Modern Standard Arabic 2.7. Dual & Plural

In Arabic, we use the مُــفْـرَد (mufrad) ‘singular’ to refer to a single unit, object, or person, the مُــثَـنّـى (muthannā) ‘dual’ to refer to two, and the جَــمْــع (jam‘) ‘plural’ to refer to three or more units, objects, or people.

Forming the Dual

To form the dual, we add ــان (-ān) to the end of the singular noun or adjective in the nominative case, and ـَـيْـن (-ayn) in the accusative and genitive cases.

Below are some examples:

If the noun or adjective ends with a ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t,’ we replace the final ة with a ت (tā’ maftūḥah) ‘open-t’ before adding ــان (-ān) or ــيْـن (-ayn). For example:

If the noun or adjective ends with a ى (’alif maqṣūrah), we replace it with ي (yā’) ‘y’ before adding ــان (-ān) or ــيْـن (-ayn). For example:

If the noun or adjective ends with اء (’alif-hamzah), we replace the ء (hamzah) with a و (wāw) before adding the dual marker ــان (-ān) or ــيْـن (-ayn), if the ا (’alif)in اء (’alif-hamzah) is not part of the root of the verb. For example:

In the case of verbs, we will discuss the dual forms separately as we study each verbal tense in Arabic in the upcoming lessons.

Forming the Plural

Some nouns and adjectives have a regular plural, known as جَــمْـع ســالِــم (jam‘ sālim) ‘sound plural,’ whereas many other nouns and adjectives have an irregular plural, known as جَــمْـع تَـكْـسيـر (jam‘ taksīr) ‘broken plural.’

The most reliable way to be certain when to use a regular or irregular plural, and which irregular pattern to use, if needed, is to use an Arabic dictionary.

To form the جَــمْـع مُـذَكَّـر ســالِــم (jam‘ mudhakkar sālim) ‘sound masculine plural,’ we add ــون (-ūn) to the end of the singular form in the nominative case, and ــيـن (-īn) in the accusative and genitive cases.

Consider the following examples of the masculine regular plural in the nominative case:

To form the جَــمْـع مُـؤَنَّـث ســالِــم (jam‘ mu’annath sālim) ‘sound feminine plural,’ we drop the final ة (tā’ marbūṭah) ‘tied-t’ and add ــات (-āt) to the end of the singular form in all grammatical cases.

Consider the following examples of the feminine regular plural:

The irregular plural, also known as جَــمْـع تَـكْـسيـر (jam‘ taksīr) ‘broken plural,’ is often difficult to predict and requires practice. Think of irregular plurals in English, e.g., “women,” “geese,” “children,” etc. In Arabic, the use of irregular plural is ubiquitous. Nevertheless, there are some useful patterns that can help us predict the correct plural form.

One could refer to complex linguistic models to come up with a probabilistic algorithm of broken plural patterns. However, the complexity of such models and their probabilistic nature make them impractical for non-academic learners. Thus, we focus on the most common patterns, providing examples. The reader is invited to keep practicing this topic until mastery is achieved.

Here are 32 common broken plural patterns in Arabic:

Patterns (1) – (4) are sometimes called minority plurals preferred for numbers ranging from three to ten units, objects, or persons. However, this rule is rarely followed in daily spoken language.

It is often difficult to predict which of the 32 patterns to use. Some singular words may have more than one acceptable broken plural form. For example:

Some plurals may deviate from the 32 patterns, particularly those derived from roots with more than three consonants. These are less common and should be practiced and memorized.

Examples of common irregular plurals that do not follow any of the aforementioned patterns include:

Next: Sentences

Back to: Introduction to Grammatical Cases

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