Arabic A2, Unit 5: Common broken plurals

Common broken plurals

Arabic A2 · Unit 5

GoalLearn the plurals of 14 very common nouns as whole words.

New words

كُتُب (kutub) · booksبُيُوت (buyūt) · housesأَقْلَام (ʾaqlām) · pensأَبْوَاب (ʾabwāb) · doorsرِجَال (rijāl) · menأَطْفَال (ʾaṭfāl) · childrenأَصْدِقَاء (ʾaṣdiqāʾ) · friendsمَدَارِس (madāris) · schools

Explanation

Many common nouns do not take ـُون or ـَات. Their letters change inside the word: كِتَاب becomes كُتُب. These are called broken plurals. There is no simple rule, so learn each plural as a new word, together with its singular. Some patterns come back, for example أَفْعَال (أَقْلَام، أَبْوَاب، أَطْفَال). A broken plural is a word like any other: it takes الْ, takes an ending (بُيُوتُنَا) and follows a preposition.

One	Many	Meaning
كِتَاب	كُتُب	book, books
بَيْت	بُيُوت	house, houses
قَلَم	أَقْلَام	pen, pens
بَاب	أَبْوَاب	door, doors
وَلَد	أَوْلَاد	boy, boys
رَجُل	رِجَال	man, men
اِمْرَأَة	نِسَاء	woman, women
طِفْل	أَطْفَال	child, children
صَدِيق	أَصْدِقَاء	friend, friends
طَالِب	طُلَّاب	student, students
مَدْرَسَة	مَدَارِس	school, schools
مَدِينَة	مُدُن	city, cities
شَارِع	شَوَارِع	street, streets
يَوْم	أَيَّام	day, days

Worked examples

Houses and friends. Listen and repeat.

Mona

أَيْن أَطْفَالُك؟

Hassan

هُم فِي الْحَدِيقَة مَعَ أَصْدِقَائِهِم.

Mona asks Hassan about his children. Press each line.

Things and people in a plural. Listen.

Class activity

Make a plural card set. On ten small pieces of paper write a singular on one side and its plural on the other (from the table). Look at the singular, say the plural aloud, then turn the paper to check. Put the ones you got wrong in a pile and try them again the next day.

Practice

Press Listen. Is the word one thing or many?

Write the plural of يَوْم (day).

The picture shows three houses. Write “houses”.

The picture shows children. Write “children”.

Which is the plural of رَجُل: رِجَال or رَجُلُون?

Plurals and the dual

Common broken plurals