Emphasizing Sentences with إن
In Arabic, if you want to emphasize or affirm a nominal sentence (a sentence that starts with a noun or pronoun), you can place the particle إن at the very beginning. It translates roughly to "indeed" or "truly," though in English, we often just use a stronger tone of voice to convey the same meaning.
| indeed / truly / that (after قال) | إنinna |
When you start a sentence with إن, the subject of the sentence (the noun immediately following it) must be in the Accusative case. For regular singular nouns, this means it takes a fatha ending. The predicate (the part that gives information about the subject) remains in the Nominative case.
| Indeed, the situation is very strange. | إن الموقف غريب جدا.inna-l-mawqifa gharîbun jiddan |
| Indeed, the boy is afraid of the dog. | إن الولد خائف من الكلب.inna al-walada khâ'ifun mina al-kalbi |
| Indeed, the sea is very calm today. | إن البحر هادئ جدا اليوم.inna al-bahra hâdi'un jiddan al-yawma |
Attaching Pronouns to إن
If the subject of your sentence is a pronoun (like "I am worried" or "he is a doctor"), you cannot use an independent pronoun after إن. Instead, you must attach the corresponding object pronoun directly to the end of the particle.
Here are some common combinations:
| English | Attached Form |
|---|---|
| Indeed, I... | إني |
| Indeed, we... | إننا |
| Indeed, he / it... | إنه |
| Indeed, she / it... | إنها |
Once the pronoun is attached, the rest of the sentence continues normally, with adjectives and predicates matching the pronoun as they usually would.
| Indeed, I am worried about this situation. | إني قلق من هذا الموقف.innī qaliqun min hâdhâ al-mawqifi |
| Indeed, he is a wonderful doctor. | إنه طبيب رائع.innahu tabîbun râ'i' |
| Indeed, she is afraid and worried. | إنها خائفة وقلقة.innahâ khâ'ifatun wa qaliqatun |
| Indeed, we are calm. | إننا هادئون.innanâ hâdi'ûna |