Language/Gulf-arabic/Grammar/Plurals

Gulf Arabic Grammar - Plurals

Hi Gulf Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be discussing plurals in Gulf Arabic. This is an intermediate level lesson, so make sure you have a basic understanding of the language and grammar. We will provide some interesting cultural information and examples along the way. We hope you enjoy it!

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: How to Use "Have", Questions & Negation.

Plural Forms

In Gulf Arabic, we have several ways to form plurals. Each plural form is used in different situations, so it's important to understand them all. Here are the plural forms we will be discussing today:

Regular Plurals

The regular plural is formed by adding "وْن" or "يْن" to the end of a singular noun, depending on the gender of the noun. For masculine nouns, we add "وْن" and for feminine nouns, we add "يْن".

Gulf Arabic	Pronunciation	English
كِتَاب	'kitaab	Book
كِتَابُوْنَا	'kitabuna	Our books
سَكَّة	'sakka	Street
سَكَّةَيْنِ	'sakka(y)eeni	Two streets
بَيْت	bayt	House
بُيُوْت	bu'yuut	Houses
فِلْم	film	Film
فِلَامْ	filam	Films

Broken Plurals

Broken plurals are formed by changing the vowels, adding or dropping letters, and sometimes by adding a prefix or a suffix. Broken plurals are used for masculine and feminine nouns, and they are used for more complex and irregular nouns. Here are some examples:

Gulf Arabic	Pronunciation	English
كَتْب	'kutub	Books
رَجَال	'rjaal	Men
نِسَاء	'nisaa	Women
عُيُون	'uuyuun	Eyes
أَسَرَة	'asara	Families
أَسْنَان	'asnana	Teeth

Remember that broken plurals follow specific patterns, so it's important to learn them properly.

Dual Form

In Gulf Arabic, some nouns have a dual form. The dual form is used to describe two of something, so it's only for nouns that occur in pairs. The dual form is created by adding "يْن" or "ان" to the end of a noun.

Gulf Arabic	Pronunciation	English
إِصْبَع	'isba'	Finger
إِصْبَعَيْن	'isba'ayni	Two fingers
عَيْن	'ayn	Eye
عَيْنَيْن	'aynayn	Two eyes
يَد	yad	Hand
يَدَيْن	yadayn	Two hands

Exceptions

As with any language, there are some exceptions to the rules. Here are two examples:

1. The word "قدم" which means "foot" is a masculine noun, but its plural form is "أَقْدام" which is a feminine noun.

2. The word "عَمَل" which means "work" is a masculine noun, but its plural form is "أَعْمَال" which is a feminine noun.

Dialogue

To help you understand plurals in context, here is a dialogue between two friends:

• Person 1: اشتريت كِتَابْ جَدِيدْ! (I bought a new book!)
• Person 2: عَيْوَنِي عَلَى الرَّفْ، كِتَابُك مَخَتَفِي! (My eyes on the shelf, your book is missing!)

Cultural Information

Did you know that in Gulf Arabic, when talking about people or things in groups, we use the word "شِلَّة" (shillah)? This word means "gang" or "crowd" in English, but in Gulf Arabic, it's more of an endearing term used to describe your friends or a group of people you're familiar with.

Practice Makes Perfect

To practice your plural skills, try reading some news articles or watching some videos in Gulf Arabic. You can also find native speakers on Polyglot Club and ask them any questions you have!

Sources

• Gulf Arabic Wikipedia
• Arabic Plural System Wikipedia
• Broken Plurals Wikipedia

Other Lessons

• Give your Opinion
• Adjectives
• Personal Pronouns
• Pronouns
• How to Use Have
• Questions
• How to Use Be
• Conditional Mood
• Negation