هَذَا كِتَابِي.
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This is my book.The noun and owner appear in one Arabic word.
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One word can show the object and its owner
Possessive suffixes make personal information, family, home, school and belongings precise and economical.
أَيْنَ حَقِيبَتُكِ؟
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Where is your bag?The suffix identifies one female listener.
مَدْرَسَتُهُمْ كَبِيرَةٌ.
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Their school is large.The ending marks a masculine or mixed plural owner.
زُرْتُ بَيْتَنَا أَمْسِ.
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I visited our house yesterday.The noun is accusative before the suffix.
Cambridge relevance: Possessive endings help you decode relationships in listening and reading, answer personal questions in speaking, and avoid repetitive noun phrases in writing.
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Choose your route
Build the common forms first, then add number and case control.
Core
- Match the main suffixes to their owners.
- Attach suffixes to regular nouns and tāʾ marbūṭa nouns.
- Use the forms in short sentences.
Develop
- Control the complete dual and plural suffix family.
- Track case vowels before the suffix.
- Distinguish an attributive adjective from a predicate.
Stretch
- Explain nūn deletion in dual and sound masculine plurals.
- Use sound feminine plural case forms accurately.
- Proofread connected writing independently.
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Readiness check
Use what you already know about pronouns, definiteness and noun endings.
🔎 Possession Starter
0/61. Which form means “my book”?
The suffix ـِي means “my”.
2. Choose “your bag” when speaking to one female.
The feminine singular listener takes ـكِ.
3. What happens to ة before a suffix?
Tāʾ marbūṭa is written as ت before an attached ending: مَدْرَسَة → مَدْرَسَتِي.
4. Which form means “our house”?
The suffix ـنَا means “our”.
5. Choose “their school” for a masculine or mixed plural owner.
ـهُمْ refers to “their” for a masculine or mixed plural owner.
6. Can a noun with a possessive suffix also take الـ?
A possessive suffix makes the noun definite, so الـ is not added to the same noun.
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The complete possessive-suffix family
The ending identifies the owner—not the gender or number of the object owned.
| Owner | Subject pronoun | Possessive ending | Model with كِتَاب |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | أَنَا | ـِي | كِتَابِي |
| our | نَحْنُ | ـنَا | كِتَابُنَا |
| your — m. singular | أَنْتَ | ـكَ | كِتَابُكَ |
| your — f. singular | أَنْتِ | ـكِ | كِتَابُكِ |
| your — dual | أَنْتُمَا | ـكُمَا | كِتَابُكُمَا |
| your — m./mixed plural | أَنْتُمْ | ـكُمْ | كِتَابُكُمْ |
| your — f. plural | أَنْتُنَّ | ـكُنَّ | كِتَابُكُنَّ |
| his / its — m. | هُوَ | ـهُ | كِتَابُهُ |
| her / its — f. | هِيَ | ـهَا | كِتَابُهَا |
| their — dual | هُمَا | ـهُمَا | كِتَابُهُمَا |
| their — m./mixed plural | هُمْ | ـهُمْ | كِتَابُهُمْ |
| their — f. plural | هُنَّ | ـهُنَّ | كِتَابُهُنَّ |
Do not confuse owner and object. سَيَّارَتُهُ is “his car”: the car is feminine, but the owner is masculine. كِتَابُهَا is “her book”: the book is masculine, but the owner is feminine.
✅ Mini-check: match the owner
0/41. Choose “your book” to one male.
ـكَ marks one masculine listener.
2. Choose “your book” to two people.
The dual owner/listener ending is ـكُمَا.
3. Choose “her book”.
ـهَا means “her/its” for a feminine owner.
4. Choose “their book” for a feminine plural owner.
ـهُنَّ is the feminine plural possessive ending.
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Regular nouns and case before the suffix
The possessive suffix does not erase the noun’s role in the sentence.
| Role | Full form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative subject/topic | كِتَابُهُ جَدِيدٌ. | His book is new. |
| Accusative object | قَرَأْتُ كِتَابَهُ. | I read his book. |
| Genitive after preposition | نَظَرْتُ إِلَى كِتَابِهِ. | I looked at his book. |
When endings are shown, the case vowel comes immediately before the pronoun suffix: ـُهُ، ـَهُ، ـِهِ. In ordinary unvowelled writing the spelling may look identical, so sentence role still matters.
Never add the article to the same noun: write كِتَابُهُ, not الْكِتَابُهُ. The suffix itself makes the noun definite.
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Tāʾ marbūṭa opens before a suffix
A final ة is pronounced and written as ت when another ending follows it.
مَدْرَسَةٌ ← مَدْرَسَتِي
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school → my schoolThe hidden /t/ becomes visible.
حَقِيبَةٌ ← حَقِيبَتُكَ
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bag → your bagThe nominative vowel precedes ـكَ.
زُرْتُ عَائِلَتَهَا.
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I visited her family.The object is accusative: ـتَهَا.
فِي غُرْفَتِنَا
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in our roomThe noun is genitive: ـتِنَا.
Three-step method: remove tanwīn or the pause ending, change ة to ت, then attach the owner ending. Do not write مَدْرَسَةِي.
✅ Mini-check: open the tāʾ
0/41. Choose “my school”.
Open ة to ت and attach ـِي; do not add الـ.
2. Choose “his room” as a nominative noun.
The stem is غُرْفَتـ and the nominative case vowel precedes ـهُ.
3. Choose “I visited her school.”
The direct object is accusative: مَدْرَسَتَهَا.
4. Choose “in their house”.
After فِي, the noun is genitive; the suffix makes it definite without الـ.
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Dual and sound masculine plural: delete the nūn
Before an attached possessive suffix, the final ن of the dual and sound masculine plural disappears.
| Base form | Possessed form | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| كِتَابَانِ | كِتَابَاهُ | nominative dual: ـَانِ → ـَا + هُ |
| كِتَابَيْنِ | كِتَابَيْهِ | accusative/genitive dual: ـَيْنِ → ـَيْ + هِ |
| مُعَلِّمُونَ | مُعَلِّمُوهُمْ | nominative sound masculine plural: ـُونَ → ـُو + هُمْ |
| مُعَلِّمِينَ | مُعَلِّمِيهِمْ | accusative/genitive: ـِينَ → ـِي + هِمْ |
Why? An attached pronoun places the noun in a construct relationship. Dual and sound masculine plural construct forms drop their nūn, just as they do before a following possessor noun in iḍāfa.
✅ Mini-check: remove the nūn
0/41. Choose the nominative form “his two books”.
The dual nūn drops before the suffix: كِتَابَا + هُ.
2. Choose “I read his two books.”
Accusative dual uses ـَيْ and drops nūn before ـهِ.
3. Choose the nominative form “their teachers”.
Sound masculine plural nūn drops: مُعَلِّمُو + هُمْ.
4. Choose “I met their teachers.”
Accusative sound masculine plural construct uses ـِي and drops nūn.
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Sound feminine plurals keep ـات
The long ā and ت remain; case is shown by the vowel before the suffix.
| Case | Model | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | سَيَّارَاتُهُنَّ جَدِيدَةٌ. | Their cars are new. |
| Accusative | رَأَيْتُ سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ. | I saw their cars. |
| Genitive | جَلَسْنَ فِي سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ. | They sat in their cars. |
Sound feminine plurals use kasra in both accusative and genitive. This is why سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ can be either an object or a noun after a preposition; the wider sentence identifies the role.
✅ Mini-check: retain ـات
0/41. Choose “their cars” as the subject of a sentence (feminine plural owners).
The nominative sound feminine plural takes ḍamma before ـهُنَّ.
2. Choose “I saw their cars.”
Sound feminine plurals use kasra in the accusative, so the form is سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ.
3. Choose “in their cars”.
The genitive also uses kasra: سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ.
4. What remains unchanged when the suffix is attached to ـات?
The plural stem ـات remains; the case vowel and pronoun suffix follow it.
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Possession makes the noun definite
An attached suffix affects adjective definiteness and helps distinguish a phrase from a sentence.
| Meaning | Arabic | Grammar decision |
|---|---|---|
| his new book | كِتَابُهُ الْجَدِيدُ | attributive adjective: definite and nominative |
| I read his new book | قَرَأْتُ كِتَابَهُ الْجَدِيدَ | noun and adjective accusative |
| in his new book | فِي كِتَابِهِ الْجَدِيدِ | noun and adjective genitive |
| his book is new | كِتَابُهُ جَدِيدٌ | predicate adjective is indefinite |
Meaning changes with definiteness: كِتَابُهُ الْجَدِيدُ is one noun phrase, “his new book”. كِتَابُهُ جَدِيدٌ is a complete statement, “his book is new”.
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Proofreading clinic
Repair the stem, suffix, case and adjective as separate decisions.
| Draft | Improved version | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| هَذِهِ مَدْرَسَةِي. | هَذِهِ مَدْرَسَتِي. | Open ة to ت. |
| هَذَا الْكِتَابُهُ. | هَذَا كِتَابُهُ. | Do not combine الـ with a possessive suffix. |
| قَرَأْتُ كِتَابُهُ. | قَرَأْتُ كِتَابَهُ. | The direct object is accusative. |
| هَذَانِ كِتَابَانِهِ. | هَذَانِ كِتَابَاهُ. | Drop dual nūn before the suffix. |
| هَؤُلَاءِ مُعَلِّمُونَهُمْ. | هَؤُلَاءِ مُعَلِّمُوهُمْ. | Drop sound masculine plural nūn. |
| زُرْتُ سَيَّارَاتَهُنَّ. | زُرْتُ سَيَّارَاتِهِنَّ. | Sound feminine plural accusative uses kasra. |
| كِتَابُهُ جَدِيدُ. | كِتَابُهُ جَدِيدٌ. | A predicate adjective is indefinite nominative. |
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Game: Build the possession word
Choose the form that preserves the noun stem, number and owner.
🔐 Possession Builder
Attach the right ending and keep the noun form accurate.
Press Start.
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Skills workshop
Use suffixes to track people, belongings and reference across a connected text.
Reading and reference
زَارَتْ لَيْلَى صَدِيقَتَهَا سَلْمَى. بَيْتُهَا قَرِيبٌ مِنْ مَدْرَسَتِهِمَا، وَغُرْفَتُهَا مُرَتَّبَةٌ. وَضَعَتْ لَيْلَى حَقِيبَتَهَا بِجَانِبِ كُتُبِ سَلْمَى.
For each suffix, identify the owner. Explain why مَدْرَسَتِهِمَا refers to two people.
Speaking: whose is it?
Describe six classroom or home objects. Change the owner each time: mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs. Include one dual object and one sound feminine plural.
Belongings and relationships profile
Write 100–120 Arabic words describing a family, group of friends, classroom or fictional household and their belongings.
Success checklist: Use at least eight different possessive endings, three tāʾ marbūṭa nouns, one dual possessed form, one sound plural possessed form and two adjective contrasts.
Paper route: Make an owner key first. Underline each noun stem, circle its suffix and mark whether it is subject, object or genitive.
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Final mastery check
Show that you can attach endings across regular, feminine, dual and plural nouns.
🏁 Possessive Endings Mastery
0/101. Choose “our new house”.
The suffix makes بَيْتُنَا definite, so an attributive adjective also takes الـ.
2. Choose “our house is new”.
A predicate adjective remains indefinite: “our house is new”.
3. Choose “your two bags” to one female, nominative.
The dual nūn drops; nominative dual uses ـَا before ـكِ.
4. Choose “with your two bags” to one female.
After مَعَ the dual is genitive: ـَيْ, with nūn deleted before the suffix.
5. Choose “their female students” as a nominative subject.
Nominative sound feminine plural takes ḍamma before ـهُمْ.
6. Choose “I met their female students.”
The sound feminine plural accusative uses kasra.
7. Which form correctly shows “his school”?
Tāʾ marbūṭa opens to ت; no definite article is added.
8. Choose “I looked at his book.”
After إِلَى the possessed noun is genitive: كِتَابِهِ.
9. Which owner does ـكُنَّ represent?
ـكُنَّ addresses a group of females.
10. Which statement is accurate?
Case belongs to the noun’s role and appears immediately before the attached suffix when endings are shown.
You can now
- Use the complete possessive-suffix family.
- Open tāʾ marbūṭa before a suffix.
- Retain noun case before the ending.
- Delete dual and sound masculine plural nūn correctly.
- Attach suffixes to sound feminine plurals.
- Distinguish “his new book” from “his book is new”.
Spaced revisit: choose five nouns from another topic and write my, her, our and their forms in complete sentences.