الْمُرَكَّبَات
al-murakkabat
The five phrase types (murakkabat)
Nahw · syntaxClause/structurecore term
Also written: Murakkab · Murakkabat · Phrase types · Compounds
In one line
The five phrase types (murakkabat)
Classical definition
المُرَكَّبُ مَا تَأَلَّفَ مِنْ كَلِمَتَيْنِ فَأَكْثَرَ لِفَائِدَةٍ، وَأَنْوَاعُهُ الإِسْنَادِيُّ وَالإِضَافِيُّ وَالبَيَانِيُّ وَالعَطْفِيُّ وَالمَزْجِيُّ.
(ابن هشام)
What it is
Before sentences come phrases — and Arabic builds them from a small set of repeating structures: the descriptive phrase (noun + adjective), the possessive idafa (noun of noun), the demonstrative phrase, and a few more. Learn this handful of building blocks and the longest ayah stops being a wall of words and resolves into familiar units clicking together.
Related terms
شِبْه الْجُمْلَة · shibh al-jumla
صِلَة الْمَوْصُول · silat al-mawsul
جَوَاب الشَّرْط · jawab al-shart
الْمَصْدَر الْمُؤَوَّل · al-masdar al-mu'awwal
▶ Watch the lessons
From the free course The Language of Quran — Easier than English (Book 1) (LoQ1), taught by Ustad Muhammad Arjan Ali.