Chapter 6
الْجَمْع (Plurals)
أَنْوَاعُ الْجَمْعِ
The 3 Types of Plurals
|
النَّوع
Plural Type
|
القَاعِدَة
Rule
|
الْمُفْرَد
Singular
|
الْجَمْع
Plural
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
جَمْع مُذَكَّر سَالِم
Sound Masculine
For Humans
|
ـُونَ / ـِينَ
Ends in "oon/een"
|
مُسْلِم
Muslim
|
مُسْلِمُونَ
Muslims
|
|
جَمْع مُؤَنَّث سَالِم
Sound Feminine
Ends in "aat"
|
ـَات
Universal
|
آيَة
Verse
|
آيَات
Verses
|
|
جَمْع تَكْسِير
Broken Plural
Internal Change
|
Irregular like:
Man → Men |
قَلْب
Heart
|
قُلُوب
Hearts
|
Plural Tips
1. The "Human" Rule
The ـُونَ and ـِينَ endings are almost always for Humans. Non-human plurals are usually Broken or Feminine.
2. Broken = "She"
In Arabic grammar, Broken plurals for non-humans are treated as Singular Feminine. This is a very common Quranic pattern!
Why "Broken"?
It is called "Broken" because the original singular word's structure is "broken" to insert or remove letters internally.
أَوْزَان جَمْع التَّكْسِير (Common Broken Plural Patterns)
Broken plurals follow specific rhythmic patterns (Weights). Here are the top 6 from the Quran:
أَفْعَال
Very Common
أَنْهَار (Rivers)
أَبْصَار (Visions)
أَعْمَال (Actions)
فُعُول
Internal "OO" sound
قُلُوب (Hearts)
بُيُوت (Houses)
صُدُور (Chests)
فُعُل
Short & Sharp
كُتُب (Books)
رُسُل (Messengers)
صُحُف (Pages)
فُعَلَاء
Nobles / People
عُلَمَاء (Scholars)
شُهَدَاء (Witnesses)
فُقَرَاء (The Poor)
فِعَال
Strong & Tall
رِجَال (Men)
جِبَال (Mountains)
بِحَار (Seas)
مَفَاعِل
Places / Tools
مَسَاجِد (Mosques)
مَصَابِيح (Lamps)
مَوَازِين (Scales)