10.4: Plurals In Arabic
- Page ID
- 151363
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- Learn how to form Plural nouns and adjectives using suffixes.
- Learn how to use Plurals depending on different grammatical cases.
10.4.1. The Plural
The Plural (الجمع) has two types in Arabic: Regular (Sound) Plural (جمع سالم) and Irregular (Broken) Plural (جمع تكسير). Regular Plural is itself divided into two types: Sound Masculine Plural (جمع مذكّر سالم) and Sound Feminine Plural (جمع مؤنّث سالم).
Sound Masculine Plural is formed by adding ين/-ون- to the end of the word in masculine nouns/adjectives depending on the grammatical case of the word.
Sound Feminine Plural is formed by adding ات- to the end of the word in feminine nouns/adjectives.
Broken Plural does not follow rules, but is formed by breaking the word and adding certain letters to it to make it plural.
| Type of Plural | The Plural Letters in Arabic | Pronunciation | When to Use | Example | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound Masculine Plural | ون- | 'oon | Used in nominative-case nouns/adjectives that don't end in ة (masculine nouns/adjectives) |
مبرمجٌ ← مبرمجون المبرمجُ ← المبرمجون |
|
| Sound Masculine Plural | ين- | 'een | Used in accusative and genitive-case nouns/adjectives that don't end in ة (masculine nouns/adjectives) |
مبرمجاً ← مبرمجين المبرمجَ ← المبرمجين مبرمجٍ ← مبرمجين المبرمجِ ← المبرمجين |
|
| Sound Feminine Plural | ات- | aat | Used in all-case nouns/adjectives that end in ة (feminine nouns/adjectives) |
عازفةٌ/عازفةً/عازفةٍ ← عازفات العازفةُ/العازفةَ/العازفةِ ← العازفات |
|
| Broken Plural | Various letters | No specific pronunciation | No specific rule |
أستاذ/أستاذة ← أساتذة عمل ← أعمال قاضي ← قضاة جيش ← جيوش ضابط ← ضبّاط طبيب/طبيبة ← أطبّاء ملعب ← ملاعب |
|
The video below presents the types of Plural and how they are formed:
10.4.3. Activities
Drag the suffixes and put them in their correct places:
Query \(\PageIndex{2}\)
Drag the suffixes and put them in their correct places:
Type in Arabic using this link (http://www.arabic-keyboard.org/) to do the exercise below:
Query \(\PageIndex{4}\)
Query \(\PageIndex{1}\)
Dual and Plural Separate Subject Personal Pronouns
Previously in Chapter 2: Section 2.4: Grammar, you were introduced to the following Separate Subject Personal Pronouns:
أنا - أنتِ - أنتَ - أنتُم - نحنُ - هو - هي - هُم. In addition, in this chapter, you will be introduced to four more Separate Subject Personal Pronouns: أنتُما - هُما indicating dual personal pronouns, and هُنَّ - أنتُنَّ indicating feminine plural personal pronouns.
| Pronoun in Arabic | Pronoun in English | Number of People and Gender | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| أنتُما | You both (two) |
2nd person dual (masculine/feminine) |
|
| أنتُنَّ | You all (f.) | 2nd person plural (only feminine) |
|
| هُما | They both (two) | 3rd person dual (masculine/feminine) |
|
| هُنَّ | They all (f.) | 3rd person plural (only feminine) |
|
Query \(\PageIndex{3.4}\)
Match the sounds with the correct separate subject personal pronouns:
Drag the Separate Subject Personal Pronouns and put them in their correct places: