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### Apposition (البدل)

In Arabic, when you refer to someone by their title, rank, or profession followed immediately by their proper name—such as "Doctor Mahmoud" or "Commander Tariq"—this grammatical structure is called **apposition** (البدل).

The rule for apposition is simple but strict: the proper name (the appositive) must copy the grammatical case of the title preceding it. The title determines the role in the sentence, and the name simply follows suit.

### Nominative Apposition (Subjects)

If the title is the subject of the sentence, it takes the nominative case. Because of apposition, the proper name following it will also be in the nominative case.

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### Genitive Apposition (After Prepositions)

When the title is in the genitive case—for instance, when it directly follows a preposition—it takes a *kasra*. The proper name following it must inherit this genitive case and take a *kasra* (or double *kasra* if fully declinable) as well.

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### Accusative Apposition (Objects)

Similarly, if the title is the direct object of a verb, it is in the accusative case. The proper name matching it will also take the accusative case. For fully declinable masculine names, remember that the accusative *tanween* (double *fatha*) requires adding an *alif* (ا) at the end of the name.

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### Bringing It Together

This case-matching behavior applies universally to rulers, historical figures, and everyday professionals alike. Notice in the following example how both the nominative subject pairing and the genitive prepositional pairing perfectly match their respective cases within a single sentence:

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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 | case |
|---|---|---|
| انسحب الأمير خالد من المعاهدة. | اِنْسَحَبَ الأَمِيرُ خَالِدٌ مِنَ المُعَاهَدَةِ. | nominative (subject) |
| هل قابلت الأمير طارقا؟ | هَلْ قَابَلْتَ الأَمِيرَ طَارِقًا؟ | accusative (object) |
| استمعت إلى الدكتور محمود في المؤتمر. | اسْتَمَعْتُ إِلَى الدُّكْتُورِ مَحْمُودٍ فِي المُؤْتَمَرِ. | genitive (after إلى) |

The name copies the case of the title in front of it. Only the accusative can be seen, as the alif of **طارقا**. The nominative **خَالِدٌ** and the genitive **مَحْمُودٍ** are heard but not written.

Apposition for titles and names (البدل)

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
doctor (academic or medical)	دكتورduktôr
Mahmoud	محمودmahmoud
I listened to Doctor Mahmoud at the conference.	استمعت إلى الدكتور محمود في المؤتمر.istama'tu ilâ ad-duktûri mahmûdin fî al-mu'tamari
prince	أميرamîr
Khaled	خالدkhâlid
Prince Khaled withdrew from the treaty.	انسحب الأمير خالد من المعاهدة.insahaba al-amîru khâlidun mina al-mu'âhadati
ruler	حاكمhâkim
Ali	عليaliyy
The ruler Ali respected the citizen.	احترم الحاكم علي المواطن.ihtarama al-hâkimu aliyyun al-muwâtina
commander / leader / driver (of a vehicle)	قائدqâ'id
Tariq	طارقtâriq
The commander Tariq set off to the north.	انطلق القائد طارق إلى الشمال.intalaqa al-qâ'idu târiqun ilâ ash-shamâl.
Aisha	عائشةâisha
How are you, Doctor Aisha? Fine, praise be to God.	كيف حالك يا دكتورة عائشة؟ بخير، الحمد لله.kayfa hâluki yâ duktûratu 'â'ishatu? bikhayrin, alhamdu lillâhi.
sultan	سلطانsultân
Sultan Mahmoud built a huge palace.	بنى السلطان محمود قصرا ضخما.banâ as-sultânu mahmûdun qasran dhakhman
genius	عبقري'abqariyy
The genius Khaled discovered a new planet.	اكتشف العبقري خالد كوكبا جديدا.iktashafa al-'abqariyyu khâlidun kawkaban jadîdan.
Did you meet Prince Tariq?	هل قابلت الأمير طارقا؟hal qâbalta al-amîra târiqan?
The ruler Aisha published an official statement.	نشرت الحاكمة عائشة بيانا رسميا.nasharati al-hâkimatu â'ishatu bayânan rasmiyyan
We waited for the commander Ali at the center.	انتظرنا القائد عليا في المركز.intazarnâ al-qâ'ida aliyyan fî al-markaz.
Sultan Ali listened to the genius Khaled.	استمع السلطان علي إلى العبقري خالد.istama'a as-sultânu 'aliyyun ilâ al-'abqariyyi khâlidin
title, nickname	لقبlaqab
What is the ruler's title? Sultan.	ما لقب الحاكم؟ السلطان.mâ laqabu l-hâkimi? as-sultânu.
Mahmoud got the title of doctor.	حصل محمود على لقب دكتور.hasala mahmoudun alâ laqabi duktourin
My friend's nickname is 'the genius'.	لقب صديقي العبقري.laqabu sadîqî al-'abqariyy

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