Nouns ending in ي: المنقوص
القاضي the judge, الوادي the valley and راعي(râ'î) shepherd end in a weak ي. It disappears in the indefinite nominative and genitive, where the word ends in ـٍ (-in), and it comes back everywhere else.
| indefinite | definite | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | راعٍ | الراعي |
| genitive | وادٍ | الوادي |
| accusative | راعيًا | الراعيَ |
| There is a shepherd near the well. | هناك راع قرب البئر.hunâka râ'in qurba al-bi'r. |
| We went down into a deep valley. | نزلنا إلى واد عميق.nazalnâ ilâ wâdin amiqin |
In the accusative, and as the first word of an idafa, the ي stays:
| We saw a shepherd in the valley. | رأينا راعيا في الوادي.ra'aynâ râ'iyan fi al-wâdî |
| Where are the rest of the sheep? | أين باقي الخراف؟ayna bâqî al-khirâf? |
Two ways to cite one word
Because the word has two shapes, it can be cited in two ways. Grammar books and many dictionaries give the short form, قاضٍ. Other dictionaries, and much everyday writing, use the long form with ي, the shape you see after ال. Your cards show both: قاض and محام are cited short, while غالي, عالي, وادي and راعي are cited long. They are the same kind of word and follow the same rule in a sentence:
| My father is a judge, and my uncle is a lawyer. | أبي قاض، وعمي محام.abî qâdin, wa ammî muhâmin. |
| Water is expensive in the desert. | الماء غال في الصحراء.al-mâu ghâlin fi s-sahrâ'. |
Nouns ending in ى or ا: المقصور
مستشفى, عصا and مرعى(mar'â) pasture never change. The case ending cannot be seen at all.
| The shepherd took the sheep to a distant pasture. | أخذ الراعي الخراف إلى مرعى بعيد.akhadha ar-râ'î al-khirâfa ilâ mar'an ba'îd |
Nouns ending in اء: الممدود
سماء, مساء and بقاء(baqâ') survival are ordinary nouns: سماءٌ, سماءً. When اء is a feminine ending, as in صحراء and the colours زرقاء, حمراء, the word is a diptote: no tanween.
| We travelled to a big desert. | سافرنا إلى صحراء كبيرة.sâfarnâ ilâ sahrâ'a kabîra |
| The sky is blue above the valley. | السماء زرقاء فوق الوادي.as-samâ'u zarqâ'u fawqa al-wâdî. |
