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### Impersonal verbs for *must* and *can*

In English, *must* and *can* go with a person: *I must*, *she can*. Arabic uses two verbs that never change. **يجب** means *it is necessary* and **يمكن** means *it is possible*. They stay in this one form, and the person is shown by a preposition instead.

### يجب على — must

Put the person after **على** (*on*): the duty is *on* them. Then add **أن** and a present-tense verb in the subjunctive.

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With a pronoun, على takes the attached ending: عليّ، عليك، عليه، عليها، علينا، عليكم، عليكما، عليهم.

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### يمكن لـ — can

**يمكن** works the same way with **لـ** (*for*): *it is possible for the children to see*.

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You will also meet the pronoun attached to يمكن itself, as in يمكنك أن…. It means the same thing.

### Cannot

Put **لا** in front of يمكن: **لا يمكن** means *cannot*.

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| Arabic | word for word | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| يجب على المهرج أن يجلس | it is necessary on the clown that he sits | the clown must sit |
| يجب علينا أن ننتبه | it is necessary on us that we pay attention | we must pay attention |
| يمكن للأطفال أن يروا | it is possible for the children that they see | the children can see |
| لا يمكن للساحر أن يقف | it is not possible for the magician that he stands | the magician cannot stand |

### The verb after أن

يجب and يمكن never change, but the verb after أن agrees with the person: علينا → ننتبه, عليكم → تتبعوا, عليكِ → تنتبهي. Because it follows أن, it is in the subjunctive, so the plural and the feminine lose their final ن.

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### Without يجب

You can also drop يجب and keep only على + the pronoun: **عليك أن تنتبه** means *you have to pay attention*, **علينا أن نجلس** *we have to sit*. Two more frames say the same things more softly: **ينبغي أن** (*should, ought to*) and **من الممكن أن** (*it is possible that*). After all of them the verb is in the subjunctive.

| frame | meaning |
|---|---|
| يجب عليك أن تنتبه | you must pay attention |
| عليك أن تنتبه | you have to pay attention |
| ينبغي أن تنتبه | you should pay attention |
| يمكنك أن تنتبه | you can pay attention |
| من الممكن أن يتأخر | he might be late |

Obligation and possibility (يجب على / يمكن لـ)

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 pay attention	انتبهintabih
circus	سيركsirk
We must pay attention in the circus.	يجب علينا أن ننتبه في السيرك.yajibu 'alaynâ an nantabiha fî s-sirk.
to follow (rules, footsteps)	اتبعittaba'a
You (plural) must follow this rule.	يجب عليكم أن تتبعوا هذه القاعدة.yajibu 'alaykum an tattabi'û hâdhihil qâ'idah
magician	ساحرsâhir
acrobat	بهلوانbahlawân
The children can see the magician and the acrobat.	يمكن للأطفال أن يروا الساحر والبهلوان.yamkinu lil-atfâli an yarawu s-sâhira wal-bahlawâna.
ring (arena, boxing)	حلبةhalba
The magician cannot stand in the ring now.	لا يمكن للساحر أن يقف في الحلبة الآن.lâ yumkinu lissâhiri an yaqifa fî al-halbati al-ân.
to applaud	صفقsaffaqa
amazing	مدهشmudhish
You (two) must applaud the amazing acrobat.	يجب عليكما أن تصفقا للبهلوان المدهش.yajibu 'alaykumâ an tusaffiqâ lilbahlawâni almudhish.
clown	مهرجmuharrij
You (plural) can applaud the clown.	يمكن لكم أن تصفقوا للمهرج.yumkinu lakum an tusaffiqû lilmuharriji
silence / calmness	هدوءhudû'
The clown must sit in silence.	يجب على المهرج أن يجلس في هدوء.yajibu 'alâ al-muharriji an yajlisa fî hudû'in
Do not touch the lion, you must stay behind the tent!	لا تلمس الأسد، يجب عليك أن تبقى وراء الخيمة!lâ talmisi l-asada, yajibu alayka an tabqâ warâ'a l-khaymati!
The clown cannot wash his red face.	لا يمكن للمهرج أن يغسل وجهه الأحمر.lâ yumkinu lil-muharriji an yaghsila wajhahu al-ahmar
Can we enter the circus ring now?	هل يمكن لنا أن ندخل حلبة السيرك الآن؟hal yumkinu lanâ an nadkhula halbata as-sîrki al-âna?
You (female) must pay attention to the amazing circus.	يجب عليك أن تنتبهي إلى السيرك المدهش.yajibu alayki 'an tantabihi 'ila as-sirki al-mudhishi
You must follow the path in silence.	يجب عليك أن تتبع الطريق في هدوء.yajibu 'alayka an tattabi'a at-tarîqa fî hudû'in
should, ought to	ينبغيyanbaghî
You should pay attention at the circus.	ينبغي أن تنتبه في السيرك.yanbaghi an tantabiha fi as-sirk.
We ought to applaud the clown.	ينبغي أن نصفق للمهرج.yanbaghi an nusaffiqa lilmuharrij
You have to pay attention to the road.	عليك أن تنتبه إلى الطريق.alayka an tantabiha ila at-tarîq.
We have to sit quietly.	علينا أن نجلس في هدوء.alaynâ an najlisa fî hudû'
it is possible that	من الممكن أنmina al-mumkini an
It is possible that the magician will be late.	من الممكن أن يتأخر الساحر.mina al-mumkini an yata'akhkhara as-sâhiru
We might see the lion today.	من الممكن أن نرى الأسد اليوم.mina al-mumkini an narâ al-asada al-yawma

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