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10 Sound plurals
10.1 Introduction
Arabic uses the plural for nouns in number three and higher. The formation and use of plurals in Arabic can be somewhat complicated. One of these complications is that, in using plurals, Arabic distinguishes between intelligent beings and non-intelligent beings. Intelligent beings are those living beings that are endowed with reason like humans, angels, and jinn. Non-intelligent beings include animals, inanimate objects, abstract concepts, etc.
As a further complication, there is sometimes more than one way to use plurals. In this chapter we will explain the most common usages to keep things as simple as possible.
Arabic has two categories of plurals:
The sound plural: English regularly forms the plural by adding the plural ending “s” to the end of a singular noun. For example:
Singular Plural book books house houses boy boys girl girls Arabic also forms some plurals by adding plural endings to to the singular noun. This kind of plural is call a sound plural because the singular noun is kept more or less sound (intact) when adding the plural ending.
Arabic has two types of sound plurals:
- The ūn sound plural.
- The āt sound plural.
We will describe each of these in this chapter.
- The broken plural: When forming this plural the singular noun is not kept intact. We will learn about this plural in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.
10.2 The ūn sound plural
The ūn sound plural is formed by adding the ending ◌ُونَ -ūna to the singular noun when it is in the u-state, and ◌ِينَ -īna when the noun is in the a-state or i-state. For convenience, we will call it the “ūn sound plural” instead of the “-ūna/-īna plural”.
Here is the ūn sound plural of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm”:
| State | Indefinite ūn plural “teachersm” | Definite ūn plural “the teachersm” |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | مُعَلِّمُونَ muɛallimūna | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ʾalmuɛallimūna |
| a- and i-states | مُعَلِّمِينَ muɛallimīna | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمِينَ ʾalmuɛallimīna |
Note that, just like for duals, the indefinite ūn sound plural is not nūnated. The only difference between the definite and indefinite ūn sound plural is the definite article ٱَلْ “the”.
The duals of مُعَلِّم muɛallim “a teacherm” are included here for comparison:
| State | Indefinite ūn sound plural “teachersm,2” | Definite ūn sound plural “the teachersm,2” |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | مُعَلِّمَانِ muɛallimāni | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَانِ ʾalmuɛallimāni |
| a- and i-states | مُعَلِّمَيْنِ muɛallimayni | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَيْنِ ʾalmuɛallimayni |
Here are some examples of the ūn sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna fi -lmadrasah
“The teachers are in the school.”a-state:
سَأَلَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مُعَلِّمِينَ عَنْ أَمْرٍ.
saʾala -lg͡hulāmu muɛallimīna fī ʾamr.
“The boy asked some teachers about a matter.”i-state:
طَلَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ مِنَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمِينَ عِلْمًا.
ṭalaba -lg͡hulāmu mina -lmuɛallimīna ɛilmā.
“The boy sought some knowledge from the teachers.”
10.2.1 Applicability of the ūn sound plural
Except for very few exceptions, the ūn sound plural is used only for male intelligent beings.
The few exceptions of common nouns that denote non-male intelligent beings, yet have an ūn sound plural include:
- عَالَم ɛālam “a world” forms the ūn plural عَالَمُونَ ʾālamūna “worlds”.
- أَرْض ʾarḍ (fem.) “a land”, “an earth” forms the ūn plural أَرْضُونَ ʾarḍūna “lands”, “earths”.
- أَهْل ʾahl “a family” forms the ūn plural أَهْلُونَ ʾahlūna “families”.
10.3 The āt sound plural
The āt sound plural is formed by adding the ending ات āt to the indefinite singular noun.
Here is the āt sound plural of حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal”:
| State | Indefinite ūn plural “animals” | Definite ūn plural “the animals” |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | حَيَوَانَاتٌ ḥayawānātun | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu |
| a- and i-states | حَيَوَانَاتٍ ḥayawānātin | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
Note that:
- Unlike the ūn sound plural, the āt sound plural is nūnated when indefinite. Also, just like for singular nouns, the final vowel on the plural ending ات āt indicates the state of the plural.
- The āt sound plural does not take the a-mark ◌َ and the nūnated a-mark ◌ً. Instead the i-mark ◌ِ and the nūnated i-mark ◌ٍ-mark are used to indicate both the a-state and the i-state.
| State | the animal | the animals |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | ٱَلْحَيَوَانُ ʾalḥayawānu | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتُ ʾalḥayawānātu |
| a-state | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَ ʾalḥayawāna | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
| i-state | ٱَلْحَيَوَانِ ʾalḥayawāni | ٱَلْحَيَوَانَاتِ ʾalḥayawānāti |
10.3.1 Nouns ending in ة
If a noun ends with a ة, then it is removed before appending the āt sound plural ending. Here, for example, is the āt sound plural of مُعَلِّمَة muɛallimah “a teacherf”:
| State | Indefinite ūn plural “teachersf” | Definite ūn plural “the teachersf” |
|---|---|---|
| u-state | مُعَلِّمَاتٌ muɛallimātun | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتُ ʾalmuɛallimātu |
| a- and i-states | مُعَلِّمَاتٍ muɛallimātin | ٱَلْمُعَلِّمَاتِ ʾalmuɛallimāti |
Here are some examples of the āt sound plural in sentences:
u-state:
فِي ٱلْمَدْرَسَةِ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ .
fi -lmadrasati muɛallimātun.
“In the school are teachers.”a-state:
نَصَرَ ٱللَّـٰهُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ.
naṣara -llāhu -lmuslimīna.
“Allāh aided the Muslims.i-state:
نَظَرَ ٱلْغُلَامُ إِلَى ٱلْحَيَوَانَاتِ.
naḍ͡hara -lg͡hulāmu ʾila -lḥayawānāti.
“The boy looked at the animals.”
There are some nouns that end with an أَلِف before the ة, like فَتَاة fatāh “a young woman”. We will learn how to pluralize these nouns later, if Allāh wills.
10.3.2 Nouns ending with اء
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.1, if a noun ends with the feminine marker اء which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ء shall be replaced with a و when forming the āt sound plural. Example:
| Root | Singular | āt sound plural |
|---|---|---|
| «صحر» | 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” | صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt |
10.3.3 Nouns ending with ىٰ
Consistent with what we learned for duals in section 9.2.2, If a noun ends with ىٰ which is extrinsic to the word’s root then the ىٰ shall be changed to a يَ when when forming the āt sound plural. Examples:
| Root | Singular | āt sound plural |
|---|---|---|
| «ذکر» | 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” | ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt |
10.3.4 Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة
Common nouns of the patterns فَعْل/فَعْلَة, فِعْل/فِعْلَة, and فُعْل/فُعْلَة are treated specially when forming their āt sound plural.
If a common noun is of these patterns and the middle root letter is not و or ي, and the middle and final root letters are not the same, then the word is modified internally when forming the āt sound plural.
There are two separate rules to consider:
If a common noun is of the pattern فَعْل faɛl or فَعْلَة faɛlah, then the ø-mark on the middle letter shall be converted to an a-mark ◌َ when forming the āt sound plural. For example:
- نَحْلَة naḥlah “a bee” becomes نَحَلَات naḥalāt “bees”, not \(\times\) نَحْلَات naḥlāt.
- ضَرْبَة ḍarbah “a strike” becomes ضَرَبَات ḍarabāt “strikes”, not \(\times\) ضَرْبَات ḍarbāt.
- صَفْحَة ṣafḥah “a page” becomes صَفَحَات ṣafaḥāt “pages”, not \(\times\) صَفْحَات ṣafḥāt.
If the middle root letter is و or ي, or the middle and final root letters are the same then this modification is not done. For example,
- جَوْزَة jawzah “a walnut” becomes جَوْزَات jawzāt.
- حَجَّة ḥajjah “a pilgrimage” becomes حَجَّات ḥajjāt.
If a common noun is of the pattern فِعْل fiɛl, فِعْلَة fiɛlah, فُعْل fuɛl, or فُعْلَة fuɛlah then the ø-mark on the middle letter can, optionally, either:
- be retained,
- be converted to an a mark, or
- be converted to the vowel mark on the first letter.
For example:
- ظُلْمَة ḍ͡hulmah “a darkness” can become, optionally, either ظُلْمَات ḍ͡hulmāt or ظُلَمَات ḍ͡hulamāt, or ظُلُمَات ḍ͡hulumāt “darknesses”.
- کِسْرَة kisrah “a piece” can become, optionally, either کِسْرَات kisrāt or کِسَرَات kisarāt, or کِسِرَات kisirāt “pieces”.
Note that this rule of changing the vowel mark is only true for common nouns. Adjectival-nouns on these patterns will retain the ø-mark when forming the āt sound plural. So صَعْب ṣaɛb and صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah “a difficult one” become only صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt, not \(\times\) صَعَبَات ṣaɛabāt.
10.3.5 Applicability of the āt sound plural
We had mentioned that the ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for male intelligent beings. Conversely, the āt is used for both female intelligent beings, and for non-intelligent beings (both masculine and feminine) like animals, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts. Rarely, it is also used for male intelligent beings.
10.4 Conditions for forming the sound plural
Many times, a noun can form both an ūn sound plural and an āt sound plural. However, there are many nouns that can form only one of the two sound plurals. And many nouns don’t form either sound plural; they only form broken plurals. (We will learn about broken plurals in the next chapter, if Allāh wills.) There are even nouns that can form both sound and broken plurals.
Here we will learn some of the conditions which a noun needs to satisfy in order for it to form the sound plurals.
10.4.1 Conditions for the ūn sound plural
The ūn sound plural is used, with very few exceptions, only for nouns that denote male intelligent beings. These guidelines will help you determine which nouns form the ūn sound plural.
We will treat common nouns and adjectival nouns separately.
10.4.1.1 Common nouns
With very few exceptions (some of which we saw in section 10.2.1), the only common nouns that may be allowed to form ūn sound plurals are those that denote male intelligent beings, and whose feminine is formed by adding a ة to the masculine noun. So, غُلَام g͡hulām “a boy” is disqualified from forming a ūn sound plural because its feminine counterpart is جَارِيَة jāriyah “a girl”, not \(\times\) غُلَامَة g͡hulāmah. In addition, a further restriction is imposed, which we will explain below:
We learned in section ?? that, in terms of their meaning, nouns that denote animate beings are of two kinds:
Nouns that have a primitive meaning. That is, their meaning is not derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
Arabic word Definition ٱِبْن ʾibn a son طِفْل ṭifl a child إِنْسَان ʾinsān a human being حُرّ ḥurr a free man Such nouns, in general, won’t be expected to form ūn sound plurals, unless the ūn sound plural is explicitly allowed in their dictionary definition.
Nouns that have a meaning that is derived from a verbal or adjectival meaning. Examples (for male intelligent beings whose feminine is formed by adding ة to the masculine noun):
Word Definition ūn plural مُعَلِّم a teacherm مُعَلِّمُونَ مُسْلِم a Muslimm (one who submits) مُسْلِمُونَ کَافِر a disbelieverm کَافِرُونَ لَاعِب a playerm لَاعِبُونَ Such nouns, in general, can be expected to form ūn sound plurals.
The above condition, as we have explained it, is somewhat imprecise. For example, the word حُرّ ḥurr (masc.) “a free man” seems to have a meaning that is derived from the adjective “free” and it forms its feminine by adding ة to it thus: حُرَّة ḥurrah (fem.) “a free woman”. Yet it is considered a primitve noun, and thus does not form an ūn sound plural.
In later chapters, once we have studied the patterns of the derived nouns, we will try to make this condition more precise, if Allāh wills.
10.4.1.2 Adjectival nouns
If an adjectival noun forms its feminine by adding the feminine marker ة to the masculine noun, then we may assume that it forms the ūn sound plural.
Most adjectival nouns satisfy this condition. For example, consider the adjectival noun:
- کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one”
It forms its feminine by adding a ة to the masculine noun, thus:
- کَبِيرَة kabīrah (fem.) “a big one”
The above condition is satisfied; therefore, کَبِير kabīr (masc.) “a big one” forms the ūn sound plural کَبِيرُونَ kabīrūna “big ones”.
By the way, it is only the masculine adjectival noun that will form the ūn sound plural. Nouns with a ة are not allowed to form the ūn sound plural.
We have come across two patterns on adjectival nouns that don’t form their feminine by adding ة to masculine noun. These are:
- 2فَعْلَان faɛlān2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ faɛlā2. Example: 2غَضْبَان g͡haḍbān2 (masc.) “very angry” whose feminine is 2غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā2.
- 2أَفْعَل ʾafɛal2, whose feminine is on the pattern 2فَعْلَاء faɛlāʾ2. Example: 2أَحْمَر ʾaḥmar2 (masc.) “red”, whose feminine is 2حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ2.
Because the above two patterns don’t form their feminine by adding ة to the masculine noun, therefore the masculine nouns don’t form the ūn sound plural. We will see, if Allāh wills, that they form broken plurals instead.
10.4.2 Conditions for the āt sound plural
Just like the ūn plural, there are conditions that should be fulfilled in order for a noun to form an āt plural. We provide the following guidelines to help you determine if a noun can form an āt plural.
10.4.2.1 Nouns that end with a feminine marker
Generally, all nouns that end with a feminine marker like ة, اء, and ىٰ are able to form an āt plural. Examples are:
| Singular | āt sound plural |
|---|---|
| حَسَنَة ḥasanah adj. “a good onef” | حَسَنَات ḥasanāt |
| حَسَنَة ḥasanah (common noun) “a good deed” | حَسَنَات ḥasanāt |
| صَدِيقَة ṣadīqah “a friendf” | صَدِيقَات ṣadīqāt |
| 2صَحْرَاء ṣaḥrāʾ2 “a desert” | صَحْرَاوَات ṣaḥrāwāt |
| 2ذِکْرَىٰ d͡hikrā2 “a remembrance” | ذِکْرَيَات d͡hikrayāt |
The following are exceptions to this general rule, and don’t form āt sound plurals:
Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَاء which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2أَفْعَل. For example, «حمر» حَمْرَاء ḥamrāʾ “redf”.
Adjectival nouns of the pattern 2فَعْلَىٰ which is the feminine of the masculine adjectival noun pattern 2فَعْلَان. For example, «غضب» غَضْبَىٰ g͡haḍbā “very angryf”.
The following exceptional nouns:
- أُمَّة ʾummah “a nation”
- أَمَة ʾamah “a female slave”
- شَفَة s͡hafah “a lip”
There are a few more such nouns, some of which we will introduce later.
All these exceptional nouns form broken plurals instead of the āt sound plural.
10.4.2.2 Nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker
Common nouns
Common nouns that don’t end with a feminine marker will form the āt plural only if they don’t have a broken plural listed in the dictionary. Furthermore, it is preferred if the noun have five or more letters.
- حَيَوَان ḥayawān “an animal” forms the āt plural حَيَوَانَات ḥayawānāt “animals”.
- حَمَّام ḥammām forms the āt plural حَمَّامَات ḥammāmāt “bathrooms”. (The doubled م counts as two letters.)
Masculine adjectival nouns
Masculine adjectival nouns are permitted to form an āt sound plural, but only when they are applied to non-intelligent beings.
For example, if the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb “a difficult one” is applied to “books”, which is the plural of the masculine noun کِتَاب kitāb “a book”, then the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb is permitted to form the āt plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt “difficult ones”.
By the way, note that both the masculine adjectival noun صَعْب ṣaɛb, and its feminine صَعْبَة ṣaɛbah form the same āt sound plural صَعْبَات ṣaɛbāt.
10.5 Detached plural pronouns
We have already learned the detached pronouns for singular and dual nouns. They are repeated here:
| Participant | Detached pronoun |
|---|---|
| Absentee sing. masc. | هُوَ huwa “he” |
| Absentee sing. fem. | هِيَ hiya “she” |
| Absentee dual | هُمَا humā “they2” |
| Addressee sing. masc. | أَنْتَ ʾanta “you1,m” |
| Addressee sing. fem. | أَنْتِ ʾanti “you1,f” |
| Addressee dual | أَنْتُمَا ʾantumā “you2” |
| Speaker sing. | أَنَا ʾana “I” |
| Speaker dual | – |
Now we will learn the detached pronouns for the plural participants:
| Participant | Detached pronoun |
|---|---|
| Absentee pl. masc. | هُمْ hum “they3,m” |
| Absentee pl. fem. | هُنَّ hunna “they3,f” |
| Addressee pl. masc. | أَنْتُمْ ʾantum “you3,m” |
| Addressee pl. fem. | أَنْتُنَّ ʾantunna “you3,f” |
| Speaker pl. | نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” |
Note that the plural detached pronoun for the speaker participant نَحْنُ naḥnu “we” are the same for both genders.
Also, remember that there is no detached pronoun for the dual speaker-participant. So, if the speaker-pariticipant consists of two individuals then we will use the plural pronoun.
Here are some examples of their use:
هُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ.
hum muslimūn.
“They3,m are men3.”
هُنَّ مُعَلِّمَاتٍ.
hum muɛallimaāt.
“They3,f are teachersf.”
أَنْتُمْ لَاعِبُونَ.
ʾantum lāɛibūn.
“You3,m are players3,m.”
أَنْتُنَّ صَدِيقَاتٍ.
ʾantunna ṣadīqāt.
“You3,f are friends3,f.”
نَحْنُ رَجُلَانِ فَقِيرَانِ.
naḥnu rajulāni faqīrān.
“We2,m are poor men2.” (Note the plural pronoun subject with a dual noun in the information.)
نَحْنُ مُسْلِمَاتٍ.
naḥnu muslimāt.
“We3,f are Muslims3,f.”
10.6 Attached plural pronouns
We have also already learned the attached pronouns for the singular and dual participants. They too are repeated here:
| Participant | Attached pronoun |
|---|---|
| Absentee sing. masc. | هُ -hu “him” |
| Absentee sing. fem. | هَا -hā “her” |
| Absentee dual | هُمَا -humā “them2” |
| Addressee sing. masc. | کَ -ka “youm,1” |
| Addressee sing. fem. | کِ -ki “youf,1” |
| Addressee dual | کُمَا -kumā “you2” |
| Speaker sing. | ي “me” |
| Speaker dual | – |
Now we will learn the attached pronouns for the plural participant:
| Participant | Attached pronoun |
|---|---|
| Absentee pl. masc. | هُمْ -hum “them3,m |
| Absentee pl. fem. | هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f |
| Addressee pl. masc. | کُمْ -kum “you3,m” |
| Addressee pl. fem. | کُنَّ -kunna “you3,f” |
| Speaker pl | نَا -nā “us” |
Note the following points about them:
- The plural absentee-participant detached and attached pronouns (“they3,m”/“them3,m”) are the same:
- masculine: هُمْ -hum.
- feminine: هُنَّ -hunna.
- Just like هُ hu “him” and هُمَا -humā “them2”, the plural absentee-participant attached pronouns
هُمْ -hum “them3,m” and
هُنَّ -hunna “them3,f”
become هِمَا -himā and هِنَّ -hinna respectively, when preceded by the vowels ◌ِ -i, ◌ِي -ī, or the semi-vowel ◌َيْ -ay. Examples:
- بِهِمْ bihimā “with them3,m”
- فِيهِنَّ fīhinna “in them3,f”
- إِلَيْهِمْ ʾilayhim “to them3,m”
- The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural pronouns (هُمْ hum, أَنْتُمْ ʾantum, and کُمْ -kum) becomes a u-mark (هُمُ humu, أَنْتُمُ ʾantumu, andکُمُ -kumu respectively) when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
- هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
humu -lmuɛallimūn.
“Theypl. masc. are the (male) teachers.” - ذَهَبَ إِلَيْکُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
d͡hahaba ʾilaykumu -rrajul.
“The man went to you3,m.” - أَنْتُمُ ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ.
ʾantumu -lmuslimūn. “You3,m are the Muslims3,m.”
- هُمُ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
- When the speaker plural attached pronoun نَا is attached to a word that ends with a نْ with a ø-mark, there is only one ن written and it is doubled with a doubling mark ◌ّ on it. So we get:
- نَا + مِنْ = مِنَّا minnā
- نَا + عَنْ = عَنَّا ɛannā
- نَا + لَدُنْ = لَدُنَّا ladunnā
- The preposition لِ li “for” becomes لَ la when followed by the plural attached pronouns:
- لَهُمْ lahum “for them3,m”
- لَهُنَّ lahunna “for them3,f”
- لَکُمْ lakum “for you3,m”
- لَکُنَّ lakunna “for you3,f”
- لَنَا lanā “for us”
10.6.1 Plural doee pronouns
The plural attached pronouns that we have just learned are also used as doee pronouns. Examples:
سَأَلَهُمُ ٱلرَّجُلُ.
saʾalahumu -rrajul.
“The man asked them3,m.”
سَأَلْتُکُمْ.
saʾaltukum
“I asked you3,m.”
سَأَلَتْکُنَّ.
saʾalatkunn.
“She asked you3,f.”
سَأَلَانَا.
saʾalānā.
“They2,m asked us.”
سَأَلَتَاهُ.
saʾalatāh.
“They3,m asked him.”
10.7 Verbs with plural doers
10.7.1 Plural nouns for the doer
We learned that the completed-action verb for a masculine doer is on the pattern فَعَلَ. And when the doer is feminine, the ت of femininity is attached to the verb thus: فَعَلَتْ. We have used these verbs with singular and dual doer nouns. The doer noun always comes after the verb and shall be in the u-state. Examples:
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu.
“The boy went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَةٌ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatun
“A girl went.”
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامَانِ.
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmāni.
“The boys2 went.”
ذَهَبَتْ جَارِيَتَانِ.
d͡hahabat jāriyatāni.
“Two girls went.”
These same verbs are used when the doer noun is a plural. Examples:
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūn.
“The teacherm3,m went.”
ذَهَبَتْ مُعَلِّمَاتٌ.
d͡hahabat muɛallimāt.
“Teachers3,f went.”
10.7.2 Plural pronouns for the doer
We have already learned the singular and dual doer pronouns. They are repeated here:
| Participant | Doer pronoun | Meaning | Doer pronoun with verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absentee sing. masc. | invisible | “he” | فَعَلَ faɛala |
| Absentee sing. fem. | invisible | “she” | فَعَلَتْ faɛalat |
| Absentee dual | ◌َا -ā | “them2” | masc.: فَعَلَا faɛalā, fem: فَعَلَتَا faɛalatā |
| Addressee sing. masc. | تَ -ta | “youm,2” | فَعَلْتَ faɛalta |
| Addressee sing. fem. | تِ -ti | “youf,2” | فَعَلْتِ faɛalti |
| Addressee dual | تُمَا -tumā | “you2” | فَعَلْتُمَا faɛaltumā |
| Speaker sing. | تُ -tu | “I” | فَعَلْتُ faɛaltu |
| Speaker dual | – | “us2” | – |
Now we will learn the plural doer pronouns:
| plural participant | Doer pronoun | Meaning | Doer pronoun with verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absentee pl. masc. | و | “they3,m” | فَعَلُوا faɛalū |
| Absentee pl. fem. | نَ -na | “they3,f” | فَعَلْنَ faɛalna |
| Addressee pl. masc. | تُمْ -tum | “youm,3” | فَعَلْتُمْ faɛaltum |
| Addressee pl. fem. | تُنَّ -tunna | “youf,3” | فَعَلْتُنَّ faɛaltunna |
| Speaker pl. | نَا -nā | “we” | فَعَلْنَا faɛalnā |
Note the following regarding the plural doer pronouns:
The تْ of femininity does not attach to the absentee plural feminine doer pronoun نَ -na “they3,f” فَعَلْنَ. Example:
- ذَهَبْنَ d͡hahabna “they3,f went”
This is different from the behavior of the absentee dual doer pronoun ◌َا -ā “them2,f” which, for a feminine doer, does attach to the تْ of femininity. Example:
- ذَهَبَتَا d͡hahabatā “they2,f went”
The final ø-mark on the مْ in the masculine plural doer pronoun تُمْ -tum becomes a u-mark تُمُ -tumu when followed by a connecting hamzah. Examples:
- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
ʾakaltum k͡hubzā.
“You3,m ate some bread.” - أَکَلْتُمُ ٱلْخُبْزَ.
ʾakaltumu -lk͡hubz.
“You3,m ate the bread.”
- أَکَلْتُمْ خُبْزًا.
The absentee plural masculine verb doer pronoun “they3,m” و ū is written with a silent أَلِف after it which is written only and not pronounced. This أَلِف is dropped when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabu -rrajul.
“They3,m hit the man. - ضَرَبُوهُ.
ḍarabūh.
“They3,m hit him.”
- ضَرَبُوا ٱلرَّجُلَ.
The plural masculine verb doer pronoun for the addressed person “you3,m” تُمْ -tum becomes تُمُو tumū when a doee pronoun is attached. For example:
- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
ḍarabtumu -rrajul.
“You3,m hit the man.” - ضَرَبْتُمُوهُ.
ḍarabtumūh.
“Youpl. masc. hit him.”
- ضَرَبْتُمُ ٱلرَّجُلَ.
The plural speaking participant doer pronoun نَا -nā is the same as the plural speaking participant attached pronoun نَا -nā. But you can tell them apart because the doer pronoun, when attached to the verb, causes the final letter of the verb to have a ø-mark. Consider the following two sentences:
سَأَلْنَا.
saʾalnā.
“We asked.”سَأَلَنَا.
saʾalanā.
“He asked us.”
10.7.3 Sentence word order with plural doers
As we’ve mentioned, the doer, whether a noun or a pronoun, always comes after the verb. Here are a couple of examples of verbal sentences with plural doers:
ذَهَبَ ٱلْمُعَلِّمُونَ إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahaba -lmuɛallimūna ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m went to a school.”
ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
d͡hahabā ʾilā madrasah.
“They3,m went to a school.”
لَعِبَتِ ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibati -ṣṣadīqātu fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f played in the house.”
لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“They3,f played in the house.”
The above verbal sentences with plural doers can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentences. This gives more emphasis to the subject. In this case, the verb shall follow the subject and will need a doer pronoun after it.
ٱَلْمُعَلِّمُونَ ذَهَبُوا إِلَىٰ مَدْرَسَةٍ.
ʾalmuɛallimūna d͡hahabū ʾilā madrasah.
“The teachers3,m, they3,m went to a school.”
= “The teachers3,m went to a school.”
ٱلصَّدِيقَاتُ لَعِبْنَ فِي ٱلْبَيْتِ.
ʾaṣṣadīqātu laɛibna fi -lbayt.
“The friends3,f, they3,f played in the house.”
= “The friends3,f played in the house.”
If there are multiple verbs associated with the same doer in a verbal sentence, the doer noun will follow the first verb and the rest of the verbs will have doer pronouns. For example:
أَکَلَ ٱللَّاعِبُونَ وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾakala -llāɛibūna was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
The above verbal sentence can be rearranged to be a subject-information sentence. In that case, all the verbs shall have doer pronouns. The sentence will have the same translation as above, except for an emphasis on the subject of the sentence.
ٱَللَّاعِبُونَ أَکَلُوا وَشَرِبُوا وَذَهَبُوا.
ʾallāɛibūna ʾakalū was͡haribū wad͡hahabū.
“The players3,m, they3,m ate and they3,m drank and they3,m went.”
= “The players3,m ate and drank and went.”
Similarly,
أَکَلَتِ ٱللَّاعِبَاتُ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾakalati -llāɛibātu was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
and
ٱَللَّاعِبَاتُ أَکَلْنَ وَشَرِبْنَ وَذَهَبْنَ.
ʾallāɛibātu ʾakalna was͡haribna wad͡hahabn.
“The players3,f, they3,f ate and they3,f drank and they3,f went.”
= “The players3,f ate and drank and went.”
10.7.4 Verbs with multiple doers mentioned individually
If there are multiple doers of a verb, and each is mentioned individually, then there is often more than one way to handle them. Here we will give the more common usage.
If the verb is followed by multiple doers, only the first is the true doer with respect to modifying the verb according to its gender and number. Examples:
ذَهَبَتِ ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْغُلَامُ.
d͡hahabati -lʾummu wa-lg͡hulāmu.
“The mother and the boy went.”
ذَهَبَ ٱلْغُلَامُ وَٱلْأُمُّ .
d͡hahaba -lg͡hulāmu wa -lʾummu.
“The boy and the mother went.”
If the doers consist of different persons (speaking person, addressed person, and absent person), then they are placed in order of strength: The speaking person is stronger than the addressed person, who is stronger than the absent person. The verb doer pronoun of the first (true) doer is then used. Example:
ذَهَبْتُ أَنَا وَأَنْتَ وَهُوَ.
d͡hahabtu ʾana waʾanta wahuwa.
“I, you, and he went.”
Note how the speaking person detached pronoun أَنَا ʾana is used in addition to the doer pronoun تُ -tu in order to add وَ wa “and” to it.
If the sentence is a subject information sentence, and the verb is in the information, then the doer pronoun corresponding to the number of the subject is used. Examples:
أنْتَ وَهُوَ ذَهَبْتُمَا.
ʾanta wahuwa d͡hahabtumā.
“You1,m and he, you2 went.”
أَنَا وَمُحَمَّدٌ ذَهَبْنَا.
ʾana wamuḥammadun d͡hahabnā.
“I and Muḥammad, we went.”
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ ذَهَبَتَا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu d͡hahabatā.
“The mother and the girl went.”
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَتَانِ ذَهَبْنَ.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatāni d͡hahabna.
“The mother and the two girls, they3,f went.”
If the doers consist of both male and female persons, then the verb will have the masculine doer prenoun corresponding to the number of the doers. Example:
ٱلْأُمُّ وَٱلْجَارِيَةُ وَٱلْغُلَامُ ذَهَبُوا.
ʾalʾummu wa-ljāriyatu wa-lg͡hulāmu d͡hahabū.
“The mother, the girl, and the boy, they3,m went.”