السَّكَنُ
The Residence

The complete material of book lesson 4: Umar rents an apartment, thirty-seven new words, eight new verbs, and — the centre of this lesson — the full conjugation of the present tense, all fourteen persons. The teacher's test is almost entirely about that table.

1. The dialogue
2. Vocabulary
3. Verbs
4. Expressions
5. Grammar I — the present tense, all persons
6. Grammar II — the sentence patterns of the dialogue
7. What the teacher tests
8. Role-play: tell us about your apartment

1 · The dialogue (p. 26)

Umar is looking for an apartment; Ahmad is the landlord. Two men, so every “you” is masculine. This is the longest text so far and the teacher's test (p. 27) prints it word for word — read it aloud until you can do so without stopping, then click the lines to check.

2 · Vocabulary (pp. 27, 29)

The apartment and everything around renting one. Diptote plurals (ḍamma, no tanwīn) this time: أَشْيَاءُ، طَوَابِقُ، مَطَابِخُ، فَوَاتِيرُ، مَوَاقِفُ. The synonym/antonym pages (28, 30) are empty in this lesson.

The apartment (p. 27)

Visiting it (p. 29)

3 · Verbs (pp. 31–32)

Eight verbs. The first four are regular; the last four are the kind whose middle or last letter is a weak و / ي / ا, so the present and command look shortened — learn them exactly as printed. The test (p. 32) gives you the present tense and asks for the other three columns.

The command of “see” is a single letter, رَ — the shortest word in Arabic. شَمِلَ has kasra in the middle like عَمِلَ in lesson 3. Turkish has إِمْكَانٌ as imkân, رُؤْيَةٌ as rüyet, دَفْعٌ as def (defetmek). The participle page (p. 32) again lists only the English meanings.

4 · Expressions التَّعْبِيرُ (p. 33)

نَفْسٌ = self (Turkish nefis). With the possessive endings of lesson 2: بِنَفْسِي by myself, بِنَفْسِكَ by yourself, بِنَفْسِهِ by himself. أَهْلًا وَسَهْلًا you know from lesson 1; بِكُمْ adds “to you (all)” — Ahmad welcomes Umar together with his son and daughter.

5 · Grammar I — the present tense, all fourteen persons تَصْرِيفُ الفِعْلِ المُضَارِعِ (p. 34)

Lessons 2 and 3 gave you five persons. Page 34 gives the complete set, and this is what the teacher tests on three separate pages (28, 29, 31). The model verb is فَعَلَ “to do”; the red pronouns are the ones from lesson 1.

The same skeleton on a real verb: يَدْرُسُ “to study” (test p. 29)

The test asks you to fill this in from memory. Replace فْعَل by دْرُس and keep the prefixes and endings:

يَدْرُسُ itself is not in the book's tables yet (its family — دَرْسٌ، مَدْرَسَةٌ، مُدَرِّسٌ — is); the test introduces it on p. 29 and uses it again on p. 33 (أَنْتِ تَدْرُسِينَ اللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ). Note the ḍamma inside: يَدْرُسُ, not يَدْرَسُ.

Forms of this lesson's verbs that appear in the dialogue

After أَنْ the verb ends in fatḥa again (أَسْتَأْجِرَ), as أَشْتَرِيَ did in lesson 3. أَرَى ends in alif, so nothing changes visibly. سَآتِي is سَ + أَأْتِي: the two hamzas fuse into the long آ (madda) — read sa-ātī.

6 · Grammar II — the sentence patterns of the dialogue

Seven small constructions carry the whole conversation. Each one is a pattern you will meet again and again, in the book and in the Quran.

6.1 “I have” = لَدَى + possessive ending

هَلْ لَدَيْكُمْ شَيْءٌ مُتَاحٌ؟  ·  نَعَمْ، لَدَيْنَا شُقَقٌ

Arabic has no verb “to have”. It says “at us (there are) apartments” — exactly like Turkish bizde daireler var. لَدَى takes the possessive endings of lesson 2, and its final alif turns into ي before them: لَدَيْكَ you have (m.), لَدَيْكُمْ you (all) have, لَدَيْنَا we have. The thing you have comes after it, with tanwīn ḍamma.

6.2 “There is” = هُنَاكَ

هَلْ هُنَاكَ مَوْقِفٌ لِلسَّيَّارَاتِ؟  ·  نَعَمْ، هُنَاكَ مَوْقِفٌ خَاصٌّ لِلسَّيَّارَاتِ

The word for “there” (lesson 3) also means “there is / there are”, at the front of the sentence. لِلسَّيَّارَاتِ = لِـ “for” + السَّيَّارَات; when لِـ meets ال the alif drops and you see لِلـ. After لِـ, kasra — as after فِي، مِنْ، بِـ.

6.3 “It is not” = لَيْسَ / لَيْسَتْ

هَلْ هَذِهِ مُشْكِلَةٌ؟ — لَا، لَيْسَتْ مُشْكِلَةً  ·  لَيْسَ كِتَابِي

Until now a sentence like هَذِهِ مُشْكِلَةٌ had no verb at all. To say it is not so, you put لَيْسَ in front: لَيْسَ for a masculine subject, لَيْسَتْ for a feminine one (مُشْكِلَةٌ ends in ـة). Look at the ending of the word after it: مُشْكِلَةً with fatḥa-tanwīn, not ḍamma. Read it as printed; you saw the same ending on كِتَابًا after “buy”.

6.4 “You must” = عَلَيْكَ + verbal noun

عَلَيْكَ دَفْعُ فَاتُورَةِ الشَّبَكَةِ الدَّوْلِيَّةِ بِنَفْسِكَ

عَلَيْكَ is literally “upon you” — the same word as in السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ. “Upon you is the paying of the bill” = you have to pay the bill. Notice that the action is a maṣdar, دَفْعٌ, not a verb: this is the first time the fourth verb column does real work. Turkish says it the same way with a verbal noun: ödemek sana düşer.

6.5 “I can” = يُمْكِنُنِي + verbal noun

مَتَى يُمْكِنُنِي زِيَارَتُهَا؟ — يُمْكِنُكَ زِيَارَتُهَا غَدًا

“It is possible for me (the) visiting it” = I can visit it. يُمْكِنُ stays in the “he” form; who can do it is shown by the ending: ـنِي me, ـكَ you. Again the action is a maṣdar (زِيَارَةٌ), with the ending ـهَا “it / her” pointing back to the feminine الشَّقَّةُ. The same ـهَا is in إِيجَارُهَا (its rent) and فِيهَا (in them — the apartments).

6.6 “I will” = سَـ + present tense

سَأَكُونُ هُنَاكَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ  ·  سَآتِي مَعَ اِبْنِي وَبِنْتِي

One letter, سَـ, glued to the front of the present tense turns it into the future. أَكُونُ = I am (going to be), سَأَكُونُ = I will be. This is the first time you see كَانَ “to be” actually used — in the present it is only needed for the future.

6.7 “X of Y” — one noun owns the next

You met this shape in رَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ (lesson 1) and شَارِعُ المَلِكِ (lesson 3). The rule that all these share: the first noun has no ال and no tanwīn — just its case vowel; the second noun ends in kasra (or kasra-tanwīn if indefinite). If the second noun carries ال, the whole phrase is definite: غُرْفَةُ الجُلُوسِ the living room; without it, indefinite: غُرْفَةُ جُلُوسٍ a living room. A possessive ending (ـهَا، ـِي، ـكَ) does the same job as the second noun. Turkish builds it the other way round but with the same two-ending logic: yatak odası.

6.8 First, second, third

فِي الطَّابِقِ الأَوَّلِ وَالثَّانِي وَالثَّالِثِ

الأَوَّلُ، الثَّانِي، الثَّالِثُ are the words you already read in the lesson headings (الدَّرْسُ الأَوَّلُ … الرَّابِعُ — this is the fourth). They behave like adjectives: they come after the noun and copy its ال and its kasra. الثَّانِي ends in ي and shows no kasra — that is normal for words ending in ـِي. Adjectives in this dialogue that follow the same rule: الشَّبَكَةُ الدَّوْلِيَّةُ (the international network), مَوْقِفٌ خَاصٌّ (a private parking), الشَّقَّةُ مَفْرُوشَةٌ (the apartment [is] furnished — here the adjective is the predicate, so it has no ال).

7 · What the teacher tests (Student Test pp. 27–36)

7.1 Read and translate (p. 27)

The test prints the book dialogue unchanged. Practise it in section 1; the words that trip most readers are لَدَيْكُمْ، فِيهَا، يُمْكِنُنِي، سَآتِي، لَيْسَتْ.

7.2 Match the pronoun to the form of يَفْعَلُ (p. 28)

Thirteen pronouns on the left, thirteen forms on the right in scrambled order. The answer key:

The test labels the two هُمَا rows مُذَكَّر (masculine) and مُؤَنَّث (feminine) — two more grammar words for the glossary. Trap on the page: تَفْعَلُ appears twice on the right (for أَنْتَ and for هِيَ). Misprint: the test prints يَفْعَلَانِ twice and تَفْعَلَانِ once — correct is the reverse (تَفْعَلَانِ for أَنْتُمَا and هُمَا f., Study Book p. 34).

7.3 Conjugate يَدْرُسُ (p. 29)

Twelve blanks, one per pronoun (only one هُمَا). The full set is in section 5; write it out from memory once a day this week. For the single هُمَا blank, يَدْرُسَانِ is the safe answer (masculine or mixed pair).

7.4 Translation challenge, English → Arabic (p. 30)

Ten sentences. Model answers built from the book's words; three of them need something the book has not yet given, marked below.

• 3: كُلَّ شَهْرٍ “every month” is from the test's own p. 33 (كُلَّ شَهْرٍ، كُلَّ يَوْمٍ), not from the book. Kasra on the second word — the “X of Y” shape again.
• 4: the verb “to love” (تُحِبُّ) is not in the book so far — ask your teacher for it; the shape after it (زِيَارَةَ الشَّقَّةِ, a maṣdar) is the one from 6.5.
• 5: لَدَيْهِمْ = لَدَى + ـهِمْ “they”; the book shows only لَدَيْكُمْ، لَدَيْنَا. Confirm the ending with your teacher.
• 7: تُرِدْنَ is the أَنْتُنَّ form (تَفْعَلْنَ) of يُرِيدُ; the long ي inside shortens before ـْنَ. Using the maṣdar زِيَارَةَ avoids a second verb. Confirm with your teacher.
• 6, 9: the thing seen / included ends in fatḥa: الشَّقَّةَ المَفْرُوشَةَ — and the adjective copies it, as in lesson 3.
• 10: two people → the dual verb يَذْهَبَانِ from the p. 34 table.

7.5 Conjugate three verbs in the present tense (p. 31)

Eight pronouns (no dual, no أَنْتُنَّ / هُنَّ) × three verbs. Watch the prefix vowel of أَسْتَأْجِرُ and the kasra inside يَجْلِسُ:

الضَّمِيرُ = the pronoun (test heading). Rows 3 and 7 are identical — expected.

7.6 Fill in past, command, maṣdar (p. 32)

The test gives the present of all eight verbs and leaves the other three columns blank (plus a “Verb” column for the English meaning). That is the table of section 3 — cover the three columns with your hand and reproduce them.

7.7 Complete the sentences with the right form (p. 33)

Each row names the verb and the column wanted (المَاضِي، المُضَارِع، الأَمْر، المَصْدَر). Answers, with the new test-only words explained underneath:

• Test-only words on this page: الأُسْبُوعَ المَاضِيَ last week · اللُّغَةَ العَرَبِيَّةَ the Arabic language · كُلَّ يَوْمٍ / كُلَّ شَهْرٍ every day / month · عَلَى الكُرْسِيِّ on the chair · فَوْرًا immediately · يُفَكِّرُ فِي he thinks about · ضَرُورِيٌّ necessary.
• اِدْفَعِ الإِيجَارَ: the command ends in sukūn (اِدْفَعْ), but before ال it takes the helping kasra — the same rule as هَلِ الشَّقَّةُ in the dialogue.
• Row 7: after فِي the maṣdar ends in kasra (اسْتِئْجَارِ), and its own “X of Y” partner شَقَّةٍ takes kasra-tanwīn. Row 8: the maṣdar is the subject, so ḍamma (دَفْعُ).
• After عُمَرُ and فِي the initial alif of اِسْتَأْجَرَ / اِسْتِئْجَار is only a carrier (hamzat waṣl): read ʿumaru-staʾjara, fi-stiʾjāri, without a fresh vowel.

7.8 Create a story from the prompt (p. 34)

The prompt: Omar has just arrived in a new city and is looking for an apartment to rent. He visits this furnished apartment and speaks with the landlord to ask about its features. He wants to know how many rooms it has, whether the rent includes electricity and water, and if there is parking available. A model story that uses only words from the book and the test — yours may be shorter:

Forms to confirm with your teacher: لَدَيْهِ (he has — لَدَى + ـهِ), مَعَ أَحْمَدَ (a name without tanwīn takes fatḥa after مَعَ, not kasra), and كَمْ غُرْفَةً (after “how many” the noun is singular with fatḥa-tanwīn). مَدِينَةٌ city is from the lesson 2 test. Everything else is the dialogue rearranged into the third person.

7.9 Role-play (p. 35) and checklist (p. 36)

• Hold a short exchange using only familiar vocabulary → section 1, section 8
• Using apartment-related vocabulary → section 2
• Able to correctly conjugate the present tense الفِعْلُ المُضَارِعُ → section 5, tests 7.2, 7.3, 7.5
• Able to correctly recall the past, present, amr and maṣdar → section 3, tests 7.6, 7.7

8 · Role-play: tell us about your apartment (p. 35)

The test says: “New role-play with your teacher: tell us about your apartment.” You speak first; the teacher will then ask the questions Umar asked. A skeleton — replace the dots with what is true for you:

Questions the teacher is likely to ask, and the shape of the answer:

Turkish speakers: the number of bedrooms will need a number word; the book has only ثَلَاثُ (three, with a plural) so far. For one or two, say غُرْفَةُ نَوْمٍ (a bedroom) or غُرْفَتَا نَوْمٍ (two bedrooms — the dual from lesson 3, whose ـانِ becomes ـَا in this “X of Y” shape; confirm with your teacher).

Primary source

Study Book pp. 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34 — dialogue, two vocabulary pages, verbs, expressions, and the conjugation table (pp. 28, 30 are empty synonym tables; p. 32 gives only the verb meanings). Student Test pp. 27–36 is exactly what the teacher will put in front of you.

Next

Lesson 5 — Self Introduction (Study Book pp. 35–43).

Official test (Student Test pp. 27–36, interactive): lesson 4 test.

Quiz: present tense conjugation — 27 questions on all persons. The four forms of every verb so far are on the verb sheet.