Pronunciation Tip

إلى وعلى + الضمائر

When combined with the possessive pronouns, the (ألف مقصورة) ى in the prepositions إلى and على turns into a ـيـْ.

When إلى and على are followed by the first person pronoun suffix ي however, the ى  turns into a ي carrying a shadda followed with a (يَّ) ــَ .  Thus (إلى+ي) produces إليَّ and (على+ي) produces عليَّ.

Examples:

Meaning

I met them in the library.
Speaker Icon تعرّفت عَلـَيْهـِم في المكتبة.

Practice
Refer to AK page 176 where the different combinations of إلى وعلى مع الضمائر are listed and listen to the DVD to practice the correct pronunciation of these prepositions.  Before doing the practice section below, pay attention to the vowel change (from هـُ into هـِ ) after the ـيـْ as in إلـَيْهِ or عَلـَيْهـِم with all the different object pronouns.

Speak to Your Instructor
Practice listening and saying the following sentences in preparation for the chat session where you will be asked to read them aloud to your instructor.

۱- لماذا لا تكتب إليَّ؟ Speaker Icon Meaning
Why don’t you write to me?

۲- يحبّ الأولاد بيت جدّتهم ويجيئون إليه كثيرًا. Speaker Icon Meaning
The children love their grandmother’s house and they visit it a lot.

۳- لخالد شهادة بكالوريوس حصل عليها من جامعة القاهرة. Speaker IconMeaning
Khalid has a B.A. degree (that he obtained) from the University of Cairo.

٤- أنا أحبّ صوت العصافير التي أصحو عليها كلّ يوم. Speaker IconMeaning
I like the sound of birds that wake me up every morning.

٥- إخوتي يحبّون موسيقى البيتلز (Beatles) ويستمعون إليها دائمًا. Speaker Icon Meaning
My brothers like the music of the Beatles and always listen to it.