To explain a grammatical relationship, name the two words, say what role each plays, and point to the evidence in the text. The evidence is usually a case ending or the position of the word.
This lesson is part of SPM subjects and learning resources. It teaches a method, so use the grammar terms that your teacher and textbook give you.
What counts as a relationship?
A relationship is a link between two words that affects how you read the sentence. Examples are a verb and its doer, a verb and its object, a preposition and the noun after it, and a describing word and the noun it describes.
A good explanation has three parts: the words, the role and the proof. “The word is correct” is not an explanation. “The word is the doer because it follows the verb and carries the doer’s ending” is one.
A three-question routine
Ask these questions in order for any pair of words.
- What kind of word is each one? Verb, noun, or particle.
- What role does the second word play for the first? Doer, object, describer, or governed noun.
- What shows it? The case ending, the order of words, or the particle in front.
Write the answers as one short sentence. If you cannot answer the third question, you have not yet explained anything.
Worked example: one sentence, three links
Here is an original sentence: قرأ الطالبُ الكتابَ في المكتبةِ. It means “The student read the book in the library.”
| Words | Relationship | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| قرأ and الطالبُ | Verb and its doer | The doer follows the verb and has the nominative ending |
| قرأ and الكتابَ | Verb and its object | The object has the accusative ending |
| في and المكتبةِ | Preposition and governed noun | The noun after the preposition has the genitive ending |
Each row gives a role and a piece of evidence, and each can become one sentence in a written answer. For example: “الطالبُ is the doer of قرأ, shown by the nominative ending on the final letter.”
The mistake to watch for
Many students explain by meaning only: “الكتابَ is the book that was read”. That is true, but it describes the translation, not the grammar.
A better answer names the role and the proof. Compare:
- Vague: “الكتابَ is what the student read.”
- Precise: “الكتابَ is the object of قرأ, shown by the accusative ending.”
The precise version uses a grammar term and a visible sign in the text, and that is what a grammar question asks for.
Making the routine quick
Practise on short sentences first, and mark the ending of each noun before you write anything. If the passage has no vowel marks, use word order and the particles to decide, then check the vowelled version in your textbook.
The structured answer self-review tool helps you check that each explanation has a role and a piece of evidence. It runs on your own device.
Check yourself
In the sentence كتبَ المعلمُ الدرسَ على السبورةِ, “The teacher wrote the lesson on the board”, explain the relationship between كتبَ and المعلمُ in one sentence.
Answer
المعلمُ is the doer of the verb كتبَ. The evidence is that it comes straight after the verb and carries the nominative ending, the damma on the last letter.
If you wrote only “the teacher is the one who wrote”, you gave the meaning but not the evidence. Add the ending to complete it.
As an extra check, الدرسَ is the object, with the accusative ending, and السبورةِ is governed by على, with the genitive ending.
What to study next
Grammar explanations get easier when you also use context while reading. That is covered in using context and sentence structure to support reading comprehension.
If you want a teacher to listen to your explanations and correct the wording, see online one-to-one Turath Arabic tuition. In the one-hour trial class (from RM50) you can bring a passage from your own course.