Language/Tunisian-arabic/Grammar/Plurals

Tunisian Arabic Grammar - Plurals

Hi Tunisian Arabic learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on the plural form of nouns and adjectives. Understanding plural nouns and adjectives is essential for basic communication in Tunisian Arabic. Plurals can be tricky, especially for those new to the language. But don't worry, with a bit of practice, you'll soon master it!

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Future Tense, Pronouns, Past Tense & Statement Construction.

Plural rules

In Tunisian Arabic, there is no specific rule for plurals, but there are some common patterns that you can follow:

Singular noun	Plural noun
كتاب kitāb	كتب kutub (books)
قلم qlam	اقلام aqlām (pens)
سجادة sajjāda	سجاد sajjād (carpets)

Note that plurals in Tunisian Arabic are created by modifying the singular form of nouns (either in spelling or pronunciation).

For adjectives, the plural form is usually created by adding ين -(y)in or ات -at at the end of the adjective.

Examples:

Singular adjective	Plural adjective
حلو ḥlū (sweet)	حلوين ḥlwīn (sweet, masc. pl.) / حلوات ḥlwāt (sweet, fem. pl.)
قصير qṣīr (short)	قصار qṣār (short, masc. pl.) / قصيرات qṣīrāt (short, fem. pl.)
كبير kbīr (big)	كبار kubbār (big, masc. pl.) / كبيرات kubbīrāt (big, fem. pl.)

It is important to note that there are exceptions and irregular plural forms that must be memorized.

Sound-changing plural

A number of Tunisian Arabic nouns change their vowels in the plural form. The vowel change is shown in the table below:

Singular noun	Plural noun
شمس chams (sun)	شمسات chmsāt
دنيا dunya (world)	ديار dyār
ميمون Mimoun (male name)	ممانين mmānīn

Broken plural

The broken plural form in Tunisian Arabic is used for borrowed words from other languages, particularly French, such as مفتاح miftāḥ (key). Broken plurals for other nouns lose a vowel from the singular, like the word عبد ʿabd, which becomes أبيد ʾabīd (slaves).

Dialogue

To see the plural form of nouns and adjectives in context, let's listen to the following dialogue:

• Person 1: بابا، شريت هذيك الكتب كاملة. (Baba, shrit hādīk el-kutub kāmla.) - Dad, I bought all those books.
• Person 2: تتفرج وحدة وحدة ولا؟ (Ttfaraj wḥda wḥda wala?) - Are you going to watch them one by one or what?

In the dialogue, we can see the use of the plural form for الكتب el-kutub (books) and the singular form for وحدة wḥda (one).

Vocabulary

• كتاب kitāb - book
• قلم qlam - pen
• سجادة sajjāda - carpet
• حلو ḥlū - sweet
• قصير qṣīr - short
• كبير kbīr - big
• شمس chams - sun
• دنيا dunya - world
• ميمون Mimoun - male name
• أبيد ʾabīd - slaves

Practice

To practice constructing plural forms in Tunisian Arabic, try to turn these singular nouns and adjectives into the plural form:

• جدار (jedar - wall)
• جديد (jdid - new)

Further study

To improve your understanding of Tunisian Arabic Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Arabic plural system
• Tunisian Arabic
• Broken Plural

Other Lessons

• Questions
• Past Participle in Tunisian Arabic
• Pronouns
• Conditional Tense
• Prepositions
• Give your Opinion
• Nouns
• Possessive Case in Tunisian Arabic
• How to Use Have

Template:Tunisian-arabic-Page-Bottom