Double a sound; join laam and alif
Read shadda and the laam–alif ligature, then distinguish two extra spelling signs.
Hold the consonant
Shadda marks a doubled consonant: hold the closure or friction longer, with no vowel inserted between the two copies. A vowel mark can accompany shadda. In teacher, laam is doubled, and kasra supplies i after it.
مُعَلِّم
muʿallim — teacher (male); new meaning, familiar base letters
Two letters, one combined shape
Laam followed by alif is written as the ligature لا, or ـلا when connected from the right. It remains two letters and does not join a following letter to its left. Fatḥa on laam gives laa. It is not alif followed by laam.
لَا
laa — no
Recognize extra spelling signs
Hamza ء marks a glottal stop and may appear on a carrier such as أ. Taa marbuuṭa ة is an ending, often feminine: usually -a at a pause and -t when linked in constructions such as a possessive phrase. These extensions are introduced here, beyond the 28 basic letters. Vocabulary and number endings follow pause pronunciation.
ة أ
taa marbuuṭa / hamza on alif