Accusative Case

Arabic relies on case endings to tell you who is doing what to whom. The Accusative case usually shouts "I am the target!" or "I am the detail!" It changes the vowel on the end of the word. Most of the time, this means you'll see a *Fatha* (a) or *Tanween Fath* (an) floating above the last letter. It’s like a flag waving to say, "Hey, the verb happened to me!" But be careful—Arabic likes to keep you on your toes. The sign changes depending on whether the word is singular, dual, plural, or one of those stubborn "Sound Feminine Plurals."

1. 1Getting the ending right is 90% of the battle. Here is your cheat sheet:
2. 2Singular Nouns & Broken Plurals: These are the easy ones. Just add a *Fatha* (-a) or *Tanween Fath* (-an). Example: Kitab becomes Kitaban.
3. 3Dual Nouns (Two things): Forget vowels; we change letters. The -ani suffix becomes -ayni. Example: Kitabani becomes Kitabayni.
4. 4Sound Masculine Plurals: similar to the dual, the -una becomes -ina. Example: Mu'allimuna becomes Mu'allimina.
5. 5Sound Feminine Plurals (The Trap): This is where even native speakers trip up. These ladies refuse to take a *Fatha*. Instead, they take a *Kasra* (-i) to show they are Accusative. Yes, it looks like Genitive, but it's not. It's just being difficult. Example: Sayyaraat becomes Sayyaraatin (NOT Sayyaraatan).
6. 6The Five Nouns: Words like Abu (father) become Aba. Example: Ra'aytu Aba-ka (I saw your dad).

Use the Accusative case in these specific C1 scenarios:

• The Direct Object (Maf'ul Bihi): The thing receiving the action. "I wrote the *report*."
• The Absolute Object (Maf'ul Mutlaq): Used for emphasis. "I ran a *running*."
• Adverbs of Time/Place (Maf'ul Fihi): "I will travel *tomorrow*."
• State of Being (Hal): How the subject was doing the action. "He arrived *smiling*."
• Specification (Tamyiz): Clearing up ambiguity. "I bought a kilo of *apples*."
• After Inna and her sisters: "Indeed, the *weather* is nice."
• Predicate of Kaana and her sisters: "The lesson was *difficult*."

• Do not use it for the Subject (Doer) of the sentence (that's Nominative).
• Do not use it after a preposition like fi, ala, or min (that's Genitive).
• Do not use it for the predicate of a basic Equational Sentence (A is B) unless Kaana or Inna invited themselves to the party.

• The Feminine Plural Trap: I mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. Saying Ra'aytu al-mu'allimaat-a allows grammar elves to steal your socks. It must be al-mu'allimaat-i.
• The Inna/Kaana Mix-up: Students often flip them. Remember: Inna wants the Noun in Accusative; Kaana wants the Predicate in Accusative. They are arch-rivals.
• Forgetting the Alif: When writing *Tanween Fath* on indefinite nouns, you usually need to add a silent Alif at the end (e.g., Kitaaban, not just Kitaab with accent). Unless it ends in a Taa Marbuta (Hadiqatan).

• Nominative (Raf'): Mark of the Doer (-u, -una). Passive and calm.
• Genitive (Jarr): Mark of Ownership or Prepositions (-i, -ina). Deep and connected.
• Accusative (Nasb): Mark of the Detail/Object (-a, -ina, -ayni). Active and descriptive.