Arabic Cases — الإِعْرَاب

A beginner's guide to the three core cases — Nominative, Accusative, and Genitive — taught entirely through the words of the Noble Qur'an. Each example carries its verse reference so you can read it in context.

Understanding the Three Cases

Read before the quiz

Nominative

مَرْفُوع (marfū' · "raised")

The default case. Used for the subject of a nominal sentence (the topic) or verbal sentence (the doer), and for the predicate (the information about the subject).

Singularـُ

Dualـَانِ

Masc. pluralـُونَ

Fem. pluralـَاتُ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 📖 1:2
al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi al-'ālamīn All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds. الْحَمْدُ is the subject (mubtada') → nominative with ـُ.
اللَّهُ نُورُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ 📖 24:35
Allāhu nūru as-samāwāti wal-arḍ Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. اللَّهُ is the subject of a nominal sentence → ـُ.
الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ 📖 55:5
ash-shamsu wal-qamaru bi-ḥusbān The sun and the moon follow a precise calculation. الشَّمْسُ is a subject → nominative ـُ.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى 📖 20:5
ar-Raḥmānu 'alā al-'arshi istawā The Most Merciful rose over the Throne. الرَّحْمَنُ is the doer (fā'il) of the verb اسْتَوَى → nominative ـُ.

Accusative

مَنْصُوب (manṣūb · "set up")

Used for the direct object of a verb (the thing acted upon), and for the noun that follows the particle إِنَّ ("indeed").

Singularـَ

Dualـَيْنِ

Masc. pluralـِينَ

Fem. pluralـَاتِ

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ 📖 108:1
innā a'ṭaynāka al-Kawthar Indeed, We have given you al-Kawthar. الْكَوْثَرَ is the direct object of أَعْطَيْنَا → accusative with ـَ.
إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ 📖 103:2
inna al-insāna lafī khusr Indeed, mankind is in loss. After إِنَّ, الْإِنْسَانَ takes the accusative ـَ.
اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ 📖 2:21
u'budū Allāh Worship Allah. اللَّهَ is the direct object of the imperative verb → accusative ـَ.
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ 📖 1:6
ihdinā aṣ-ṣirāṭa al-mustaqīm Guide us to the straight path. الصِّرَاطَ is the direct object of اهْدِنَا → accusative ـَ. The adjective الْمُسْتَقِيمَ agrees with it.

Genitive

مَجْرُور (majrūr · "pulled down")

Used after a preposition (فِي، مِنْ، إِلَى، عَلَى، بِ، لِ) and for the second term of a possessive construction (iḍāfah: "the book of the student").

Singularـِ

Dualـَيْنِ

Masc. pluralـِينَ

Fem. pluralـَاتِ

⚠️ Watch out: In the dual and sound plurals, accusative and genitive look identical (ـَيْنِ, ـِينَ). The difference is only visible on singular nouns — ḍammah (ـُ) is nominative, fatḥah (ـَ) is accusative, kasrah (ـِ) is genitive.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ 📖 1:1
bismi Allāhi ar-Raḥmāni ar-Raḥīm In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. اللَّهِ follows the preposition بِسْمِ → genitive with ـِ.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ 📖 1:2
al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi al-'ālamīn All praise is for Allah, Lord of all worlds. الْعَالَمِينَ is the second term of iḍāfah (possessive with رَبِّ) → genitive with ـِينَ.
فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ 📖 2:10
fī qulūbihim maraḍ In their hearts is a disease. After فِي → genitive; the possessive pronoun ـهِمْ makes the noun implicitly definite.
عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى 📖 20:5
'alā al-'arshi istawā He rose over the Throne. After عَلَى → genitive with ـِ.

Case Quiz — 30 Questions

10 per case · All Qur'anic

Every question is drawn from the Noble Qur'an. Fill each blank with the Arabic word carrying the correct case ending for that position. You'll see the full verse, its transliteration, and an explanation after each answer.