Dropping the ن in Plural Verbs

Level 3

In formal Arabic, verbs ending in -āni, -ūna, or -īna lose their final 'n' sound when preceded by particles like 'an' (to), 'lan' (will not), or 'lam' (did not).

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, the present tense verb changes its ending to reflect its mood. For most verbs, this involves changing a damma to a fatha or sukun. However, the Five Verbs—which are specific conjugations for the Dual, Masculine Plural, and 2nd Person Feminine Singular—behave differently.

The Five Verbs are:

  • Dual: يفعلانِ / تفعلانِ (They/You two do)
  • Masculine Plural: يفعلونَ / تفعلونَ (They/You all do)
  • Feminine Singular (2nd person): تفعلينَ (You [f.] do)

When these verbs follow a Subjunctive particle (like أن or لن) or a Jussive particle (like لم, لا الناهية, or the imperative Lām al-Amr لِـ), the final ن (known as nūn al-i‘rāb or the 'nun of inflection') is deleted.

Important Exception:
Note that the feminine plural forms (يفعلنَ and تفعلنَ) are indeclinable (mabnī). The ن in these forms is the nūn al-niswa (the 'nun of women'), which is a subject pronoun, not an inflectional marker. Therefore, they always retain their ن regardless of the particles that precede them.

The Distinguishing Alif:
When the ن is dropped from the masculine plural forms (ending in و), a silent ا (called alif al-fāriqa or the 'Distinguishing Alif') is added. This is purely a spelling convention to distinguish the plural marker wāw al-jamā‘a from other types of the letter waw. Crucially, this ا is only added to the masculine plural; it is not added to the Dual or the 2nd Person Feminine Singular forms. For example: يكتبون becomes لم يكتبوا, but تكتبين becomes لم تكتبي and يكتبان becomes لم يكتبا.

Examples (4)

  1. يجب أن تدرسا جيداً.

    It is necessary that you two study well.

    Word by Word: Necessary that you-two-study well.

    The verb was originally تدرسانِ (tadrusāni). Because of the particle أن (an), the ن is dropped.

  2. الطلاب لم يذهبوا إلى المدرسة.

    The students did not go to school.

    Word by Word: The students did-not they-go to the school.

    The verb was originally يذهبونَ (yadhhabūna). The particle لم (lam) triggers the Jussive mood, dropping the ن and adding the silent alif.

  3. لن تأكلي هذا الطعام.

    You (f. sing.) will not eat this food.

    Word by Word: Will-not you-eat this the-food.

    The verb was originally تأكلينَ (ta’kulīna). The particle لن (lan) triggers the Subjunctive mood, causing the ن to be dropped.

  4. لا تتأخرا عن الموعد.

    Do not (you two) be late for the appointment.

    Word by Word: Do-not you-two-be-late from the-appointment.

    The verb was originally تتأخرانِ (tata’akhkharāni). The prohibitive لا (lā) triggers the Jussive mood, dropping the ن.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the silent Alif after the plural Waw.

    الطلاب لم يكتبو الدرس.
    الطلاب لم يكتبوا الدرس.

    In the masculine plural, when the ن is dropped, you must add a silent 'alif al-fāriqa' (ا) for correct spelling.

  • Dropping the ن from feminine plural verbs.

    النساء لن يكتبوا.
    النساء لن يكتبنَ.

    The feminine plural (ending in نَ) is not one of the 'Five Verbs.' Its ن is a pronoun, not a mood marker, so it never drops.

  • Dropping the ن in the indicative mood (plain present tense).

    هم يكتبوا كل يوم.
    هم يكتبون كل يوم.

    The ن only drops when a Subjunctive or Jussive particle is present. In a normal sentence, the ن must remain.

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Dropping the ن in Plural VerbsLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand why the 'nun' (ن) is dropped in plural verbs, a learner must first be familiar with the standard present tense conjugation (where the 'nun' is present) and the grammatical moods (Mansub and Majzum) that trigger this change.

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