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### Clarifying Comparisons with the Accusative of Specification

When comparing two things in Arabic using words like أكثر (more) or أقل (less), you often need to clarify: "More" of what?

To specify the basis of comparison, Arabic uses the **Accusative of Specification** (التمييز). Simply take the noun you want to specify, make it indefinite, and put it in the accusative case (usually ending with *fathatan* ـاً or ـةً) immediately after the comparative word.

While English often translates these as single adjectives ("sweeter", "tastier"), Arabic literally phrases them as "more in sweetness" or "tastier in taste".

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This structure works with any comparative adjective. To say something is "lower" or "less" in a certain quality, use أقل followed by the specifying noun.

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You can also use this pattern to build compound descriptions and compare multiple aspects of a subject at once.

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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 something you hear in the audio but never see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:

| as written | fully vocalized | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| هذا السمك ألذ طعما من الدجاج. | هَذَا السَّمَكُ أَلَذُّ طَعْمًا مِنَ الدَّجَاجِ. | This fish is tastier than the chicken. |
| العنب أكثر حلاوة من الليمون. | العِنَبُ أَكْثَرُ حَلَاوَةً مِنَ اللَّيْمُونِ. | The grapes are sweeter than the lemons. |
| هذا الجبن أقل ملوحة. | هَذَا الجُبْنُ أَقَلُّ مُلُوحَةً. | This cheese is less salty. |

The word that says *in what way* is indefinite and accusative. On **طَعْمًا** the ending shows as a written alif. On a word ending in ة it is only heard: **حَلَاوَةً**, **مُلُوحَةً**.

Accusative of specification (التمييز)

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
tastier	ألذalazz
taste	طعمta'm
This fish is tastier than the chicken.	هذا السمك ألذ طعما من الدجاج.hâdhâ as-samaku aladhdhu taaman mina ad-dajâj
grapes	عنب'inab
sweetness	حلاوةhalâwa
lemons	ليمونlaymoon
The grapes are sweeter than the lemons.	العنب أكثر حلاوة من الليمون.al-'inabu aktharu halâwatan mina l-laymûni
less	أقلaqall
value	قيمةqeemah
The fast food is lower in nutritional value.	الوجبة السريعة أقل قيمة غذائية.al-wajbatu s-sarî'atu aqallu qîmatan ghidhâ'iyyatan
spinach	سبانخsabânikh
carrots	جزرjazar
Spinach is better in nutritional value than carrots.	السبانخ أفضل قيمة غذائية من الجزر.as-sabânikhu afdalu qîmatan ghidhâ'iyyatan mina l-jazari
saltiness	ملوحةmuluuha
This cheese is less salty.	هذا الجبن أقل ملوحة.hâdhâ al-jubnu aqallu muluuhatan
The grapes are lighter in weight than the lemons.	العنب أقل وزنا من الليمون.al-'inabu aqallu waznan mina l-laymûni
Are the carrots sweeter than the apples?	هل الجزر أكثر حلاوة من التفاح؟hal al-jazaru aktharu halâwatan mina at-tuffâh?
The spinach soup is saltier than the chicken soup.	حساء السبانخ أكثر ملوحة من حساء الدجاج.hasâ'u s-sabânikhi aktharu mulûhatan min hasâ'i d-dajâji
This healthy food is tastier and lower in fat.	هذا الطعام الصحي ألذ طعما وأقل دهنا.hâdhâ at-ta'âmu as-sihhiyyu aladhdhu ta'man wa-aqallu duhnan
The meat is higher in nutritional value, but the fish is tastier.	اللحم أعلى قيمة غذائية، لكن السمك ألذ.al-lahmu a'lâ qeematan ghidhâ'iyyatan, lâkinna as-samaka aladhdh
The lemons are not sweeter than the grapes.	الليمون ليس أكثر حلاوة من العنب.al-laymûnu laysa akthara halâwatan mina al-'inabi.
The nurse is lighter in weight than the doctor.	الممرضة أقل وزنا من الطبيب.al-mumarridatu aqallu waznan mina ttabîb
The girl has more energy than the boy.	البنت أكثر طاقة من الولد.al-bintu aktharu tâqatan min al-walad

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