Episode 41 · The big house

Welcome back to the Book Quarter. Last time, Sam survived his first real shopping trip at the souk, navigating numbers, prices, and the running tab on Hajj Mahmoud's slate.

He also finally conquered his fearsome letter ق, realizing that a generous heart is much better than being inside a dog. Today, he thinks he's taking a well-earned break.

But in this courtyard, there are no days off. Nour has arrived with a sketchbook, a red crayon, and the merciless standards of a ten-year-old teacher.

She holds up a drawing of a rather grand, imposing mansion. Sam smiles. He knows this one.

البَيْتُ كَبير.

He remembers exactly how to say 'the house is big'. It's a perfectly good, complete sentence. But Nour shakes her head, waving her red crayon.

لا يا سام. البَيْتُ الكَبير.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

Did you catch that tiny, tiny difference? Sam said البَيْتُ كَبير. Nour added ال to the second word.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

In Arabic, if the noun has ال, and you put ال on the describing word too, they lock together into a phrase. It stops being a full sentence.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

Instead of 'The house is big', it becomes a cliffhanger: 'The big house...' waiting for the rest of the thought. Say 'the big house' with me. Match the ال on both words: البَيْتُ الكَبير.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

Let's try it again, a little smoother, linking the words together: البَيْتُ الكَبير.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

البَيْتُ الكَبير.

البَيْتُ الكَبير. — the big house. · al-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

But Nour isn't done. She puts down the drawing and points to the fresh, unused notebook sitting on Sam's table.

الكِتابُ الجَديد.

الكِتابُ الجَديد. — the new book. · al-ki-TAA-bul-ja-DEED

Look at him go! He remembered our word for new, and he put ال on both sides to make them lock together.

الكِتابُ الجَديد. — the new book. · al-ki-TAA-bul-ja-DEED

Say 'the new book' with me. Remember to lock it together: الكِتابُ الجَديد.

الكِتابُ الجَديد. — the new book. · al-ki-TAA-bul-ja-DEED

One more time, naturally: الكِتابُ الجَديد.

الكِتابُ الجَديد. — the new book. · al-ki-TAA-bul-ja-DEED

Before Nour can find something else to test him on, let's lock these in. The big house: البَيْتُ الكَبير. البَيْتُ الكَبير. And the new book: الكِتابُ الجَديد. الكِتابُ الجَديد.

Nour's eyes land on the little storage room off the side of the courtyard. It's barely large enough for a broom.

الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة.

الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. — the small room. · al-GHUR-fa-tuṣ-ṣa-GHEE-ra

He caught two rules at once! Because the room is feminine, the word for small has to match and take the feminine ة at the end.

الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. — the small room. · al-GHUR-fa-tuṣ-ṣa-GHEE-ra

And because ص is one of our sun letters, it swallows the L sound in the middle. We don't say the L, we just slide right into the ص. Say 'the small room' with me: الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة.

الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. — the small room. · al-GHUR-fa-tuṣ-ṣa-GHEE-ra

Try it again, skipping the L sound: الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة.

الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. — the small room. · al-GHUR-fa-tuṣ-ṣa-GHEE-ra

Nour isn't going to let him rest on a victory. She turns around and points across the alley to Ustadh Farid's bookshop.

Specifically, the door. It was painted a very vibrant shade of red just last week.

البابُ الأَحْمَر.

البابُ الأَحْمَر. — the red door. · al-BAA-bul-AH-mar

Perfectly matched again. The door is masculine, so red stays masculine. Both have their ال. Say 'the red door' with me: البابُ الأَحْمَر.

البابُ الأَحْمَر. — the red door. · al-BAA-bul-AH-mar

Try it one more time. The red door: البابُ الأَحْمَر.

البابُ الأَحْمَر. — the red door. · al-BAA-bul-AH-mar

Nour circles back to her original drawing. She taps it impatiently. A phrase is nice, but she wants a whole thought.

هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير.

هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير. — This is the big house. · HAA-dhaa hu-wal-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

And there it is. He gave her exactly what she wanted: 'This is the big house.' By adding 'this is' to the front, the cliffhanger is resolved.

هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير. — This is the big house. · HAA-dhaa hu-wal-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

Say 'This is the big house' with me: هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير.

هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير. — This is the big house. · HAA-dhaa hu-wal-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

One last time, as a full sentence: هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير.

هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير. — This is the big house. · HAA-dhaa hu-wal-BAY-tul-ka-BEER

Sam has survived the toughest teacher in the quarter. Let's review the phrases that got him a passing grade. The big house: البَيْتُ الكَبير. البَيْتُ الكَبير. The new book: الكِتابُ الجَديد. الكِتابُ الجَديد.

The small room, with our feminine ending: الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. الغُرْفةُ الصَّغيرة. The red door: البابُ الأَحْمَر. البابُ الأَحْمَر. And finally, putting it into a sentence: This is the big house: هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير. هٰذا هُوَ البَيْتُ الكَبير.

With the red crayon retired for the day, Sam can finally finish his tea in peace. But as Nour skips away, she leaves behind a tiny, folded note on the table. What's inside?

We'll find out next time. Join us every Tuesday and Friday for a new episode here in the Book Quarter. Until then, ma'a as-salama!