The Idafa in Arabic

To say that something belongs to someone, Arabic simply puts two nouns side by side. This is called the idafa (⁨الْإِضَافَة⁩): ⁨كِتَاب الطَّالِب⁩ means "the student's book", word for word "book the student".

How the Idafa Works

The thing that is owned comes first and the owner comes second. Nothing goes between them: there is no word for "of" and no ending like the English 's.

The First Noun Never Takes ⁨ال⁩

The first noun never takes ⁨ال⁩, even when it means "the". The ⁨ال⁩ on the owner, or a name, makes the whole phrase definite.

Definite or Indefinite

The last noun decides whether the whole idafa is definite. With ⁨ال⁩ or a name it means "the". Without ⁨ال⁩ it means "a".

⁨ة⁩ Is Pronounced t

When the first noun ends in ⁨ة⁩, the ⁨ة⁩ is pronounced t. On its own ⁨سَيَّارَة⁩ is sayyāra, but ⁨سَيَّارَة أَبِي⁩ is sayyārat abī (my father's car). The spelling stays the same.

Pronouns and Longer Chains

An attached pronoun can be the owner: ⁨بَيْت⁩ with ⁨ـهُ⁩ gives ⁨بَيْتُهُ⁩ (his house). An idafa can also have three nouns or more, and only the last one can take ⁨ال⁩: ⁨بَاب بَيْت الْمُدِير⁩ (the door of the manager's house).

Adjectives Come After the Whole Idafa

Nothing can stand between the nouns of an idafa, so an adjective goes after the whole phrase. It agrees with the noun it describes, and it takes ⁨ال⁩ when the idafa is definite.

Common Mistakes

• Putting ⁨ال⁩ on the first noun: say ⁨كِتَاب الطَّالِب⁩, not ⁨الْكِتَاب الطَّالِب⁩.
• Putting the adjective in the middle: say ⁨سَيَّارَة أَبِي الْجَدِيدَة⁩, not ⁨سَيَّارَة الْجَدِيدَة أَبِي⁩.
• Translating "of" with ⁨مِنْ⁩: say ⁨بَاب الْبَيْت⁩, not ⁨بَاب مِنَ الْبَيْت⁩.
• Reading the ⁨ة⁩ of the first noun as a: say sayyārat abī, not sayyāra abī.

Example Sentences