Comparative Adjectives and Numbers in Arabic
Arabic GrammarComparativesNumbersIʿrabNahwOrdinal NumbersDhamir Muttasil
This session covers اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل (ism al-tafḍīl : comparative adjective) forms such as أَحْسَن (aḥsan : better/best) and أَطْوَل (aṭwal : taller/tallest), their agreement rules for مُذَكَّر (mudhakkar : masculine) and مُؤَنَّث (mu'annath : feminine) nouns, and the use of particles like كَأَنَّ (ka'anna : as if) in sentences.
Original Recording
Original class recording
Key Points
- 1أَحْسَن (aḥsan : better/best) is the اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل of حَسَن (ḥasan : good).
- 2The اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل of طَوِيل (ṭawīl : tall) is أَطْوَل (aṭwal : taller/tallest).
- 3Example sentence: أَنْتُمُ الطَّوِيلُونَ مِنَ الْمُعَلِّمِينَ (antumu al-ṭawīlūna mina al-mu'allimīna : You are the tallest of the teachers) — note this describes height, not wealth.
- 4كَأَنَّهُ أَخُوكَ (ka'annahu akhūka : as if he is your brother) uses كَأَنَّ (ka'anna : as if), one of أَخَوَات إِنَّ (akhawāt inna : the sisters of inna).
- 5اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل forms are مُذَكَّر (mudhakkar : masculine) by default; the مُؤَنَّث (mu'annath : feminine) form uses فُعْلَى (fu'lā) pattern, e.g., كُبْرَى (kubrā : greatest [fem.]).
Discussion Questions
- What is the اِسْمُ التَّفْضِيل of طَوِيل (ṭawīl : tall)?
- How does كَأَنَّ (ka'anna : as if) affect the word that follows it?
- What is the مُؤَنَّث (mu'annath : feminine) form of أَحْسَن (aḥsan : better/best)?