Arabic 6 — Adawāt al-istifhām — the eleven interrogatives

Sixth lecture of Semester 2 (Sheikh Riyas, video 50). This class moves into Unit 2 of Book 2 Part 1 and takes its grammar section straight through: أَدَواتُ الاسْتِفْهام (adawāt al-istifhām, "the tools of questioning") — all eleven interrogatives, one at a time, with the constructions each one demands. The unit's ḥiwār had been read in the previous session; this class is the grammar plus the unit's three exercises. [Recording note] The recording's first ~8 minutes carry no captured speech (the transcript begins at 08:20) and there is no second transcript to cross-check this video against, so garbled spots were reconstructed from context and are flagged [unclear]. The exercise items are never read cleanly end to end — they are reconstructed from the Sheikh's item-by-item commentary.

1 · What أَداة means

Look at the word itself first. أَداة (adāh) = a tool / instrument; its plural is أَدَوات (adawāt). So أَدَواتُ الاسْتِفْهام (adawātu-l-istifhām) = "the tools of questioning" — the words with which a question is built. اِسْتِفْهام (istifhām) translates as "questioning / asking."

2 · Two classes of interrogative — حُرُوف and أَسْماء

You know the three classes of word in Arabic: اِسْم (ism, noun), فِعْل (fiʿl, verb) and حَرْف (ḥarf, particle). The interrogatives split across two of those:

Class	Which words	Count
حُرُوفُ الاسْتِفْهام — interrogative particles	هَلْ and the هَمْزة (the أ)	2
أَسْماءُ الاسْتِفْهام — interrogative nouns	أَيّ · كَمْ · أَيْنَ · مَتَى · كَيْفَ · مَنْ · ما · ماذا · لِماذا	9

Take the two groups together and you call the whole set أَدَواتُ الاسْتِفْهام — eleven words. In the textbook they are printed in red so you can see them at a glance; read them straight through.

3 · The rule that covers all eleven: the interrogative comes FIRST

Run your eye down every example in the unit along one line and you will see it: the question word begins the sentence. It never comes in the middle, and never at the end. In Tamil we ask the other way round — "this name what?" — with the question word landing last. Arabic does not do that. To ask "who is this?" you must say مَنْ هذا؟ (man hādhā?), never hādhā man?

Whether it is a ḥarf or an ism, an interrogative always stands at the head of the sentence. That is point one; keep it in mind through everything below.

4 · The eleven, one at a time

#	Particle	Asks about	Example	Answer / meaning
1	هَلْ	yes / no (affirmative sentences only)	هَلْ أَكَلْتَ؟	did you eat?
2	الهَمْزة (أ)	yes / no (affirmative and negative)	أَلَمْ تَأْكُلْ؟	did you not eat?
3	أَيّ	which one of several	أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟	كِتابَ القَواعِدِ (the grammar book)
4	كَمْ	how many / what time / how much	كَمْ طِفْلاً؟	خَمْسَةُ أَطْفالٍ (five children)
5	أَيْنَ	place	أَيْنَ الكِتابُ؟	الكِتابُ فِي المَكْتَبَةِ (in the library)
6	مَتَى	time	مَتَى تُسافِرُ؟	أُسافِرُ غَداً (I travel tomorrow)
7	كَيْفَ	state / manner	كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟	how are you? (lit. how is your condition)
8	مَنْ	a person (rational)	مَنْ هذا؟	هذا أَحْمَدُ (this is Aḥmad)
9	ما	a non-person, before a noun	ما هذا؟	هذا كِتابٌ (this is a book)
10	ماذا	a non-person, before a verb	ماذا حَصَلَ؟	what happened?
11	لِماذا	a reason	لِماذا ذَهَبْتَ؟	why did you go?

1 · هَلْ — the yes/no particle

To ask "is it so, or not?" there are exactly two words: هَلْ and the هَمْزة. Both stand at the start of the sentence and both may come before a verb or before a noun, with the same meaning:

هَلْ أَكَلْتَ؟ — hal akalta? — "Did you eat?" (before a verb) هَلْ أَنْتَ طالِبٌ؟ — hal anta ṭālib? — "Are you a student?" (before a noun) هَلْ هذا كِتابُكَ؟ — hal hādhā kitābuk? — "Is this your book?"

2 · الهَمْزة — the same question, and the only one allowed with a negative

The هَمْزة (the أ prefixed to the sentence) does everything هَلْ does:

أَأَكَلْتَ؟ — a-akalta? — "Did you eat?" أَأَنْتَ طالِبٌ؟ — a-anta ṭālib? — "Are you a student?" أَجاءَ هارُونُ؟ — a-jāʾa Hārūn? — "Did Hārūn come?"

Here is the whole difference between the two. هَلْ comes only with an affirmative sentence. The hamzah comes with affirmative and negative alike. So you cannot say hal lam taʾkul — لَمْ is a negative, and هَلْ is barred from it. With a negative, only the hamzah:

أَلَمْ تَأْكُلْ؟ — a-lam taʾkul? — "Did you not eat?"

You recite that very pattern in the Qur'an:

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ a-lam tara kayfa faʿala rabbuka … — "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt …" (Sūrat al-Fīl 105:1).

3 · أَيّ — "which one?", and it is always a مُضاف

When many things are in front of you and you must single one out, that is أَيّ — English "which." Unlike هَلْ and the hamzah it carries a rule of its own: أَيّ is always a مُضاف (muḍāf), and the noun after it is its مُضافٌ إِلَيْهِ (muḍāf ilayh) — so that noun is always majrūr (kasrah): أَيُّ كِتابٍ, أَيُّ طَعامٍ. The iʿrāb therefore shows on أَيّ itself, which appears in three shapes according to its own role in the sentence:

Role of أَيّ	Ending	Example	Meaning
مَفْعُول بِهِ (object)	fatḥah — أَيَّ	أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟	Which book do you want?
مَفْعُول بِهِ (object)	fatḥah — أَيَّ	أَيَّ طَعامٍ أَكَلْتَ؟	Which food did you eat?
فاعِل (subject)	ḍammah — أَيُّ	أَيُّ رَجُلٍ جاءَ؟	Which man came?
after a حَرْف جَرّ	kasrah — أَيِّ	فِي أَيِّ مَسْجِدٍ تُصَلِّي؟	In which mosque do you pray?

أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟ — ayya kitābin turīd? — answered كِتابَ القَواعِدِ (kitāba-l-qawāʿid, "the grammar book").
In أَيُّ رَجُلٍ جاءَ؟ the verb is جاءَ and أَيُّ رَجُلٍ is the fāʿil, so ayy is marfūʿ.
A student's objection, and the answer: "shouldn't it be rajulun, not rajulin?" — No. It is رَجُلٍ, because it is the مُضافٌ إِلَيْهِ of ayy, and a مُضافٌ إِلَيْهِ always carries kasrah — that never changes. Likewise أَيَّ طَعامٍ and أَيِّ بَيْتٍ.

4 · كَمْ — asking a number, in three shapes

كَمْ (kam) asks "how many?" What follows it is not a muḍāf ilayh construction like ayy's: after kam comes a singular noun in naṣb (fatḥah tanwīn — it is the tamyīz, the specifier), never a plural.

كَمْ طِفْلاً؟ — kam ṭiflan? — "How many children?" — answered خَمْسَةُ أَطْفالٍ (khamsatu aṭfālin, "five children").

In Tamil we ask with a plural ("how many children"); Arabic keeps the noun singular: كَمْ قَلَماً، كَمْ كِتاباً، كَمْ رَجُلاً، كَمْ بَيْتاً، كَمْ مَسْجِداً — and you must never say kam aqlāman.

The one exception — clock time. There is exactly one place where the word after kam takes الـ, and that is asking the time:

كَمِ السّاعَةُ؟ — kami-s-sāʿah? — "What time is it?"

Say كَمْ ساعَةً (kam sāʿatan) on the pattern of kam ṭiflan and you have asked something else — "how many hours." And you cannot ask the time with ما السّاعةُ؟ — ask it that way and people will laugh at you.

The third shape — price, kam joined to the preposition بِـ:

بِكَمِ القَلَمُ؟ — bi-kami-l-qalam? — "How much is the pen?" Answer: القَلَمُ بِعِشْرِينَ رِيالاً. — al-qalamu bi-ʿishrīna riyālan — "The pen is for twenty riyals." The بِـ must appear in the answer too.

So kam works three ways: (1) كَمْ طِفْلاً — how many; (2) كَمِ السّاعَةُ — what time; (3) بِكَمْ — how much.

5 · أَيْنَ — asking about a place

أَيْنَ (ayna) asks where, and the answer must carry the preposition فِي naming the place:

أَيْنَ الكِتابُ؟ — ayna-l-kitāb? — answered الكِتابُ فِي المَكْتَبَةِ. ("The book is in the library.") أَيْنَ الرَّجُلُ؟ — answered الرَّجُلُ فِي البَيْتِ. ("The man is in the house.") أَيْنَ الحِمارُ؟ — answered الحِمارُ فِي المَزْرَعَةِ. ("The donkey is on the farm.") أَيْنَ الكِتابُ؟ — answered الكِتابُ فِي الحَقِيبَةِ. ("The book is in the bag.")

Unlike kam, which had three shapes including one joined to بِـ, أَيْنَ comes only as أَيْنَ — no particle ever attaches to it. Also: أَيْنَ تَسْكُنُ؟ (ayna taskun?) — "Where do you live?"

6 · مَتَى — asking about time

مَتَى (matā) asks when. Like ayna it takes no attached preposition, and it may come before a verb or before a noun:

مَتَى تُسافِرُ؟ — matā tusāfir? — answered أُسافِرُ غَداً. ("I travel tomorrow.") مَتَى تَنامُ؟ — matā tanām? — answered أَنامُ بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ. ("I sleep after a little while.") مَتَى العُطْلَةُ؟ — matā-l-ʿuṭlah? — "When is the holiday?" (a noun after it)

7 · كَيْفَ — asking about state or manner

كَيْفَ (kayfa) = "how." No preposition joins it either, and a noun or a verb may follow:

كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟ — kayfa ḥāluk? — "How are you?" (literally "how is your condition") — a noun after it. كَيْفَ تَنامُ؟ — kayfa tanām? — "How do you sleep?" — a verb after it. كَيْفَ سَتَنامُ؟ — kayfa satanām? — "How will you sleep?"

Past or present, it works for all. So أَيْنَ، مَتَى، كَيْفَ are three of a kind — place, time, manner — and after all three either a noun or a verb may come.

8 · مَنْ — for persons only

مَنْ (man) asks about the rational / human (ʿāqil). English draws no such distinction; Arabic does. مَنْ is for persons only:

مَنْ هذا؟ — man hādhā? — answered هذا أَحْمَدُ. ("This is Aḥmad.") Also مَنْ سافَرَ؟ ("Who travelled?"), مَنْ أَكَلَ؟ ("Who ate?"), مَنْ غابَ؟ ("Who was absent?").

(هذا is an اِسْمُ إِشارة — a demonstrative — and does not change form here.)

9 · ما — for non-persons, before a NOUN

ما (mā) covers everything that is not a person, and it comes only before a noun:

ما هذا؟ — mā hādhā? — answered هذا كِتابٌ. ("This is a book.") ما اسْمُكَ؟ — mā ismuk? — "What is your name?" ما عُنْوانُكَ؟ — mā ʿunwānuk? — "What is your address?"

10 · ماذا — for non-persons, before a VERB

This is the split to fix in memory. Put ما in front of a verb and it stops being a question at all — it becomes a negation: ما فَعَلْتَ = "you did not do," ما حَصَلَ = "it did not happen." So to ask a question before a verb you must add the extra ذا:

ماذا حَصَلَ؟ — mādhā ḥaṣala? — "What happened?" ماذا حَدَثَ؟ — mādhā ḥadatha? — "What occurred?"

ما and ماذا carry the same meaning; the rule is only about what follows — ما before a noun, ماذا before a verb.

11 · لِماذا — asking a reason

لِـ (li-) is a حَرْف جَرّ meaning "for," and it marks a reason. Join it to ماذا and you get لِماذا — "for what? / why?" It may come before a verb or before a noun:

لِماذا أَنْتَ هُنا؟ — limādhā anta hunā? — "Why are you here?" لِماذا ذَهَبْتَ؟ — limādhā dhahabta? — "Why did you go?" لِماذا أَكَلْتَ؟ — limādhā akalta? — "Why did you eat?" لِماذا أَنْتَ طالِبٌ؟ — limādhā anta ṭālib? — "Why are you a student?"

With that, all eleven أَدَواتُ الاسْتِفْهام have been covered, and the construction each one takes.

5 · Exercise 1 — eleven sentences, choose the right interrogative

The exercise prints the أدوات above and then gives eleven sentences, each with the interrogative blanked out. The items the Sheikh worked through:

Sentence	Why that word
لِماذا غِبْتَ؟	the verb is already 2nd person ("you were absent"), so what is missing is the reason
مَنْ سافَرَ مَعَكَ؟	the answer wanted is a person
كَيْفَ الحالُ؟	asking about a state
ماذا تُرِيدُ؟	a verb follows, so ما will not do — it must be ماذا
أَيَّ بَيْتٍ تُرِيدُ؟	one house singled out of several; the muḍāf ilayh takes kasrah
أَتُسافِرُ إِلى مَكَّةَ؟	a plain yes/no question
كَيْفَ تُسافِرُ إِلى مَكَّةَ؟	asking the manner of travel
مَتَى تُسافِرُ؟	asking the time of travel
هَلْ هذا كِتابُكَ؟	yes/no, and the sentence is affirmative, so هَلْ is allowed
كَمْ رِيالاً مَعَكَ؟	the fatḥah tanwīn on رِيالاً appears only after كَمْ — that alone gives it away
أَيْنَ تُصَلِّي الجُمُعَةَ؟	asking the place
أَجاءَ هارُونُ؟	yes/no with the hamzah

Two teaching points that came out of these items:

غابَ — the verb behind غِبْتَ

غابَ (ghāba) = "he was hidden / he was absent." From the same root comes الغَيْب (al-ghayb, the unseen) — الإِيمانُ بِالغَيْبِ is believing in what is hidden from the senses. Used of absence: غابَ عَنِ الدَّرْسِ = "he was absent from the lesson"; غِبْتَ = "you were absent."
For that first item you could of course build مَنْ غابَ؟ ("who was absent?") as a sentence in its own right — but with غِبْتَ in the blank's sentence, only لِماذا fits.

مَعَكَ vs عِنْدَكَ — a fine distinction

كَمْ رِيالاً مَعَكَ؟ asks how much you have on you right now — in your hand, in your pocket.
كَمْ رِيالاً عِنْدَكَ؟ asks what you possess — wallet level versus bank level, so to speak.
Likewise كَمْ بَيْتاً عِنْدَكَ؟ ("how many houses do you own?") and كَمْ قَلَماً مَعَكَ؟ ("how many pens have you got with you?").
On the travel item, both كَيْفَ and مَتَى would fit the sentence.

6 · Exercise 2 — ماذا vs مَا الَّذِي

A simple exercise on the أسماء. Two ways of asking the very same thing:

ماذا بِيَدِكَ؟ — mādhā bi-yadik? — "What is in your hand?" مَا الَّذِي بِيَدِكَ؟ — mā-lladhī bi-yadik? — "What is [it] that is in your hand?"

Both carry the same meaning. Note which interrogative each takes: with الَّذِي it is ما, not ماذا — because a noun follows, namely the relative الذي. That is §4's rule doing its work.

الَّذِي (alladhī) = "that which / the one which" — an اِسْم مَوْصُول (ism mawṣūl, relative noun). It is the same الذي as in the oath of the ḥadīth:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ wa-lladhī nafsī bi-yadih — "By Him in whose hand is my soul."

7 · Exercise 3 — the athar of ʿAbdullāh ibn az-Zubayr

Here you must frame a question and identify the parts. The passage: when the children saw ʿUmar [ibn al-Khaṭṭāb raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu] they all fled — except ʿAbdullāh ibn az-Zubayr. So ʿUmar asked him:

لِماذا لَمْ تَفِرَّ مَعَ أَصْحابِكَ؟ limādhā lam tafirra maʿa aṣḥābik? — "Why did you not flee with your companions?" قالَ عَبْدُ اللهِ: لَمْ أُذْنِبْ فَأَخافَكَ. qāla ʿAbdullāh: lam udhnib fa-akhāfak — ʿAbdullāh said: "I committed no sin, that I should fear you." [unclear — only this much of the reply is recoverable from the recording.]

What the task asks you to find in it:

a فِعْل (verb) with its فاعِل — specifically a verb whose fāʿil is a ضَمِير مُسْتَتِر (ḍamīr mustatir, a concealed pronoun);
the جُمْلة اسْتِفْهامِيّة (jumlah istifhāmiyyah, the interrogative sentence) in the passage — which is لِماذا لَمْ تَفِرَّ مَعَ أَصْحابِكَ؟

Two more question-frames to build:

كَمْ عَدَدُ المُسْلِمِينَ فِي بَلَدِكَ؟ — kam ʿadadu-l-muslimīna fī baladik? — "How many Muslims are there in your country?" — a number is asked, so كَمْ. كَيْفَ تَعُودُ إِلى البَيْتِ؟ — kayfa taʿūdu ilā-l-bayt? — "How do you return home?" — the question is about manner, so neither ماذا nor مَنْ.

The Sheikh's instruction: these exercises are easy — practise them a great deal. He will post the exercise to the class group; do them and check yourself.

Crib sheet. Cover the right-hand columns and recall. From lecture v50 — Unit 2 grammar, أَدَواتُ الاسْتِفْهام. Eleven words: 2 ḥurūf + 9 asmāʾ. Every one of them stands at the head of the sentence.

The eleven — WHAT EACH ASKS, AND WHAT FOLLOWS IT

#	Particle	Asks	Class	What follows / rule	Example
1	هَلْ	yes / no	ḥarf	noun or verb — affirmative sentences only	هَلْ أَكَلْتَ؟
2	الهَمْزة (أ)	yes / no	ḥarf	noun or verb — affirmative and negative	أَلَمْ تَأْكُلْ؟
3	أَيّ	which one	ism	always مُضاف; next noun majrūr	أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟
4	كَمْ	how many	ism	singular noun in naṣb (fatḥah tanwīn)	كَمْ طِفْلاً؟
5	أَيْنَ	place	ism	noun or verb; answer needs فِي	أَيْنَ الكِتابُ؟
6	مَتَى	time	ism	noun or verb; no attached particle	مَتَى تُسافِرُ؟
7	كَيْفَ	state / manner	ism	noun or verb; no attached particle	كَيْفَ حالُكَ؟
8	مَنْ	a person (ʿāqil)	ism	persons only	مَنْ هذا؟
9	ما	a non-person	ism	only before a noun	ما اسْمُكَ؟
10	ماذا	a non-person	ism	only before a verb	ماذا حَصَلَ؟
11	لِماذا	a reason	ism	noun or verb (لِـ = "for")	لِماذا ذَهَبْتَ؟

أَداة = tool · plural أَدَوات · اِسْتِفْهام = questioning.
Split: حُرُوف = هَلْ + الهَمْزة (2); أَسْماء = the other 9.
The interrogative is never in the middle or at the end — مَنْ هذا؟ and never hādhā man.

Traps that decide the answer

Trap	Must recall
negative sentence	only the hamzah — أَلَمْ تَأْكُلْ؟ · never hal lam taʾkul
Qur'anic proof of that	أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ (al-Fīl 105:1)
ما before a verb	it is a negation, not a question — ما فَعَلْتَ = "you did not do"
so a question before a verb	add ذا — ماذا حَصَلَ؟ · ماذا تُرِيدُ؟
ما with الَّذِي	مَا الَّذِي بِيَدِكَ؟ = ماذا بِيَدِكَ؟ — ما, because a noun (الذي) follows
a fatḥah tanwīn on the noun	that ending only comes after كَمْ — كَمْ رِيالاً مَعَكَ؟
never pluralise after كَمْ	كَمْ قَلَماً — never kam aqlāman
person vs thing	مَنْ هذا؟ (person) · ما هذا؟ (thing)

أَيّ — three shapes, one rule

Role	Ending	Example
مَفْعُول بِهِ (object)	أَيَّ (fatḥah)	أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟ · أَيَّ طَعامٍ أَكَلْتَ؟
فاعِل (subject)	أَيُّ (ḍammah)	أَيُّ رَجُلٍ جاءَ؟
after a حَرْف جَرّ	أَيِّ (kasrah)	فِي أَيِّ مَسْجِدٍ تُصَلِّي؟

The word after أَيّ is its مُضافٌ إِلَيْهِ, so it is always majrūr: رَجُلٍ, طَعامٍ, بَيْتٍ.
Answer to أَيَّ كِتابٍ تُرِيدُ؟ — كِتابَ القَواعِدِ.

كَمْ — three uses

Use	Form	Example
how many	كَمْ + singular manṣūb	كَمْ طِفْلاً؟ — answer خَمْسَةُ أَطْفالٍ
what time (the one الـ exception)	كَمِ السّاعَةُ؟	not ما السّاعةُ؟ · كَمْ ساعَةً = "how many hours"
how much (price)	بِكَمْ	بِكَمِ القَلَمُ؟ — answer القَلَمُ بِعِشْرِينَ رِيالاً

Question → answer pairs to have by heart

Question	Answer
أَيْنَ الكِتابُ؟	الكِتابُ فِي المَكْتَبَةِ
أَيْنَ الرَّجُلُ؟	الرَّجُلُ فِي البَيْتِ
أَيْنَ الحِمارُ؟	الحِمارُ فِي المَزْرَعَةِ
مَتَى تُسافِرُ؟	أُسافِرُ غَداً
مَتَى تَنامُ؟	أَنامُ بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ
مَنْ هذا؟	هذا أَحْمَدُ
ما هذا؟	هذا كِتابٌ

Words and phrases from this class

Arabic	Meaning
غابَ / غِبْتَ	he was absent / you were absent (غابَ عَنِ الدَّرْسِ)
الغَيْب	the unseen, what is hidden — الإِيمانُ بِالغَيْبِ
مَعَكَ	with you right now (in hand, in pocket)
عِنْدَكَ	in your possession (bank level) — كَمْ بَيْتاً عِنْدَكَ؟
الَّذِي	that which / the one which — an اِسْم مَوْصُول
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ	"By Him in whose hand is my soul"
العُطْلَة	the holiday — مَتَى العُطْلَةُ؟
المَزْرَعَة · الحَقِيبَة · المَكْتَبَة	the farm · the bag · the library
فَرَّ / لَمْ تَفِرَّ	he fled / you did not flee
ضَمِير مُسْتَتِر	a concealed pronoun (a fāʿil you cannot see)
جُمْلة اسْتِفْهامِيّة	an interrogative sentence

The three exercises — what each wants

Exercise	What to do
1	eleven sentences, pick the fitting interrogative — لِماذا غِبْتَ؟ · مَنْ سافَرَ مَعَكَ؟ · كَمْ رِيالاً مَعَكَ؟ · أَيْنَ تُصَلِّي الجُمُعَةَ؟ · أَجاءَ هارُونُ؟
2	the two ways of asking one thing — ماذا بِيَدِكَ؟ and مَا الَّذِي بِيَدِكَ؟
3	the athar of ʿAbdullāh ibn az-Zubayr — find a verb whose fāʿil is a ḍamīr mustatir, and the interrogative sentence لِماذا لَمْ تَفِرَّ مَعَ أَصْحابِكَ؟

Score 80% on the first try (16 / 19). Wrong answers let you retry to advance, but only the first pick is scored.

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