The Attached-Pronoun Inventory | Arabic (Modern Standard) Grammar

Arabic attached pronouns are short forms written directly on a preceding host. After a noun they normally mark a possessor: كتابه “his book.” After a preposition they mark its object: معه “with him.” After a verb they mark an object: رأيته “I saw him.” English generally writes the corresponding pronouns as separate words, so joining them is a major structural adjustment for an English-speaking learner.

The suffixes form one related series, but they are not merely shortened independent pronouns. The host selects the grammatical role, and some hosts select a different stem or suffix pronunciation. First-person singular is especially variable, while third-person ـه changes its vowel after i or y.

Compare this host-bound series with the free-standing forms on Independent Subject Pronouns.

The person–gender–number inventory

The following table uses a regular noun, preposition, and verb to show the core series. The Arabic is left in ordinary unvocalized spelling; later examples make the relevant vowel contrasts audible.

Reference	After كتاب “book”	After لـ “to/for”	After رأى “saw”
me / my	كتابي	لي	رآني
us / our	كتابنا	لنا	رآنا
you / your, one man	كتابك	لك	رآك
you / your, one woman	كتابك	لك	رآك
you two / your	كتابكما	لكما	رآكما
you / your, male or mixed plural	كتابكم	لكم	رآكم
you / your, all-female plural	كتابكن	لكن	رآكن
him / his	كتابه	له	رآه
her / her	كتابها	لها	رآها
them two / their	كتابهما	لهما	رآهما
them / their, male or mixed human plural	كتابهم	لهم	رآهم
them / their, all-female human plural	كتابهن	لهن	رآهن

Masculine ـك -ka and feminine ـك -ki have the same ordinary spelling. The shadda in feminine-plural ـكنَّ and ـهنَّ is also normally omitted in unvocalized text. Fully vocalized writing shows the exact readings, while context and agreement identify the intended referents in ordinary print.

After nouns: possessor and definiteness

A pronoun suffix attached to a noun normally expresses a possessor or another genitive relation. The combination is one written word, and the suffix makes the noun phrase definite. Do not add الـ to the suffixed noun.

هاتفي على الطاولة قرب النافذة.

hātifī ʿalā ṭ-ṭāwilati qurba n-nāfidha(h).

My phone is on the table near the window.

سيارتها الجديدة أمام المبنى.

sayyāratuhā l-jadīdatu ʾamāma l-mabnā.

Her new car is in front of the building.

The second example reveals a stem change. Noun-final ة is pronounced -a(h) in pause, but it opens to ت before an attached suffix: سيارة sayyāra(h) becomes سيارتها sayyāratuhā. The base spelling changes because the suffix exposes the construct form of tāʾ marbūṭa.

مديرنا في اجتماع، ومساعدته في مكتبه اليوم.

mudīrunā fī jtimāʿin, wa-musāʿidatuhu fī maktabihi l-yawm.

Our director is in a meeting, and his assistant is in his office today.

The final ـه is pronounced -hi in مكتبهِ because the preceding sound is i. Earlier مساعدتهُ has -hu. This vowel alternation does not change the consonant ه or the pronoun's reference.

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Learn a suffix together with a host, not in isolation: ـهُ after most vowels or consonants, but ـهِ after i or y. The spelling remains ـه in ordinary unvocalized text.

Dual nouns and sound masculine plurals lose their final ن before a possessive suffix because the noun enters the construct state. For example, nominative كتابان “two books” gives كتاباهما “their two books,” while accusative/genitive كتابين gives كتابيهما. This is a property of the noun stem, not a new dual pronoun. The related page on dual and plural suffixes develops the full paradigm.

After prepositions: the object of the preposition

Some one-letter prepositions attach as prefixes, and the pronoun follows immediately: له “for him,” بها “with/by it,” منك “from you.” Independent prepositions also take suffixes: معهم “with them,” عندنا “at our place/we have.”

هذه الرسالة لك، والنسخة الأخرى لها.

hādhihi r-risālatu laka, wa-n-nuskhatu l-ʾukhrā lahā.

This letter is for you, and the other copy is for her. (One male addressee.)

تحدثت معك بعد المحاضرة.

taḥaddathtu maʿaki baʿda l-muḥāḍara(h).

I spoke with you after the lecture. (One female addressee.)

Several common prepositions use a stem ending in ـيـ before a suffix: على → عليه, إلى → إليه, and لدى → لديه. That y also triggers -hi, -himā, or -him in careful vocalization.

أرسلت إليهم رابط الاجتماع، ثم تحدثت معهم.

ʾarsaltu ʾilayhim rābiṭa l-ijtimāʿi, thumma taḥaddathtu maʿahum.

I sent them the meeting link, then spoke with them.

Here one and the same masculine/mixed plural suffix is pronounced -him after إليـ but -hum after معـ. For first-person singular, من and عن double their final consonant: مني minnī “from me,” عني ʿannī “about/from me.” These are established host-conditioned forms and must be learned as units.

سألني المدير عنك، فأخبرته عن موعدك الجديد.

saʾalanī l-mudīru ʿanka, fa-ʾakhbartuhu ʿan mawʿidika l-jadīd.

The director asked me about you, so I told him about your new appointment. (One male addressee.)

After verbs: an object, not the subject

An object pronoun joins the verb. رأيته contains past verb رأيتُ “I saw” plus object ـه “him/it.” The first-person subject remains encoded by ـتُ; the attached ـه does not compete with it.

رأيته عند مدخل الجامعة.

raʾaytuhu ʿinda madkhali l-jāmiʿa(h).

I saw him at the university entrance.

دعتها اللجنة إلى مقابلة ثانية.

daʿathā l-lajnatu ʾilā muqābalatin thāniya(h).

The committee invited her to a second interview.

First-person singular normally uses ـني on a verb, not nominal ـي:

اتصل بي زميلي وسألني عن النتائج.

ʾittaṣala bī zamīlī wa-saʾalanī ʿani n-natāʾij.

My colleague called me and asked me about the results.

The first ـي belongs to preposition بـ and is pronounced bī; ـني belongs to سأل and is pronounced -nī. The host selects the form.

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Parse from the host outward. A noun makes the suffix genitive/possessive, a preposition makes it a prepositional object, and a verb makes it a verbal object. The English translation alone cannot tell you which Arabic shape to choose.

Independent versus attached: a minimal contrast

Independent أنتِ can serve as a clause subject. Attached ـكِ must lean on a preceding host.

أنت تعرفينني، وأنا أعرفك جيدا.

ʾanti taʿrifīnanī, wa-ʾanā ʾaʿrifuki jayyidā.

You know me, and I know you well. (One female addressee.)

أنت تعرفني، وأنا أعرفك جيدا.

ʾanta taʿrifunī, wa-ʾanā ʾaʿrifuka jayyidā.

You know me, and I know you well. (One male addressee.)

In each sentence, the independent pronouns establish subjects; the verb endings identify those subjects; and ـني/ـك mark objects. Treating every item as a translation of English you would miss these three grammatical layers.

Resumptive suffixes keep an antecedent linked

In a relative or topicalized clause, an attached suffix can point back to an earlier noun. Formal MSA normally keeps this link after a preposition and often with an object role.

هذه هي الموظفة التي اتصلت بها صباحا.

hādhihi hiya l-muwaẓẓafatu llatī ttaṣaltu bihā ṣabāḥā.

This is the employee whom I called this morning.

The suffix ـها after بـ resumes feminine الموظفة. English says “the employee whom I called” with no overt preposition-object pronoun in that position; the Arabic verb اتصل بـ selects بـ, and that preposition must carry its object.

Ambiguity is still possible. If two feminine singular people have just been mentioned, بها alone may not tell the reader which one is intended. Formal writing should repeat a name or role when the referent matters.

Common Mistakes

Losing second-person gender in pronunciation

❌ هذا ملفك يا ليلى.

hādhā malaffuka yā laylā

Incorrect if the suffix is read -ka to the female addressee Layla; unvocalized spelling does not remove the gender contrast.

✅ هذا ملفك يا ليلى.

hādhā malaffuki yā laylā.

This is your file, Layla. (The suffix is feminine -ki.)

Writing the suffix separately

❌ تحدثت مع هم بعد الجلسة.

Incorrect — the plural suffix joins directly to maʿ.

✅ تحدثت معهم بعد الجلسة.

taḥaddathtu maʿahum baʿda l-jalsa(h).

I spoke with them after the session.

Copying English possessor order

❌ هي سيارة أمام البيت.

Incorrect for “her car is in front of the house” — hiya is an independent pronoun, not a possessive determiner.

✅ سيارتها أمام البيت.

sayyāratuhā ʾamāma l-bayt.

Her car is in front of the house.

Omitting the resumptive suffix

❌ هذا هو الباحث الذي تحدثت مع.

Incorrect — maʿ cannot be stranded without a suffix referring to the researcher.

✅ هذا هو الباحث الذي تحدثت معه.

hādhā huwa l-bāḥithu lladhī taḥaddathtu maʿah.

This is the researcher I spoke with.

Leaving the third-person antecedent ambiguous

❌ أعطت منى سلمى كتابها.

Potentially ambiguous — kitābuhā may mean Mona's book or Salma's book.

✅ أعطت منى سلمى كتاب منى.

ʾaʿṭat munā salmā kitāba munā.

Mona gave Salma Mona's book.

Key Takeaways

Attached pronouns are written as part of a noun, preposition, or verb.
The host determines the suffix's role: possessor, prepositional object, or verbal object.
First-person singular alternates among forms such as nominal ـي, verbal ـني, and prepositional لي/بي/مني.
Third-person h suffixes use -hi/-him after i or y and -hu/-hum elsewhere in careful vocalization.
Noun stems can change before suffixes: ة becomes pronounced/written ت, and construct-state dual or sound-plural nouns lose ن.
Relative and topicalized clauses may require a resumptive suffix that explicitly links back to an antecedent.

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