By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
Success target: students can explain why each pronoun is correct.
1. Person — Who is speaking, being spoken to, or being spoken about? أَنَا، أَنْتَ، هُوَ (first / second / third person)
2. Number — Is it one person, two people, or a group? هُوَ، هُمَا، هُمْ (singular / dual / plural)
3. Gender — Is the person or group masculine, feminine, or mixed? أَنْتَ، أَنْتِ، هُنَّ (masculine / feminine)
Teacher prompt: “How many people? Which gender? Are we speaking, listening, or talking about someone?”
Memory cue: أنا = me alone ; نحن = me + others
أَنْتُمَا — you two (used for two people, masculine or feminine)
أَنْتُمَا مُجْتَهِدَانِ. / أَنْتُمَا مُجْتَهِدَتَانِ.
أَنْتُمْ — you, masculine or mixed plural (three or more males, or a mixed group)
أَنْتُمْ فِي الْفَصْلِ.
أَنْتُنَّ — you, feminine plural (three or more females only)
أَنْتُنَّ فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ.
Key point: Arabic has a special “you two” form. English does not.
Third person means the person or group is being spoken about, not directly addressed.
| Person | Singular | Dual | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| First person | أَنَا | — | نَحْنُ |
| Second person masculine | أَنْتَ | أَنْتُمَا | أَنْتُمْ |
| Second person feminine | أَنْتِ | أَنْتُمَا | أَنْتُنَّ |
| Third person masculine | هُوَ | هُمَا | هُمْ |
| Third person feminine | هِيَ | هُمَا | هُنَّ |
Exam skill: choose by person + number + gender
Arabic does not normally need a present-tense word for “am / is / are”.
أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ. — I am a student.
هُوَ مُهَنْدِسٌ. — He is an engineer.
Pattern: Pronoun + Predicate
أَنَا + طَالِبٌ / طَالِبَةٌ | هِيَ + مُعَلِّمَةٌ | نَحْنُ + فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ
Example verb: كَتَبَ – يَكْتُبُ “to write”
| Pronoun | Verb | Meaning | Pronoun | Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | أَكْتُبُ | I write | نَحْنُ | نَكْتُبُ | we write |
| أَنْتَ | تَكْتُبُ | you m. | أَنْتِ | تَكْتُبِينَ | you f. |
| أَنْتُمَا | تَكْتُبَانِ | you two | أَنْتُمْ | تَكْتُبُونَ | you pl. m. |
| أَنْتُنَّ | تَكْتُبْنَ | you pl. f. | هُوَ | يَكْتُبُ | he writes |
| هِيَ | تَكْتُبُ | she writes | هُمْ | يَكْتُبُونَ | they m. |
| هُنَّ | يَكْتُبْنَ | they f. | هُمَا | يَكْتُبَانِ / تَكْتُبَانِ | they two |
Key idea: verb endings also show the subject, especially in plural and feminine forms.
Arabic often lets the verb carry the subject meaning.
أَنَا أَدْرُسُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ. = أَدْرُسُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ. (both mean “I study Arabic.”)
Use the separate pronoun when you want to:
أَنَا أَدْرُسُ، وَهُوَ يَلْعَبُ. — I study, and he plays.
أَنَا لَيْلَى. أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ. هُوَ صَدِيقِي خَالِدٌ، وَهِيَ صَدِيقَتِي مَرْيَمُ. نَحْنُ نَدْرُسُ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ. أَنْتُمْ طُلَّابٌ مُجْتَهِدُونَ، وَأَنْتُنَّ طَالِبَاتٌ مُجْتَهِدَاتٌ.
Task A: Find and highlight three first-person pronouns, two third-person pronouns, and two second-person plural pronouns.
Task B: Explain why أَنْتُمْ is used? Why أَنْتُنَّ? How do you know نَحْنُ means “we”?
Set up: Place pronoun cards in different areas. Read a description aloud. Students move to the correct pronoun and say a full Arabic sentence.
Prompt Cards: Two female students → هُمَا ; A group of boys → هُمْ ; A group of girls being addressed → أَنْتُنَّ ; The teacher and I → نَحْنُ ; One girl being addressed → أَنْتِ ; Two students being addressed → أَنْتُمَا
Scoring: 1 point for the pronoun + 1 point for a complete sentence.
Student A chooses a pronoun. Student B builds a sentence. Student A changes one feature (gender, number or person). Student B updates the sentence.
Example Chain:
أَنْتَ → أَنْتَ طَالِبٌ. (change to feminine) → أَنْتِ طَالِبَةٌ. (change to dual) → أَنْتُمَا طَالِبَانِ. (change to feminine plural) → أَنْتُنَّ طَالِبَاتٌ.
Higher challenge: add a present-tense verb.
Correction routine: identify person → count people → check gender → choose pronoun.
Exit Ticket (verbal or typed in chat):
Homework: Pronoun Family Poster
Include all subject pronouns. Group them by person, number and gender. Add one Arabic example sentence for each group. Colour-code masculine, feminine, dual and plural. Add a short reflection: Which pronouns are easiest? Which need practice?
Optional extension: add matching present-tense verb forms.
Quiz 1 Answers: 1. هُمَا 2. هُمَا 3. هُنَّ 4. أَنْتُمَا 5. هُمْ 6. هُنَّ 7. نَحْنُ 8. أَنْتُمَا
Exit Ticket Answers: