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### The Waw of Accompaniment

The letter و usually means "and," but it can also mean "along with" or "alongside." In this case, it is known as the waw of accompaniment (واو المعية).

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This structure is perfect for describing paths that run parallel to a physical landmark.

### The Accusative of Accompaniment

When و is used this way, the noun immediately following it is called the object of accompaniment (المفعول معه). Like other objects in Arabic, this noun must take the accusative case (منصوب).

For singular nouns, the accusative case is marked by a *fatha* (ـَ) on the final letter. Notice how the words for "bank" (ضفة) and "foot" (سفح) take the accusative case in these examples:

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### Physical Landmarks and Time

You will frequently see this structure when talking about moving alongside natural boundaries, such as streams or springs.

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The concept of accompaniment also applies to time. You can use it to express an action happening alongside a period of time, such as dusk.

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### Seeing the endings

This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is usually something you hear in the audio but cannot see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:

| as written | fully vocalized | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| مشينا وضفة النهر لمدة نصف ساعة. | مَشَيْنَا وَضِفَّةَ النَّهْرِ لِمُدَّةِ نِصْفِ سَاعَةٍ. | We walked alongside the river bank for half an hour. |
| مشى المسافرون وسفح الجبل. | مَشَى المُسَافِرُونَ وَسَفْحَ الجَبَلِ. | The travelers walked alongside the foot of the mountain. |
| سار المسافر والجبل في الغابة. | سَارَ المُسَافِرُ وَالجَبَلَ فِي الغَابَةِ. | The traveler walked alongside the mountain in the forest. |

The noun after this و is accusative, and here the fatha is only heard: **وَضِفَّةَ**, **وَسَفْحَ**, **وَالجَبَلَ**. A second noun in an idafa stays genitive: **النَّهْرِ**, **الجَبَلِ**. The ending carries the meaning. With a damma, **وَالجَبَلُ** would make the mountain a second subject, walking along too.

Accusative of accompaniment (و)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
with, alongside (accompaniment)	وwa
bank (of a river)	ضفةdiffa
We walked alongside the river bank for half an hour.	مشينا وضفة النهر لمدة نصف ساعة.mashaynâ wa dhiffata an-nahri limuddati nisfi sâ'atin
foot (of a mountain)	سفحsafh
The travelers walked alongside the foot of the mountain.	مشى المسافرون وسفح الجبل.mashâ al-musâfirûna wa-safha al-jabali
to extend	امتدimtadda
stream (channel, course)	مجرىmajrâ
The forest extends alongside the water stream.	تمتد الغابة ومجرى الماء.tamtaddu al-ghâbatu wa majrâ al-mâ'i
gear	عتادʻatâd
spring (water source)	نبعnab'
I took the gear and walked alongside the water spring.	أخذت العتاد ومشيت ونبع الماء.akhadhtu al'atâda wa mashaytu wa nab'a al-mâ'.
to get lost (lose one's way)	تاهtâha
swamp	مستنقعmustanqa'
The boy got lost while the dog walked alongside the swamp.	تاه الولد بينما مشى الكلب والمستنقع.tâha al-waladu baynamâ mashâ al-kalbu wal-mustanqaa
dusk	غسقghasaq
The journey extended along with the dusk.	امتدت الرحلة وغسق الليل.imtaddati r-rihlatu wa ghasaqa l-layli
The girls ran alongside the bank of the stream.	جرت البنات وضفة المجرى.jaratil banâtu wa diffatal majrâ
Did the woman get lost while she walked alongside the swamp?	هل تاهت المرأة بينما مشت والمستنقع؟hal tâhati-l-mar'atu baynamâ mashat wa-l-mustanqa'a?
The engineers advanced alongside the foot of the mountain.	تقدم المهندسون وسفح الجبل.taqaddama al-muhandisûna wa safha al-jabal.
We prepared the gear along with the dusk.	جهزنا العتاد وغسق الليل.jahhaznâ al-'atâda wa ghasaqa al-layli
The train moved alongside the river bank.	تحرك القطار وضفة النهر.taharraka al-qitâru wa dhiffata an-nahri.
to walk	سارsâra
The guide walked alongside the river to the spring.	سارت المرشدة والنهر إلى النبع.sâratil murshidatu wannahra ilâ annab'i
The traveler walked alongside the mountain in the forest.	سار المسافر والجبل في الغابة.sâra almusâfiru wa-ljabala fî alghâbati.

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