Adjectives in English and
Arabic
What does Adjective mean ?
An adjective is a word typically denotes
properties of objects, people, places. Adjectives
in Arabic and English are classified according to
the following criteria
The differences between English adjective and
Arabic adjective
(1) Agreement:
English
Arabic
Adjectives in English have the same
form for singular and plural,
masculine and feminine nouns
In Arabic, however, adjectives agree
with nouns in gender and number
e.g. A good girl
good girls
e.g. Walid thaki
A good boy
good boys
(smart boy)
Bint thakia
(smart girl(
Alwlad athkia (smart boys)
The differences between English adjective and
Arabic adjective
(2) Position:
English
Adjectives in English may be located
either before the noun or after the
verb
e.g.
A happy girl Tom became rich
Arabic
In Arabic, adjectives come after the
noun or the pronoun
e.g.
Fatat jamila (beautiful girl)
Huna jamilat (they are beautiful)
The differences between English adjective and
Arabic adjective
(3) Comparison:
English
Arabic
Adjectives in English can be compared
in the following ways `
In Arabic, comparative adjective have
a base form called “elative measure”
(‫[ )أفعل‬afala]. comparative adjectives
express indefinite meanings
e.g. She is tall
e.g. Kabeer (big)
Akbar (bigger)
(plain)
She is taller than you (comparative)
The differences between English adjective and
Arabic adjective
(4) Degree:
English
Arabic
Both English and Arabic can be modified by degree modification
e.g. Very big
It is nice too
e.g. Kabiir-un id-jan (very big)
Inhu jamil Gyd-an (it is nice too)
Thank you for your attention
Nessrin
&
Sultan