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### The language of government

Political news reuses words you know from everyday life. The letters stay the same; the meaning, and often the vowels, are new.

| you know | the new word |
|---|---|
| صَوْت *voice* | صَوَّتَ *to vote* |
| صَالِح *valid* | لِصَالِحِ *in favor of* |
| مِثْل *like* | مَثَّلَ *to represent; to act* |
| مُمَثِّل *actor* | مُمَثِّل *representative* |
| عَيْن *eye* | عَيَّنَ *to appoint* |
| مَشْرُوع *project* | مَشْرُوع *legitimate* |
| صَدَّرَ *to export* | صَدَرَ *to be issued* |

One word is new: مُقَاطَعَة *province*. The same word, with the same vowels, also means *boycott*, which you will meet later.

### Doubled letters you hear but don't see

صَوَّتَ, مَثَّلَ and عَيَّنَ double their middle letter. Look at what surrounds the word:

{{item:1217591}}

صوتها has ها attached and is the object of رفعت: *her voice*. صوتت has the feminine past ending: *she voted*.

{{item:1217617}}

صَدَرَ with a single د is *to be issued*: the thing issued is its subject. صَدَّرَ, doubled, is *to export* and takes an object.

### One spelling, two jobs

مُمَثِّل is the one who represents, on a stage or in parliament:

{{item:1217602}}

مشروع is a noun (*project*) or an adjective (*legitimate*). The adjective follows its noun:

{{item:1217614}}

### For and against

لصالح is ل + صالح, *for the good of*: a vote or a ruling goes in someone's favor. ضد is its opposite.

{{item:1217594}}

{{item:1217595}}

Parliament and Government

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 vote (for, against)	صوتsawwata
She raised her voice and voted against the decision.	رفعت صوتها وصوتت ضد القرار.
Who did she vote for in the elections?	لمن صوتت في الانتخابات؟
in favor of	لصالحlisâlihi
Parliament voted in favor of the new law.	صوت البرلمان لصالح القانون الجديد.
The court's decision came in favor of the citizens.	جاء قرار المحكمة لصالح المواطنين.
to represent; to act (in films)	مثلmaththala
This candidate represents a small party.	تمثل هذه المرشحة حزبا صغيرا.
This decision represents an important step.	يمثل هذا القرار خطوة مهمة.
She acted in many films before she became a minister.	مثلت في أفلام كثيرة قبل أن تصبح وزيرة.
representative	ممثلmumaththil
The workers elected a new representative.	انتخب العمال ممثلا جديدا.
The famous actor became a representative of the people in parliament.	أصبح الممثل المشهور ممثلا للشعب في البرلمان.
province	مقاطعةmuqâta'a
The city is located in a big province in the north.	تقع المدينة في مقاطعة كبيرة في الشمال.
Every province has its own parliament.	لكل مقاطعة برلمان خاص بها.
The minister met the representatives of the provinces.	التقى الوزير بممثلي المقاطعات.
to appoint	عينayyana
The president appointed a new minister.	عين الرئيس وزيرة جديدة.
The government appointed a new head for the province.	عينت الحكومة رئيسا جديدا للمقاطعة.
The company appointed him manager of its new branch.	عينته الشركة مديرا لفرعها الجديد.
legitimate	مشروعmashru'
A majority of the citizens voted against the project.	صوتت أغلبية المواطنين ضد المشروع.
Freedom of expression is a legitimate right.	حرية التعبير حق مشروع.
This project is not legitimate.	هذا المشروع غير مشروع.
The workers' demands are legitimate.	مطالب العمال مشروعة.
to be issued, to be published	صدرsadara
The decision was issued yesterday.	صدر القرار أمس.
A new law was issued for the protection of the environment.	صدر قانون جديد لحماية البيئة.
When will your new book be published?	متى يصدر كتابك الجديد؟

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