Arabic Plurals Used as Singulars

Level 6

Certain Arabic words like eşya (item/stuff) or evrak (document) entered Turkish in their 'broken plural' form. In modern Turkish, they are treated as singular roots and can even take the Turkish plural suffix -ler/-lar.

How It Works

In Arabic, plurals are often formed by changing the internal vowels of a word (broken plurals). When these words were adopted into Turkish, their meaning shifted from a specific plural to a singular or collective concept.

Key Characteristics:

  • Double Pluralization: Because words like eşya are singular in Turkish, saying eşyalar is grammatically correct and necessary when referring to multiple items.
  • Semantic Shift: Some words have become specific singular terms. For example, esnaf (originally 'classes/types') now refers to a single 'tradesman'.
  • Phonological Exceptions: A few of these words, most notably ahval (circumstances), trigger vowel harmony exceptions. Even though it ends in a back vowel 'a', it takes front-vowel suffixes (e.g., ahvaller) because the final 'l' is palatalized (soft).

Common Words in this Category:

  • Eşya: Item, thing, or belongings (Singular).
  • Evrak: Document or paperwork (Singular).
  • Elbise: Dress or clothing (Singular).
  • Evlat: Child or offspring (Singular).
  • Ecdat: Ancestor (Singular/Collective).
  • Aza: Member (Formal).

Examples (5)

  1. Evraklar henüz imzalanmadı, masanın üzerinde duruyorlar.

    The documents haven't been signed yet; they are sitting on the table.

    Word by Word: Documents yet were-not-signed, table's top-its-on they-are-standing.

    Here, 'evrak' is treated as a singular root, so the Turkish plural suffix '-lar' is added to indicate multiple documents.

  2. Yeni eve taşınırken bazı eşyalarımız hasar gördü.

    Some of our belongings were damaged while moving to the new house.

    Word by Word: New house-to while-moving some items-our damage saw.

    'Eşya' functions as a singular count noun. We add the possessive '-ımız' and plural '-lar' to it normally.

  3. Memleketin ahvalini sormak için aradım.

    I called to ask about the state of affairs in the country.

    Word by Word: Country's circumstances-its-accusative to-ask for I-called.

    Note that 'ahval' takes the front-vowel accusative suffix '-i' (ahvalini) due to the soft 'l', despite the 'a' in the root.

  4. O, mahallemizin en dürüst esnafıdır.

    He is the most honest tradesman in our neighborhood.

    Word by Word: He, neighborhood-our-of most honest tradesman-is.

    Although 'esnaf' was originally plural, here it refers to a single person (a tradesman).

  5. Bütün evlatlarını üniversitede okuttu.

    He put all his children through university.

    Word by Word: All children-his-plural-accusative university-at he-made-read.

    'Evlat' is the standard word for child/offspring in Turkish, treated as a singular root.

Common Mistakes

  • Avoiding the Turkish plural suffix because the word is 'already plural' in Arabic.

    Masadaki evrak alıp gitti.
    Masadaki evrakları alıp gitti.

    In Turkish, 'evrak' is singular. If you mean 'the documents' (plural), you must use the suffix '-ları'. Using the root alone implies a single document or the concept of paperwork in general.

  • Applying back-vowel harmony to 'ahval'.

    Memleketin ahvalları...
    Memleketin ahvalleri...

    The word 'ahval' ends in a palatalized (soft) 'l', which requires front-vowel suffixes like '-ler' or '-i' instead of '-lar' or '-ı'.

How It Connects

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Arabic Plurals Used as SingularsLevel 6

Learn This First

To understand Arabic plurals used as singulars, you should first be familiar with how standard Turkish plurals work. You also need to understand how basic nouns function in their plain form and how they are modified by adjectives, as these borrowed words behave like ordinary singular Turkish nouns despite their etymological plural origin.