Adjectives Follow the Noun

Level 1

In Arabic, adjectives (النعت) come after the noun. If you say 'the big house,' you say 'the house the big.' They act like a shadow, copying the noun's gender, number, case, and whether it has 'al-' (the).

How It Works

The Arabic adjective system, known as النعت (al-na‘t) or الصفة (al-ṣifa), is highly systematic. Unlike English, where adjectives are placed before the noun and rarely change form, Arabic adjectives are 'followers' (توابع) that mirror the noun they modify.

The Four Agreements:

  • Definiteness: If the noun has the definite article al-, the adjective must also have it. If the noun is indefinite (usually ending in tanwīn), the adjective remains indefinite.
  • Gender: A masculine noun requires a masculine adjective; a feminine noun (often ending in tā’ marbūṭa) requires a feminine adjective.
  • Number: Adjectives match the noun in being singular, dual, or plural.
  • Case: The adjective adopts the same grammatical case ending as the noun (Nominative, Accusative, or Genitive).

Word Order:
The adjective always follows the noun directly in a simple phrase. However, in an Idafa (possessive) construction, the adjective for the first noun must wait until the entire chain is finished.

The Non-Human Plural Rule:
A unique rule in Modern Standard Arabic is that non-human plural nouns are treated as feminine singular. Therefore, their adjectives will be feminine singular, not plural.

Examples (5)

  1. بنتٌ ذكيةٌ

    A smart girl

    Word by Word: girl smart

    Both words are indefinite, feminine, singular, and nominative.

  2. الولدُ الصغيرُ يلعبُ.

    The small boy is playing.

    Word by Word: The boy the small plays.

    The adjective 'al-ṣaghīru' matches the noun 'al-waladu' in definiteness (al-) and case (u).

  3. قرأتُ كتاباً جديداً.

    I read a new book.

    Word by Word: I read a book a new.

    Both are indefinite and in the accusative case (ending in -an) because the book is the object of the verb.

  4. هذه كتبٌ قديمةٌ.

    These are old books.

    Word by Word: These books old.

    Because 'books' is a non-human plural, the adjective 'old' is feminine singular (qadīmatun).

  5. المدينتانِ الكبيرتانِ

    The two big cities

    Word by Word: The two cities the two big

    Both words match in the dual form (-āni) and are definite.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing a description (Adjective) with a sentence (Predicate).

    Different Meaningالبيتُ كبيرٌ
    البيتُ الكبيرُ

    'Al-baytu kabīrun' (definite + indefinite) means 'The house IS big.' To say 'The big house,' both must be definite: 'Al-baytu al-kabīru'.

  • Using plural adjectives for non-human plural nouns.

    سيارات جدد
    سيارات جديدة

    In MSA, non-human plurals like 'cars' (sayyārāt) normally take a feminine singular adjective (jadīda). A feminine plural (جديدات) also occurs. A masculine plural such as جدد is classical or rare.

  • Placing the adjective before the noun like in English.

    الكبير البيت
    البيت الكبير

    In Arabic, the noun always comes first, followed by the adjective.

How It Connects

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Adjectives Follow the NounLevel 1

Learn This First

To learn adjectives (An-Na't), you must first understand how Arabic nouns handle gender and definiteness, as the adjective acts as a mirror to the noun it follows in these categories.

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Patterns that build on this one.

And 8 more in the full list.