فِي المَدِينَةGetting Around
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Give and follow simple commands using the MSA imperative for common movement verbs.
- Ask for and give basic directions in a city using prepositions of location and movement.
- Name key places in a city and describe how to get from one to another.
- Attach pronoun suffixes to prepositions to refer to people and places already mentioned.
- Recycle demonstratives, adjective agreement, and location language from Chapter 6 within a new communicative context.
- Recycle imperfect-tense verb forms from Chapter 7 to describe ongoing movement and routine errands.
- Read and interpret simple street signs, maps, and short direction-giving texts.
- Produce a short spoken or written set of directions from one place to another.
Communication Scenario
Unit III opens in the wider community. Tom needs to find the post office to send a letter, but he does not know downtown Amman well. He stops a stranger on the street, خَالِد, and asks for directions. Khalid gives him clear, step-by-step instructions using command forms, prepositions, and the names of familiar landmarks.
- Before you begin, think about how you ask for directions in English: what verbs do you use, and how do you describe where something is?
- This chapter introduces the command form for the first time. You will also learn to describe movement — going toward, away from, past, and around — using prepositions attached directly to pronouns.
Core Vocabulary
The following items are productive for this chapter. Each place noun includes gender and plural; each verb includes form, perfect, imperfect, and transitivity, following the noun and verb metadata standards for Volume I.
| Arabic | Meaning | Gender / Plural |
|---|---|---|
| شَارِع | street | masc. / شَوَارِع |
| مَكْتَب البَرِيد | post office | masc. (construct phrase) |
| مَصْرِف / بَنْك | bank | masc. / مَصَارِف, بُنُوك |
| مَحَطَّة | station | fem. / مَحَطَّات |
| إِشَارَة المُرُور | traffic light | fem. (construct phrase) |
| تَقَاطُع | intersection | masc. / تَقَاطُعَات |
| يَمِين | right (direction) | masc. |
| يَسَار | left (direction) | masc. |
| مُبَاشَرَة / عَلَى طُول | straight ahead | — |
| Arabic | Meaning | Form / Perfect / Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| ذَهَبَ / يَذْهَب | to go | Form I, intransitive with إِلَى |
| مَشَى / يَمْشِي | to walk | Form I, weak (defective), intransitive |
| دَخَلَ / يَدْخُل | to enter | Form I, transitive/with إِلَى |
| خَرَجَ / يَخْرُج | to exit, leave | Form I, intransitive with مِنْ |
| عَبَرَ / يَعْبُر | to cross | Form I, transitive |
| اِنْعَطَفَ / يَنْعَطِف | to turn | Form VII, intransitive |
| Arabic | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| إِلَى | to, toward | governs following noun/pronoun suffix |
| مِنْ | from | governs following noun/pronoun suffix |
| قُرْب | near | recycled from Chapter 6 |
| أَمَام | in front of | governs following noun/pronoun suffix |
| بِجَانِب | beside | governs following noun/pronoun suffix |
| بَعْد | after, past | governs following noun/pronoun suffix |
All items above are new; they are marked I (introduced) in the Chapter 11 matrix column. قُرْب and demonstratives are recycled from Chapter 6 and are already consolidated.
Pronunciation Focus
Command forms often begin with a short helping vowel when the first root consonant would otherwise start a word with two consonants together, such as اُدْخُلْ ("enter!"). In careful pronunciation, this helping vowel is short and light — do not stress it. Stress instead falls on the syllable containing the root's main vowel, so اُدْخُلْ is pronounced with the stress on khul, not on the initial vowel.
Continue applying the emphatic/plain and pharyngeal contrasts from earlier chapters; several of this chapter's new verbs contain the pharyngeal ع (as in عَبَرَ), which should remain distinct from a plain glottal stop.
The Imperative — الأَمْر
The imperative lets you give instructions and directions directly — exactly what Khalid does for Tom in this chapter's scenario.
- اِذْهَبْ إِلَى مَكْتَب البَرِيد.Go to the post office! (to a man)imperative, masc. sg.
- اُدْخُلِي المَحَطَّة.Enter the station! (to a woman)imperative, fem. sg.
- اِمْشِ عَلَى طُول.Walk straight ahead! (to a man)imperative of a weak verb
- اُعْبُرِ الشَّارِع.Cross the street! (to a woman)imperative, fem. sg.
MSA has separate imperative forms for singular, dual, and plural, masculine and feminine. Volume I activates only the singular masculine and singular feminine forms, since directions are most often given to one listener at a time. Plural and dual imperative forms are receptive only at this stage and will become productive in a later volume.
تَدْرِيب — Practice: Give the correct imperative form for the person indicated.
- (أَنْتَ) اِنْعَطَفَ ______ يَمِينًا عِنْدَ التَّقَاطُع. (to a man: turn right at the intersection)
- (أَنْتِ) ذَهَبَ ______ إِلَى المَصْرِف. (to a woman: go to the bank)
- (أَنْتَ) خَرَجَ ______ مِنَ المَحَطَّة. (to a man: leave the station)
Prepositional Pronoun Suffixes — ضَمَائِر مُتَّصِلَة بِحُرُوف الجَرّ
Once a place or person has been named, Arabic attaches the pronoun directly to the preposition rather than repeating the noun — the same principle you practiced with object suffixes in Chapter 9, now extended to prepositions of location and movement.
- هَذَا مَكْتَب البَرِيد. اِذْهَبْ إِلَيْهِ.This is the post office. Go to it.إِلَى + هُ → إِلَيْهِ
- المَحَطَّة بَعِيدَة. لَا تَخْرُج مِنْهَا الآن.The station is far. Don't leave it now.مِنْ + هَا → مِنْهَا
- البَنْك أَمَامَنَا.The bank is in front of us.أَمَام + نَا → أَمَامَنَا
- المَحَلّ بِجَانِبِهَا.The shop is beside it (fem.).بِجَانِب + هَا → بِجَانِبِهَا
You met pronoun suffixes on nouns and prepositions in Chapter 4 and on verbs in Chapter 9. This chapter does not introduce a new suffix system; it expands the same suffixes to new prepositions used specifically for directions and location: إِلَى, مِنْ, أَمَام, and بِجَانِب. Watch for the same spelling shift you already know: إِلَى becomes إِلَيْ before most suffixes.
تَدْرِيب — Practice: Replace the underlined noun with the correct prepositional pronoun suffix.
- اِذْهَبْ إِلَى المَصْرِف. → اِذْهَبْ ______.
- البَنْك أَمَامَ المَحَطَّة. → البَنْك ______.
- خَرَجْتُ مِنَ المَحَلّ. → خَرَجْتُ ______.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Tom stops a stranger, Khalid, on a downtown street to ask for directions to the post office.
السِّيَاق: يُوقِف تُوم شَخْصًا غَرِيبًا، خَالِد، فِي شَارِع وَسَط البَلَد لِيَسْأَلَهُ عَنِ الطَّرِيق إِلَى مَكْتَب البَرِيد.
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- Identify every imperative verb in the dialogue and state whether it is addressed to a man or a woman.
- Identify one example of a prepositional pronoun suffix and name the noun it replaces.
- هَلْ يَعْبُر تُوم الشَّارِع؟ (Does Tom cross the street?)
Guided Practice
Complete each direction-giving sentence with the correct imperative form and, where indicated, the correct prepositional pronoun suffix.
- (أَنْتَ) اِذْهَبْ إِلَى المَحَطَّة، ثُمَّ ______ (اِنْعَطَفَ) يَسَارًا.
- هَذَا البَنْك. لَا (أَنْتِ) ______ (دَخَلَ) الآن — إِنَّهُ مُغْلَق.
- المَصْرِف قَرِيب. اِمْشِ ______ (إِلَى + هُ).
- الشَّارِع أَمَامَ البَيْت. اُعْبُرْ ______ (attach the suffix for "it," masc.) بِحَذَر.
Compare your answers with the Answer Key at the end of the chapter after you finish this station.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following short set of directions aloud twice at a moderate pace. Listen without reading along the first time, then answer the questions below.
اِذْهَبْ إِلَى التَّقَاطُع الأَوَّل. اِنْعَطِفْ يَمِينًا. اِمْشِ حَتَّى المَحَطَّة، وَهِيَ أَمَامَك. المَصْرِف بِجَانِبِهَا.
مُهِمَّة الاسْتِمَاع — Listening task
Draw a simple sketch map showing the intersection, the turn, the station, and the bank, based only on what you hear. Then answer:
- Which direction does the listener turn?
- What landmark is directly beside the bank?
Speaking Practice
تَدْرِيب مُوَجَّه — Controlled practice: Command chains
With a partner, take turns giving three-step direction chains using imperative verbs from this chapter's vocabulary. Your partner should trace the route with a finger on a simple hand-drawn map.
مُهِمَّة تَوَاصُل — Communicative task: Asking a stranger
Role-play the dialogue scenario with a partner: one of you plays a visitor asking for directions to a place in your own city, and the other gives directions using at least two imperative verbs and one prepositional pronoun suffix.
لِلْمُتَعَلِّمِينَ المُسْتَقِلِّينَ — Solo alternative
Record yourself giving directions from your home to a nearby landmark, using at least three imperative verbs and one prepositional pronoun suffix. Listen back and check your command forms against the Grammar Focus section.
Reading Practice
Read the short street sign and note below, then answer the questions that follow.
Text 1 — Street sign
مَمْنُوع الدُّخُول
اِسْتَخْدِمِ المَدْخَل الآخَر
Text 2 — Note left for a visitor
أَهْلًا! أَنَا فِي البَيْت. اِدْخُلْ مِنَ البَاب الخَلْفِيّ؛ البَاب الأَمَامِيّ مُغْلَق. البَيْت بِجَانِب المَصْرِف، أَمَام المَحَطَّة مُبَاشَرَة.
أَسْئِلَة الفَهْم — Comprehension questions:
- According to Text 1, what is forbidden, and what should a visitor do instead?
- According to Text 2, which door should the visitor use?
- Where exactly is the house located, according to Text 2?
Writing Workshop
In this chapter's writing task, you will write a short set of directions from your school or workplace to a nearby landmark.
- Choose a starting point and a destination. Pick two real or invented places connected by a short, simple route.
- List the steps. Jot down each turn, landmark, and action in order.
- Draft the directions. Write four to six sentences using imperative verbs, at least one prepositional pronoun suffix, and at least one landmark noun from this chapter.
- Recycle one earlier system. Include a demonstrative or adjective-agreement phrase from Chapter 6 describing one of the landmarks.
- Revise. Check your draft against the editing checklist below.
قَائِمَة المُرَاجَعَة — Editing checklist:
- I used at least two correctly formed imperative verbs, matched to the listener's gender.
- I used at least one prepositional pronoun suffix correctly.
- I named at least two places from this chapter's vocabulary.
- I included a demonstrative or adjective-agreement phrase recycled from Chapter 6.
- My directions form one connected sequence rather than a disconnected list.
- I wrote all letters and endings with correct right-to-left joining.
Culture and Communication
In many cities across the Arabic-speaking world, directions are commonly given using landmarks — a bank, a mosque, a well-known shop — rather than precise street numbers, which may be inconsistently posted or little used in everyday speech. This is common practice in many cities, not a universal rule, and formal postal or delivery addresses may still rely on numbered systems. The landmark-based style practiced in this chapter reflects one widespread, practical pattern of everyday direction-giving.
The MSA direction and command forms in this chapter are the productive target. In everyday spoken Arabic across different regions, learners will often hear different pronunciations or shortened command forms in casual speech. If your instructor introduces a labeled regional comparison, treat it as receptive and comparative information rather than a substitute for the MSA forms practiced here.
Common Mistakes
Error: Giving a command using the plain imperfect form, such as *أَنْتَ تَذْهَب إِلَى المَحَطَّة when the intent is a direct instruction.
Correction: Use the dedicated imperative form for direct commands: اِذْهَبْ إِلَى المَحَطَّة.
Error: Using the masculine imperative when addressing a woman, such as *اُدْخُل instead of اُدْخُلِي.
Correction: Match the imperative ending to the listener's gender, as with all agreement systems introduced since Chapter 1: اُدْخُلِي المَحَطَّة.
Error: Repeating a place noun a second time after it has already been introduced, such as *مَكْتَب البَرِيد بِجَانِب مَكْتَب البَرِيد.
Correction: Once the place is established, attach the pronoun suffix to the preposition instead: مَكْتَب البَرِيد بِجَانِبِهِ becomes unnecessary here — instead say البَنْك بِجَانِبِهِ, referring back to the post office already named.
Chapter Review
Section A — القَوَاعِد (Grammar)
1. Give the correct masculine and feminine imperative of ذَهَبَ.
2. Attach the correct pronoun suffix: إِلَى + "her" → ______.
3. Correct the error: *أَنْتِ اُدْخُل المَحَطَّة.
Section B — المُفْرَدَات (Vocabulary)
1. Name three places from this chapter's vocabulary and give the gender of each.
2. Give the Arabic for "right," "left," and "straight ahead."
Section C — اسْتِيعَاب المَقْرُوء (Reading)
1. Based on Text 2 in the Reading Practice section, describe the house's location in your own words.
Section D — الكِتَابَة وَالتَّعْبِير الشَّفَهِيّ (Writing and Speaking)
1. Write and then say aloud a four-sentence set of directions to a place near you, using at least two imperative verbs and one prepositional pronoun suffix.
مُرَاجَعَة تَرَاكُمِيَّة — Cumulative review
Complete the short exchange below, combining this chapter's language with Chapter 6 location language.
أ: عَفْوًا، أَيْنَ المَصْرِف؟
ب: ______________________________________ (give directions using an imperative verb and a demonstrative)
أ: هَلْ هُوَ بَعِيد؟
ب: ______________________________________ (answer, using a prepositional pronoun suffix)
Chapter Performance Task
مُهِمَّة الأَدَاء
كَيْفَ أَصِل؟ — How do I get there?
Complete the following, combining every system from this chapter:
- Written: Write a set of directions of five to seven sentences from one real place to another, using at least three imperative verbs, one prepositional pronoun suffix, and two place nouns from this chapter's vocabulary.
- Reading: Read a short, unfamiliar set of directions provided by your instructor and sketch the route on a simple map.
- Spoken: Give your written directions aloud to a partner without reading directly from the page, then answer one follow-up question.
- Reflection: Write one sentence in English identifying whether the imperative or the prepositional pronoun suffixes felt more automatic, and why.
Assessment focus: correct imperative formation and gender agreement, accurate attachment of prepositional pronoun suffixes, correct use of place vocabulary, and the ability to produce a connected, followable route.
Answer Key
Grammar Focus — Imperative practice
- اِنْعَطِفْ يَمِينًا عِنْدَ التَّقَاطُع.
- اِذْهَبِي إِلَى المَصْرِف.
- اُخْرُجْ مِنَ المَحَطَّة.
Grammar Focus — Prepositional suffix practice
- اِذْهَبْ إِلَيْهِ.
- البَنْك أَمَامَهَا.
- خَرَجْتُ مِنْهُ.
Guided Practice
- اِنْعَطِفْ يَسَارًا.
- لَا تَدْخُلِي الآن.
- إِلَيْهِ.
- اُعْبُرْهُ بِحَذَر.
Dialogue — Comprehension
- Imperatives: اِمْشِ (masc.), اِنْعَطِفْ (masc.), لَا تَعْبُرْهُ (masc.) — all addressed to Tom, a man.
- بِجَانِبِهِ refers back to مَصْرِفًا (a bank).
- No — Khalid tells him the post office is on the same side, so he does not need to cross.
Listening Practice
- The listener turns right at the first intersection.
- The bank is directly beside the station.
Reading Practice — Comprehension
- Entry through this door is forbidden; the visitor should use the other entrance.
- The back door, since the front door is closed.
- The house is beside the bank, directly in front of the station.
Chapter Review — Section A
- Masc.: اِذْهَبْ; Fem.: اِذْهَبِي.
- إِلَيْهَا
- *أَنْتِ اُدْخُل المَحَطَّة → أَنْتِ اُدْخُلِي المَحَطَّة
Chapter Review — Section B, sample answer
مَكْتَب البَرِيد (masc.), مَحَطَّة (fem.), مَصْرِف (masc.). يَمِين, يَسَار, مُبَاشَرَة / عَلَى طُول.
Chapter Review — Section D, model answer
اِذْهَبْ إِلَى التَّقَاطُع الأَوَّل. اِنْعَطِفْ يَمِينًا. اِمْشِ حَتَّى المَحَطَّة. البَنْك بِجَانِبِهَا. Other well-formed, accurate answers using real local landmarks are equally acceptable.
Cumulative Review — Model responses for Speaker B
ب: اِذْهَبْ إِلَى هَذَا الشَّارِع، ثُمَّ اِنْعَطِفْ يَسَارًا. المَصْرِف أَمَامَك.
ب: لَا، لَيْسَ بَعِيدًا. هُوَ قَرِيب مِنِّي.
Exact wording will vary. Check that imperative gender agreement and prepositional pronoun suffixes are used correctly and consistently.
Looking Ahead
مَا الَّذِي تَسْتَطِيعُ فِعْلَهُ الآن — What you can do now
You can give and follow simple commands, ask for and give directions in a city, name key places and movement verbs, and attach pronoun suffixes to prepositions of location and movement. You can combine this new system with location, demonstrative, and agreement language from Chapter 6 in a single connected exchange.