In Arabic, detached pronouns change form depending on the gender (male or female) and the number (singular, dual, or plural) of the noun they replace. The pronoun must match the noun in gender and number.
In this lesson, we’ll learn about what detached pronouns are in Arabic, how many there are, and see some examples.
What Are Detached Pronouns in Arabic?
In Arabic, detached pronouns are called الضَّمير المُنْفَصِل (ad-damir al munfasil). This means they are written separately from other words. These pronouns can act as the subject (nominative) or object (accusative) in a sentence.
Usually, these pronouns are the subject of a sentence, so they are in the nominative case. They are called “munfasil” because they stand alone and are pronounced independently.
What Are Separate Pronouns in Arabic?
Separate pronouns in Arabic are called الضَّمِيْر المُنْفَصِل, which is the same as detached pronouns. They are personal pronouns that refer to a person.
Number of Detached Pronouns in Arabic
There are twelve detached (or personal) pronouns in Arabic. They are divided into three groups: first person, second person, and third person.
These detached pronouns are also categorized into two types: those that replace a nominative noun (subject) and those that replace an accusative noun (object).
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Here’s a list of detached pronouns in Arabic:
Singular Pronouns
- أنا (ʾanā) – I
- أنتَ (ʾanta) – You (masculine)
- أنتِ (ʾanti) – You (feminine)
- هو (huwa) – He
- هي (hiya) – She
Dual Pronouns (Used in Classical and Formal Arabic)
- أنتما (ʾantumā) – You two (masculine or feminine)
- هما (humā) – They two (masculine or feminine)
Plural Pronouns
- نحن (naḥnu) – We
- أنتم (ʾantum) – You all (masculine)
- أنتنّ (ʾantunna) – You all (feminine)
- هم (hum) – They (masculine)
- هنّ (hunna) – They (feminine)
Key Points to Remember:
- Gender: Arabic distinguishes between masculine and feminine in the second and third person pronouns.
- Dual Form: Arabic has a specific form for referring to two people, but this is mostly used in Classical Arabic and formal speech.
- Plural: The plural forms are also gender-specific, except for the first person.
The table below summarized all the number of detached pronouns in Arabic.
Arabic Detached Pronouns | Transliteration | English |
أنا | ana | I |
انتَ | anta | you (masc.) |
انتِ | anti | you (fem.) |
هو | howwa | he |
هي | heyya | she |
Dual | ||
نحن | naHnu | we (two persons) |
أنتما | antuma | you (two persons) |
هما | humaa | they (two people) |
Plural | ||
نحن | naHnu | we |
أنتم | antum | you (masc.) |
أنتن | antunna | you (fem.) |
هم | homa | they (masc.) |
هن | hunna | they (fem.) |
As mentioned earlier, detached pronouns in Arabic are only used in two positions: subject (nominative) or object (accusative). There is no set of genitive detached pronouns. When needed, either the nominative or accusative forms are used instead.
Nominative Detached Pronouns in Arabic
Nominative detached pronouns are called ضَّمير الرَّفْع المُنفَصِل (damir ar-raf’ al munfasil). These pronouns are used as the subject in a sentence, meaning they take the place of the subject noun.
It’s important to note that these pronouns are in the position of a nominative noun, but they are not in the nominative case themselves.
This is because pronouns are indeclinable words, meaning their form does not change based on case. Only declinable words can be in the nominative, accusative, or genitive cases.
Here’s a list of the nominative detached pronouns in Arabic:
- I: أنا (ana)
- You (masc.): أنتَ (anta)
- You (fem.): أنتِ (anti)
- He: هو (huwa)
- She: هي (hiya)
- We: نحن (naHnu)
- You two: أنتما (antuma)
- They two: هما (humaa)
- You all (masc.): أنتم (antum)
- You all (fem.): أنتن (antunna)
- They (masc.): هم (hum)
- They (fem.): هن (hunna)
Detached Pronouns in Arabic Examples (Nominative)
Third Person
- This is my father. He is a teacher هَذَا أبِي، هُوَ مُدَرِّس
- This is my mother. She is a doctor هَذِهِ أُمِّي هِي طَبِيبَة
- They (dual) go to the mosque هُما يَذْهَبانِ إلى المَسْجِدِ
- They (dual) are cleaning the house هُمَا يُنَظِّفانِ البَيْتَ
- They are watching the game on TV هُم يُشَاهِدُونَ المُبَاراة فِي التِّلْفاز
- They study in the university هُنَّ يَدْرُسْنَ فِي الْجَامِعَة
Second Person
- Are you a professor? هَلْ أَنْتَ أُسْتَاذٌ؟
- Are you Zaynab? هَلْ أَنْتِ زَيْنَبُ؟
- You both are good players أَنْتُمَا لاعِبانِ جَيِّدانِ
- You (dual feminine)are beautiful children أَنْتُما طِفْلَتَانِ جَمِيلَتانِ
- Are you friends? هَلْ أَنْتُم أَصْدِقاء؟
- You are kind girls أَنْتُنَّ فَتَياتٌ طَيِّبَاتٌ
First Person
- I am Omani doctor أَنا طَبِيبٌ عُمَانِيٌّ
- I am Pakistani nurse أنا مُمَرِّضَةٌ بَاكِسْتَانِيَّة
- We are old parents نَحْنُ أَبَوَانِ عَجُوزَانِ
Accusative Detached Pronouns in Arabic
Accusative detached pronouns in Arabic are called ضَّمير النَّصْبِ المُنفَصِل (damir an-nasb al-munfasil). These pronouns should only be used in the place of the accusative (object) and not in the nominative (subject) or genitive (possessive) positions.
The accusative detached pronoun is used when it’s not possible to use an attached pronoun. Here are some situations where this occurs:
- To Emphasize or Specify:
- Example: إيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ (“It is you we worship, and it is you we ask for help”).
- In this case, the pronoun is placed at the beginning to specify the meaning, which cannot be done with an attached pronoun.
- After Certain Particles:
- Example: شَفَاكُمُ اللهُ وَإِيَّانَا (“May Allah heal you and us!”).
- Here, the detached pronoun is used because it cannot be attached to the particle “Wa” (وَ).
- When Pronunciation is Difficult:
- Example: أَعْطَيْتُكَ إيَّاهُ (“I gave it to you”) instead of أَعْطَيْتُكَهُ.
- The detached pronoun is used instead of an attached pronoun when the combination of sounds would be difficult to pronounce.
Now let’s see in the following table the full division of the detached pronouns in place of accusative:
Arabic Pronouns | Transliteration | English |
إِيَّايَ | Iyaaya | It’s I |
إِيَّاكَ | Iyaaka | It’s you (masc.) |
إِيَّاكِ | Iyaaki | It’s you (fem.) |
إِيَّاهُ | Iyaahu | It’s he |
إِيَّاها | Iyaaha | It’s she |
Dual | ||
إِيَّانَا | Iyaanaa | It’s we (two persons) |
إِيَّاكُمَا | Iyaakuma | It’s you (two persons) |
إِيَّاهُمَا | Iyaahumaa | It’s they (two people) |
Plural | ||
إِيَّانَا | Iyaanaa | It’s we |
إِيَّاكُمْ | Iyaakum | It’s you (masc.) |
إِيَّاكُنَّ | Iyaakunna | It’s You (fem.) |
إِيَّاهُمْ | Iyaahum | they (masc.) |
إِيَّاهُنَّ | Iyaahunna | they (fem.) |
Detached Pronouns Examples (Accusative)
- This bag, I’ll give it to you هَذِهِ الْحَقِيبَةُ سَأُعْطِيكَ إِيَّاهَا
Here we used the separate pronoun facultatively because it is easier in pronunciation than سأعطيكها
- It is you, I mean by this word إِيَّاكُمَا أَعْنِي بِهَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةِ
Here the direct object pronoun precedes obligatorily the verb for rhetoric reason.
- The teacher awarded me and you الْمُدَرِّسُ كَافَأَنِي وَإِيَّاكَ
Here the direct object pronoun is preceded by Wa.