Family Guide — Session 40: Sentences: I Have...

A one-page guide for parents, after-school caregivers, or co-teachers. Plain English. No teaching experience required.

What we learned today

Your child can now make their first possession sentences in Arabic — saying what they have and don't have:

They also met the letter ن (nun) — the little boat-shaped letter with one dot on top. You'll spot it inside 'indi (عِندي) itself.

Why this matters

In Arabic, there's no verb "to have." You don't say "I have a book" — you literally say "at-me a book" ('indi kitab). That's a tiny grammatical earthquake for an English-speaking brain, and your child just walked through it like it was nothing. Once 'indi clicks, your child can suddenly describe their whole world: their siblings, their pets, their snacks, their soccer ball. This is the doorway from words to real sentences.

What to do this evening (3 minutes total)

You don't need to drill or quiz. Just do these three tiny things:

1. At dinner, ask them:

"شو عِندَك؟" (Shu 'indak? — "What do you have?")

Point at their plate. They'll answer: 'indi... (rice, chicken, whatever it is — English is fine for the noun).

2. Go around the table.

Each person says one thing they have today. 'indi + anything. A headache. A new pencil. A funny story. Mix Arabic and English freely.

3. Before bed, ask:

"شو ما عِندَك؟" (Shu ma 'indak? — "What don't you have?")

Let them be silly. Ma 'indi a dragon. Ma 'indi a million dollars. Laughing counts as learning.

What to do this week (5 minutes total)

Pick one of these:

• The "'indi" tour. Walk through the house. Your child points at things and says 'indi ___. Bedroom, kitchen, backpack. Five rooms, five sentences.
• Brother/sister/pet roll call. Every family member says 'indi akh, 'indi ukht (sister), 'indi hayawan — whatever's true. Heritage families: add cousins, 'indi ibn 'amm.
• The "ma 'indi" game. Take turns naming wild things you don't have. Ma 'indi a spaceship. Ma 'indi a pet shark. Winner = funniest answer.
• Backpack inventory. Before school, your child empties their bag and narrates: 'indi kitab, 'indi... (pencil, snack, water bottle). Use English for words they don't know yet.

If you don't know Arabic yourself

You can do this one. 'Indi is one of the most useful words in spoken Arabic, and now you know it too.

• Say it about yourself. 'Indi coffee. 'Indi a meeting. 'Indi a headache. Your child will hear an adult using Arabic in real life — that's gold.
• Don't worry about "ma." If you forget the negative form, just shrug and say "I don't 'indi that!" Mixing is fine. Mixing is how families actually talk.
• Let them be the expert. Ask your child, "How do I say I have a book?" Watching them teach you is one of the best things that can happen this week.

If you're a heritage Arabic speaker

• Notice the dialect choice. We're teaching 'indi (Levantine/MSA shared form). If your family says 'andi or uses an Egyptian/Gulf variant, both are correct — tell your child, "We say it like this at our house, and that's also right."
• Push into longer sentences. Heritage kids often plateau at single words. Try: 'indi akh ismo... ("I have a brother named...") or 'indi kitab jadid ("I have a new book"). Stretch them.
• The writing is the new part. Even fluent-speaking kids may have never written عِندي. Have them write it once on a sticky note and post it on their door.

What's coming next session

Session 41: I Like / I Don't Like (بحِب / ما بحِب) — Your child learns to express preferences, plus the letter هـ (ha).

Materials needed: nothing new. Just bring this folder.

Questions or struggles?

Email: dabagh_safaa@smc.edu Or visit: https://learnwithoutwalls.com

Yalla Arabic · Family Guide · Session 40