النَّعت السَّبَبِي — Indirect Adjective
Arabic adjectives (naʿt) fall into two categories. النَّعت الحَقِيقِي qualifies the manʿūt (described noun) directly. النَّعت السَّبَبِي qualifies a noun connected to the manʿūt via a pronoun — an indirect adjective.
Direct vs. Indirect
| Type | Arabic | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| نَعت حَقِيقِي | جَاءَ طَالِبٌ مُجتَهِدٌ | A diligent student came |
| نَعت سَبَبِي | جَاءَ طَالِبٌ جَمِيلَةٌ تِلَاوَتُهُ | A student came, beautiful in his recitation |
In the second example: جَمِيلَة qualifies تِلَاوَة (recitation), which is connected to طَالِب via هُ.
Agreement Rules
نَعت حَقِيقِي agrees with the manʿūt in four things: ʾiʿrāb, number, gender, definiteness.
نَعت سَبَبِي agrees only in:
| Feature | Agreement with |
|---|---|
| ʾIʿrāb | the manʿūt |
| Definiteness | the manʿūt |
| Number | Always singular |
| Gender | The noun it directly describes (not the manʿūt) |
Identifying نَعت سَبَبِي vs. Naʿt Jumla
When a noun follows an indefinite word and is manṣūb, it is a naʿt sababī. When it is murfūʿ and forms a complete internal sentence, it is a naʿt jumla.
Test: if جَمِيلَة is majrūr (following طَالِب) but does not form a complete sentence on its own → it must be naʿt sababī, because a complete sentence (naʿt jumla) would have its own internal murfūʿ.
Quranic Example
Sūrat al-Nisāʾ (4:75)
الظَّالِمُ أَهلُهَا — whose people are oppressors — describing a city (قَريَة).
- الظَّالِم is naʿt sababī for the city
- It is masculine singular (agreeing with أَهل, which is the noun it directly describes)
- Even though أَهل is plural, the naʿt sababī stays singular
Session References
- Both These Lights Session 10: Full introduction — direct vs. indirect naʿt; agreement rules; Sūrat al-Nisāʾ example.
- Both These Lights Session 11: Review in context of حَال سَبَبِي — parallel structure of both indirect agreement rules.