Comments on: Survival Phrases #3 - Please (This Please)

by: Jacek

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:07:08 +0000

Hello. I’m new in Arabic and I’m a bit confused. I’m afraid there’s no consequences in the transcription on the website either in the pdf. For example هذا sometimes is haadha, sometimes is haada. IMHO should be hadhaa, because | indicates long “a”. Generally PDF is very tricky. Please check it. I’m sorry for complaining because I like these lessons.

by: Zaenab

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:24:31 +0000

Salam,
شكرا على الدْرس
تعلْمتُ كثير

by: Hyunwoo

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:36:59 +0000

! ضكرا

Thank you! I learned a lot from this lesson!!

by: Timothy

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:36:36 +0000

جَيدِّ جِدّاً - jayiid jiddan - Very good! You noticed the sounds associated with 2nd person singular conjugation and pronouns.

To quickly review:
Subject Pronoun: anta (m), anti (f)
You are not: lasta (m), lasti (f)
Possessive Suffix: -ak or -ka (m), -ik or -ki (f)
Object Suffix: (same as possessive)
Demonstratives: haa[u]dh[/u]a (m) / haa[u]dh[/u]ihi

Note: -ik vs. -ki and -ak vs -ka depends on formality. For example, speaking is almost always -ik/-ak, while formal, careful reading is almost always -ki/-ka.

This is a great association to make. My advice is to make note of every time you hear this idea reinforced, and keep listening for other associations between sounds, we’ll find plenty of them in Arabic. For example, feminine nouns and adjectives often (not always) end with an ‘a’ sound. Conversely nouns and adjectives that end with an ‘a’ sound are often (not always) feminine.

Compare:
Arabic: عربي - [sup]c[/sup]arabii (m) / عربية[sup]c[/sup]arabiya (f)

by: petiteclaire

Mon, 19 May 2008 19:57:20 +0000

From what I’ve heard from all the past lessons, masculines seem to always be indicated by “a”, and feminines by “i”. Is this a real, solid rule, or not something a complete newbie, like myself, should rely upon ?

by: ArabicPod101.com

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:30:13 +0000

Today we got to hear some regional pronunciations from الْمَغْرِب - al-ma[u]gh[/u]rib - Morocco. Have you tried using your Arabic at the kitchen table? Try using today’s phrase to ask for the salt. TIP: Standard Arabic pronunciation: هذا من فضلك haa[u]dh[/u]a min faDlik (to a woman) haa[u]dh[/u]a min faDlak (to a man)