Most verbs in Arabic are built around a trilateral root, consisting of three consonants. For example, the word دَخَلَ (dakhala) which means “to enter”. The root of the word is د + خ + ل . The consonants will remain the same, no matter what tense the verb is in. As in Spanish, verbs in Arabic are conjugated (change form, depending on pronoun). In the “present” tense, it works like this, with use of a prefix (ت - “ta” , ي - ya, or ن - na) along with modifying the vowel pattern. The root consonants remain the same. The following example is in the “past” or perfect tense, with a suffix attached to the root.
He entered - دَخَلَ (dakhala)
She entered - دَخَلَتْ (dakhalat)
You (m. sing.) entered - دَخَلَتَ (dakhalata)
You (f. sing.) entered - دَخَلَتِ (dakhalati)
I entered - دَخَلَتُ (dakhalatu)
They (dual m. - 3rd person) - دَخَلا (dakhala)
They (dual f. - 3rd person) - دَخَلَتَا (dakhalata)
You (dual 2nd person) entered - دَخَلْتُمَا (dakhaltuma)
They (m. pl) entered - دَخَلُوا (dakhalua)
They (f. pl) entered - دَخَلْنَ (dakhalna)
You (m. pl) entered - دَخَلْتُمْ (dakhaltum)
You (f. pl) entered - دَخَلْتُنَّ (dakhaltunna)
We entered - دَخَلْنَا (dakhalna)

Arabic does not have an exact equivalent of the “present” and “past” tense, as used in English. Instead, it has the “perfect” and “imperfect” tenses. Perfect tense is used to describe actions that have been completed, such as “he ate” but not “he was eating” which is imperfect (incomplete action in the past or present). The above example is the perfect tense, describing completed actions in the past. The above is also in the “active” voice (”he entered”), rather than “passive” which would be “he had entered”.

When looking up words in the dictionary, verbs are given in the male singular third person (”He”), in the perfect tense. For example, you would find “to enter” listed as دَخَلَ (dakhala).

A demonstrative is a word such as “this” and “that”, used to refer to a specific object, person, or entity.
In Arabic, demonstratives agree with the noun in gender, as well as number. To refer to a single masculine object, you use the word هَذا (hatha) - this. For a female object, use the word هذِهِ (hathahi) - this.
For example:
ٌٌٌٌهذا الخبزُ لذيذٌ (hatha al-khubzu lathithun) - This bread is delicious.
هذه التفاحةُ حلوٌ (hathahi al-tuffahatu hulwun) - This apple is sweet.
Both of the above sentences are nominal sentences, with words in the nominative case with a damma (”u”) or double damma (”un”) ending. The demonstrative makes the words “apple” and “bread” definite.
To refer to an object that is far, you would use say “that” instead of “this. In Arabic, the word ذلِكَ (thalika) is used with masculine objects, and تِلكَ (tilka) is used with feminine objects.

The idafa (الإضافة) or “construct phrase” is a way to express possession in Arabic. For example, “the professor’s office”, “car key”, “University of Damascus”, etc. The idafa is the way to say “x of y”, and there is no alternative way of expressing possessive relation between nouns. In Arabic, “the professor’s office” is worded in such a way to say “office of the professor” (مكتبُ الإستاذةِ - “maktabu al-ustathi”). “Car key” is worded as “key of a car” (مفتاحُ سيارةِِ - “miftahu sayaratin”), and “University of Damascus” is جامعةُ دمشق (”jamia’tu dimashk”).
Idafa (genitive) is also used for partitives, such as “cup of coffee” (فنجانُ قهوةِِ - “finjanu qahawatin”). Idafa can also be used to describe material that something is made of (e.g. wooden chair) - كرسىُ خشبِِ (”kursiyu khashabin”).
Rules of Idafa
1. The first noun of the idafa can be in any grammatical case, however the second noun is always in the genitive case (with a kasra “i” or double kasra “in”) ending.
2. If the idafa phrase is definite (e.g. the student’s book), the ال prefix is added to the second noun. Exceptions include phrases like “my father’s house”, where the ي is attached to والد to make it والدي. The first noun of the idafa will never have the definite prefix, nor will it ever have a possessive suffix.
3. If the first noun of an idafa phrase ends in a ta marbuta (ة), it is pronounced as a ت (ta).
4. Any adjectives describing the noun must follow the idafa phrase. For example, “the professor’s large office” (مكتابُ الإستاذِ كبيرُ).

In Classical Arabic or formal usage of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the noun following (subject of) the preposition is in the genitive case (with a kasra). If the noun is definite, a single kasra is added, such as في الكِتابِ (fi al-kitabi) “in the book”. If the noun is indefinite, a double kasra is added, such as في كِتابِ (fi kitabin) “in a book”.
Frequently used prepositions include:
بي (fi) - in, at, on (time)
عَلى (a’la) - on
مِن (min) - from
مَعَ (ma’a) - with
فوق (fawqa) - above, over
تحت (tahta) - below, beneath
بِجانِب (bijanib) - besides
خلف (khalf) - behind
خلال (khilal) - during

Cases and case endings are used in Classical Arabic (used in the Quran), as well as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) for poetry, media broadcasts, and other formal situations. Case endings affect the pronunciation of words (nouns and adjectives). Case endings are normally omitted in informal conversation and writings, and regional dialects or Arabic.

A double damma, double kasra, or double fatha indicates that a noun is indefinite (e.g. “a book”) versus definite (”the book”). Which case ending used depends grammatical position or function of a word.

Nominative (مرفوع - marfua’) - Indicated with a damma (”u” or “un”) at the end of a word, such as كتابُُ (kitabun) which means “a book”. Nouns that are the subject of a sentence are in the nominative case. Such as كتابُُ على الطاولة (kitabun a’la al tawila) which is “A book is on the table.”

Accusative (منصوب - mansub) - Indicated with a fatha (”a” or “an”), such as أقرُ كتابََ (iqaru kitaban) - “I am reading a book.” The accusative case is used for nouns that are the object of a verb. Adverbs are also marked in the accusative case with a double fatha.

Genitive (مجرور - majrur) - Indicated with a kasra (”i” or “in”), such as القميصُ في درجِ (al-qamisu fi durjin) - “The shirt is in a drawer.” The genitive case is used for nouns that are the object of a preposition.

To express possession, you can use the word عِندَ (a’inda), which means “to have”. This word requires a pronoun suffix, or “attached pronoun”. For example, the attached pronoun نا (-na) is used for “we”. Take عِندَ and add نا and it becomes عِندَنا (a’indana), which means “we have”. It is important to note that عِندَ is not a verb.
Here are some objects:
سَيّارة (sayyara) - a car
بَيت (beyt) - a house, home
مَكاتِب (maktab) - an office
Now, say عِندَنا followed by the object, which can be definite (e.g. the car) or indefinite (e.g. a car).
عِندَنا سَيارة - We have a car
عِندَنا السَيارة - We have the car
The attached pronouns can also be suffixed to the object nouns. For example, تَيتنا (beytna) which means “our house”.
Here is the list of all attached pronouns.

Indefinite nouns take no article prefixed to them. However, the indefinite status of a noun can be denoted with a diacritical mark placed at the end of the word. To say “a car”, you can say سيارةً (siyaaratan). Here the ta’marbuta takes the “t” sound and the diacritical mark adds the “an” sound to the word, making it “siyaaratan”. This diacritical mark is called a tanwin. The use of this sound at the end of words to denote indefinite status is also known as nunation.

The mark is a double fatha, which makes the sound at the end of the word, “an” and not “un” or “in”. In this example (سيارةً), the tanwin sits atop the ta’marbuta at the end of the word.

For words that do not end in a ta’marbuta, such as كتاب, an alif (ا) is attached at the end of the word, and the tanwin is placed atop the alif. For example, كتاباً (kitaban), which means “a book”. Words ending in a hamza (ء), alif (ا), or alif maqsura (ى) do not require an alif attached.

In some grammatical situations, the indefinite mark will instead be a double damma (سيارةٌ) “siyaaratun” or a double kasra (سيارةٍ) “siyaaratin”. For double damma or double kasra endings, an added seath (alif) is not needed.

In English, there are just a few pronouns:

I - first person (singular)

We - first person (plural)

You - second person (singular and plural)

He - third person (singular, male)

She - third person (singular, female)

It - third person (singular, no gender)

They - third person (plural)

Arabic is a bit different than this, with different pronouns depending on gender as well as number.

Gender

Like Spanish, there is no equivalent of “it”. Instead, all objects or nouns are assigned a gender.

For example, الجريدة (al jareeda) - the newspaper, is a feminine noun. It ends in a ta’ marbuta, which is an indication that the noun is feminine. On the other hand, the word الحاسوب (al haasuub) computer, is a masculine noun. In Arabic, you would refer to the computer with the pronoun “he” and the newspaper is “she”.

Gender is also important for the “you” and the “they” pronouns. Arabic has one word for “you”, talking to a female and a different word for referring to a male. Same, for a group of men (or masculine objects) or females (or feminine objects).

Number

There are also different pronouns for “you”, depending on the number of people or objects you are referring to. In Spanish, there are different pronouns for you (singular), you (plural, masculine), and you (plural, feminine). In Arabic, there are different pronounce for you (singular, masculine), you (singular, feminine), you (dual), you (plural, masculine), and you (plural, feminine). The use of dual pronouns is something more unusual for Arabic, compared to other languages. The third person pronouns also vary in the same way, according to gender and number. There is he, she, they (dual), they (masculine, plural), they (feminine, plural).

The Pronouns

The English language has the definite article “the”, which is used to refer to a specific object, person, or other noun. (the car, the books …) The indefinite article “a” or “an” is used in reference to a non-specific object or noun (a bicycle, a tree, …). In English, there is also the option of using no article, such as saying “I study chemistry“, instead of saying “I study the chemistry” or “I study a chemistry”.
Definite
In Arabic, the definite article is ال (al) and is attached in front of a word. For example, الموز (al mawz), the banana.
For words such as chemistry, the definite article should be used. For example, الكيمناء (al kiimiya’a).
Indefinite
For indefinite nouns, the ال article is omitted and you would simply say موز to say “a banana”. There is no indefinite article to use.