Arabic has plurals for “more than two”. For the names of jobs the plural is regular. For men add ـُون: مُعَلِّم becomes مُعَلِّمُون. After a preposition, or when the noun is the thing someone sees or reads, it is ـِين: مَعَ الْمُعَلِّمِين. For women drop the ة and add ـَات: مُعَلِّمَة becomes مُعَلِّمَات. Many words for things also take ـَات: سَيَّارَة, سَيَّارَات. A mixed group of men and women uses the masculine plural.
One
Many
Say
Meaning
مُعَلِّم
مُعَلِّمُون
muʿallimūn
teachers (m.)
مُهَنْدِس
مُهَنْدِسُون
muhandisūn
engineers (m.)
مُعَلِّمَة
مُعَلِّمَات
muʿallimāt
teachers (f.)
طَالِبَة
طَالِبَات
ṭālibāt
students (f.)
سَيَّارَة
سَيَّارَات
sayyārāt
cars
Worked examples
Karim
هَل الْمُعَلِّمُون فِي الْمَدْرَسَة؟
Dina
نَعَم، وَالْمُعَلِّمَات فِي الْمَكْتَبَة.
Karim and Dina ask about the school. Press each line.
The verb also has a plural ending. Listen and repeat.
After a preposition the men's plural ends in ـِين.
Class activity
Sort the jobs. Write ten jobs that you know in Arabic (teacher, driver, engineer, doctor, student…). Say whether you can make the plural with ـُون and ـَات, or if the word is a special one that you must learn. Then write the plural of each job that works, for men and for women.
Practice
1
Press Listen. Is it a group of men or of women?
Women: طَبِيبَات (ṭabībāt), “female doctors”. The ending ـَات is for women.
2
Write the plural of طَبَّاخ (a male cook).
طَبَّاخُون (ṭabbākhūn)
3
The picture shows a group of women. Which ending do you use for a group of women: ـُون or ـَات?
ـَات, after dropping the ة of the singular.
4
The picture shows three bicycles. Write the plural of دَرَّاجَة (bicycle).
دَرَّاجَات (darrājāt)
5
Write in Arabic: “with the drivers” (men), using مَعَ.
مَعَ السَّائِقِين (maʿa s-sāʾiqīn). After a preposition the ending is ـِين.
