The counted noun is the hard part
In English the noun after a number is always a plural: three books, eleven books, a hundred books. Arabic changes the number, the case and the form of the noun depending on how large the number is. Three bands cover everything.
| Number | Counted noun | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 3-10 | plural, genitive | ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ |
| 11-99 | singular, accusative | عِشْرُونَ كِتَابًا |
| 100, 1000 and up | singular, genitive | مِئَةُ كِتَابٍ |
3 to 10: reversed gender, plural noun
A reminder of the rule you met earlier. The number takes the opposite gender to the noun it counts, and the noun is a genitive plural.
- ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ — three books (كِتَاب is masculine, so the number has ة)
- ثَلَاثُ سَيَّارَاتٍ — three cars (سَيَّارَة is feminine, so the number has none)
- خَمْسَةُ طُلَّابٍ / خَمْسُ طَالِبَاتٍ — five students (m) / five students (f)
11 to 19: singular accusative
From eleven onwards the counted noun is singular and in the accusative, with tanween: طَالِبًا, كِتَابًا, سَيَّارَةً. Grammarians call this noun التَّمْيِيز, the specifier.
Eleven and twelve agree normally with the noun. From thirteen to nineteen the unit keeps the reversed gender and the word عَشَر agrees.
| Number | Masculine noun | Feminine noun |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | أَحَدَ عَشَرَ طَالِبًا | إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ طَالِبَةً |
| 12 | اِثْنَا عَشَرَ طَالِبًا | اِثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ طَالِبَةً |
| 13 | ثَلَاثَةَ عَشَرَ طَالِبًا | ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ طَالِبَةً |
| 15 | خَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ طَالِبًا | خَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ طَالِبَةً |
Both halves of the teens end in a fatha and do not change with case, except for اِثْنَا عَشَرَ, whose first half behaves like a dual: رَأَيْتُ اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ طَالِبًا.
20 to 99
The tens are sound masculine plurals and do not change for gender: عِشْرُونَ، ثَلَاثُونَ، أَرْبَعُونَ، خَمْسُونَ. After a preposition or as an object they become عِشْرِينَ and so on. The counted noun stays singular accusative.
- فِي الصَّفِّ عِشْرُونَ طَالِبًا. — There are twenty students in the class.
- قَرَأْتُ ثَلَاثِينَ كِتَابًا. — I read thirty books.
The unit comes before the ten, joined by وَ, and it still reverses its gender:
- خَمْسَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ كِتَابًا — twenty-five books
- ثَلَاثٌ وَعِشْرُونَ سَيَّارَةً — twenty-three cars
100 and 1000: back to the genitive
مِئَة (also written مِائَة) and أَلْف form an iḍāfa with a singular genitive noun.
- مِئَةُ كِتَابٍ — a hundred books
- أَلْفُ طَالِبٍ — a thousand students
- مِئَتَا صَفْحَةٍ — two hundred pages
Ordinals
Ordinals are ordinary adjectives: they follow the noun and agree with it in gender, case and definiteness. الْأَوَّل، الثَّانِي، الثَّالِث، الرَّابِع، الْخَامِس, feminine الْأُولَى، الثَّانِيَة، الثَّالِثَة.
- الدَّرْسُ الثَّالِثُ — the third lesson
- الصَّفْحَةُ الْخَامِسَةُ — the fifth page
Watch out as an English speaker
- After 11 to 99 the noun is singular, not plural. ✗ عِشْرُونَ كُتُبٍ / ✓ عِشْرُونَ كِتَابًا.
- That singular noun is accusative and needs the tanween with alif in writing. ✗ عِشْرُونَ كِتَابٌ / ✓ عِشْرُونَ كِتَابًا.
- Units come before tens, the opposite of English. ✗ عِشْرُونَ وَخَمْسَةٌ كِتَابًا / ✓ خَمْسَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ كِتَابًا.
- Gender polarity still applies to 3-10 and to the teens. ✗ ثَلَاثُ كُتُبٍ / ✓ ثَلَاثَةُ كُتُبٍ.
- After 100 the case changes again. ✗ مِئَةُ كُتُبٍ / ✓ مِئَةُ كِتَابٍ.
Example dialogue
كَمْ طَالِبًا فِي الصَّفِّ؟ — How many students are in the class?
فِيهِ ثَلَاثَةٌ وَعِشْرُونَ طَالِبًا وَخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ طَالِبَةً. — There are twenty-three male students and fifteen female students.
وَكَمْ كِتَابًا فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ؟ — And how many books are in the library?
أَكْثَرُ مِنْ أَلْفِ كِتَابٍ. — More than a thousand books.
اِفْتَحُوا الصَّفْحَةَ الْخَامِسَةَ مِنَ الدَّرْسِ الثَّالِثِ. — Open page five of lesson three.