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### Same letters, two words

Arabic is printed without its short vowels, so two different words can share every letter. You already know one word of each pair below. This lesson adds the second, and the sentence tells you which one you are reading.

| you know | the new word |
|---|---|
| دَخَلَ *to enter* | دَخْل *income* |
| حَدَثَ *to happen* | حَدَث *event* |
| عَقْد *contract* | عَقَدَ *to hold (a meeting)* |
| قِسْم *department* | قَسَم *oath* |
| وَجْه *face* | وَجَّهَ *to direct* |
| لَوْح *board* | لَوَّحَ *to wave* |
| أَجَلْ *yes, indeed* | أَجَّلَ *to postpone* |
| حَرَمَ *to deprive* | حَرَم *campus* |
| سِلْك *wire* | سَلَكَ *to take (a road)* |
| قَلْب *heart* | قَلَبَ *to turn over* |

### Let the sentence decide

A verb usually comes first and takes a subject: in {{item:1209659}} the word after عقد is the company, so عقد is something it did. A noun sits where nouns sit: after a preposition, or after the verb of its clause:

{{item:1209652}}

Here ارتفع is already the verb, so دخل is its subject: *the family's income*.

Sometimes both words meet in one sentence:

{{item:1209654}}

The first دخل has a subject after it (المدير), so it is the verb *came in*. The second follows the preposition عن, so it is the noun *income*.

### Three verbs with a doubled middle letter

وَجَّهَ, لَوَّحَ and أَجَّلَ double their middle letter. The doubling is not written either, but it is what you hear:

{{item:1209671}}

{{item:1209668}}

Same letters, two words (دخل، حدث، عقد)

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
income	دخلdakhl
The family's income rose this year.	ارتفع دخل العائلة هذا العام.irtafa'a dakhlu al-'â'ilati hâdhâ al-'âma
Is your monthly income good?	هل دخلك الشهري جيد؟hal dakhluka ash-shahriyyu jayyid?
The manager came in and talked about the company's income.	دخل المدير وتحدث عن دخل الشركة.dakhala al-mudir wa tahaddatha 'an dakhli ash-sharika
event	حدثhadath
The opening was an important event in the city.	كان الافتتاح حدثا مهما في المدينة.kâna al-iftitâhu hadathan muhimman fî al-madînati
We followed the events in the news.	تابعنا الأحداث في الأخبار.tâba'nâ al-ahdâtha fil-akhbâr
to hold (a meeting)	عقد'aqada
The company held an important meeting.	عقدت الشركة اجتماعا مهما.aqadati sh-sharikatu ijtimâ'an muhimman
The minister will hold a press conference tomorrow.	سيعقد الوزير مؤتمرا صحفيا غدا.sayaqidu alwazeeru mu'tamaran sahafiyyan ghadan
oath	قسمqasam
The witness was under oath in court.	كان الشاهد تحت القسم في المحكمة.kâna ash-shâhidu taḥta al-qasami fî al-maḥkamati
The man did not honor his oath.	لم يحترم الرجل قسمه.lam yahtarimi r-rajulu qasamahu
to direct	وجهwajjaha
The manager directed a question to the employees.	وجه المدير سؤالا إلى الموظفين.wajjaha al-mudîru su'âlan ilâ al-muwaẓẓafîna.
The police directed people to the other road.	وجهت الشرطة الناس إلى الطريق الآخر.wajjahati ash-shurtatu an-nasa ila at-tariqi al-akhari.
to wave	لوحlawwaha
The child waved his hand at the plane.	لوح الطفل بيده للطائرة.lawwaha at-tiflu bi-yadihi lit-ta'irati.
Our friend waved to us from afar.	لوحت لنا صديقتنا من بعيد.lawwahat lanâ sadîqatunâ min ba'îd
to postpone	أجلajjala
We postponed the trip because of the rain.	أجلنا الرحلة بسبب المطر.ajjalnâ ar-riḥlata bisababi al-maṭari
The manager postponed the meeting by a week.	أجل المدير الاجتماع أسبوعا.ajjala al-mudîru al-ijtimâ'a usbû'an
campus (of a university)	حرمharam
The students live on the university campus.	يسكن الطلاب في حرم الجامعة.yaskunu at-tullâbu fî haram al-jâmiah
The university campus is big and beautiful.	حرم الجامعة كبير وجميل.haramu al-jâmi'ati kabîrun wa jamîlun
to take (a road)	سلكsalaka
We took a long road to the village.	سلكنا طريقا طويلا إلى القرية.salaknâ tarîqan tawîlan ilâ al-qaryati
The driver took another road.	سلك السائق طريقا آخر.salaka s-sâ'iqu tarîqan âkhar
to turn over	قلبqalaba
The cook turned over the piece of meat.	قلب الطباخ قطعة اللحم.qallaba at-tabbâkhu qit'ata al-lahmi.
I turned the page quickly.	قلبت الصفحة بسرعة.qalabtu as-safhata bisur'ah

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