A Conversational Course in Qur'ānic Arabic

لُغَةُ القُرْآنِ

Phase 1 · Chapter Two

أَنَا وَأَنْتَ

Pronouns — Introducing Yourself

With just seven small words — the independent pronouns — you can now say who is doing the talking in any nominal sentence. Pair them with a handful of identity nouns and you can introduce yourself completely, still without a single verb.

Every Arabic passage has a small circle button — click it to hear it read aloud using your browser's own Arabic voice.

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO

Use all seven independent pronouns: أَنَا، أَنْتَ، أَنْتِ، هُوَ، هِيَ، نَحْنُ، هُمْ
Introduce yourself: name, identity, and where you're from
Ask “what is your name?” and “where are you from?” as fixed expressions
Read the opening pronoun of one of the Qur'ān's shortest sūrahs

TEACHER NOTES

Pacing: 45 min

Prerequisite check: Chapter One's greetings should be fluent before adding pronouns.

Watch out for: Gender agreement (أنتَ/أنتِ) trips up beginners immediately — drill it in isolation first.

01 — LISTEN & REPEAT

حِوَارٌDialogue

Two new students meet for the first time. Listen twice, then read aloud.

YŪSUF

أَهْلًا! أَنَا يُوسُفُ. وَأَنْتِ؟

ahlan! anā Yūsuf. wa anti?

Hi! I'm Yūsuf. And you?

MARYAM

أَنَا مَرْيَمُ. مَا اسْمُكَ الْكَامِلُ؟

anā Maryam. mā-smuka-l-kāmil?

I'm Maryam. What is your full name?

YŪSUF

اسْمِي يُوسُفُ أَحْمَدَ. مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتِ؟

ismī Yūsuf Aḥmad. min ayna anti?

My name is Yūsuf Aḥmad. Where are you from?

MARYAM

أَنَا مِنَ الْأُرْدُنِّ. وَأَنْتَ؟

anā mina-l-Urdunn. wa anta?

I'm from Jordan. And you?

YŪSUF

أَنَا مِنْ مِصْرَ. أَهْلُنَا هُنَا فِي هَذَا الْبَلَدِ.

anā min Miṣr. ahlunā huna fī hādhā-l-balad.

I'm from Egypt. Our people are here in this country.

02 — CORE WORDS

الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary

“مَا اسْمُكَ؟” and “مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟” are given here as fixed, ready-to-use expressions — you'll learn exactly how مَا and أَيْنَ work as question words in the next two chapters.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
NEWأَنَا	anā	I	—
NEWأَنْتَ / أَنْتِ	anta / anti	you (m./f.)	—
NEWهُوَ / هِيَ	huwa / hiya	he / she, it (m./f.)	—
NEWنَحْنُ	naḥnu	we	—
NEWهُمْ	hum	they (m.)	—
NEWبَلَدٌ	balad	a country	Root ب-ل-د — also the name of Sūrat al-Balad.
NEWأَهْلٌ	ahl	family, people	Root أ-ه-ل — as in أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ, ‘the People of the Book.’
NEWاسْمٌ	ism	a name	Root س-م-و — the same root that opens بِسْمِ اللَّهِ.

Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading. The dialogue also names Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Syria (مِصْر، الْأُرْدُنّ، الْمَغْرِب، سُورِيَا) — recognise them as country names for now, no need to memorise the spelling yet.

Arabic	Says	Meaning	Note
EARLYالْآنَ	al-ān	now	—
EARLYفِي	fī	in	Full preposition set arrives later, but you'll use this constantly before then.
EARLYهُنَاكَ	hunāka	there	Pairs with هُنَا, "here," from Chapter One.
EARLYجِدًّا	jiddan	very	Goes after the adjective: جَمِيلٌ جِدًّا, "very beautiful."
EARLYأَيْضًا	ayḍan	also, too	—
EARLYأَحَدٌ	aḥad	someone; (with لا) no one	—
EARLYلَكِنْ	lākin	but	—
EARLYقُلْ	qul	say! (command)	Useful classroom word — you'll hear it a lot in exercises.

03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS

رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner

Pronoun + noun = a complete sentence. Just as you saw in Chapter One, no verb is needed — the pronoun is the mubtada’, and whatever follows is the khabar.

أَنَا يُوسُفُ

anā Yūsuf
I [am] Yūsuf.

هِيَ مِنَ الْأُرْدُنِّ

hiya mina-l-Urdunn
She [is] from Jordan.

Arabic pronouns also show up as endings attached to other words — you already saw a hint of this in الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. You'll formally learn attached (“possessive”) pronouns in Chapter Eleven, so for now, just focus on these seven free-standing ones.

Quick check: which pronoun would you use to say “we”? (نَحْنُ.)

04 — READING THE SOURCE

وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection

One of the shortest sūrahs in the Qur'ān opens with a pronoun you just learned.

SŪRAT AL-IKHLĀṢ — 112:1

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

Say: He is Allah, One.

قُلْ

qul

say (a command — more on this later)

هُوَ

huwa

اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

Allāhu aḥad

Allah, One

Set aside قُلْ (a command form for later chapters) and the rest is your exact nominal pattern: هُوَ (pronoun, mubtada’) + اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (the khabar) — “He [is] Allah, One.” This sūrah is often the very first one Arabic students memorise in full.

05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE

عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases

Everyday expressions using pronouns.

أَنَا مِنْ هُنَا

anā min huna — I'm from here / a local

نَحْنُ أَصْدِقَاءُ

naḥnu aṣdiqā’ — we are friends

هُوَ صَدِيقِي

huwa ṣadīqī — he is my friend

هِيَ هُنَا

hiya huna — she is here

أَنْتَ عَلَى حَقٍّ

anta ‘alā ḥaqq — you are right

مَنْ أَنْتَ؟

man anta? — who are you?

نَحْنُ مِنْ نَفْسِ الْبَلَدِ

naḥnu min nafsi-l-balad — we're from the same country

هُمْ هُنَاكَ

hum hunāk — they are there

SKILLS PRACTICE

الِاسْتِمَاعُListening

Audio track 2.1

Aḥmad introduces himself to a new classmate. Listen first, script second.

AḨMAD

أَهْلًا، أَنَا أَحْمَدُ.

SALMĀ

أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا! أَنَا سَلْمَى. مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟

AḨMAD

أَنَا مِنْ سُورِيَا. وَأَنْتِ؟

SALMĀ

أَنَا مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ. نَحْنُ الْآنَ فِي نَفْسِ الصَّفِّ!

What is Aḥmad's name?
Where is Aḥmad from?
Where is Salmā from?

Reveal answers

1. Aḥmad. 2. Syria. 3. Morocco.

SKILLS PRACTICE

التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking

Pair work

Partner drill. Introduce yourself with أَنَا + your name, then ask your partner مَا اسْمُكَ؟ and مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟

Recycling round (open with Chapter One). Before the drill above, greet your partner exactly as in Chapter One (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ، كَيْفَ حَالُكَ؟) and only then move into introductions. Every future chapter's speaking section should open the same way — greetings never get "used up."

Letters	Word 1	Word 2	Tip
أَنْتَ vs أَنْتِ	أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ	أَنْتِ طَالِبَةٌ	The only difference between ‘you’ (m.) and ‘you’ (f.) is the final short vowel — listen closely.

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْقِرَاءَةُReading

Read silently, then aloud

Read once for meaning, then aloud.

أَنَا مِنْ بَلَدٍ جَمِيلٍ. أَهْلِي هُنَا مَعِي، وَنَحْنُ سُعَدَاءُ جِدًّا. صَدِيقِي هُوَ مِنْ بَلَدٍ آخَرَ، لَكِنَّنَا أَصْدِقَاءُ مُقَرَّبُونَ. هِيَ أَيْضًا صَدِيقَتِي، وَهُمْ جَمِيعًا فِي نَفْسِ الصَّفِّ.

1) مَنْ مَعَ الْكَاتِبِ؟

أ) لَا أَحَدَب) أَهْلُهُج) أُسْتَاذُهُد) جِيرَانُهُ

2) مِنْ أَيْنَ صَدِيقُ الْكَاتِبِ؟

أ) مِنْ نَفْسِ الْبَلَدِب) مِنْ بَلَدٍ آخَرَج) لَا يُعْرَفُد) مِنَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ

3) أَيْنَ هُمْ جَمِيعًا؟

أ) فِي الْمَنْزِلِب) فِي نَفْسِ الصَّفِّج) فِي السُّوقِد) فِي الْمَسْجِدِ

Reveal answers

1. ب — أَهْلُهُ 2. ب — مِنْ بَلَدٍ آخَرَ 3. ب — فِي نَفْسِ الصَّفِّ

SKILLS PRACTICE

الْكِتَابَةُWriting

On paper or in your notebook

Sentence building. Put these words in the correct order, then translate.

يُوسُفُ أَنَا
الْأُرْدُنِّ مِنَ هِيَ
أَصْدِقَاءُ نَحْنُ

Guided writing. Write three sentences introducing yourself and one other person, using at least four different pronouns.

06 — CHAPTER EXERCISES

التَّدْرِيبَاتُExercises

1اخْتَرِ الْإِجَابَةَ الصَّحِيحَةَChoose the correct answer

1. “We” in Arabic is:

a) أَنَاb) نَحْنُc) هُمْd) أَنْتُمْ

2. The feminine “you” is:

a) أَنْتَb) أَنْتِc) هِيَd) أَنَا

3. “مَا اسْمُكَ؟” means:

a) how are youb) where are you fromc) what is your named) who is this

4. هُوَ مِنْ مِصْرَ means:

a) I am from Egyptb) she is from Egyptc) he is from Egyptd) they are from Egypt

Reveal answers

1. b 2. b 3. c 4. c

2صِلْ كُلَّ كَلِمَةٍ بِمَعْنَاهَاMatch each item to its meaning

أَنَا
أَنْتَ
هُوَ
هِيَ
نَحْنُ

we
he
I
you (m.)
she

Reveal answers

1–c, 2–d, 3–b, 4–e, 5–a

3تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِTranslate into English

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

أَنَا مِنَ الْأُرْدُنِّ.
هُوَ صَدِيقِي.
نَحْنُ فِي نَفْسِ الصَّفِّ.
مَا اسْمُكِ؟

Reveal answers

1. I am from Jordan.
2. He is my friend.
3. We are in the same class.
4. What is your name (f.)?

4تَرْجِمْ إِلَى الْعَرَبِيَّةِTranslate into Arabic

Self-check — type your answer, then compare with the model answer below. This one isn’t scored.

I am Yūsuf.
Where are you (m.) from?
She is from Egypt.

Reveal answers

١) أَنَا يُوسُفُ.
٢) مِنْ أَيْنَ أَنْتَ؟
٣) هِيَ مِنْ مِصْرَ.

5أَكْمِلِ الْحِوَارَComplete the dialogue

Word bank: أَنَا — أَنْتِ — مِنْ أَيْنَ — اسْمُكَ

يوسف: أَهْلًا! يُوسُفُ. وَ؟
مريم: أَنَا مَرْيَمُ. مَا الْكَامِلُ؟
يوسف: يُوسُفُ أَحْمَدَ. أَنْتِ؟

Reveal answers

أَنَا — أَنْتِ — اسْمُكَ — مِنْ أَيْنَ

6صَحِيحٌ أَمْ خَطَأٌ؟True or false? (based on the reading passage)

مَرْيَمُ مِنْ مِصْرَ.true / false

يُوسُفُ مِنَ الْأُرْدُنِّ.true / false

مَرْيَمُ وَيُوسُفُ مِنْ نَفْسِ الْبَلَدِ.true / false

Reveal answers

1. False — she's from Jordan. 2. False — he's from Egypt. 3. False — they're from different countries.

SKILLS PRACTICE

قِرَاءَةٌ حُرَّةٌFree Reading

Hover to check — no test, just read

A short passage using only words you've met so far. Just read for meaning — hover any word if you get stuck. Flip the switch to check whole sentences instead of single words.

Word Sentence

هُوَ صَدِيقِي. هِيَ هُنَاكَ وَهُوَ هُنَا. نَحْنُ فِي بَلَدٍ جَمِيلٍ جِدًّا. هُمْ هُنَاكَ أَيْضًا. لَا أَحَدَ هُنَا الْآنَ لَكِنْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِخَيْرٍ.

SKILLS PRACTICE — NEW

مُحَادَثَةٌ حُرَّةٌConversation Practice

Chat with Yūsuf or Maryam using only what you've learned so far — type it or say it out loud, your choice.

تَمَّ الدَّرْسُ الثَّانِي بِحَمْدِ اللَّهِ

Chapter Two complete — next chapter: Question Words (أسئلة التعارف)

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