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7.6: Reading and Writing

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    278281
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    Learning Objectives

    In this section, you will be able to:

    • Read and understand a narrative text in Arabic about a family gathering.
    • Answer comprehension questions based on the events and characters in the story.

    Reading and Writing 1

    This section helps you practice reading and writing about meals, using real-life food vocabulary, past tense verbs, and demonstrative pronouns. Through dialogues and texts, you will improve your ability to describe meals, actions in the kitchen, and routines. The activities are designed to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary that you learned in this chapter in context while encouraging meaningful expression.

    Arab family gathered around a dinner table celebrating a birthday. The mother is seated at the center smiling, surrounded by the father, children, and grandfather. The table features traditional dishes like kabsa, fish, and side bowls.
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025). Licensed under CC BY-NC

    عَشاءُ عيدُ مِيلادِ سُعاد

    اِحْتَفَلَتْ أُسْرَةُ سُعاد بِعِيدِ مِيلادِها مَساءَ يَوْمِ الجُمُعَةِ. وَصَلَتْ أُسْرَةُ أُخْتِها مَرْيَمَ إِلى بَيْتِهِمْ فِي المَساءِ لِتَناوُلِ عَشاءٍ لَذِيذٍ بِهذِهِ المُناسَبَةِ الخَاصَّةِ. كانَتْ سُعادُ فِي المَطْبَخِ تَغْسِلُ الخُضارَ لِعَمَلِ السَلَطَةِ عندما وصلت مريم. ساعَدَتْ مَرْيَم فِي تَرْتِيبِ الطَّاوِلَةِ. وَضَعَتْ مَرْيَمُ المَلاعِقَ وَالشُّوَكَ وَالسَّكاكِينَ وَالكُؤُوسَ وَالصُّحُونَ، وَرَتَّبَتِ المائِدَةَ.

    والِدَةُ سُعادَ كانَتْ تَطْبُخُ طَبَقَ سُعادَ المُفَضَّلَ، وَهُوَ الأَرُزُّ مَعَ اللَّحْمَةِ، وَاسْمُهُ الكَبْسَةُ. فِي ذَلِكَ الوَقْتِ، كانَ والِدُ سُعادَ فِي الحَدِيقَةِ، يُقَطِّعُ اللَّحْمَ وَالدَّجاجَ وَيَشْوِيهِ. عادِلُ، ابْنُ سُعادَ، كانَ فِي الحَدِيقَةِ أَيْضًا، يُساعِدُ جَدَّهُ فِي شِواءِ اللَّحْمِ وَالدَّجاجِ.

    نادِرُ، زَوْجُ سُعادَ، وَجَدَ بَعْضَ الحُمُّصِ فِي الثَّلّاجَةِ، فَـقَرَّرَ أَنْ يَعمَلَ صَحْنَ حُمُّصٍ وَزَيْتِ الزَّيْتُونِ. أَمّا لينا، ابْنَةُ سُعادَ، فَقَدْ وَضَعَتِ السَّمَكَ فِي الفُرْنِ، وَقالَتْ: "سَوْفَ نَتَناوَلُ أَطْيَبَ سَمَكٍ مَشْوِيٍّ بِالفُرْنِ اليَوْمَ مَعَ الخُبْزِ الطّازَجِ."

    فَضلُ زَوْجُ مَرْيَمَ تَناوَلَ صَحْنَ الحَلْوَى، وَوَضَعَهُ فِي وَسَطِ الطَّاوِلَةِ فِي غُرْفَةِ الطَّعامِ.

    أُسْرَةُ نادِرٍ وَصَلَتْ فِي الصَّباحِ. نادِرٌ هُوَ الأَخُ الأَكْبَرُ لِسُعادَ، وَهُوَ مُتَزَوِّجٌ مِنَ الدُّكْتُورَةِ هالَةَ. نادِرٌ يُحِبُّ البَطاطا المَقْلِيَّةَ مَعَ الكَتْشَبِ كَثِيرًا، وَلِذَلِكَ هُوَ مُتَخَصِّصٌ فِي قَلْيِ البَطاطا! بَدَأَ بِغَسْلِ البَطاطا، ثُمَّ قَطَّعَها وَقَلاها. أَمّا الدُّكْتُورَةُ هالَةُ، فَقَدْ قَرَّرَتْ أَنْ تَسْلُقَ الخُضارَ فِي القِدْرِ، لِأَنَّها تُحِبُّ الخُضارَ المَسْلُوقَةَ كَثِيرًا، وَلا تُحِبُّ البَطاطا المَقْلِيَّةَ.

    كانَتْ سُعادُ سَعِيدَةً جِدًّا بِوُجُودِ أُسْرَتِها مَعَها فِي يَوْمِ مِيلادِها. وَبَعْدَ دَقائقَ، جَلَسَتِ العائِلَةُ كُلُّها حَوْلَ المائِدَةِ، وَتَناوَلَتِ الطَّعامَ بِسَعادَةٍ. كانَ عَشاءً لَذِيذًا، وَلَيْلَةً عائِلِيَّةً لا تُنْسى.

    Grammar Notes from the text

    • Past tense verbs from the story with patterns:
    Past tense verbs from the story with patterns
    Subject Pattern (Form) Subject Past Tense Verb
    celebtated

    (اِفْتَعَلَ) Form VIII

    أسرةُ سعاد اِحْتَفَلَتْ (احْتَفلَ)
    arrived

    (فَعَلَ) Form I

    أسرةُ أختها مريم وَصَلَتْ (وَصَلَ)
    helped

    (فاعَلَ) Form III

    مريم ساعَدَتْ (ساعَدَ)
    put/ placed

    (فَعَلَ) Form I

    مريم

    لينا

    وَضَعَتْ (وَضَعَ)
    arranged

    (فَعَّلَ) Form II

    مريم رَتَّبَتْ (رَتَّبَ)

    was

    were

    (فَعَلَ) Form I

    والِدَةُ سُعاد

    العائلة

    كانَتْ (كانَ)
    found Form I (فَعَلَ) نادر وَجَدَ (وَجَدَ)
    decided Form II (فَعَّلَ)

    نادر

    دكتورة هالة

    قَرَّرَ
    made/ prepared Form I (فَعِلَ) نادر عمِلَ
    said Form I (فَعَلَ) لينا قالَ
    began/ started Form I (فَعِلَ) نادر بَدَأَ
    fried Form II (فَعَّلَ) نادر قَلّاها (قَلّى)
    boiled Form I (فَعِلَ) دكتورة هالة سَلَقَتْ (سَلَقَ)
    sat Form I (فَعِلَ) العائلة جَلَسَتْ (جَلَسَ)
    ate/ cpmsumed Form VI (تفاعَلَ) العائلة تَناولَتْ (تناول)
    • Demonstratives clauses: بهذه المناسبةِ الخاصة.
      • (هذه) demonstrative pronoun, (المناسبة) noun, and (الخاصة) adjective.
    • Prepositions حروف الجر :
      • الباء in بعيد ميلادها
      • في in في المطبخ
      • إلى in إلى بيتهم
      • مع in مع الخبز
      • لـِ in لِتناول
    • الإضافة Idafah phrases: Idafa is a common grammatical structure in Arabic that consists of two consecutive nouns, where the second noun defines or possesses the first. Idafa structures appear in various forms in the story and express relationships such as possession, description, or type.
      • أُسْرَةُ سُعادٍ: Suad’s family.
      • يَوْمِ الجُمُعَةِ: Friday.
      • أُسْرَةُ أُخْتِها: Her sister’s family. The second word includes a possessive pronoun.
      • طَبَقَ سُعاد المُفَضَّلَ: Suad’s favorite dish. This is an idafa followed by an adjective.
      • ابن سعاد، زوج سعاد، ابنة سعاد: Son, husband, or daughter of Suad.
      • صَحْنُ حُمُّصٍ، زَيْتِ الزَّيْتُونِ: A plate of hummus, olive oil.
      • صَحْنُ الحَلْوَى، غُرْفَةُ الطَّعامِ: Dessert plate, dining room.
      • أُسْرَةُ نادِرٍ: Nader’s family.
      • الأَخُ الأَكْبَرُ لِسُعادَ: Suad’s older brother, using a prepositional phrase.

    Activities

    Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Query \(\PageIndex{2}\)

    Query \(\PageIndex{3}\)

    Query \(\PageIndex{4}\)

    Practices

    • بِماذا احتفلت أسرةُ سعاد؟
    • مَن ساعد سعاد في ترتيب الطاولة؟
    • ما هو طبق سعاد المفضل؟
    • مَن طَبَخَ الكبْسَة؟
    • ماذا كانَ يفعلُ والِدُ سعاد في الحديقة؟
    • ماذا وجد فضل في الثلاجة؟
    • مَن وضع السمك في الفرن؟
    • مَن هو نادر؟
    • ماذا يحبُّ نادر؟
    • بِماذا متخصّص نادر؟
    • ماذا قَرَّرَت الدكتورة هالة أن تطبخ؟
    • كيف كان شعور سعاد في نهاية اليوم؟
    • Write a short paragraph describing a family event or meal using chapter vocabulary.
    • Think about the family dinner in the story “ عشاء عيد ميلاد سعاد” (Suad’s birthday dinner). Now, consider how your family or culture celebrates special meals (like birthdays, holidays, or big gatherings). Use the Venn Diagram to compare the two:
      • Left circle: Family meal in your culture
      • Right circle: Family meal in the Arabic culture
      • Middle: Things they have in common.

    7.6: Reading and Writing is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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