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When detailing specific features of an object, Arabic offers an elegant alternative to standard possessive structures. Using **بدل** (apposition), you mention the whole object first, followed immediately by the specific part or attribute.

The second noun (the part or attribute) must:
- Have an attached possessive pronoun suffix matching the first noun (the whole) in gender and number.
- Take the exact same grammatical case as the first noun.

### Physical Parts (بدل البعض من الكل)

Use this when specifying a tangible, physical component. Notice how the second noun mirrors the case of the first and carries a matching pronoun:

{{item:1178360}}

{{item:1178365}}

### Attributes and Features (بدل الاشتمال)

Use the exact same structure for attributes or qualities that are not strictly physical pieces (like finishing, dampness, or durability). This is common during inspections or with verbs expressing observation, satisfaction, or concern:

{{item:1178367}}

{{item:1178369}}

### Case Agreement

The appositive noun perfectly copies the case of the whole.

When the characterized noun is the subject (nominative), the attribute is also nominative. This frequently happens with verbs like أقلق (to worry), where the thing causing the emotion is the subject:

{{item:1178363}}

When the characterized noun is the object (accusative), the attribute is also accusative. This occurs with action verbs like تفقد (to inspect):

{{item:1178371}}

Finally, the attached pronoun must always match the gender and number of the noun it refers back to, even for plurals:

{{item:1178382}}

### 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 | case |
|---|---|---|
| أعجبتني الشقة تشطيبها. | أَعْجَبَتْنِي الشَّقَّةُ تَشْطِيبُهَا. | nominative (subject) |
| تفقدنا العقار سباكته. | تَفَقَّدْنَا العَقَارَ سِبَاكَتَهُ. | accusative (object) |
| أقلق المهندسة القبو رطوبته. | أَقْلَقَ المُهَنْدِسَةَ القَبْوُ رُطُوبَتُهُ. | nominative (subject, after the object) |

The part or attribute copies the case of the whole in front of it: **الشَّقَّةُ تَشْطِيبُهَا** as a subject, **العَقَارَ سِبَاكَتَهُ** as an object. Only the vowel before the pronoun changes, so you hear the difference but never see it. In the last drill the object comes first (**المُهَنْدِسَةَ**) and the subject after it (**القَبْوُ رُطُوبَتُهُ**): the endings (and the masculine verb أَقْلَقَ), not the word order, tell you which is which.

Apposition for parts and attributes (بدل)

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
to inspect (check on)	تفقدtafaqqada
basement	قبوqabw
The inspector inspected the building's basement.	تفقد المفتش المبنى قبوه.tafaqqada al-mufattishu al-mabnâ qabwahu
to worry	أقلقaqlaqa
dampness	رطوبةrutûba
The basement's dampness worried the female engineer.	أقلق المهندسة القبو رطوبته.aqlaqa al-muhandisata al-qabwu rutubatuhu
crack	تصدعtasaddu'
We saw the wall's crack.	رأينا الجدار تصدعه.ra'aynâ al-jidâra tasaddu'ahu
finishing	تشطيبtashtîb
I liked the apartment's finishing.	أعجبتني الشقة تشطيبها.a'jabatnî ash-shaqqatu tashtîbuhâ
durability	متانةmatâna
The foundation's durability pleased us.	أعجبنا الأساس متانته.a'jabanâ al-asâsu matânatuhu
plumbing	سباكةsibâka
We inspected the property's plumbing.	تفقدنا العقار سباكته.tafaqqadnâ al-'aqâra sibâkatahu
carpentry	نجارةnijâra
ceramics (tiles, modern)	سيراميكsirâmîk
I did not like the house's carpentry, but rather its ceramics.	لم يعجبني البيت نجارته، بل سيراميكه.lam yujibnî al-baytu nijâratuhu, bal sîrâmîkuhu.
The house's plumbing worried me.	أقلقني البيت سباكته.aqlaqanî al-baytu sibâkatuhu.
The female engineer inspected the structure's crack.	تفقدت المهندسة الهيكل تصدعه.tafaqqadati al-muhandisatu al-haykala tasadduahu.
The buyer noticed the wall's dampness.	لاحظ المشتري الجدار رطوبته.lâhaza al-mushtari al-jidâra rutûbatahu
The room's carpentry pleased the inspector.	أعجبت المفتش الغرفة نجارتها.a'jabati l-mufattisha l-ghurfatu nijâratuhâ.
Did you check the bathroom's ceramics?	هل فحصت الحمام سيراميكه؟hal fahasta al-hammâma sîrâmîkahu?
The property's durability and finishing pleased us.	أعجبنا العقار متانته وتشطيبه.a'jabanâ al-'aqâru matânatuhu wa tashṭîbuhu.
The female inspector had not noticed the basement's dampness.	لم تكن المفتشة قد لاحظت القبو رطوبته.lam takuni al-mufattishatu qad lâhazati al-qabwa rutûbatahu
The carpenters' finishing pleased us.	أعجبنا النجارون تشطيبهم.ajabanâ an-najjârûna tashtîbuhum.

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