Arabic grammar is centered around a single topic i.e. "Grammatical Inflection".
Anything, what we studied in the language is studied only because it relates to this issue. It is a feat of staggering genius on the part of medieval grammarians that almost all aspects of the language are covered just by concentrating on the issue of "Grammatical Inflection".
The following is a breakdown of how we approach and study Arabic Grammar.
1. SOME BASICS:
A. WORDS – A look at the different types of words in the language and how they’re divided and categorized.
B. PHRASES – A close look at some of the more common phrasal structures, serving to introduce some key concepts and terminology.
C. SENTENCES – A look at the different types of sentences as preparation for more advanced topics.
2. GRAMMATICAL INFLECTION – The study of what grammatical inflection is, how it works, and the different grammatical states.
3. INFLECTION – A deep look at those words in the language that inflect and those that do not.
4. REFLECTION AND DIPTOTES – The study of how grammatical states are represented on different types of words that do inflect.
5. THE GRAMMATICAL STATES: The study of each grammatical state and when it is used:
a. Nominal Sentences – This topic covers about 30% of the grammatical states.
b. Verbal Sentences and Adverbs – This topic covers about 20% of the grammatical states.
c. Other Verbal Associates (circumstantial adverb, exclusion, disambiguation) – This topic covers about 10% of the grammatical states.
d. The Genitive States – This topic covers about 5% of the grammatical states.
e. Grammatical States of Verbs – This topic covers about 30% of the grammatical states.
f. Grammatical Extension – This topic concludes the discussion on grammatical states.
6. SIDE TOPICS AND ADVANCED TOPICS:
a. Definiteness
b. Gender
c. Plurality
d. Numbers
