Agreement means that linked words match in gender and number. In short Arabic writing, three quick checks catch most errors: the subject, the adjective and the verb.
This lesson is in the SPM subjects section. Your school and the current syllabus decide the exact writing tasks. The sentences below are original practice material.
The three-check routine
After writing a sentence, ask three questions in order.
- Subject. Is the noun masculine or feminine, singular or plural?
- Adjective. Does it match the noun in gender, number and definiteness?
- Verb. Does it match the subject in gender?
If each answer is yes, the sentence agrees. If not, change the later word, not the noun.
Worked example 1: adjective and noun
Wrong: الطالبةُ المجتهدُ كتبتْ الدرسَ.
The noun الطالبة is feminine, but the adjective المجتهد is masculine. Change the adjective to match: الطالبةُ المجتهدةُ كتبتِ الدرسَ (“The hardworking student wrote the lesson”).
The definite article on both words also matches, because the noun and adjective are both definite.
Worked example 2: verb and subject
Wrong: الطالباتُ ذهبَ إلى المكتبةِ.
The subject الطالبات is a feminine plural. The verb ذهب is masculine singular. The corrected sentence is الطالباتُ ذهبنَ إلى المكتبةِ (“The students went to the library”).
If the verb comes first, the rule changes: ذهبتِ الطالباتُ إلى المكتبةِ is also correct, with the verb in the feminine singular. Keep that in mind when you choose word order.
Fixing meaning, not only endings
Sometimes the agreement is right but the meaning is off. A learner writes: أكلَ الولدُ الماءَ (“The boy ate the water”). The noun and verb agree, but “eat” does not suit water.
The repair is to change the verb: شربَ الولدُ الماءَ (“The boy drank the water”). When a sentence reads oddly, check whether the verb matches the object before anything else.
The mistake that repeats
The most common pattern is to fix the adjective in a sentence and then forget the same adjective in the next one. The fix does not transfer until the routine is automatic.
| Sentence | First error | After the routine |
|---|---|---|
| المعلمةُ الجديدُ لطيفةٌ | Masculine adjective on a feminine noun | المعلمةُ الجديدةُ لطيفةٌ |
| الكتبُ القديمةُ على الطاولةِ | None: a non-human plural takes a feminine singular adjective | Stays as written |
The second row is a reminder that not every sentence has an error. Do not change forms that are already correct.
Check yourself
Correct the sentence and give a reason: البنتُ الصغيرُ لعبوا في الحديقةِ. It is meant to say “The little girl played in the garden.”
Answer
Corrected: البنتُ الصغيرةُ لعبتْ في الحديقةِ.
Reasons: البنت is feminine singular, so the adjective must be الصغيرة. The verb لعبوا is a masculine plural form, so it must change to لعبتْ for one girl.
A check that all three words now match in gender and number confirms the sentence.
What to study next
Practise the same routine on the passage in explaining an inference from an original comprehension passage. You can review your written sentences with the structured answer self-review tool.
What your school assesses in writing stays with the school. In online one-to-one Arabic tuition, a teacher can go through your own sentences, starting from a one-hour trial class (from RM50).