Plural Noun and Its Types in Arabic (الجمع وأقسام الجمع )
By: Yusuf Basirat Bolanle
In our previous lessons, we have discussed the singular, the dual and the plural together in Arabic language.
In this lesson, Insha Allah, we are going to discuss the plural in Arabic nouns separately and its classifications as well as given examples to illustrate our explanations.
What is the plural in Arabic language?
Plural in Arabic language is known as (الجمع). they are the entities or items which are more than two in number. Plural in Arabic language, unlike that of English language, which contains items starting from two upward, it is rather the items starting from three and more than two. so, the plural items in Arabic language are therefore the items starting from three in number and not two as it is in English language.
Types of plurals in Arabic language (أقسام الجمع)
There are three main types of plural nouns in Arabic language. They are:
1- The Sound Masculine Plural (جمع المذكر السالم)
2- The Sound Feminine Plural (جمع المؤنث السالم)
3- The Broken Plural (جمع التكثير)
Now, let us look into the brief explanation of each of the types of the classes.
1- The Sound Masculine Plural (جمع المذكر السالم)
The masculine plural in known as (جمع المذكر السالم). it is the type of plural for males nouns with sound or healthy ends. It centers on male nouns that are more than two in numbers. It always ends with waw and nun (و، ن). examples are the following:
جمع المكر السالم | المفرد |
---|---|
Sound Masculine Plural | Singular |
فلاحون Many farmers | فلاح a farmer |
---|---|
مدرسون Many teachers | مدرس a teacher |
مسلمون many muslims | مسلم a muslim |
مهندسون many engineers | مهندس An engineer |
2- The Sound Feminine Plural (جمع المؤنث السالم)
The sound feminine plural is the plural for female names or nouns that are more than two in number. they are referred to as (جمع المؤنث السالم) in Arabic language. The feminine plural with sound or healthy ends always ends with alif and open taa (ا، ت). examples are:
جمع المؤنث السالم | المفردة |
---|---|
Sound Feminine Plural | Singular |
بنات many girls | بنت a girl |
مسلمات many female Muslims | مسلمة a female Muslim |
غرف many rooms | غرفة a room |
طبيبات many female doctors | طبيبة a female doctor |
نساء many women | امرأة a woman |
ساعات many watches | ساعة a watch |
والدات many mothers | والدة a mother |
لعبات many play toys | لعبة a play toy |
مدرسات many female teachers | مدرسة a female teacher |
طالبات many female students | طالبة a female student |
مدارس many schools | مدرسة a school |
3- The Broken Plural (جمع التكثير)
This is the type of plural that is neither sound masculine nor sound feminine plural. The are the type of plural that occur as a result of the internal changes in the structure of the nouns. The changes that happens to a broken plural nouns has nothing to do with the end of the noun, the changes affect only the internal structures of the nouns. The broken plural unlike sound masculine and feminine plurals has no ending sign of waw and nun nor alif and taa. this is because the changes that happened is only internal, that is, the middle of the noun,and not the end. Examples are:
جمع التكثير | المفرد |
---|---|
Plural | Singular |
كتب many books | كتاب a book |
أولاد many boys | ولد a boy |
رجال many men | رجل a man |
بيوت many houses | بيت a house |
أقلام many pens | قلم a pen |
ِكلاب many dogs | كلب a dog |
َكراسي many chairs | كرسي a chair |
عيون many eyes | عين an eye |
ِمساجد many mosques | مسجد a mosque |
أكواب many cups | كوب a cup |
ِمكاتب many tables | مكتب a table |
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