Topic 14 of 62

الإعراب— Case System Overview

Every noun in Arabic carries one of three cases: رفع (ـُ, typically the subject orمبتدأ), نصب (ـَ, typically the object), or جر (ـِ, after a preposition or as a مضاف إليه). Words ending in ا or ى (like الفتى) can't physically carry these vowels, so the case is مقدّرة — estimated, not pronounced. And مبني words like demonstratives and pronouns sit outside the system entirely: their ending never changes no matter what role they play.