A small group of words that change the case
إِنَّ and the words built on it stand at the head of a nominal sentence. They put the subject into the accusative and leave the predicate nominative:
- الطَّقْسُ جَمِيلٌ. — The weather is nice.
- إِنَّ الطَّقْسَ جَمِيلٌ. — The weather really is nice.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| إِنَّ | indeed (opens a sentence) | إِنَّ الْبَيْتَ كَبِيرٌ. |
| أَنَّ | that (inside a sentence) | أَعْرِفُ أَنَّ الْبَيْتَ كَبِيرٌ. |
| لَكِنَّ | but | الْبَيْتُ صَغِيرٌ لَكِنَّهُ جَمِيلٌ. |
| لِأَنَّ | because | لَمْ آتِ لِأَنَّ الطَّرِيقَ طَوِيلٌ. |
| كَأَنَّ | as if | كَأَنَّ الْوَلَدَ نَائِمٌ. |
| لَعَلَّ | perhaps | لَعَلَّ الْجَوَّ يَتَحَسَّنُ. |
| لَيْتَ | if only | لَيْتَ الْعُطْلَةَ أَطْوَلُ. |
Pronouns attach directly
You cannot follow these words with a separate pronoun. The pronoun becomes a suffix, and it counts as the accusative subject:
| Arabic | Meaning |
|---|---|
| إِنَّنِي or إِنِّي | I am indeed |
| إِنَّهُ، إِنَّهَا | he is, she is |
| لِأَنَّهُ مَرِيضٌ | because he is sick |
| لَكِنَّهَا مَشْغُولَةٌ | but she is busy |
| لَعَلَّهُمْ فِي الْبَيْتِ | perhaps they are at home |
- أَعْرِفُ أَنَّهَا مُعَلِّمَةٌ. — I know that she is a teacher.
- لَمْ أَذْهَبْ لِأَنَّنِي كُنْتُ مَرِيضًا. — I did not go because I was sick.
إنّ or أنّ
إِنَّ starts a sentence. After قَالَ the classical rule also uses إِنَّ; modern newspapers often write أَنَّ there. After other verbs, "that" is أَنَّ:
- قَالَ إِنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ صَعْبٌ. — He said that the exam is hard.
- عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ صَعْبٌ. — I found out that the exam is hard.
- مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ أَنَّ الْقَاهِرَةَ كَبِيرَةٌ. — It is known that Cairo is big.
If what follows is a verb rather than a noun, use أَنْ with sukun instead: أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَذْهَبَ.
Watch out as an English speaker
- English can drop "that"; Arabic cannot drop أَنَّ. ✗ أَعْرِفُ الطَّقْسَ جَمِيلٌ. / ✓ أَعْرِفُ أَنَّ الطَّقْسَ جَمِيلٌ.
- The subject goes into the accusative. ✗ إِنَّ الطَّقْسُ جَمِيلٌ. / ✓ إِنَّ الطَّقْسَ جَمِيلٌ.
- No separate pronoun after these words. ✗ لِأَنَّ هُوَ مَرِيضٌ. / ✓ لِأَنَّهُ مَرِيضٌ.
- After قَالَ, write إِنَّ: قَالَ إِنَّ الِامْتِحَانَ صَعْبٌ. You will also read قَالَ أَنَّ in the press; careful writing keeps إِنَّ.
Example dialogue
أَيْنَ أَحْمَدُ؟ — Where is Ahmad?
أَظُنُّ أَنَّهُ فِي الْمَكْتَبِ. — I think that he is in the office.
قَالَ لِي إِنَّ الْعَمَلَ كَثِيرٌ الْيَوْمَ. — He told me that there is a lot of work today.
لَكِنَّهُ وَعَدَ بِأَنْ يَأْتِيَ. — But he promised to come.
لَعَلَّهُ يَصِلُ قَرِيبًا. — Perhaps he will arrive soon.