Modern Standard Arabic 5.5. Special-Use Particles, Nouns, & Pronouns: Vocative, Conditional, and Exclamation Particles & Reflexive and Reciprocal Pronouns

In this lesson, we will explore some special-use particles, nouns, and pronouns in Arabic, such as: vocative, conditional, exclamation particles, reflexive and reciprocal pronouns, and other special descriptive words.

Table of Contents

• Vocative Particles
• The Object Particle إيّـا (’iyyā)
• The Conditional Particle لَـوْلا (law-lā)
• The Exclamation Particle مـا (mā)
• Exception Particles
• The Reflexive Pronoun نَـفْـس (nafs)
• The Reciprocal Pronoun بَـعْـض (ba‘ḍ)
• Negation with غَـيْـر (ghayr) and عَـدَم (‘adam)
• The Unnamed Noun فُـلان (fulān)
• Special Descriptive Words
• Level V – Advanced I (C1)

Vocative Particles

A vocative particle is used to call someone’s attention or directly address a person or group. In English, this is often rendered by the particle “O,” as in “O people …!” or “O son …!”

In Arabic, vocative particles are more commonly used. The most common vocative particles in Arabic are:

يــا yā	masculine or feminine	The noun that follows is not preceded by the definite article الـ (al) ‘the.’
يــا) أَيُّــهــا) (yā) ’ayyuhā	masculine	The noun that follows is preceded by the definite article الـ (al) ‘the.’
يــا) أَيَّـتُــهــا) (yā) ’ayyatuhā	feminine

Note that يــا (yā) is optional before أَيُّــهــا (’ayyuhā) and أَيَّـتُــهــا (’ayyatuhā).

The noun following أَيُّــهــا (’ayyuhā) or أَيَّـتُــهــا (’ayyatuhā) is مَـرْفـوع (marfū‘) ‘nominative’ and takes the definite article الـ (al) ‘the.’ For example:

يــا أَيُّــهــا الـنّـاسُ yā ’ayyuhā -n-nāsu O people	أَيُّــهــا الـرَّجُـلُ ’ayyuhā -r-rajulu O man
أَيُّــهــا الْـمُـؤْمِـنـونَ ’ayyuhā -l-mu’minūna O believers	يــا أَيَّـتُــهــا الْـمـَرأَةُ yā ’ayyatuhā -l-mar’atu O woman

When يــا is not followed by أَيُّــهــا (’ayyuhā) or أَيَّـتُــهــا (’ayyatuhā), the noun that follows is مَـرْفـوع (marfū‘) ‘nominative’ and does not take the تَـنْـويـن (tanwīn) ‘double vowel ending,’ provided that the noun being addressed is:

1. A specific person. For example:

يــا صَـديـقُ، أَهْـلًا بِـكَ٠ yā ṣadīqu, ’ahlan bik(a). O friend, you’re welcome.

يــا رَجُـلُ، أَيْـنَ أَنْـتَ؟ yā rajulu, ’ayan ’ant(a)? O man, where are you?

Note that in the examples above, the noun following the vocative particle refers to a specific person being addressed by the speaker, i.e., a speaker’s friend and a man known to the speaker.

2. A proper noun. For example:

يــا زَيْـدُ yā zaydu O Zayd

يــا فـاطِـمَـةُ yā fāṭimatu O Fatima

In contrast, the noun following the vocative particle يــا (yā) is مَـنْـصوب (manṣūb) ‘accusative,’ if the addressed noun is:

1. A non-specific person. For example:

يــا صَـديـقًـا، كُـنْ وَفِـيًّـا٠ yā ṣadīqan, kun wafiyyan. O friend, be loyal.

يــا رَجُـلًا، كُـنْ شُـجـاعًـا٠ yā rajulan, kun shujā‘an. O man, be brave.

Note that in the examples above, the noun following the vocative particle refers to a general entity, i.e., any friend or any man in general, rather than a specific person.

2. A مُـضـاف (muḍāf) ‘annexed’ in a genitive phrase. For example:

يــا صَـديـقَ أَخـي، أَهْـلًا بِـكَ٠ yā ṣadīqa ’akhī, ’ahlan bik(a). O my brother’s friend, you’re welcome.

يــا رَجُـلَ الْـبَـيْـتِ، أَيْـنَ أَنْـتَ؟ yā rajula -l-bayti, ’ayan ’ant(a)? O man of the house, where are you?

Note that a مُـضـاف (muḍāf) ‘annexed’ noun is always in the accusative following the vocative particle يــا (yā), even if it refers to a specific entity.

If the annexed noun is suffixed with the first-person singular attached pronoun, i.e., ــي (ī) ‘my,’ the accusative marker does not appear on the noun. For example:

يــا صَــديــقــي yā ṣadīqī O my friend

يــا رَبّــي yā rabbī O my Lord

Other less-common vocative particles in Arabic include:

وا wā

أَ ’a

أَيْ ’ay

آ ’ā

هَـيـا hayā

أَيــا ’ayā

The Object Particle إيّـا (’iyyā)

The special object particle إيّـا (’iyyā), followed by an attached pronoun, e.g., إِيّـاكَ (’iyyāka), إِيّـاهُ (’iyyāhu), etc., often has one of three uses in Arabic:

1. Warning Particle Meaning “Beware”

If إيّـا (’iyyā) is at the beginning of a sentence followed by a noun or verbal noun in the form of أَنْ (’an) + present verb, it is often used for warning, meaning “beware.” It is common for the noun to be preceded by وَ (wa). For example:

إِيّـاكَ وَالْـكَـذِبَ٠ ’iyyāka wa-l-kadhib(a). Beware of lying. (masc. sing.)	إِيّـاكِ أَنْ تَـتَـأَخَّـري٠ ’iyyāki ’an tata’akh kharī. Beware of being late. (fem. sing.)
إِيّـانـا والـتَّـخـاذُلَ٠ ’iyyānā wa-t-takhādhul(a). (Let’s) beware of inaction.	إِيّـاكُـمْ أَنْ تَـنْـسَـوْا٠ ’iyyākum ’an tansaw. Beware of forgetting. (masc.pl.)

2. Meaning “Together with”

Sometimes وَإيّـا (wa-’iyyā) follows a personal pronoun and means “together with.” For example:

أَنـا وَإِيّـاهُـمْ ’anā wa–’iyyāhum I, together with them (masc.)	نَـحْـنُ وَإِيّـاكُـمْ naḥnu wa–’iyyākum we, together with you (all – masc.)
هِـيَ وَإِيّـاهُـنَّ hiya wa–’iyyāhunna she, together with them (fem.)	أَنْـتُـمْ وَإِيّـانـا ’antum wa–’iyyānā you all, together with us

3. Emphasizing the Object

When إيّـا (’iyyā) is used at the beginning of a sentence followed by a verb, it emphasizes the object. The most common sentence structure in Arabic is Verb-Subject-Object (VSO). The use of إيّـا (’iyyā) in this case changes the sentence structure to Object-Verb-Subject (OVS). Here are some examples:

إِيّـاكَ قَـصَـدْتُ٠ ’iyyāka qaṣadt(u). You, I meant.

إيّـانـا يَـخـافـونَ٠ ’iyyānā yakhāfūn(a). Us, they fear.

The Conditional Particle لَـوْلا (law-lā)

The compound particle لَـوْلا (law-lā) ‘if not’ consists of the conditional particle لَـوْ (law) ‘if’ and the negation particle لا (lā) ‘not.’ It is often translated as ‘if it were not for’ or ‘if it had not been for,’ and is always followed by a noun or attached pronoun in the nominative case. Here are some examples:

لَـوْلا فَـضْـلُ اللهِ مـا نَـجَـوْنـا٠ law–lā faḍlu -llāhi mā najawnā. If it had not been for God’s grace, we would not have survived.

لَـوْلا الْـمَـطَـرُ لَـمْ نَـجْـتَـمِـعْ هُـنـا٠ law–lā -l-maṭaru lam najtami‘ hunā. If it had not been for the rain, we would not have gathered here.

لَـوْلاهُ لَـمَا حَـقَّـقْـتُ هـذا الـنَّـجاحَ٠ law–lāhu la-mā ḥaqqaqtu hādhā -n-najāḥ. If it had not been for him, I would not have achieved this success.

The Exclamation Particle مـا (mā)

The particle مـا (mā) can be used to express exclamation or surprise when followed by an adjective in the comparative pattern أَفْـعَـلَ (’af‘ala). The adjective following the exclamation particle مـا (mā) is always مَـنْـصوب (manṣūb) ‘accusative.’ Here are some examples using the exclamation particle مـا (mā):

!مـا أَجْـمَـلَ الـسَّـمـاءَ mā ’ajmala -s-samā’. How beautiful the sky is!	!مـا أَطْـوَلَ هـذا الـطَّـريـقَ mā ’aṭwala hādhā -ṭ-ṭarīq. How long this road is!
!مـا أَسْـرَعَ هـذِهِ الـسَّـيّـارَةَ mā ’asra‘a hādhihi -s-sayyārah. How fast this car is!	!مـا أَكْـبَـرَ هـذا الْـقَـصْـرَ mā ’akbara hādhā -l-qaṣr. How big this palace is!

Exception Particles

The most common exception particle in Arabic is إِلّا (’illā) ‘except.’ Consider the following example:

حَـضَـرَ الـطُّـلّابُ إِلا زَيْـدًا٠ ḥaḍara -ṭ-ṭullābu ’illā zaydan. The students attended except Zayd.

Notice that the sentence before the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ is in the affirmative. The noun following إِلّا (’illā) is called مُـسْـتَـثْـنـى (mustathnā) ‘excluded,’ and it is in the accusative. The noun preceding إِلّا (’illā)is called مُـسْـتَـثْـنـى مِـنْـه (mustathnā minhu) ‘excluded from,’ and its grammatical case depends on its syntactical role in the sentence.

In the example above, زَيْـدًا (zaydan) ‘Zayd’ is the مُـسْـتَـثْـنـى (mustathnā) ‘excluded,’ and الـطُّـلّابُ (aṭ-ṭullābu) ‘the students’ is the مُـسْـتَـثْـنـى مِـنْـه (mustathnā minhu) ‘excluded from,’ meaning “the group from which Zayd is excluded.”

Now let us consider an example where the sentence preceding the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ is in the negative:

ما حَـضَـرَ الـطُّـلّابُ إِلا زَيْـدًا / زَيْـدٌ٠ mā ḥaḍara -ṭ-ṭullābu ’illā zaydan/zaydun. The students have not attended except Zayd.

When the sentence is in the negative, the noun following the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ can take either the accusative or nominative case, which is justified as follows:

1.  Accusative: زَيْـدًا (zaydan) is considered مُـسْـتَـثْـنـى (mustathnā) ‘excluded.’
2. Nominative: زَيْـدٌ (zaydun) is considered بَـدَل (badal) ‘replacement.’ It replaces the subject الـطُّـلّابُ (aṭ-ṭullābu) ‘the students’ in this sentence. Grammatically, the term بَـدَل (badal) refers to a replacement or substitute noun, which takes the grammatical case of the noun it replaces.

Both the accusative and nominative cases are considered grammatically correct.

Next, let us consider an example where the sentence the sentence preceding the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ is in the negative and the subject is omitted:

ما حَـضَـرَ إِلا زَيْـدٌ٠ mā ḥaḍara ’illā zaydun. No one has attended except Zayd.

The grammatical case of the noun following the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ depends on its syntactical role in the sentence. In this example, it is in the nominative because it is the subject of the verbal sentence. We can see this clearly if we drop both the negation and exception particles. In this case, we are left with the following sentence:

حَـضَـرَ زَيْـدٌ٠ ḥaḍara zaydun. Zayd has attended.

Similarly, we can write:

ما زُرْتُ إِلا زَيْـدًا٠ mā zurtu ’illā zaydan. I visited no one except Zayd.

In this example, the noun following the exception particle إِلّا (’illā) ‘except’ is in the accusative because it serves as the object of the verb in the sentence. We can see this clearly if we drop both the negation and exception particles:

زُرْتُ زَيْـدًا٠ zurtu zaydan. I visited Zayd.

Here are examples that illustrate the three different cases:

غـادَرَتِ الْـمُـعَـلِّـمـاتُ إِلا اِثْـنَـتَـيْـن٠ ghādarat (i) -l-mu‘allimātu ’illā -thnatayn. The (female) teachers have left except for two.

ما غـادَرَتِ الْـمُـعَـلِّـمـاتُ إِلا اِثْـنَـتَـيْـن / اِثْـنَـتـان٠ mā ghādarat (i) -l-mu‘allimātu ’illā -thnatayn/-thnatān. The (female) teachers have not left except for two.

ما غـادَرَتْ إِلا اِثْـنَـتـان٠ mā ghādarat ’illā -thnatān. No one has left except for two.

Other exception particles in Arabic include سِـوى (siwā), غَـيْـرَ (ghayra), عَـدا (‘adā), and مـاعَـدا (mā-‘adā). The exception particles سِـوى (siwā) and غَـيْـرَ (ghayra) are typically used with negative sentences, and the following noun is always in the genitive. For example:

ما حَـضَـرَ الـطُّـلّابُ سِـوى زَيْـدٍ٠ mā ḥaḍara -ṭ-ṭullābu siwā zaydin. The students have not attended except Zayd.

ما زُرْتُ غَـيْـرَ زَيْـدٍ٠ mā zurtu ghayra zaydin. I have visited no one except Zayd.

In contrast, the exception particle عَـدا (‘adā) is typically used with affirmative sentences, and the following noun is always in the genitive. For example:

حَـضَـرَ الـطُّـلّابُ عَــدا زَيْـدٍ٠ ḥaḍara -ṭ-ṭullābu ‘adā zaydin. The students attended except Zayd.

Finally, if the exception particle عَـدا (‘adā) is preceded by مـا (mā), the noun following مـاعَـدا is in the accusative. Similarly, مـاعَـدا is often used with affirmative sentences. For example:

حَـضَـرَ الـطُّـلّابُ مـاعَــدا زَيْـدًا٠ ḥaḍara -ṭ-ṭullābu mā–‘adā zaydan. The students attended except Zayd.

The Reflexive Pronoun نَـفْـس (nafs)

In English, reflexive pronouns are used in phrases such as “he himself,” “about themselves,” “by myself,” and so on. The equivalent in Arabic is نَـفْـس (nafs) ‘self,’ and its plural is أَنْـفُـس (’anfus) ‘selves.’ Here are some examples:

هُـوَ نَـفْـسُــهُ huwa nafsuhu he himself	تُـحَـدِّثُ نَـفْـسَــهـا tuḥaddithu nafsahā she speaks to herself
نَـحْـنُ أَنْـفُـسُــنـا naḥnu ’anfusunā we ourselves	مِـنْ أَنْـفُـسِــكُـمْ min ’anfusikum from yourselves (you all – masc.)

The word نَـفْـس (nafs) can also mean “same” when used as an adjective. In this case, نَـفْـس (nafs) may precede the noun or follow it, in which case it takes an attached pronoun that agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes. For example:

نَـفْـسُ الـوَقْـتِ (or) الـوَقْـتُ نَـفْـسُــهُ nafsu -l-waqti (or) al-waqtu nafsuhu the same time

نَـفْـسُ الـنّـاسِ (or) الـنّـاسُ أَنْـفُـسُــهُـمْ nafsu -n-nāsi (or) an-nāsu ’anfusuhum the same people

The Reciprocal Pronoun بَـعْـض (ba‘ḍ)

The word بَـعْـض (ba‘ḍ), meaning “some,” is often used as an adjective. For example:

بَـعْـضُ الـنَّـاسِ ba‘ḍu -n-nāsi some people	بَـعْـضُ الـطَّـعـامِ ba‘ḍu -ṭ-ṭa‘āmi some food
بَـعْـضُ الْأَفْـكـارِ ba‘ḍu -l-’afkāri some ideas	بَـعْـضُ الْأَشْـخـاصِ ba‘ḍu –l-’ash khāṣi some individuals

A special function of the word بَـعْـض (ba‘ḍ) is its use as a reciprocal pronoun, often meaning “each other.” Here are some examples:

سـاعَـدَ بَـعْـضُـهُـمْ بَـعْـضًا٠ sā‘ada ba‘ḍuhum ba‘ḍan. They helped each other.	تَـعـاوَنَ بَـعْـضُهُـمْ مَـعَ بَـعْـضٍ٠ ta‘āwana ba‘ḍuhum ma‘a ba‘ḍin. They cooperated with each other.
اِسْـتَـمَـعـوا إِلـى بَـعْــضِـهِـمُ الْـبَـعْـض٠ istama‘ū ’ilā ba‘ḍihimu –l–ba‘ḍ. They listened to each other.	قـاتَـلَ بَـعْـضُـهُـمْ بَـعْـضًا٠ qātala ba‘ḍuhum ba‘ḍan. They fought each other.

Negation with غَـيْـر (ghayr) and عَـدَم (‘adam)

The negation word غَـيْـر (ghayr) often precedes a noun or adjective to indicate a negative meaning. It is similar in function to the negative prefixes in English, such as “un-,” “non-,” “in-,” “im-,” “dis-,” etc. For example:

غَـيْـرُ صَـحِـيـحٍ ghayr(u) ṣaḥīḥ(in) incorrect	غَـيْـرُ جـادٍّ ghayr(u) jādd(in) non-serious
غَـيْـرُ عـادِلٍ ghayr(u) ‘ādil(in) unfair	غَـيْـرُ مُـمْـكِـنٍ ghayr(u) mumkin(in) impossible

The word غَـيْـر (ghayr) cannot take the definite article. To refer to a definite noun or adjective, the definite article can be applied to the words that precede and follow غَـيْـر (ghayr). For example:

الـرَّقَـمُ غَـيْـرُ الـصَّـحِـيـحِ ar-raqamu ghayru -ṣ-ṣaḥīḥ(i) the incorrect number

الـشَّـخْـصُ غَـيْـرُ الْـجـادِّ ash-shakhṣu ghayru -l-jādd(i) the non-serious person

The word غَـيْـر (ghayr) can also be followed by an attached pronoun or demonstrative pronoun. For example:

غَـيْـرُهُ ghayr(u)hu other than him	غَـيْـرُهـا ghayr(u)hā other than her
غَـيْـرُنـا ghayr(u)nā other than us	غَـيْـرُ ذلِـكَ ghayr(u) dhālik other than that

On the other hand, the negation word عَـدَم (‘adam) can only precede a noun, indicating the absence or lack of a particular property or quality. For example:

عَـدَمُ الْـحُـضـورِ ‘adam(u) -l-ḥuḍūri the lack of attendance	عَـدَمُ الْـفَـهْـمِ ‘adam(u) -l-fahmi the lack of understanding
عَـدَمُ الـنَّـجَـاحِ ‘adam(u) -n-najāḥi the lack of success	عَـدَمُ الـتَّـنْـظـيـمِ ‘adam(u) -t-tanẓīmi the lack of organization

The adjective derived from the negative noun عَـدَم (‘adam) is عَـديـم (‘adīm), which means “lacking.” For example:

عَـديـمُ الـتَّـنْـظـيـمِ ‘adīm(u) -t-tanẓīm unorganized (lit. ‘lacking organization’)

عَـديـمُ الـفـائِـدَةِ ‘adīm(u) -l-fā’idah useless (lit. ‘lacking benefit’)

The Unnamed Noun فُـلان (fulān)

In Arabic, the masculine noun فُـلان (fulān) and the feminine noun فُـلانَـة (fulānah) are used in a similar way that we use the expression “so and so” in English. For example:

قـالَ فُــلانٌ٠ qāla fulān. So and so (male person) said.

سَـمِـعْـتُ فُـلانَـةً٠ sami‘tu fulānah. I heard so and so (female person).

Note that فُـلان (fulān) and فُـلانَـة (fulānah) are often used to refer to human beings. Nevertheless, the adjective forms فُـلانِـيّ (fulāniyy) and فُـلانِـيَّـة (fulāniyyah) can sometimes be used to refer to non-human entities. For example:

فـي الْـبَـلَـدِ الْـفُـلانِـيّ fī -l-baladi -l-fulāniyy in the such–and–such country

فـي الـسّـاعَـةِ الْـفُـلانِـيَّـةِ fī -s-sā‘ati -l-fulāniyyah at such–and–such hour

Special Descriptive Words

Here are some special descriptive words that are difficult to classify in Arabic:

كُـلُّ kullu all, each	كُـلُّ الـطُّـلّابِ kullu -ṭ-ṭullāb all the students
كِـلا، كِـلْـتـا kilā (m), kiltā (f) both	كِـلْـتـا الْـبِـنْـتَـيْـنِ kiltā -l-bintayn both girls	كِـلا الْـوَلَـدَيْـنِ kilā -l-waladayn both boys
جَـمـيـع jamī‘ all	جَـمـيـعُ الـحـاضِـريـنَ jamī‘u -l-ḥāḍirīn all attendees
أَيّ ’ayy any	أَيُّ مَـكـان ’ayyu makān any place
بـاقـي bāqī the remaining, the rest of	بـاقـي الْأُسْـبـوعِ bāqī -l-’usbū‘ the rest of the week
عِـدَّة ‘iddah several, a number of	عِـدَّةُ أَشْـخـاصٍ ‘iddatu ’ash khāṣ several persons

Notice that some descriptive words have different forms based on gender and number. For example, the masculine word آخَـر (’ākhar) ‘another’ varies with gender and number as follows:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	رَجُـلٌ آخَـر rajulun ’ākhar another man	اِمْـرَأَةٌ أُخْـرى imra’atun ’ukhrā another woman
Plural	رِجـالٌ آخَـرون rijālun ’ākharūn other men	نِـسـاءٌ أُخْـرَيـاتٍ nisā’un ’ukhrayāt other women

Remember that when referring to non-human beings, e.g., animals, plants, objects, etc., in the plural, we use the feminine singular form أُخْـرى (’ukhrā). For example:

الْـكُـتُـبُ الْأُخْـرى al-kutubu -l-’ukhrā the other books

سَـيّــارَاتٌ أُخْـرى sayyārātun ’ukhrā other cars

Next: Progressive & Perfect Tenses

Back to: Degrees of Comparison

Other lessons in Level V: