Lesson 6 · لِمَنْ
Whose? Saying “of” (iḍaafa)
To say “Muhammad’s book” or “the door of the house”, put two nouns side by side, the thing first and the owner second: كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ, بَابُ الْبَيْتِ. This pairing is called iḍaafa. The first noun never takes al- or the -un ending, and the second noun ends in -i.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍkitaabu muḥammadinMuhammad’s book
بَابُ الْبَيْتِbaabul-baytithe door of the house
قَلَمُ الْمُدَرِّسِqalamul-mudarrisithe teacher’s pen
سَيَّارَةُ الطَّبِيبِsayyaaratuṭ-ṭabiibithe doctor’s car
مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِmiftaaḥus-sayyaaratithe car key
لِمَنْ هٰذَا الْقَلَمُ؟liman haadhal-qalamu?Whose pen is this?
هٰذَا قَلَمُ حَامِدٍhaadhaa qalamu ḥaamidinThis is Hamid’s pen
بَيْتُ اللّٰهِbaytullaahithe House of Allah (the Kaaba)
Key points
- Thing first, owner second: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ is “the student’s book”, literally “book of the student”.
- The first word becomes definite on its own: بَابُ الْبَيْتِ means “the door of the house”, not “a door”.
- Ask “whose?” with لِمَنْ: لِمَنْ هٰذَا الْقَلَمُ؟ Whose pen is this?
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “the door of the mosque”.
بَابُ الْمَسْجِدِ baabul-masjidi
What is wrong with الْكِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ?
كِتَابُ مُحَمَّدٍ kitaabu muḥammadin
The first noun in an iḍaafa never takes al-.
Ask “Whose car is this?”
لِمَنْ هٰذِهِ السَّيَّارَةُ؟ liman haadhihis-sayyaaratu?