Lesson 5
Singular, dual, plural
Arabic has a special form for “two”.
Singular (mufrad): one.
Dual (muthannā): two — ends in ـَانِ or ـَيْنِ. For example جَنَّتَانِ (two gardens).
Masculine plural: ends in ـُونَ or ـِينَ — e.g. الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (the believers).
Feminine plural: ends in ـَات — e.g. الْمُؤْمِنَات (the believing women).
Broken plural (jamʿ taksīr): the inside of the word changes — قَلْب → قُلُوب, رَسُول → رُسُل. These are learned one by one.
Examples from the Qur'an
Dual
- two gardensSurah 34:15جَنَّتَانِ
Sound plurals
- the believersSurah 3:28ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
- the believersSurah 2:223ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
- the believing womenSurah 4:25ٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ
Broken plurals
- a heartSurah 50:37قَلْبٌ
- the heartsSurah 13:28ٱلْقُلُوبُ
- a messengerSurah 2:87رَسُولٌۢ
- the messengersSurah 2:253ٱلرُّسُلُ