DIFFICULT ENGLISH GRAMMAR TOPICS FOR SPEAKERS OF ARABIC
Arabic-speaking students struggle with English grammar mainly because the two languages differ in key structural ways: English word order, article use, auxiliary verbs, prepositions, and relative clauses operate differently from Arabic patterns, and English tense-aspect distinctions are encoded in forms that do not map neatly onto Arabic verb systems. Here’s an overview of some of the most challenging areas:
ARTICLES (OVERUSE OF 'THE')
Arabic has a definite article (al-) but no true indefinite article, which can lead to a heavy overuse of 'the'.
Examples:
❌ The life is difficult.
✅ Life is difficult.
❌ I am looking for the job. (in general)
✅ I am looking for a job.
'BE' IN THE PRESENT TENSE
Arabic has no present-tense copula, so 'be' is often omitted.
Examples:
❌ She very happy today.
✅ She is very happy today.
❌ My brother tall.
✅ My brother is tall.
VERB TENSE & ASPECT (ESPECIALLY PERFECT TENSES)
Arabic tense systems don't align neatly with English aspect.
Examples:
❌ I finished my homework since two hours.
✅ I finished my homework two hours ago.
❌ I am living here five years.
✅ I have lived here for five years.
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT CONFUSION
Arabic verbs agree with the subject, but word order changes agreement patterns, which can cause transfer issues.
Examples:
❌ The students studies hard.
✅ The students study hard.
❌ She go to school every day.
✅ She goes to school every day.
WORD ORDER (VSO → SVO)
Classical and Modern Standard Arabic often use verb-subject-object order.
Examples:
❌ Went Ahmed to the market.
✅ Ahmed went to the market.
❌ Is playing the boy outside.
✅ The boy is playing outside.
IRREGULAR PLURALS
Arabic has broken plurals, which don't correspond well to English patterns.
Examples:
❌ Many childs
✅ Many children
❌ Two informations
✅ Two pieces of information
PREPOSITIONS
Arabic prepositions often don't match English usage.
Examples:
❌ Married with
✅ Married to
❌ Interested by science
✅ Interested in science
COUNTABLE VS. UNCOUNTABLE
Some nouns are countable in Arabic but not in English.
Examples:
❌ Many equipments
✅ A lot of equipment
❌ Several advices
✅ Some advice
CAPITALIZATION & PUNCTUATION
Arabic script doesn't use capitalization, and punctuation conventions differ.
Examples:
❌ i live in egypt.
✅ I live in Egypt.
❌ He said where are you going
✅ He said, “Where are you going?”
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