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### The Indefinite Particle ما

To talk about unspecified people, places, or things, Arabic pairs an indefinite noun with the particle ما. Here, ما acts like the English words "some" or "a certain."

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Combining the word for "person" (شخص) with this particle creates شخص ما ("someone" or "a certain person").

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### Describing Unknowns

You can describe vague clues and unidentified individuals using adjectives like مجهول (unknown) and غامض (mysterious). These adjectives follow standard noun-adjective matching rules, while indefinite references like شخص ما serve as subjects.

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### Somewhere (مكان ما)

Applying this rule to the word for "place" (مكان) creates مكان ما ("somewhere").

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### Something and Some Reason

You can also pair this pattern with شيء (thing) to say "something" (شيء ما), or with سبب (reason) to say "for some reason" (لسبب ما).

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Indefinite references (شخص ما / مكان ما)

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 knock	طرقtaraqa
some, a certain (indefinite)	ماmâ
Someone knocked on the door, but he did not enter.	طرق شخص ما الباب، لكنه لم يدخل.taraqa shakhsun mâ al-bâba, lâkinnahu lam yadkhul.
call	مكالمةmukâlama
unknown	مجهولmajhûl
Someone made an unknown call yesterday.	أجرى شخص ما مكالمة مجهولة أمس.ajrâ shakhsun mâ mukâlamatan majhûlatan amsi.
to find (stumble upon)	عثر علىaathara 'alâ
envelope	مغلفmughallaf
mysterious	غامضghâmid
I found a mysterious envelope somewhere.	عثرت على مغلف غامض في مكان ما.'athartu 'alâ mughallafin ghâmidin fî makânin mâ
to lose (misplace)	أضاعadâ'a
Someone lost a mysterious envelope here.	أضاع شخص ما مغلفا غامضا هنا.adâ'a shakhsun mâ mughallafan ghâmidan hunâ
to hide (oneself)	اختبأikhtaba'a
Someone hid somewhere in the forest.	اختبأ شخص ما في مكان ما في الغابة.ikhtaba'a shakhsun mâ fî makânin mâ fî al-ghâbati
I am waiting for an unknown call for some reason.	أنتظر مكالمة مجهولة لسبب ما.antaziru mukâlamatan majhûlatan lisababin mâ
sign (mark, indication) / brand, trademark	علامة'alâma
There is a mysterious sign somewhere.	توجد علامة غامضة في مكان ما.tûjadu 'alâmatun ghâmidatun fî makânin mâ
visitor	زائرzâ'ir
An unknown visitor left something in the room in which we are sitting.	ترك زائر مجهول شيئا ما في الغرفة التي نجلس فيها.taraka zâ'irun majhûlun shay'an mâ fî al-ghurfati allatî najlisu fîhâ.
A mysterious visitor knocked on the door because he lost something.	طرق زائر غامض الباب لأنه أضاع شيئا ما.taraqa zâ'irun ghâmidun al-bâba li'annahu adâ'a shay'an mâ
The visitor found a sign somewhere.	عثر الزائر على علامة في مكان ما.athara az-zâ'iru 'alâ 'alâmatin fî makânin mâ.
Someone is hiding somewhere because he is afraid.	يختبئ شخص ما في مكان ما لأنه خائف.yakhtabi'u shakhsun mâ fî makânin mâ li'annahu khâ'ifun