The same suffixes, one exception
The suffixes you learned on nouns (كِتَابِي, كِتَابُهُ) also serve as object pronouns on verbs and after prepositions. Only the first person changes: on a verb, "me" is ـنِي, not ـِي.
| Suffix | On a verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ـنِي | يُسَاعِدُنِي | he helps me |
| ـكَ / ـكِ | يُسَاعِدُكَ / يُسَاعِدُكِ | he helps you (m / f) |
| ـهُ | يُسَاعِدُهُ | he helps him, it |
| ـهَا | يُسَاعِدُهَا | he helps her |
| ـنَا | يُسَاعِدُنَا | he helps us |
| ـكُمْ | يُسَاعِدُكُمْ | he helps you (pl) |
| ـهُمْ | يُسَاعِدُهُمْ | he helps them |
- رَأَيْتُهَا فِي السُّوقِ. — I saw her in the market.
- الْمُعَلِّمُ يَعْرِفُنِي. — The teacher knows me.
- هَلْ تَفْهَمُونَنَا؟ — Do you understand us?
Prepositions take the same endings
| Preposition | With a suffix |
|---|---|
| مَعَ | مَعِي، مَعَكَ، مَعَهُ، مَعَهَا |
| عِنْدَ | عِنْدِي، عِنْدَكَ، عِنْدَهُ |
| لِـ | لِي، لَكَ، لَهُ، لَهَا، لَهُمْ |
| بِـ | بِي، بِكَ، بِهِ، بِهَا |
| مِنْ | مِنِّي، مِنْكَ، مِنْهُ، مِنْهَا |
| فِي | فِيَّ، فِيكَ، فِيهِ، فِيهَا |
| إِلَى | إِلَيَّ، إِلَيْكَ، إِلَيْهِ، إِلَيْهَا |
| عَلَى | عَلَيَّ، عَلَيْكَ، عَلَيْهِ، عَلَيْهَا |
إِلَى and عَلَى end in an alif written as ى, which turns into ي before a suffix: إِلَى + هَا = إِلَيْهَا, never a form with a bare alif.
هُ becomes هِ after an i sound
After ـِ, ـِي or ـَيْ, the vowel of ـهُ and ـهُمْ changes to kasra:
- بِهِ (bihi), فِيهِ (fīhi), إِلَيْهِ (ilayhi), عَلَيْهِمْ (ʿalayhim)
- فِي بَيْتِهِ (fī baytihi) — in his house
The silent alif disappears
كَتَبُوا is written with an alif after the و. As soon as a suffix follows, the alif is gone: كَتَبُوهُ — they wrote it; سَأَلُونِي — they asked me.
Watch out as an English speaker
- An object pronoun cannot stand alone after the verb. ✗ أَرَى هُوَ. / ✓ أَرَاهُ.
- "Me" on a verb needs the extra ن. ✗ يُسَاعِدِي / ✓ يُسَاعِدُنِي.
- إِلَى and عَلَى change shape. ✗ إِلَاهَا / ✓ إِلَيْهَا.
- Keep the alif out once a suffix is added. ✗ كَتَبُواهُ / ✓ كَتَبُوهُ.
Example dialogue
هَلْ رَأَيْتَ أَحْمَدَ؟ — Did you see Ahmad?
نَعَمْ، رَأَيْتُهُ أَمْسِ وَتَكَلَّمْتُ مَعَهُ. — Yes, I saw him yesterday and spoke with him.
وَمَاذَا قَالَ لَكَ؟ — And what did he say to you?
قَالَ لِي إِنَّهُ سَيَزُورُنَا غَدًا. — He told me that he will visit us tomorrow.
أَرْسِلْ إِلَيْهِ رِسَالَةً. — Send him a message.