GCSE-readyGCSE and International GCSE Arabic: common mistakes
The wrong answers students pick most often in our Arabic questions, and why they are wrong. Read these before a test, then open the lesson for anything that surprises you.
Getting started
- Nouns: masculine, feminine, ال and plurals
- Not “كتاب”. كتاب (book) is masculine.
- Not “قلم”. قلم (pen) is masculine.
- Not “بيت”. بيت (house) is masculine.
- Verbs: I, you, he and she, now and in the past
- Not “يشاهد”. يشاهد = he watches.
- Not “تشاهد”. تشاهد = you watch or she watches.
- Not “نشاهد”. نشاهد = we watch.
- Numbers, days of the week and your age
- Not “6”. 6 is ٦.
- Not “8”. 8 is ٨, an upside-down V.
- Not “2”. 2 is ٢.
- Opinions and reasons: longer sentences
- Not “I hate”. I hate is أكره.
- Not “I don't like”. I don't like is لا أحبّ.
- Not “I like”. I like is أحبّ.
Theme 1: Identity and culture
- The Arabic script: letters, vowels and al-
- Not “ب”. ب joins on both sides.
- Not “م”. م joins on both sides.
- Not “س”. س joins on both sides.
- Introducing yourself: pronouns and sentences without "to be"
- Not “أنا طالب”. طالب is the masculine form.
- Not “هي طالبة”. هي means she.
- Not “أنتِ طالبة”. أنتِ means you (to a girl).
- Family: my, your, his and the idafa
- Not “أختها”. أختها = her sister.
- Not “أختك”. أختك = your sister.
- Not “أختنا”. أختنا = our sister.
- Friends: adjectives and agreement
- Not “لطيف”. That is masculine.
- Not “اللطيفة”. With ال it would mean "my kind friend", not a sentence.
- Not “لطيفون”. That is masculine plural.
- When I was younger: كان and "used to"
- Not “كانوا”. كانوا = they were.
- Not “كنتم”. كنتم = you (plural) were.
- Not “كانت”. كانت = she was.
- Going out: invitations and the future
- Not “نعم، بكل سرور”. That accepts the invitation.
- Not “فكرة رائعة”. That means great idea.
- Not “متى نلتقي؟”. That asks when to meet.
- Daily life and customs: the present tense
- Not “أ”. أ is I.
- Not “ي”. ي is he (and they).
- Not “ت”. ت is you or she.
- Food and drink: likes, dislikes and negatives
- Not “لذيذ”. Non-human plurals need the feminine form.
- Not “لذيذون”. ـون is only for groups of male people.
- Not “اللذيذ”. With ال it is a phrase, not a sentence.
- Numbers with nouns: agreement rules
- Not “ثلاث كتب”. A masculine noun needs ثلاثة with ة.
- Not “ثلاثة كتاب”. After 3 to 10 the noun is plural.
- Not “كتب ثلاث”. The number comes before the noun.
- Celebrations and festivals: the past tense
- Not “ذهبوا”. ذهبوا = they went.
- Not “أذهب”. أذهب = I go (present).
- Not “ذهبنا”. ذهبنا = we went.
- Reading and music: plurals
- Not “معلّمون”. ـون is for male teachers.
- Sport: the dual
- Not “لاعبون”. ـون is a plural.
- Not “لاعبات”. ـات is a feminine plural.
- Not “لاعبة”. That is a female player.
- Film and TV: opinions and "which"
- Not “فيلم الذي شاهدته أمس كان رائعًا”. الذي needs a noun with ال.
- Not “الفيلم التي شاهدته أمس كان رائعًا”. فيلم is masculine, so الذي.
- Not “الفيلم شاهدت الذي أمس كان رائعًا”. الذي comes straight after the noun.
Theme 2: Local area, holiday and travel
- Holiday destinations: countries and nationalities
- Not “لبنانية”. لبنانية is feminine.
- Not “أسافر في الأردن”. في means in.
- Not “سافرت إلى الأردن”. سافرت is past: I travelled.
- Holiday experiences: past tense and "didn't"
- Not “زار”. زار = he visited.
- Not “أزور”. أزور = I visit.
- Not “سأزور”. سأزور = I will visit.
- Travel plans: لم، لن and ليس
- Not “I don't go”. That would be لا أذهب.
- Not “I won't go”. That would be لن أذهب.
- Travel and accommodation: polite requests and questions
- Not “عندي غرفة”. That means I have a room.
- Not “حجزتُ غرفة”. That means I booked a room.
- Not “أين الغرفة؟”. That asks where the room is.
- Directions and asking for help: the imperative
- Not “اذهب”. That is for a boy.
- Not “اذهبوا”. That is for a group.
- Not “تذهب”. That means you go / she goes.
- Eating out: this, that and ordering
- Not “This is a delicious dish”. That would be هذا طبق لذيذ, without ال.
- Problems on holiday: the passive
- Not “he stole”. He stole is سَرَقَ.
- Not “it is stolen”. Is stolen would be present: يُسرَق.
- Not “سَرَقَ جواز سفري”. That is active: he stole my passport.
- Weather and seasons: كان and سيكون
- Not “الجو حار”. That is present.
- Not “سيكون الجو حارًا”. That is future.
- My town and region: places and things to do
- Not “يوجد”. يوجد goes with a masculine noun.
- Not “وجدت”. وجدتُ means I found.
- Not “زرتُ المتحف”. That means I visited the museum.
Theme 3: School
- School subjects, types of school and opinions
- Not “sport”. Sport is الرياضة, a different word.
- Not “PE”. PE is التربية البدنية.
- Not “لأنّه”. Non-human plurals take the feminine.
- The school day: time, days and ordinals
- Not “الثامنة والربع”. That is 8:15.
- Not “الثامنة إلا ربعًا”. That is 7:45.
- Not “التاسعة والربع”. That is 9:15.
- School rules and pressures: must and mustn't
- Not “He doesn't eat in class”. He doesn't eat would be لا يأكل.
- Not “نلبس الزي المدرسي”. That just says we wear it.
- Not “ممنوع لبس الزي المدرسي”. That says it is forbidden.
- Celebrating success: إنّ and its sisters
- Not “أعرف أنّ الامتحانُ سهلًا”. The endings are the wrong way round.
- Not “أعرف أنّ الامتحانِ سهلٍ”. Neither word is genitive.
- Not “أعرف أنّ الامتحانَ سهلًا”. The description should stay nominative.
Theme 4: Future aspirations, study and work
- Using languages: verbal nouns
- Not “كاتب”. كاتب = a writer.
- Not “مكتب”. مكتب = an office or desk.
- Not “كتب”. كتب = books, or he wrote.
- Ambitions: study, volunteering and training
- Not “نجحتُ وذهبتُ إلى الجامعة”. That says I passed and went.
- Not “سأنجح إذا ذهبتُ إلى الجامعة”. That means I will pass if I go to university.
- Jobs and workplaces
- Not “طبيب”. That is masculine.
- Not “أطباء”. That is the plural.
- Not “طبيبات”. That is the feminine plural.
- Careers: become, still and كان's sisters
- Not “أريد أن أصبح طيارٌ”. After أصبح the job needs the accusative ـًا.
- Not “أصبحتُ طيارًا”. That means I became a pilot.
- Not “كنتُ طيارًا”. That means I was a pilot.
Theme 5: International and global dimension
- Big events: sport and music bring the world together
- Not “يشاركون اللاعبون”. A verb before its subject does not take the plural ending.
- Not “تشارك اللاعبون”. اللاعبون are male, so the verb is masculine.
- Not “شاركوا اللاعبون”. That is past, and still wrongly plural.
- Being green: advice and commands to a group
- Not “استخدم المواصلات العامة”. That is to a boy.
- Not “استخدمي المواصلات العامة”. That is to a girl.
- Not “تستخدمون المواصلات العامة”. That is a statement: you use.
- Natural resources: if only, and the people who
- Not “الذي”. الذي is singular.
- Not “التي”. التي is feminine singular or plural things.
- Not “اللواتي”. اللواتي is for women only.
Exam skills: the four papers
- Exam skills: Paper 4 Writing and translation
- Not “عزيزي سامي،”. That is informal: Dear Sami.
- Not “مرحبًا يا صديقي!”. That is informal: Hi my friend!
- Not “إلى اللقاء”. That is a goodbye.
Starter: from Year 9 to International GCSE (من الصف التاسع إلى IGCSE)
- من لغة البيت إلى لغة الامتحان: الفصحى والعامّية
- Not “تلاتة طلاب”. هذا نطق عامّي: التاء بدل الثاء.
- Not “المعلّمين”. «المعلّمين» للنصب والجرّ فقط، وهو ما نقوله في العامّية في كلّ الحالات.
- أقسام الكلمة وعلامات الإعراب: مراجعة
- Not “فعلية”. وجود فعل في الجملة لا يجعلها فعلية، فالعبرة بالكلمة الأولى.
Paper 1 Part One, Reading: القراءة
- المحسّنات البديعية: الطباق والمقابلة والجناس والسجع
- Not “طباق”. لا توجد هنا كلمتان متضادّتان.