Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Where to Go from Here 4 Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking Arabic 5 Taking Stock of What''s Familiar 5 Discovering the Arabic Alphabet 7 All about vowels 7 All about consonants 10 Tackling Tough Letters and Words 15 Addressing Arabic Transcription 15 Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics 17 Introducing Nouns, Adjectives, and Articles 17 Getting a grip on nouns 18 Identifying adjectives 18 Discovering definite and indefinite articles (and the sun and moon) 19 Understanding the interaction between nouns and adjectives 21 Creating Simple, Verb-Free Sentences 23 To be or not to be: Sentences without verbs 23 Building sentences with common prepositions 25 Using demonstratives and forming sentences 26 Forming "to be" sentences using personal pronouns 28 Creating negative "to be" sentences 30 "To be" in the past tense 32 Working with Verbs 33 Digging up the past tense 33 Examining the present tense 36 Peeking into the future tense 39 Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 41 Talking Numbers 41 Discovering Ordinal Numbers 43 Telling Time in Arabic 45 Specifying the time of day 46 Specifying minutes 47 Referring to Days and Months 49 Money, Money, Money 52 Opening a bank account 52 Using the ATM 54 Exchanging currency 55 Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 57 Greetings! 57 You say hello 58 I say goodbye 58 How are you doing? 59 I''m doing well! 59 Making Introductions 60 Asking "What''s your name?" 60 Responding with "My name is ." 60 Talking about Countries and Nationalities 61 Asking "Where are you from?" 61 Answering "I am from ." 62 Asking Questions 63 Talking about Yourself and Your Family 65 Talking about Work 67 Shooting the Breeze: Talking about the Weather 69 Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink or a Snack (or a Meal!) 73 All about Meals 73 Breakfast 74 Lunch 76 Dinner 81 Enjoying a Meal at Home 82 Dining Out 83 Perusing the menu 83 Placing your order 85 Finishing your meal and paying the bill 87 Chapter 6: Shop ''til You Drop! 89 Going to the Store 89 Browsing the merchandise 90 Getting around the store 91 Asking for a Particular Item 92 Comparing Merchandise 95 Comparing two or more items 95 Picking out the best item 98 Shopping for Clothes 100 Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority 103 Visiting Museums 103 Going to the Movies 106 Touring Religious Sites 109 A few rules to keep in mind 109 The Hajj 110 Sporting an Athletic Side 111 Going to the Beach 115 Playing Musical Instruments 115 Popular Hobbies 116 Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work 119 Landing a Job 119 Managing the Office Environment 122 Interacting with your colleagues 124 Giving orders 129 Supplying your office 131 Picking Up the Phone 132 Dialing up the basics 132 Beginning a phone conversation 132 Asking to speak to someone 133 Making business appointments 133 Dealing with voice mail 135 Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation 137 Traveling by Plane 137 Making reservations 137 Getting some legwork out of the verb "to travel" 140 Registering at the airport 141 Boarding the plane 143 A brief departure on the verb "to arrive" 144 Going through immigration and customs 145 Getting Around on Land 147 Hailing a taxi 148 Taking a bus 149 Boarding a train 150 Asking for Directions 151 Asking "where" questions 151 Answering "where" questions 151 Asking with courtesy 153 Could you repeat that? 153 Using command forms 155 Chapter 10: Laying Down Your Weary Head: Hotel or Home 159 Choosing the Right Accommodation 160 Making a Reservation 162 Figuring out the price 163 Indicating the length of your stay 164 Checking In to the Hotel 165 Checking Out of the Hotel 167 Life at Home 168 Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies 171 Shouting Out for Help 171 A little help with the verb "to help" 172 Lending a hand 175 Getting Medical Help 176 Locating the appropriate doctor 176 Talking about your body 177 Explaining your symptoms 178 Getting treatment 179 Acquiring Legal Help 180 Chapter 12: Ten Favorite Arabic Expressions 183 marHaba bikum! 183 mumtaaz! 183 al-Hamdu li-llah 184 inshaa'' allah 184 mabruk! 185 bi ''idni allah 185 bi SaHHa 185 taHiyyaat 186 muballagh 186 tabaaraka allah 187 Chapter 13: Ten Great Arabic Proverbs 189 al-''amthaal noor al-kalaam 189 ''a''mal khayr wa ''ilqahu fii al-baHr 189 ''uTlubuu al-''ilm min al-mahd ''ilaa al-laHd 190 yad waaHida maa tusaffiq 190 al-Harbaa'' laa Yughaadir shajaratuh hattaa yakun mu''akkid ''an shajara ''ukhraa 190 khaTa'' ma''roof ''aHsan min Haqiiqa ghayr ma''roofa 191 as-sirr mithel al-Hamaama: ''indamaa yughaadir yadii yaTiir 191 al-''aql li an-niDHaar wa al-kalb li as-simaa'' 192 kul yawm min Hayaatuk SafHa min taariikhuk 192 li faatik bi liila faatik bi Hiila 192 Index 193.