Explain problems & compare options

Explain a health concern, follow advice and compare products when shopping. Learn the sentence patterns and word forms that make these exchanges clearer.

Compare two options when shopping.
هَذَا الْقَمِيصُ أَرْخَصُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.This shirt is cheaper than that one.
Use a comparative form with min (“than”) to explain a price difference between products.
A glimpse of what you’ll learn

What you’ll study.

Illustrative scene of a man explaining a concern to a doctor

Explain a health concern and follow advice

  • Describe familiar symptoms, when a problem began and what happened during a visit to the doctor.
  • Ask and answer questions about feeling unwell, follow advice and use appropriate expressions when visiting someone who is ill.
  • Follow a health-related story and retell a dialogue as an account, keeping the people and events clear.
  • Write practical health advice as a language exercise and continue a story from a supplied opening.
Illustrative scene of a visitor asking a seller about fresh produce

Compare products and explain a preference

  • Discuss where and how you shop, what you buy and why you prefer a particular product or place.
  • Ask about quantities and prices, and compare choices with the comparative and superlative forms studied.
  • Read a recipe, distinguish ingredients from the method, and follow quantities and steps in order.
  • Write an ingredient list and instructions for a familiar dish, using the recipe as a model.
صَرْفٌ

Ṣarf · word forms

  • Form verbal nouns from longer verb patterns, including tafaʿʿala, iftaʿala and istafʿala.
  • Build active participles from basic and derived verbs, including words for people doing an action.
نَحْوٌ

Naḥw · sentence structure

  • Study how inna and related particles, kāna and mā zāla affect a sentence.
  • Compare options with comparative and superlative forms, and contrast topics with ammā…fa.
  • Use sound feminine plural endings and practise instructions with lām al-amr (li-) and a jussive verb.

By the end of ARB 107,
you should be able to…

Speaking

Explain a problem and compare choices

Describe familiar symptoms and recount a visit to the doctor, including the advice received. Discuss shopping habits, ask about quantities and prices, and compare products or places with reasons for your preference.

Listening

Follow advice and purchase details

Follow the main events in a familiar health account and identify the problem or advice. In shopping exchanges, recognize questions about products, quantities, prices and payment and connect them with the appropriate answers.

Reading

Understand a health account and a recipe

Find the complaint, events and advice in a health-related text. Read a recipe and identify the ingredients, amounts and sequence of actions, using the linking expressions to follow how the dish is prepared.

Writing

Write advice, a story continuation and instructions

Write short health advice and continue a story from a given opening. For a familiar dish, separate the ingredients from the method and write ordered instructions that another reader can follow, using the supplied model.

Your starting point and next step.

Before this level

Explain a practical need, ask follow-up questions, and write a short inquiry or description.

Find your starting level

How your progress is reviewed

Your work across the level shows how well you can follow a conversation, pick out details and organize your ideas in writing.

Your sessions and level reviews

Your learning materials

Reading materials, written practice, audio, interactive exercises, and vocabulary flashcards.

Wondering where to start with Arabic?

Talk through your goals, your starting level and how live classes could fit into your week.