How Regular Masculine Plurals Change

Level 3

The Sound Masculine Plural (Jam‘ al-Mudhakkar al-Sālim) is used for groups of three or more human males. Unlike singular nouns that change their final short vowels for case, this plural changes its long vowel: ـون (waw-nun) for subjects and ـين (ya-nun) for objects or after prepositions.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, nouns and adjectives change their endings based on their grammatical role in a sentence, a system known as al-I‘rāb. For the Sound Masculine Plural, these changes are visible through letters rather than short vowels:

  • Nominative (المرفوع): Used for the subject of a verb or the subject/predicate of a nominal sentence. The ending is ـُونَ (-ūna).
  • Accusative (المنصوب): Used for the direct object. The ending is ـِينَ (-īna).
  • Genitive (المجرور): Used after prepositions or as the second part of an Idafa construction. The ending is also ـِينَ (-īna).

Important Phonological Note: The consonant before the suffix must match the long vowel. A damma precedes the waw (ـُون), and a kasra precedes the ya’ (ـِين).

The Idafa Rule: When a sound masculine plural is the first word in a possessive relationship (Idafa), the final ن (nun) is dropped (e.g., mu‘allimū al-madrasa instead of mu‘allimūna al-madrasa).

Examples (4)

  1. وصل المهندسون إلى الموقع.

    The engineers arrived at the site.

    Word by Word: Arrived the-engineers (nom.) to the-site.

    Here, 'engineers' is the subject (nominative), so it ends in -ūna.

  2. شكرتُ المهندسين على عملهم.

    I thanked the engineers for their work.

    Word by Word: I-thanked the-engineers (acc.) for their-work.

    Here, 'engineers' is the direct object (accusative), so it ends in -īna.

  3. سلمتُ على المهندسين.

    I said hello to the engineers.

    Word by Word: I-greeted on the-engineers (gen.).

    Here, 'engineers' follows a preposition (genitive), so it ends in -īna.

  4. هؤلاء هم المدرسون الجدد.

    These are the new teachers.

    Word by Word: These they the-teachers (nom.) the-new.

    In a nominal sentence, the predicate 'teachers' is nominative, taking the -ūna ending.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the sound masculine plural for non-human objects.

    اشتريتُ الكتبون الجديدة.
    اشتريتُ الكتبَ الجديدةَ.

    The sound masculine plural is reserved for rational beings (humans). Non-human plurals usually use broken plurals and take feminine singular agreement.

  • Using the dual ending when a plural (three or more) is meant.

    Different Meaningرأيتُ المدرسَينِ
    رأيتُ المدرسِينَ

    رأيتُ المدرسَينِ is correct for two teachers. For three or more, use the plural ending: المدرِّسِينَ. The dual accusative/genitive is -ayni (fatha before ya), while the plural is -īna (kasra before ya).

  • Keeping the 'nun' in an Idafa construction.

    موظفون الشركة نشيطون.
    موظفو الشركة نشيطون.

    When the plural noun is the first part of an Idafa, the final 'nun' must be dropped.

How It Connects

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How Regular Masculine Plurals ChangeLevel 3

Learn This First

To understand how regular masculine plurals change their endings, a learner must first know how to form the basic plural (-un). They also need a foundational understanding of the Arabic case system (I'rab), specifically the nominative (Marfu), accusative (Mansub), and genitive (Majrur) states, as these states determine whether the plural ends in -un or -in.

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