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In English, we use words like "myself" or "herself" to show that the subject and the object of an action are the same person. In Arabic, you create these reflexive expressions using the noun نفس (self).

### Creating Singular Reflexives

To specify *who* the self belongs to, simply add the standard attached pronouns to the end of the word. For example, adding ي creates "myself" (نفسي), adding ه creates "himself" (نفسه), and adding ها creates "herself" (نفسها). 

These reflexive nouns can be used as the direct object of a verb.

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### Reflexives with Prepositions

When a verb requires a specific preposition, the reflexive word follows that preposition exactly as a regular noun would.

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You will also frequently see the preposition بـ attached directly to the reflexive word (بنفس) to mean doing something "by oneself" or "personally".

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### Plural Reflexives

When referring to a plural subject like "we", "you (plural)", or "they", the base word shifts to its plural form: أنفس.

Attach the corresponding plural pronouns just as you would with the singular form. For example, "ourselves" becomes أنفسنا and "yourselves" becomes أنفسكم.

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Reflexive expressions (نفس)

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
independent / freelancer	مستقلmustaqill
to rely on	اعتمد علىi'tamada 'alâ
self (reflexive)	نفسnafs
I am an independent young man; I rely on myself.	أنا شاب مستقل، أعتمد على نفسي.ana shâbbun mustaqillun, a'tamidu 'alâ nafsî.
responsibility	مسؤوليةmas'ûliyyah
Take responsibility yourself before you rely on your brother.	خذ المسؤولية بنفسك قبل أن تعتمد على أخيك.khudhi almas'ûliyyata binafsika qabla an ta'tamida 'alâ akhîka.
to trust in	وثق بwathiqa bi
The independent woman always trusts herself.	تثق المرأة المستقلة بنفسها دائما.tathiqu al-mar'atu al-mustaqillatu binafsihâ dâ'iman.
There is no problem, so we trust ourselves.	ليس هناك مشكلة، فنحن نثق بأنفسنا.laysa hunâka mushkilatun, fanahnu nathiqu bi'anfusinâ.
to harm	آذىâdhâ
The boy hurt himself when he fell in the hole.	آذى الولد نفسه عندما سقط في الحفرة.âdhâ al-waladu nafsahu 'indamâ saqata fî al-hufrati
to treat	عالج'âlaja
She hurt herself in the kitchen, then treated herself.	آذت نفسها في المطبخ ثم عالجت نفسها.âdhat nafsahâ fi al-matbakhi thumma aalajat nafsahâ
to control	سيطر علىsaytara 'alâ
The manager treated himself and controlled the disease.	عالج المدير نفسه وسيطر على المرض.'âlaja al-mudîru nafsahu wa saytara 'alâ al-maradi
to punish	عاقبâqaba
The angry professor did not control himself, so he punished the pupil.	لم يسيطر الأستاذ الغاضب على نفسه، فعاقب التلميذ.lam yusaytiri al-ustâdhu al-ghâdibu 'alâ nafsihi, fa'âqaba at-tilmîdha.
to reward	كافأkâfa'a
The manager will reward the team before he rewards himself.	سيكافئ المدير الفريق قبل أن يكافئ نفسه.sayukâfi'u almudîru alfarîqa qabla an yukâfi'a nafsahu
to develop (something)	طورtawwara
Did you reward yourselves because you developed your skills?	هل كافأتم أنفسكم لأنكم طورتم مهاراتكم؟hal kâfa'tum anfusakum li'annakum tawwartum mahârâtikum?
I developed myself before developing the team.	طورت نفسي قبل أن أطور الفريق.tawwartu nafsî qabla an utawwira al-farîqa.
He realized his responsibility by himself.	أدرك مسؤوليته بنفسه.adraka mas'ûliyyatahu binafsihi
The accused punished himself.	عاقب المتهم نفسه.'aaqaba al-muttahamu nafsahu

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