Back in Chapter Eleven you attached suffixes to nouns to mean “my/your/his.” Now you'll attach a similar family of suffixes to verbs to mean “me, him, her, us” as the object of the action — هَدَانَا, “He guided us,” is one word doing the work of three in English. This closes out Phase Two: verbs.
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
Attach object pronoun suffixes (‑nī, ‑hu, ‑hā, ‑nā) to a verb you already know
Tell the difference between the possessive suffix (Ch.11, on nouns) and the object suffix (on verbs)
Say short sentences like ‘He taught me’ and ‘We thank Him’
Read a well-known verse built almost entirely from a verb-plus-suffix
TEACHER NOTES
Pacing: 50–60 min
Prerequisite check: Past tense (Ch.17–18) — object suffixes attach to conjugated verbs.
Watch out for: The suffix chain (فعل + ني/ك/ه...) is easiest taught as one memorised verb (سَاعَدَ) drilled through all persons.
01 — LISTEN & REPEAT
حِوَارٌDialogue
Yūsuf thanks Maryam for her help. Listen twice, then read aloud.
True. Our Lord always loves us and has mercy on us.
MARYAM
نَحْمَدُهُ عَلَى كُلِّ نِعْمَةٍ.
naḥmaduhu ‘alā kulli ni‘mah.
We praise Him for every blessing.
02 — CORE WORDS
الْمُفْرَدَاتُVocabulary
These attach to a verb, unlike Chapter Eleven's suffixes, which attach to a noun.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
NEW‑نِي
‑nī
me
سَاعَدَنِي — he helped me.
REVIEW‑هُ
‑hu
him, it (m.)
عَلَّمَهُ — he taught him.
REVIEW‑هَا
‑hā
her, it (f.)
سَمِعَهَا — he heard her/it.
REVIEW‑نَا
‑nā
us
هَدَانَا — He guided us.
NEWسَاعَدَ
sā‘ada
he helped
—
NEWهَدَى
hadā
he guided
—
NEWرَحِمَ
raḥima
he had mercy on
Root ر-ح-م — same as ar-Raḥmān.
NEWحَمِدَ
ḥamida
he praised
Root ح-م-د — same as الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ from Chapter One.
Also in this chapter's dialogue and reading.
Arabic
Says
Meaning
Note
EARLYالْقِرَاءَةُ
al-qirā’ah
reading
—
EARLYدَائِمًا
dā’iman
always
—
EARLYسَامَحَنِي
sāmaḥanī
forgive me
—
EARLYلِهَذَا
li-hādhā
for this reason, therefore
—
EARLYعَلَّمَ
‘allama
he taught
Same root as أُسْتَاذ and دَرْس.
03 — HOW THE LANGUAGE WORKS
رُكْنُ الْقَوَاعِدِGrammar Corner
Object suffixes attach to verbs. Compare this to Chapter Eleven's possessive suffixes, which attach to a noun to mean “my/his/her.” These attach to a verb to mean the object of the action.
سَاعَدَ + نِي = سَاعَدَنِي
sā‘ada + nī he helped me
هَدَى + نَا = هَدَانَا
hadā + nā He guided us
Careful: كِتَابِي (“my book,” noun + ي, Ch.11) and عَلَّمَنِي (“he taught me,” verb + نِي, this chapter) look similar but attach to different word types — check whether the word before the suffix is a noun or a conjugated verb.
Quick check: what does رَحِمَنَا mean? (He had mercy on us — raḥima + nā.)
04 — READING THE SOURCE
وَقْفَةٌ قُرْآنِيَّةٌQur'ān Connection
A short, famous verse thanking Allah for guidance — built almost entirely from a verb and its object suffix.
SŪRAT AL-A‘RĀF — 7:43
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَٰذَا
Praise be to Allah, who guided us to this.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
al-ḥamdu lillāh
praise be to Allah
الَّذِي
alladhī
who
هَدَانَا
hadānā
guided us
لِهَٰذَا
li-hādhā
to this
هَدَانَا packs an entire sentence — “He guided us” — into one word: the root ه-د-ي (‘to guide’) plus the ‑نَا suffix you just learned. This verse is said by the people of Paradise upon entering it.
05 — SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE
عِبَارَاتٌ يَوْمِيَّةٌEveryday Phrases
Common phrases built from verb-plus-object-suffix.
اللَّهُ يَحْفَظُكَ
Allāhu yaḥfaẓuk — may Allah protect you
سَامَحَنِي
sāmaḥanī — forgive me
سَاعَدَنَا اللَّهُ
sā‘adanā-llāh — Allah helped us
أَحَبَّهُ اللَّهُ
aḥabbahu-llāh — Allah loved him
رَزَقَنَا اللَّهُ
razaqanā-llāh — Allah provided for us
عَلَّمَنِي كَثِيرًا
‘allamanī kathīran — he taught me a lot
لَنْ أَنْسَاهُ
lan ansāh — I will never forget him/it
نَحْمَدُهُ دَائِمًا
naḥmaduhu dā’iman — we always praise Him
SKILLS PRACTICE
الِاسْتِمَاعُListening
Audio track 18.1
Aḥmad thanks his teacher. Listen first, script second.
1. Correct recitation/reading. 2. Her teacher (fem.). 3. “Al-ḥamdu lillāhi-lladhī hadānā li-hādhā-l-‘ilm” — praise be to Allah who guided us to this knowledge.
SKILLS PRACTICE
التَّحَدُّثُSpeaking
Pair work
Partner drill. Say a short sentence using a verb-plus-object-suffix about your partner — “سَاعَدْتُكَ” (I helped you), “سَمِعْتُكِ” (I heard you).
Recycling round. Try one with سَامَحَنِي or عَلَّمَنِي woven in — "عَلَّمَنِي أُسْتَاذِي" ("my teacher taught me") ties this chapter straight back to Chapter Twelve.
Letters
Word 1
Word 2
Tip
ي (my, noun) vs ‑ني (me, verb)
كِتَابِي
عَلَّمَنِي
One attaches to a noun (possession); the other to a verb (object of the action).
SKILLS PRACTICE
الْقِرَاءَةُReading
Read silently, then aloud
Read once for meaning, then aloud — this closes Phase Two, so notice both past and present verbs at work.
1. True. 2. False — he thanks Allah for his family. 3. True.
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.