The independent pronouns
Arabic pronouns distinguish gender not only in "he/she" but also in "you" and "they". There are ten everyday forms:
| Arabic | Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | anā | I |
| أَنْتَ | anta | you (one man) |
| أَنْتِ | anti | you (one woman) |
| هُوَ | huwa | he, it (masculine) |
| هِيَ | hiya | she, it (feminine) |
| نَحْنُ | naḥnu | we |
| أَنْتُمْ | antum | you (men, or a mixed group) |
| أَنْتُنَّ | antunna | you (women only) |
| هُمْ | hum | they (men, or a mixed group) |
| هُنَّ | hunna | they (women only) |
أَنَا and نَحْنُ are the same for both genders.
Pronouns in simple sentences
In the present, Arabic needs no verb "to be". Pronoun + noun is already a full sentence:
- أَنَا طَالِبٌ. (anā ṭālibun) — I am a student. (male speaker)
- أَنَا طَالِبَةٌ. (anā ṭālibatun) — I am a student. (female speaker)
- أَنْتِ مُعَلِّمَةٌ. — You are a teacher. (to a woman)
- هُوَ مُهَنْدِسٌ. — He is an engineer.
- هُمْ مُعَلِّمُونَ. — They are teachers. (men or mixed)
- هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ. — They are teachers. (women)
With verbs the pronoun is usually dropped, because the verb form already shows the person. أَدْرُسُ (adrusu) means "I study" on its own; أَنَا أَدْرُسُ adds emphasis.
Gender rules to remember
- "It" does not exist. Things are masculine or feminine, so they are هُوَ or هِيَ: أَيْنَ الْكِتَابُ؟ هُوَ هُنَا. — Where is the book? It is here.
- Mixed groups are masculine. Nine women and one man are هُمْ and أَنْتُمْ. Only a group of women alone is هُنَّ or أَنْتُنَّ.
- Plurals of things take هِيَ. A group of books or cars is referred to as "she": الْكُتُبُ؟ هِيَ هُنَاكَ. — The books? They are over there. You will meet this rule again with adjectives.
- No separate polite "you". أَنْتَ and أَنْتِ are used with everyone, including officials and older people. Politeness comes from titles and phrases, not from the pronoun.
A preview: the dual
Arabic also has special forms for exactly two people: أَنْتُمَا (antumā, you two) and هُمَا (humā, they two). Recognise them for now; they are taught with the dual.
Watch out as an English speaker
- English "you" has one form; Arabic forces you to choose. ✗ أَنْتَ طَالِبَةٌ. (to a woman) / ✓ أَنْتِ طَالِبَةٌ. Without harakat both are written أنت, so the difference is heard in the final vowel.
- Do not translate "am/is/are". ✗ أَنَا أَكُونُ طَالِبٌ. / ✓ أَنَا طَالِبٌ.
- There is no "it". ✗ السَّيَّارَةُ؟ هُوَ جَدِيدَةٌ. / ✓ السَّيَّارَةُ؟ هِيَ جَدِيدَةٌ. (The car? It is new.)
- "They" for a mixed group is masculine, even if most are women. ✗ مَرْيَمُ وَسَلْمَى وَكَرِيمٌ؟ هُنَّ هُنَا. / ✓ هُمْ هُنَا. (For exactly two people you will later use the dual هُمَا.)
Example dialogue
مَنْ أَنْتَ؟ — Who are you? (to a man)
أَنَا كَرِيمٌ. أَنَا طَالِبٌ. وَمَنْ أَنْتِ؟ — I am Karim. I am a student. And who are you? (to a woman)
أَنَا مَرْيَمُ. أَنَا مُعَلِّمَةٌ. — I am Maryam. I am a teacher.
وَمَنْ هُمْ؟ — And who are they?
هُمْ أَصْدِقَائِي. — They are my friends.