For the holiday and for the guest: fii, alaa, li-
Time and occasion are laid out in small words, and each has its own job. For example: “في العيد نجهّز الطاولة قبل العشاء” — At the holiday we set the table before dinner. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Time and occasion are laid out in small words, and each has its own job.
Fii — within a span: "fii as-sana al-jadiida" — at the New Year, "fii al-masaaʾ" — in the evening, "fii as-sabaah" — in the morning. A holiday as a time is also "fii": "fii al-ʿiid" — at the holiday.
Yawm — the day of the week with no preposition: "yawm al-jumʿa" — on Friday, "yawm al-khamiis" — on Thursday. And the hour — with "fii": "fii as-saaʿa as-saabiʿa" — at seven.
Li- — for whom and for what: "hadiyya li-ummii" — a present for mum, "ʿaqd al-qiraaʾan li-l-ʿaruusain" — the marriage registration for the newlyweds. Alaa — the date it was set for: "alaa al-ʿashiiya" — by the evening. And qabla and baʿda — before and after: "qabla al-ʿiid" — before the feast, "baʿd al-ʿashaaʾ" — after dinner.
Table
| preposition | example | reading | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| في | في العيد | fii al-ʿiid | at the holiday |
| في | في الصباح | fii as-sabaah | in the morning |
| في | في السنة الجديدة | fii as-sana al-jadiida | at the New Year |
| (none) | يوم الجمعة | yawm al-jumʿa | on Friday |
| لـ | هدية لأمي | hadiyya li-ummii | a present for mum |
| على | على العشية | alaa al-ʿashiiya | by the evening |
| قبل | قبل العشاء | qabla al-ʿashaaʾ | before dinner |
| بعد | بعد الجنازة | baʿd al-janaaza | after the funeral |
By example
- في العيد نجهّز الطاولة قبل العشاءфи аль-ʿиид наджяххиз ат-таавиля габля аль-ʿашааʾAt the holiday we set the table before dinner
- عقد القران يوم الجمعة وحفل الانتقال يوم الخميسʿакд аль-кираан йаум аль-джумʿа ва-хафль аль-интикааль йаум аль-хамийсThe marriage registration is on Friday, and the housewarming is on Thursday
- حفل التخرج في الصيف وهدايا كثيرة للطلابхафль ат-тахаррудж фи ас-сайф ва-хадаайа кясира ли-т-талябаThe graduation is in the summer, and many presents for the students
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Prepositions of time in Arabic?
Yawm — the day of the week with no preposition: "yawm al-jumʿa" — on Friday, "yawm al-khamiis" — on Thursday. And the hour — with "fii": "fii as-saaʿa as-saabiʿa" — at seven.
How to say on the holiday in Arabic?
Fii — within a span: "fii as-sana al-jadiida" — at the New Year, "fii al-masaaʾ" — in the evening, "fii as-sabaah" — in the morning. A holiday as a time is also "fii": "fii al-ʿiid" — at the holiday.
Li for recipients in Arabic?
Li- — for whom and for what: "hadiyya li-ummii" — a present for mum, "ʿaqd al-qiraaʾan li-l-ʿaruusain" — the marriage registration for the newlyweds. Alaa — the date it was set for: "alaa al-ʿashiiya" — by the evening. And qabla and baʿda — before and after: "qabla al-ʿiid" — before the feast…
Yaum al-jumaa without a preposition in Arabic?
Yawm — the day of the week with no preposition: "yawm al-jumʿa" — on Friday, "yawm al-khamiis" — on Thursday. And the hour — with "fii": "fii as-saaʿa as-saabiʿa" — at seven.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“في العيد نجهّز الطاولة قبل العشاء” (фи аль-ʿиид наджяххиз ат-таавиля габля аль-ʿашааʾ) — At the holiday we set the table before dinner. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.