.)

• ذهبتُ إلى هُنَاكَ لأرى ذلك الشّجر. (Thahabtu 'ila hunaka li-arra dhalika ash-shajara.)
  

(I went there to see that tree.)

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. In North Levantine Arabic, there are three interrogative pronouns:

Pronoun	Pronunciation	English Translation
مَنْ	man	who
مَا	ma	what
أينَ	ayna	where

Here are some examples of interrogative pronouns in sentences:

• مَن تتعلم اللغة العربيّة؟ (Man tata‘allam al-lughah al-‘arabiyyah?)
  

(Who is studying Arabic?)

• مَا هذا؟ (Ma hatha?)
  

(What is this?)

• أينَ تسكن؟ (Ayna taskunu?)
  

(Where do you live?)

Dialogue

• Person 1: عندي قَلَمٌ جديد. (‘Indī qalamun jadīd.)
  

(I have a new pen.)

• Person 2: هَلْ يُمْكِنُنِي أَخَذُهُ مَعِي؟ (Hal yamkinunī akhadhuhu ma‘ī?)
  

(Can I take it with me?)

• Person 1: بالتأكيد، أخذهُ. (Bilttaqīd, akhadhuhu.)
  

(Sure, take it.)

Conclusion

In this lesson, you have learned about pronouns in North Levantine Arabic. We started with personal pronouns, which are used to replace the names of people, animals or things. Possessive pronouns indicate possession or ownership in sentences. Demonstrative pronouns point to the location or identity of a person, animal or thing, while interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. Practice using these pronouns in your daily conversations with native speakers or your language exchange partners on Polyglot Club. Don't be afraid to ask them any questions! 😊

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Levantine Arabic
• Personal Pronouns
• Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns

Upon wrapping up this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Questions, Gender & Adjectives.

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Give your Opinion
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• Negation
• Nouns
• Gender
• Adjectives
• How to Use Be