Three ways to make a plural
Arabic has two sound plurals, which add an ending, and the broken plural, which rebuilds the word from the inside. Most nouns for things take a broken plural, so the plural must be learned with the noun.
Sound masculine plural: ـُونَ / ـِينَ
Used almost only for male human beings. The ending changes with the case:
| Singular | Nominative | Accusative and genitive |
|---|---|---|
| مُهَنْدِسٌ engineer | مُهَنْدِسُونَ | مُهَنْدِسِينَ |
| مُعَلِّمٌ teacher | مُعَلِّمُونَ | مُعَلِّمِينَ |
| مُسْلِمٌ Muslim | مُسْلِمُونَ | مُسْلِمِينَ |
- الْمُهَنْدِسُونَ فِي الْمَكْتَبِ. — The engineers are in the office.
- رَأَيْتُ الْمُهَنْدِسِينَ. — I saw the engineers.
Sound feminine plural: ـَات
The ة drops and ـَات is added. It is used for female humans and for many nouns for things:
- مُعَلِّمَةٌ → مُعَلِّمَاتٌ — teachers (f)
- طَالِبَةٌ → طَالِبَاتٌ — students (f)
- سَيَّارَةٌ → سَيَّارَاتٌ — cars
- لُغَةٌ → لُغَاتٌ — languages
This plural never takes fatha: in the accusative it takes kasra. رَأَيْتُ الطَّالِبَاتِ. — I saw the students.
Broken plurals
The consonants stay, the vowels and the shape change:
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كِتَابٌ | كُتُبٌ | books |
| وَلَدٌ | أَوْلَادٌ | boys |
| بَيْتٌ | بُيُوتٌ | houses |
| رَجُلٌ | رِجَالٌ | men |
| قَلَمٌ | أَقْلَامٌ | pens |
| مَدِينَةٌ | مُدُنٌ | cities |
| طَالِبٌ | طُلَّابٌ | students |
Things behave like one woman
A plural that does not refer to human beings is treated as feminine singular by adjectives and verbs:
- الْكُتُبُ جَدِيدَةٌ. — The books are new.
- السَّيَّارَاتُ وَاقِفَةٌ أَمَامَ الْبَيْتِ. — The cars are standing in front of the house.
- الْمُعَلِّمُونَ جُدُدٌ. — The teachers are new. (human, so a real plural)
Watch out as an English speaker
- There is no general plural ending like "-s". ✗ كِتَابَاتٌ for "books" / ✓ كُتُبٌ. Learn each plural with its singular.
- Non-human plurals take a feminine singular adjective. ✗ الْكُتُبُ جَدِيدُونَ. / ✓ الْكُتُبُ جَدِيدَةٌ.
- ـُونَ is not a fixed ending. ✗ رَأَيْتُ الْمُهَنْدِسُونَ. / ✓ رَأَيْتُ الْمُهَنْدِسِينَ.
- ـَات takes kasra in the accusative. ✗ رَأَيْتُ الطَّالِبَاتَ. / ✓ رَأَيْتُ الطَّالِبَاتِ.
Example dialogue
كَمْ كِتَابًا عِنْدَكَ؟ — How many books do you have?
عِنْدِي كُتُبٌ كَثِيرَةٌ فِي الْبَيْتِ. — I have many books at home.
وَهَلْ هِيَ جَدِيدَةٌ؟ — And are they new?
بَعْضُهَا جَدِيدَةٌ وَبَعْضُهَا قَدِيمَةٌ. — Some of them are new and some are old.
الطَّالِبَاتُ يَقْرَأْنَهَا أَيْضًا. — The students read them too.