Introduction

In Arabic, we indicate that there is only one of something by using the singular form of the noun. Similarly, we indicate that there is two of something by using the dual form. The chart below gives a simple example.

(Male) Student	One Student	Two Students
ط، ل، ب on the pattern فاعِل	طالِب	طالبانِ

Now plurality is where the discussion become more interesting. There are two major forms of plural nouns: the sound and the broken. The sound can be further divided into the sound masculine plural and the sound feminine plural. Below is a summary of the Arabic terms that describe these categories.

Definitions
جمع التكسير	The broken plural; a word that is pluralized by changing the noun’s structure
جمع المذكَّر السالم	The sound masculine plural
جمع المؤنَّث السالم	The sound feminine plural

Sound plurals are created simply by adding a suffix to the singular form, whereas broken plurals change the internal structure of the singular (ergo the term ‘broken’). Another distinction between the two is that there is only one form for the sound plural for each of the two genders, whereas there are many broken plurals in the language.

In this tutorial, we will discuss how to form the sound plurals, give some details about broken plurals, and discuss when to use which. What we do not discuss is how to form broken plurals; that is covered in an advanced tutorial entitled Broken Plurals.

Sound Plurals

Forming Sound Plurals

Rendering a noun plural using a sound plural is quite simple. Both the masculine and feminine versions have only one basic form each. And this form involves simply adding a suffix to the noun as indicated in the chart below.

The only thing to note is that the form for the masculine plural is changed slightly depending on the grammatical case of the noun.

	Nominative Case		Accusative and Genitive Cases
	Suffix	Example	Suffix	Example
Masculine	ـوْنَ	راغِبونَ	ـيْنَ	راغِبينَ
Feminine	ـاتٌ	راغِباتٌ	ـاتٍ	راغِباتٍ

Nouns that Can Use Sound Plurals

In this section we identify the types of nouns that can use this nice, simple plural. But remember, if a noun is capable of using the sound plural, it does not necessarily mean it will use it in practice.

The Sound Masculine Plural in Usage

Two types of nouns can use this plural: static nouns (جامد), and derived nouns (مشتق). This excludes gerunds (مصدر).

As for static nouns, only men’s names that do not end in تاء مربوطة can pluralize this way.

Reason for Counterexample	Counterexamples	Examples
It is not a name at all	رَجُلونَ	بَكَرونَ
It’s a woman’s name (not a man’s)	زَيْنَبونَ	عامِرونَ
The singular (طلحة) ends in تاء مربوطة	طَلْحونَ	زَيْدونَ
It’s a dog’s name (not a human’s)	ماكْسونَ

As for derived nouns, only those relating specifically to men which are void of تاء مربوطة can pluralize this way.

Reason for Counterexample	Counterexamples	Examples
‘Pregnant’: This refers to women	حامِلونَ	كاتِبونَ
The singular can refer to both men and women	صَبورونَ	مُسْلِمونَ
This refers to horses	سابِقونَ	مَشْغولونَ
The singular (رحالة) ends in تاء مربوطة	رَحّالونَ

Remember, we have only described nouns that can theoretically use the sound masculine plural. Not all nouns realize plurality in the described manner. Below are some examples of nouns that, despite meeting the requirements for sound plurality, use broken plurals instead:

Plural	Noun
طُلاّب، طَلَبة	طالِب
سادة	سَيِّد
نُظَفاء	نَظيف

Similarly, there are exceptions to the above rules. What we mean by that is that some nouns that do not meet the above criteria may pluralize using the sound masculine suffix. These exceptions, however, are very, very few in number. Below are a few examples:

Plural	Noun
عالَمونَ	عالَم
سِنونَ	سَنة
أَهْلونَ	أَهْل

The Sound Feminine Plural in Usage

This plural can be applied to any noun; static nouns, gerunds, and derived nouns are all capable of using it, theoretically speaking. The examples below illustrate this form being used on several types of nouns.

But, as noted with masculine plurality, a broken plural may be chosen to pluralize a word despite the legitimacy of the sound feminine