مَوْصُوف (mawṣūf : described noun) and صِفَة (ṣifah : adjective): Matching Adjectives and Nouns in Arabic
This session explains how nouns (مَوْصُوف (mawṣūf : described noun)) and adjectives (صِفَة (ṣifah : adjective)) must agree in Arabic grammar. The agreement rules cover four main areas: gender (جِنْس (jins : gender)), number (عَدَد (ʿadad : number)), case ending (إِعْرَاب (iʿrāb : case ending)), and definiteness (مَعْرِفَة (maʿrifah : definite) / نَكِرَة (nakirah : indefinite)). The lesson uses Quranic and classroom examples to demonstrate how adjectives must match the nouns they describe in all these grammatical features.
Original Recording
Original class recording
Key Points
- 1The مَوْصُوف (mawṣūf : described noun) and صِفَة (ṣifah : adjective) must agree in four aspects: gender, number, case ending, and definiteness.
- 2Gender agreement: both must match in مُذَكَّر (mudhakkar : masculine) or مُؤَنَّث (mu'annath : feminine). Example: تَاجِرٌ غَنِيٌّ / تَاجِرَةٌ غَنِيَّةٌ.
- 3Number agreement: both must match in مُفْرَد (mufrad : singular), مُثَنَّى (muthannā : dual), or جَمْع (jamʿ : plural). Example: تَاجِرٌ غَنِيٌّ / تَاجِرَانِ غَنِيَانِ / تُجَّارٌ أَغْنِيَاءُ.
- 4Case ending agreement: both words must share the same إِعْرَاب (iʿrāb : case ending). Example: رَأَيْتُ تَاجِرًا غَنِيًّا.
- 5Definiteness agreement: both must match in مَعْرِفَة (maʿrifah : definite) or نَكِرَة (nakirah : indefinite). Example: التَّاجِرُ الغَنِيُّ / تَاجِرٌ غَنِيٌّ.
Quiz
What is the definition of مَوْصُوف (mawṣūf) and صِفَة (ṣifah) as explained in the lecture?
Discussion Questions
- [00:00:45] Q: What are mawsoof and sifah? — A: Mawsoof is the noun being described, and sifah is the adjective describing it.
Quranic Examples
وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ
wa-yaʾti bi-khalqin jadīd
And He will bring a new creation.
Fatir 35:16 ↗ — Demonstrates agreement between خَلْقٍ (khalq, mawṣūf) and جَدِيدٍ (jadīd, ṣifah) in gender, number, case (kasrah), and indefiniteness.