-ان

Recognizing Plurals in an

Level 6

استاد → استادان.

How It Works

Urdu has borrowed plurals in ان alongside its ordinary number patterns. You will meet forms such as استادان, افسران and مہمانان in formal writing and ceremonial phrases.

The final ن is a consonant. Do not confuse ان with the nasalized ending of لڑکیاں or with the ordinary oblique plural -وں.

An already plural form can be followed directly by a postposition, as in افسران سے, or by an izafat link, as in استادانِ فن. These examples are a vocabulary set to recognize, not permission to add ان to every noun for a person.

Examples (4)

  1. استادانِ فن کی آرا جمع کی گئی ہیں۔

    The opinions of accomplished practitioners have been collected.

    استادان is plural and leads into an izafat phrase.

  2. افسران سے رپورٹ مانگی گئی۔

    The officers were asked for a report.

    افسران stays unchanged before سے.

  3. مہمانانِ خصوصی کے لیے نشستیں محفوظ ہیں۔

    Seats are reserved for the special guests.

    The formal plural appears in a ceremonial description.

  4. تمام کارکنان کا شکریہ ادا کیا گیا۔

    All the workers were thanked.

    کارکنان is used as a formal collective reference to the workers.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-انLevel 6Recognizing Plurals in an

Learn This First

Compare an unchanged ordinary masculine plural with an established borrowed form. Distinguish plural ان from the ordinary oblique ending.