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Most Arabic nouns take *tanween* (the "n" sound at the end of indefinite words) and use a *kasra* (ِ) in the genitive case (e.g., after a preposition).

However, a special group of proper nouns called "diptotes" (الممنوع من الصرف) follow two strict rules:
1. **No Tanween:** They take a single vowel (*damma* ُ or *fatha* َ) instead of a double vowel.
2. **Fatha instead of Kasra:** In the genitive case, they take a *fatha* (َ) instead of a *kasra* (ِ).

Here are four common categories of diptote proper names:

### Names Ending in ـان and Foreign Names

Proper names ending in Alif and Noon (e.g., عثمان) and foreign names (including non-Arabic cities like مدريد and برلين) are diptotes. Notice how عثمان takes a single *damma* as the subject, and مدريد takes a *fatha* despite coming after the preposition من.

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### Feminine Proper Names

All feminine proper names are diptotes, whether they end in a *taa marbuta* (خديجة) or not (زينب). After a preposition like مع, إلى, or من, they take a *fatha*.

{{item:1177203}}

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### Verb-Like Proper Names

Some Arabic names share the exact pattern of a verb. For example, يزيد looks just like the present-tense verb "he increases." Because they resemble verbs, these names are diptotes.

{{item:1177209}}

{{item:1177216}}

### 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 |
|---|---|---|
| وصل القنصل عثمان من مدريد. | وَصَلَ القُنْصُلُ عُثْمَانُ مِنْ مَدْرِيدَ. | The consul Othman arrived from Madrid. |
| أرسلت زينب رسالة إلى خديجة. | أَرْسَلَتْ زَيْنَبُ رِسَالَةً إِلَى خَدِيجَةَ. | Zainab sent a message to Khadija. |
| تحدثنا مع يزيد عن الوفد. | تَحَدَّثْنَا مَعَ يَزِيدَ عَنِ الوَفْدِ. | We spoke with Yazeed about the delegation. |

A diptote name never takes tanween. As a subject it has a single damma, **عُثْمَانُ**, **زَيْنَبُ**, while the ordinary noun **رِسَالَةً** keeps its double vowel. After a preposition it takes a fatha where other nouns take a kasra: **مِنْ مَدْرِيدَ**, **إِلَى خَدِيجَةَ**, **مَعَ يَزِيدَ**, but **عَنِ الوَفْدِ**.

Diptote proper nouns (الممنوع من الصرف)

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
consul	قنصلqunsul
Othman	عثمانothmân
Madrid	مدريدmadrid
The consul Othman arrived from Madrid.	وصل القنصل عثمان من مدريد.wasala al-qunsulu othmânu min madrîd
diplomat	دبلوماسيdiblômâsî
coordination (organizing, arranging)	تنسيقtansiq
Zainab	زينبzainab
The diplomat smiled because of the coordination with Zainab.	ابتسم الدبلوماسي بسبب التنسيق مع زينب.ibtasama ad-diblômâsiyyu bisababi at-tansîqi ma'a zaynaba.
excellency	سعادةsa'âda
Khadija	خديجةkhadîja
Berlin	برلينbarlîn
Her Excellency the consul Khadija welcomed the delegation from Berlin.	رحبت سعادة القنصل خديجة بالوفد من برلين.rahhabat sa'âdatu alqunsuli khadîjatu bilwafdi min barlîn
Yazeed	يزيدyazîdu
Yazeed is an excellent diplomat thanks to the coordination with Othman.	يزيد دبلوماسي ممتاز بفضل التنسيق مع عثمان.yazîdu diblûmâsiyyun mumtâzun bifadli at-tansîqi ma'a othmâna
The consul traveled to Berlin because of the crisis.	سافر القنصل إلى برلين بسبب الأزمة.sâfara al-qunsulu ilâ barlîna bisababi al-azmati
Zainab sent a message to Khadija.	أرسلت زينب رسالة إلى خديجة.arsalat zaynabu risâlatan ilâ khadîjah
Yazeed participated in a project with Othman.	شارك يزيد في مشروع مع عثمان.shâraka yazîdu fî mashrû'in ma'a 'uthmân.
The diplomat left Berlin early because of the crisis.	غادر الدبلوماسي برلين مبكرا بسبب الأزمة.ghâdara ad-diblômâsiyyu barlîna mubakkiran bisababi al-azmati
We need coordination between the consul in Madrid and His Excellency the ambassador.	نحتاج إلى التنسيق بين القنصل في مدريد وسعادة السفير.nahtâju ilâ at-tansîqi bayna al-qunsuli fî madrîda wa sa'âdati as-safîri
All the participants arrived except Zainab and Khadija.	وصل كل المشاركين إلا زينب وخديجة.wasala kullu-l-mushârikîna illâ zaynaba wa khadîjata
We spoke with Yazeed about the delegation.	تحدثنا مع يزيد عن الوفد.tahaddathnâ maa yazîda ani al-wafdi.

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