The Ending After Prepositions and Joined Nouns

Level 2

Al-Majrūr (the genitive case) is the state nouns take when they are 'pulled' by a preposition or a possessive relationship. In its simplest form, it is marked by a kasra (short 'i' sound) at the end of the word.

How It Works

In Modern Standard Arabic, the majrūr state is essential for showing how words relate to each other. While spoken dialects often drop these endings, they are vital for formal writing and reading.

1. Morphological Markers:

  • Singular Nouns & Broken Plurals: Usually end in a kasra (ـِ) if definite, or kasratayn (ـٍ) if indefinite.
  • Sound Feminine Plurals: Take a kasra (ـاتِ) or kasratayn (ـاتٍ).
  • Duals & Sound Masculine Plurals: The marker changes from alif or wāw to yā’ (ـَيْنِ / ـِينَ).
  • The Five Special Nouns: Nouns like أب (father) and أخ (brother) take a long yā’ (e.g., أبيك, أخيك) when in this state.
  • Diptotes: Special nouns that take a fatḥa (ـَ) instead of a kasra, unless they have the definite article or are the first part of an iḍāfa construction.

2. Phonetic Harmony:
When a noun is majrūr, the third-person pronouns (ـه، ـهما، ـهم) often shift their vowel to a kasra (e.g., ـهِ، ـهِما، ـِهِم). This is a phonetic rule triggered by the preceding 'i' or 'y' sound common in the majrūr state (e.g., بِهِ instead of بِهُ).

3. Adjectives:
If a noun is majrūr, any adjective describing it must also be majrūr to maintain adjective agreement.

Examples (4)

  1. الولدُ في البيتِ.

    The boy is in the house.

    Word by Word: The boy in the house.

    The word 'al-bayt' (house) is majrūr because it follows the preposition 'fī' (in), marked by a kasra.

  2. ذَهَبْتُ إلى مَدْرَسَةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ.

    I went to a new school.

    Word by Word: I went to school new.

    Both 'madrasa' (school) and its adjective 'jadīda' (new) take the majrūr ending (tanwīn kasra) because of the preposition 'ilā'.

  3. مِفْتَاحُ السَّيَّارَةِ على الطَّاوِلَةِ.

    The car key is on the table.

    Word by Word: Key [of] the car on the table.

    'Al-sayyāra' is majrūr as the second part of an iḍāfa, and 'al-ṭāwila' is majrūr after the preposition '‘alā'.

  4. تَحَدَّثْتُ مع المُعَلِّمِينَ.

    I spoke with the teachers.

    Word by Word: I spoke with the teachers.

    For sound masculine plurals, the majrūr marker is the 'yā’' (ـينَ) instead of a kasra.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to decline the adjective following a majrūr noun.

    في الغرفةِ الواسعُ
    في الغرفةِ الواسعةِ

    Adjectives must match the case of the noun they describe. If the noun is majrūr, the adjective must be too.

  • Using the nominative plural ending (-ūna) after a preposition.

    سلّمتُ على المعلّمونِ
    سلّمتُ على المعلّمينَ

    Plural and dual nouns show the majrūr state with the letter yā’ (-īna / -ayni), not a short vowel.

How It Connects

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The Ending After Prepositions and Joined NounsLevel 2

Learn This First

To understand the genitive case (al-Majrur), you first need to understand the general concept of Arabic case endings (I'rab). You also need to be familiar with the two primary grammatical structures that cause a noun to be in the genitive case: following a preposition and being the second part of an Idafa (possessive) construction.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 9 more in the full list.