Here are some notes I gathered from my experience teaching Modern Standard Arabic with Al-Kitaab Fii Taʻallum Al-ʻArabiyya, part two, 2nd ed.

1. On page 28, regarding the numbers we find:

After the numerals 3-10, Arabic grammar requires that what is counted be a plural. As an example of this rule, Al-Kitaab brings the expression ثلاثة شهور ("three months"). This expression is certainly in use and thus is a descriptively acceptable form. However, from a traditional grammatical perspective, it is less preferable. According to Wright's Grammar, after the numerals 3-10, the plural used should ideally belong to the category known as جمع القلة, if such a plural exists for the word being counted. This still seems to be the preferred form in journalistic Arabic, since I found that ٍثلاثة أَشْهُر is significantly more prevalent than ثلاثة شهور . (When I checked in Google News, the ratio of the number of results between the two forms was 291,000:38,600, roughly 7:1). In my opinion, it would have been better had the editors of Al-Kitaab avoided such a contentious example, even though some consider it to be an acceptable form.

2. On p. 31, the Gaza lecture: In the audio recording the lecturer, Salim 'Uways, accidentally refers to the traveler al-Dimashqi as al-Maqdisi (minute 1:16 in this link; select "11 Lesson 1-Tamriin 23 Istimaa9 Gha.mp3"). He later corrects this by referring to him by his proper name (minute 1:30 ibid.). This is not really a mistake by the editors of the book, but it is worthwhile for teachers and students to be aware of this inconsistency.

Side note: 'Uways cites a description of Gaza by al-Dimashqi in the following way:

هي مدينة غنية بالأشجار

"It is a city rich in trees"

However, al-Dimashqi's original quote is this:

وهي مدينة كثيرة الشجر

"and it is a city with plenty of trees"

The reason for Uways' inaccurate citation is likely that he is relying on an English translation of al-Dimashqi's words.

3. P. 60, tamrin 19. The author of the discussed text (p. 61) is referred to as a كاتبة, but the actual author Najat Qassab Hasan is male.

Despite these minor errors and other differences of opinion that I have with Al-Kitaab, I must admit that it is a very straightforward book and that it is easy to work with in a classroom setting.

Published 2019