Arabic nouns and adjectives
Arabic nouns and adjectives are declined according to [|case], state, gender and number. While this is strictly true in Classical Arabic, in colloquial or spoken Arabic, there are a number of simplifications such as loss of certain final vowels and loss of case. A number of derivational processes exist for forming new nouns and adjectives. Adverbs can be formed from adjectives.
Noun and adjective inflection (Classical Arabic)
s and adjectives in Classical Arabic are declined according to the following properties:- Case
- State
- Gender : an inherent characteristic of nouns, but part of the declension of adjectives
- Number
Overview of inflection
The following table is an overview of noun and adjective inflection in Classical Arabic:NOTE:
- The plural forms listed are actually separate declensions. Most singular adjectives of the indicated declensions, as well as some singular nouns, are declined in the plural according to the indicated plural declensions. However, most nouns have a plural from a different declension — either a sound plural or a broken plural. Some adjectives also have broken plurals. See the discussion below on case for more details.
- The so-called "sound masculine" and "sound feminine" plural declensions refer to form, not gender – grammatically masculine nouns often have sound feminine plurals, and occasionally vice versa.
- Diptotes are declined exactly like regular triptotes other than in the singular indefinite state.
- In the defective-in--in declension, accusative -iyan occurs in singular nouns, while -iya occurs in broken plurals.
- There are only limited classes of invariable nouns and adjectives and none have their own plural declension; instead, they decline like one of the other singular or plural declensions.
- Only a limited number of nouns in -an have a dual in -awāni/-awayni; all of these are short nouns with a two-character stem, and are spelled in Arabic script with a "tall alif" rather than alif maqṣūrah. Examples are ʻaṣan عصاً "stick".
| Singular | Declension | Meaning | Gender | Type,Notes | Root | Plural | Declension |
| yad | triptote | hand | feminine | root noun | y-d | ʼaydin | broken plural defective in -in |
| yad | triptote | hand | feminine | root noun | y-d | ʼayādin | broken plural defective in -in |
| ʼab | "long construct" triptote | father | masculine | root noun | ʼ-b | ʼābāʼ | broken plural triptote |
| yawm | triptote | day | masculine | root noun | y-w-m | ʼayyām | broken plural triptote |
| laylah | triptote in -ah | night | feminine | root noun | l-y-l | laylāt | sound feminine plural |
| laylah | triptote in -ah | night | feminine | root noun | l-y-l | layālin | broken plural defective in -in |
| baḥr | triptote | sea | masculine | root noun | b-ḥ-r | biḥār | broken plural triptote |
| baḥr | triptote | sea | masculine | root noun | b-ḥ-r | buḥūr | broken plural triptote |
| baḥr | triptote | sea | masculine | root noun | b-ḥ-r | ʼabḥār | broken plural triptote |
| baḥr | triptote | sea | masculine | root noun | b-ḥ-r | ʼabḥur | broken plural triptote |
| ʼarḍ | triptote | land | feminine | root noun | ʼ-r-ḍ | ʼarāḍin | broken plural defective in -in |
| ʼarḍ | triptote | land | feminine | root noun | ʼ-r-ḍ | ʼaraḍūna | sound masculine plural |
| ṭālib | triptote | student | masculine | Form I active participle | ṭ-l-b | ṭullāb | broken plural triptote |
| ṭālib | triptote | student | masculine | Form I active participle | ṭ-l-b | ṭalabah | broken plural triptote in -ah |
| muʻallim | triptote | teacher | masculine | Form II active participle | ʻ-l-m | muʻallimūna | sound masculine plural |
| ḥayāh | triptote in -āh | life | feminine | Form I verbal noun | ḥ-y-w | ḥayawāt | sound feminine plural |
| ḥayawān | triptote | animal | masculine | derived noun in -ān | ḥ-y-w | ḥayawānāt | sound feminine plural |
| qāḍin | defective in -in | judge | masculine | Form I active participle | q-ḍ-y | quḍāh | broken plural triptote in -āh |
| qaḍiyyah | triptote in -ah | lawsuit | feminine | derived noun | q-ḍ-y | qaḍāyā | broken plural invariable -ā |
| mustašfan | defective in -an | hospital | masculine | Form X noun of place | š-f-y | mustašfayāt | sound feminine plural |
| kitāb | triptote | book | masculine | derived noun | k-t-b | kutub | broken plural triptote |
| maktab | triptote | desk, office | masculine | Form I noun of place | k-t-b | makātib | broken plural diptote |
| maktabah | triptote in -ah | library | feminine | Form I noun of place | k-t-b | maktabāt | sound feminine plural |
| maktabah | triptote in -ah | library | feminine | Form I noun of place | k-t-b | makātib | broken plural diptote |
| dunyā | invariable -ā | world | feminine | nominalized feminine elative adjective | d-n-y | dunyayāt | sound feminine plural |
| ṣaḥrāʼ | diptote | desert | feminine | nominalized feminine color/defect adjective | ṣ-ḥ-r | ṣaḥārin | broken plural defective in -in |
| ṣaḥrāʼ | diptote | desert | feminine | nominalized feminine color/defect adjective | ṣ-ḥ-r | ṣaḥārā | broken plural invariable -ā |
| ṣaḥrāʼ | diptote | desert | feminine | nominalized feminine color/defect adjective | ṣ-ḥ-r | ṣaḥrāwāt | sound feminine plural |
| šaǧarah | triptote in -ah | tree | feminine | noun of unity | š-ǧ-r | šaǧar | triptote, root noun, collective singular |
| šaǧarah | triptote in -ah | tree | feminine | noun of unity | š-ǧ-r | šaǧarāt | sound feminine plural, plural of paucity |
| šaǧarah | triptote in -ah | tree | feminine | noun of unity | š-ǧ-r | ʼašǧār | broken plural triptote, plural of variety |
| ʻabd | triptote | slave, servant | masculine | derived noun | ʻ-b-d | ʻabīd | broken plural triptote |
| ʻabd | triptote | slave, servant | masculine | derived noun | ʻ-b-d | ʻubdān | broken plural triptote |
| ʻabd | triptote | slave, servant | masculine | derived noun | ʻ-b-d | ʻibdān | broken plural triptote |
| ʻabd | triptote | servant, human being | masculine | derived noun | ʻ-b-d | ʻibād | broken plural triptote |
| tilifizyūn | triptote | television | masculine | borrowed noun | — | tilifizyūnāt | sound feminine plural |
| film | triptote | film | masculine | borrowed noun | — | ʼaflām | broken plural triptote |
| sigārah | triptote in -ah | cigarette | feminine | borrowed noun | — | sagāʼir | broken plural diptote |
The following table shows some examples of adjective inflections.
| Type,Notes | Root | Meaning | Masculine Singular | Declension | Feminine Singular | Declension | Masculine Plural | Declension | Feminine Plural | Declension |
| faʻīl | k-b-r | big | kabīr | triptote | kabīrah | triptote in -ah | kibār | broken plural triptote | kabīrāt | sound feminine plural |
| faʻīl | k-b-r | big | kabīr | triptote | kabīrah | triptote in -ah | kubarāʼ | broken plural diptote | kabīrāt | sound feminine plural |
| elative | k-b-r | bigger, biggest | ʼakbar | diptote | kubrā | invariable -ā | ʼakbarūna | sound masculine plural | kubrayāt | sound feminine plural |
| elative | k-b-r | bigger, biggest | ʼakbar | diptote | kubrā | invariable -ā | ʼakābir | broken plural diptote | kubrayāt | sound feminine plural |
| faʻīl, third-weak | d-n-w | near, low | daniyy | triptote | daniyyah | triptote in -ah | ʼadniyāʼ | broken plural diptote | daniyyāt | sound feminine plural |
| elative, third-weak | d-n-w | nearer, nearest; lower, lowest | ʼadnā | invariable -ā | dunyā | invariable -ā | ʼadānin | broken plural defective in -in | dunan | broken plural defective in -an |
| elative, third-weak | d-n-w | nearer, nearest; lower, lowest | ʼadnā | invariable -ā | dunyā | invariable -ā | ʼadnawna | sound masculine plural defective in -an | dunyawāt | sound feminine plural |
| color/defect | ḥ-m-r | red | ʼaḥmar | diptote | ḥamrāʼ | diptote | ḥumr | broken plural triptote | ḥumr | broken plural triptote |
| faʻlān | ʻ-ṭ-š | thirsty | ʻaṭšān | diptote | ʻaṭšā | invariable -ā | ʻiṭāš | broken plural triptote | ? | ? |
| faʻlān | ʻ-ṭ-š | thirsty | ʻaṭšān | diptote | ʻaṭšā | invariable -ā | ʻaṭšā | broken plural invariable -ā | ? | ? |
Number
Arabic distinguishes between nouns based on number. All nouns are singular dual, or plural. In Classical Arabic, the use of the dual is mandatory whenever exactly two objects are referred to, regardless of whether the "two-ness" of the objects is explicit or not. For example, in a sentence like "I picked up my children from school yesterday and then helped them with their homework", the words "children", "them" and "their" must be in the dual if exactly two children are referred to, regardless of whether the speaker wants to make this fact explicit or not. This implies that when the plural is used, it necessarily implies three or more.Nouns take either a sound plural or broken plural. The sound plural is formed by adding endings, and can be considered part of the declension. The broken plural, however, is a different stem. It may belong to a different declension, and is declined as a singular noun. For example, the plural of the masculine triptote noun كِتَاب kitāb "book" is كُتُب kutub, which is declined as a normal singular triptote noun: indefinite nominative كُتُبٌ kutubun; indefinite accusative كُتُباً kutuban; indefinite genitive كُتُبٍ kutubin; etc. On the other hand, the masculine triptote noun مَكْتَب maktab "desk, office" has the plural مَكَاتِب makātib, which declines as a singular diptote noun: indefinite nominative مَكَاتِبُ makātibu; indefinite accusative/genitive مَكَاتِبَ makātiba; etc.
Generally, the only nouns that have the "masculine" sound plural ـُونَ, ـِينَ -ūn, -īn are nouns referring to male human beings. On the other hand, the feminine sound plural -āt occurs not only on nouns referring to female human beings, but also on many nouns referring to objects, whether masculine or feminine. Note that all inanimate objects take feminine singular agreement in the plural, regardless of their "inherent" gender and regardless of the form of the plural.
Some nouns have two or more plural forms, usually to distinguish between different meanings.
Gender
Arabic has two genders : masculine and feminine. As mentioned above, verbs, adjectives and pronouns must agree in gender with the corresponding noun. Gender in Arabic is logically very similar to a language like Spanish: Animate nouns, such as those referring to people, usually have the grammatical gender corresponding to their natural gender, but for inanimate nouns the grammatical gender is largely arbitrary.Most feminine nouns end in ـَة -at-, but some do not. Most words ending in ـَا are also feminine.
The letter ة used for feminine nouns is a special form known as تَاء مَرْبُوطَة tāʼ marbūṭah "tied T", which looks like the letter hāʼ with the two dots that form part of the letter tāʼ written above it. This form indicates that the feminine ending -at- is pronounced -ah- in pausa. Words with the ending ـَة never take alif ending for the indefinite accusative. Thus, اِبْنًا ibnan has final alif, but اِبْنَةً ibnatan does not.
In the colloquial variants, and in all but the most formal pronunciations of spoken Modern Standard Arabic, the feminine ending -at appears only with nouns in the construct state, and the ending is simply pronounced -a in all other circumstances.
State
The grammatical property of state is specific to Arabic and other Semitic languages. The basic division is between definite and indefinite, corresponding approximately to English nouns preceded, respectively, by the and a or an. More correctly, a definite noun signals either a particular entity previously referenced or a generic concept, and corresponds to one of the following in English: English nouns preceded by the, this, that, or a possessive adjective ; English nouns taken in a generic sense ; or proper nouns. Indefinite nouns refer to entities not previously mentioned, and correspond to either English nouns preceded by a, an or some, or English mass nouns with no preceding determiner and not having a generic sense.Definite nouns are usually marked by a definite article prefix اَلـ al- t-, s-,. Indefinite nouns are usually marked by nunation. Adjectives modifying a noun agree with the noun in definiteness, and take the same markings:
- كَلْبٌ كَبِيرٌ kalbun kabīrun "a big dog "
- رَأَيْتُ كَلْباً كَبِيراً raʼaytu kalban kabīran "I saw a big dog "
- مَعَ كَلْبٍ كَبِيرٍ maʻa kalbin kabīrin "with a big dog "
- اَلْكَلْبُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ al-kalbu l-kabīru "the big dog "
- كَلْبُهَا ٱلْكَبِيرُ kalbu-hā l-kabīru "her big dog "
- رَأَيْتُ صُورَةً جَمِيلَةً raʼaytu ṣūratan ǧamīlatan "I saw a nice picture "
- مِصْرُ ٱلْقَدِيمَةُ Miṣru l-qadīmatu "Ancient Egypt "
- بِنْتُ ٱلْمَلِكَةِ bintu l-malikati "the daughter of the queen"
- بِنْتُ ٱلْمَلِكَةِ ٱلْقَصِيرَةُ bintu l-malikati l-qaṣīratu "the short daughter of the queen"
- بِنْتُ ٱلْمَلِكَةِ ٱلْقَصِيرَةِ bintu l-malikati l-qaṣīrati "the daughter of the short queen"
- بِنْتِ ٱلْمَلِكَةِ ٱلْقَصِيرَةِ binti l-malikati l-qaṣīrati "the short daughter of the queen" or "the daughter of the short queen"
The construct state is likewise used for nouns with an attached possessive suffix:
- بِنْتُهَا bintu-hā "her daughter "
- بِنْتِهَا binti-hā "her daughter "
- بِنْتُهُ bintu-hu "his daughter "
- بِنْتِهِ binti-hi "his daughter "
- بِنْتِي bint-ī "my daughter "
- مَلِكَتِهَا malikati-hā "her queen "
- كِلْبُهَا kalbu-hā "her dog "
- كَلْبُهَا ٱلْكَبِيرُ kalbu-hā l-kabīru "her big dog "
When an indefinite noun is modified by another noun, the construct state is not used. Instead, a construction such as بِنْتٌ لِلْمَلِكَةِ bintun li-l-malikati lit. "a daughter to the queen" is used.
Note also the following appositional construction:
- اَلْبَيْتُ وَاسِعُ ٱلنَّوَافِذِ
Article
The article الـ al- is indeclinable and expresses the definite state of a noun of any gender and number. As mentioned above, it is also prefixed to each of that noun's modifying adjectives. The initial vowel , is volatile in the sense that it disappears in sandhi, the article becoming mere l-.Also, the l is assimilated to a number of consonants, so that in these cases, the article in pronunciation is expressed only by geminating the initial consonant of the noun.
The consonants causing assimilation are ت, ث, د, ذ, ر, ز, س, ش, ص, ض, ط, ظ, ل, ن. These 14 letters are called 'solar letters', while the remaining 14 are called 'lunar letters' or 'moon letters'. The solar letters all have in common that they are dental, alveolar, and postalveolar consonants in the classical language, and the lunar consonants are not.
Agreement
Adjectives generally agree with their corresponding nouns in gender, number, case and state. Pronouns and verbs likewise agree in person, gender and number. However, there is an important proviso: inanimate plural nouns take feminine-singular agreement. This so-called "deflected agreement" applies to all agreement contexts, whether of adjectives, verbs or pronouns, and applies regardless of both the inherent gender of the noun and the form of the plural of the noun. Note that this does not apply to dual nouns, which always have "strict agreement".Case
There are six basic noun/adjective singular declensions:- The normal triptote declension, which includes the majority of nouns and adjectives. The basic property is a three-way case marking distinction -u -a -i. An example is كِتَاب kitāb "book", with indefinite declension كِتَابٌ kitābun, كتاباً kitāban, كِتَابٍ kitābin and definite declension اَلْكِتَابُ al-kitābu, اَلْكِتَابَ al-kitāba, اَلْكِتَابِ al-kitābi. Most feminine nouns have an additional stem ـَة, and decline the same way. Some feminine nouns have a variant stem ـَاة, again with the same declensional endings. Note that there are some cases of nouns whose gender does not match the stem form. In addition, some masculine nouns have broken plurals in ـَة, and likewise some feminine nouns have broken plurals without ـَة. This affects the form, but not the inherent gender of these nouns.
- The diptote declension. Diptotes have a different declension only in the singular indefinite state. Diptote means that they only have two case endings. When the noun is indefinite, the endings are -u for the nominative and -a for the genitive and accusative with no nunation. The genitive reverts to the normal -i when the diptotic noun becomes definite ) These words are missing the nunation normally marking the indefinite. The class of diptote nouns mostly includes certain names, and broken plurals of particular forms and color/defect adjectives, as well as the forms فَعْلَاء faʻlāʼ and فَعْلَان faʻlān.
- The "long construct" declension. These are triptotes with long case endings -ū -ā -ī in the singular construct state, and normal triptote endings elsewhere. There are only five nouns in this declension, all very short : ʼab "father" ; ʼaḫ "brother"; ḥam "father-in-law"; fam "mouth" ; and ḏū "the owner of".
- The -in declension. This is used primarily for nouns and adjectives whose final root consonant is -y or -w, and which would normally have an -i- before the last consonant. Such words were once declined as normal triptotes, but sound change has caused the last stem syllable to collapse together with the ending, leading to an irregular declension. In adjectives, this irregularity occurs only in the masculine; such adjectives have a normal feminine with a stem ending in -iya-.
- The -an declension. Like the -in declension, this is used primarily for nouns and adjectives whose final root consonant is -y or -w, but these are words that would normally have an -a- before the last consonant. Again, sound change has caused the last stem syllable to collapse together with the ending, and again, in adjectives the irregularity occurs only in the masculine, with regularly-declined feminines having a stem ending in -āh or -ayāt-.
- The invariable -ā declension. These words have the same form in all cases, both indefinite and definite. When this declension occurs in adjectives, it generally occurs as either the masculine or feminine singular portion of a complex paradigm with a differently-stemmed diptote conjugation in the other gender. Examples are the feminine singular of elative adjectives, such as كُبْرَى kubrā "bigger/biggest ", and of "intensive" adjectives in فَعْلَان faʻlān, e.g. عَطْشَى ʻaṭšā "thirsty ". Masculine singular elatives and color/defect adjectives from third-weak roots have this declension themselves, e.g. أَعْمَى ʼaʻmā "blind", أَدْنَى ʼadnā "nearer, lower".
Note that all dual nouns and adjectives have the same endings -ā/-ay, differing only in the form of the stem.
Nominative case
The nominative case is used for:- Subjects of a verbal sentence.
- Subjects and predicates of an equational sentence, with some notable exceptions.
- Certain adverbs retain the nominative marker.
- The citation form of words is in the nominative case.
Accusative case
The accusative case is used for:- Objects of a verbal sentence.
- The subject of an equational sentence, if it is initiated with 'inna, or one of her sisters.
- The predicate of كَانَ or يَكُونُ kāna or yakūnu "be" and its sisters. Hence, اَلْبِنْتُ جَمِيلَةٌ al-bintu ǧamīlatun "the girl is beautiful" but كَانَتِ ٱلْبِنْتُ جَمِيلَةً kānat-i-l-bintu ǧamīla "the girl was beautiful". The ending in brackets may not be pronounced in pausa or in informal Arabic.
- Both the subject and the predicate of ظَنَّ ẓanna and its sisters in an equational clause.
- The object of a transitive verb.
- Most adverbs.
- Internal object/cognate accusative structure.
- The accusative of specification/purpose/circumstantial.
Genitive case
The genitive case is used for:- Objects of prepositions.
- All, but not necessarily the first member, of an ʼiḍāfah .
- The object of a locative adverb.
- Semi-prepositions if preceded by another preposition
- Objects of أي ʼayy "any".
- Elative adjectives behave similarly: أَطْوَلُ وَلَدٍ "ʼaṭwalu waladin" "tallest boy".
Pronunciation
When speaking or reading aloud, nouns at the end of an utterance are pronounced in a special pausal form. Final short vowels, as well as short vowels followed by a nunation, are omitted; but accusative -an sounds as -ā. The -t- in the feminine ending -at- sounds as -h-.In writing, all words are written in their pausal form; special diacritics may be used to indicate the case endings and nunation, but are normally only found in books for students and children, in the Quran, and occasionally elsewhere to remove ambiguity. Only the accusative case for indefinite masculine nouns is often marked. Feminine nouns are indicated using a ة tāʼ marbūṭah (technically, the letter for -h- with the markings for -t- added.
When speaking in less formal registers, words are essentially pronounced in their pausal form.
When speaking or reading aloud, the case endings are generally omitted in less formal registers.
Noun and adjective inflection in Colloquial Arabic
In the colloquial spoken varieties of Arabic, much of the inflectional and derivational grammar of Classical Arabic nouns and adjectives is unchanged. The colloquial varieties have all been affected by a change that deleted most final short vowels, and shortened final long vowels.; Loss of case
The largest change is the total lack of any grammatical case in the colloquial variants. When case endings were indicated by short vowels, these are simply deleted. Otherwise, the pausal form of the original oblique case has been usually generalized to all cases. The original nunation ending indicating the indefinite state is also lost in most varieties, and where it persists it has different functions. The distinction between triptote and diptote has vanished, as has the distinction between defective -an and invariable -ā, which are both rendered by -a ; similarly, defective -in nouns now have an ending -i, shortened from pausal/definite -ī.
Even in Classical Arabic, grammatical case appears not to have been completely integrated into the grammar. The word order was largely fixed — contrary to the usual freedom of word order in languages with case marking — and there are few cases in the Koran where omission of case endings would entail significant ambiguity of meaning. As a result, the loss of case entailed relatively little change in the grammar as a whole. In Modern Standard Arabic, case functions almost entirely as an afterthought: Most case endings are not pronounced at all, and even when the correct use of case endings is necessary, the text is composed without consideration of case and later annotated with the correct endings.
Despite the loss of case, the original indefinite accusative ending -an survives in its adverbial usage.
; Restriction of the dual number
The dual number is lost except on nouns, and even then its use is no longer functionally obligatory. In addition, many varieties have two morphologically separate endings inherited from the Classical dual, one used with dual semantics and the other used for certain objects that normally come in pairs but with plural semantics. In some varieties, the former, semantic dual has nearly disappeared, and is used only with a limited number of nouns, especially those referring to cardinal numbers and units of measurement.
; Changes to elative adjectives
Elative adjectives are no longer inflected; instead, the masculine singular serves for all genders and numbers. Note that the most common way of saying e.g. "the largest boy" is أَكْبَر وَلَد ʼakbar walad, with the adjective in the construct state.
; Preservation of remainder of system
Other than the above changes, the system is largely stable. The same system of two genders, sound and broken plurals, and the use of multiple stems to complete the declension of some nouns and adjectives still exists, and is little changed in its particulars.
The singular of feminine nouns is normally marked in -a. Former -in nouns are marked in -i, while former -an and -ā nouns are marked in -a, causing a formal merger in the singular with the feminine. The former "long feminine" marked with pausal -āh normally is marked with -āt in all circumstances. Sound masculine plurals are marked with -īn, and sound feminine plurals with -āt; duals often use -ēn.
The system of three states also still exists. With loss of final -n, the difference between definite and indefinite simply comes down to presence or absence of the article al-. The construct state is distinguished by lack of al-, and in feminines in -a by a separate ending -at. The "older dual", which is often -ēn, has a separate construct form -ē. Other duals, as well as sound plurals, do not normally have a construct state, but instead use an analytical genitive construction, using a particle with a meaning of "of" but whose form differs greatly from variant to variant, and which is used in a grammatical construction that exactly parallels the analytical genitive in English constructions such as "the father of the teacher".
Noun and adjective derivation
A number of derivational processes exist for forming new nouns and adjectives. Most of these processes are non-concatenative, i.e. they involve a specific transformation applied to a root or word of a specific form, and cannot be arbitrarily combined or repeated to form longer and longer words. The only real concatenative derivational process is the [|nisba] adjective -iyy-, which can be added to any noun to form an adjective meaning "related to X", and nominalized with the meaning "person related to X". A secondary concatenative suffix is the feminine -ah, which can be added onto most nouns to make a feminine equivalent. The actual semantics are not very well-defined, but when added onto a noun indicating a man of some sort, they typically either refer to the women or objects with the same characteristics. The feminine nisba adjective -iyyah is commonly used to refer to abstract nouns, and is sometimes added directly onto foreign nouns.The most productive means of derivational morphology of nouns is actually through the existing system of the participles and verbal nouns that are associated with each verb. These words can be "lexicalized" by giving them additional semantics, much as the original English gerund "meeting" and passive participle "loaded" have been lexicalized from their original meanings of "the act of meeting ", "being loaded into/onto someone/something", so that "meeting" can mean "a gathering of people to discuss an issue, often business-related" and "loaded" can mean "having lots of money ", "with a bullet in it ", etc.
The system of noun and adjective derivation described below is of Classical Arabic, but the system in the modern colloquial varieties is nearly unchanged. Changes occurring in particular formations are discussed below.
Collective nouns
Certain nouns in Arabic, especially those referring to plants, animals and other inanimate objects that often appear in groups, have a special collective declension. For those nouns, the formally singular noun has plural semantics, or refers to the objects as an undistinguished mass. In these nouns, the singular is formed by adding the feminine suffix ـَة, which forms the so-called singulative. These singulative nouns in turn can be pluralized, using either the broken plural or the sound feminine plural in -āt; this "plural of paucity" is used especially when counting objects between 3 and 10, and sometimes also with the meaning of "different kinds of...".Examples:
- حَجَر ḥajar "rocks" or "rock" ; حَجَرَة ḥajarah "a rock"
- شَجَر šajar "trees"; شَجَرَة šajarah "a tree"; أَشْجَار ʼašjār "trees"
- قَمْح qamḥ "wheat", قَمْحَة qamḥah "a grain of wheat"
- بَقَر baqar "cattle"; بَقَرَة baqarah "a cow"
- جُنْد jund "army"; جندي jundiyy "a soldier"
- جِنّ jinn "genies, jinns"; جِنِّيّ jinniyy "a genie"
- زِنْج zinj "black people" ; زِنْجِىّ zinjiyy "a black person"
Nisba
- لُبْنَانُ Lubnān "Lebanon"
- لُبْنَانِيٌّ lubnāniyy "Lebanese"
- لُبْنَانِيَّةٌ lubnāniyya "Lebanese"
- لُبْنَانِيُّونَ lubnāniyyūn "Lebanese"
- لُبْنَانِيَّاتٌ lubnāniyyāt "Lebanese"
The feminine nisbah is often used in Arabic as a noun relating to concepts, most frequently corresponding to ones ending in, with the masculine and feminine nisbah being used as adjectival forms of the concept-noun depending on agreement. Thus the feminine nisbah of اَلْاِشْتِرَاك al-ištirāk "partnership, cooperation, participation ", اَلْاِشْتِرَاكِيَّة al-ištirākiyyah is the Arabic word for "socialism," and the word "socialist" is اِشْتِرَاكِيّ ištirākiyy in the masculine and اِشْتِرَاكِيَّة ištirākiyyah in the feminine.
The Arabic nisbah has given rise to English adjectives of nationality for Arabic countries: Iraqi, Kuwaiti, etc.
Participles and verbal nouns
Every verb has associated active and passive participles, as well as a verbal noun. The form of these participles and verbal nouns is largely predictable. For Form I, however, numerous possible shapes exist for the verbal noun, and the form of the verbal noun for any given verb is unpredictable. In addition, some verbs have multiple verbal nouns, corresponding to different meanings of the verb.All of these forms are frequently lexicalized. In fact, participles and verbal nouns are one of the most productive sources of new vocabulary. A number of Arabic borrowings in English are actually lexicalized verbal nouns, or closely related forms. Examples are jihād ; :wikt:intifada|intifāḍah ; ’Islām ; istiqlāl. Many participles are likewise lexicalized, e.g. مُهَنْدِس muhandis "engineer".
Occupational and characteristic nouns
Occupational nouns can be derived from many verb stems, generally using the form فَعَّال faʻʻāl, e.g. كَتَّاب kattāb "scribe". The same pattern is used to form characteristic nouns, i.e. nouns with the meaning of "person who habitually does X" rather than an occupation as such, e.g. كَذَّاب kaḏḏāb "liar".The active participle can also be used to form occupational nouns, e.g. طَالِب ṭālib "student", كَاتِب kātib "writer", بَائِع bā'iʻ "vendor", مُهَنْدِس muhandis "engineer".
In addition, some occupational nouns are in the form of a nisba, e.g. صُحُفَيّ ṣuḥufiyy or صِحَافِيّ ṣiḥāfiyy, both meaning "journalist".
Nouns of place
A common type of derivational noun is the noun of place, with a form مَفْعَل mafʻal or similar, e.g. مَكْتَب maktab "desk / office", مَكْتَبَة maktabah "library" ; مَطْبَخ maṭbaḫ "kitchen" ; مَسْرَح masraḥ "theater". Nouns of place formed from verbs other than Form I have the same form as the passive participle, e.g. مُسْتَشْفىً mustašfan "hospital".Tool nouns
Just as nouns of place are formed using a prefix ma-, tool nouns were traditionally formed using a prefix mi-. Examples are مِفْتَاح miftāḥ "key" ; مِنْهَاج minhāǧ "road" ; مِكْتَال miktāl "large basket" ; مِيزَان mīzān "balance " ; مِكْسَحَة miksaḥah "broom".However, the current trend is to use a different form فَعَّالَة faʻʻālah. This is in origin a feminine occupational noun. It has been repurposed in imitation of the English use of -er/or in similar nouns and following the general association in Arabic between the feminine gender and inanimate objects. The majority of modern inventions follow this form, e.g. نَظَّارَة naẓẓārah "telescope, eyeglasses" ; ثَلَّاجَة ṯallāǧah "refrigerator" ; دَبَّاسَة dabbāsah "stapler"; دَبَّابَة dabbābah "tank".
Instance nouns
An instance noun is a noun that indicates a single occurrence of an action, and uses the suffix -ah: e.g. ضَرْبَة ḍarbah "blow" or اِنْتِفَاضَة intifāḍah "intifada, an uprising". Instance nouns are generally formed from a verbal noun by the addition of the feminine ending. The terminology is unsettled; instance nouns are sometimes called "event instance nouns" or "nouns of single instance", or traditionally "nouns of unity", although this latter term is unsatisfactory because it can also refer to singulative nouns.Diminutives
s usually follow a pattern فُعَيْل fuʻayl or similar. Examples are كُلَيْب kulayb "little dog" ; بُنَيّ bunayy "little son" ; حُسَيْن Ḥusayn "Hussein".Diminutives are relatively unproductive in Modern Standard Arabic, reflecting the fact that they are rare in many modern varieties, e.g. Egyptian Arabic, where they are nearly nonexistent except for a handful of lexicalized adjectives like كُوَيِّس kuwayyis "good", صُغَيَّر ṣuġayyar "small" < Classical صَغِير ṣaġīr "small". On the other hand, they were extremely productive in some of the spoken dialects in Koranic times, and Wright's Arabic grammar lists a large number of diminutives, including numerous exceptional forms. Furthermore, diminutives are enormously productive in some other modern varieties, e.g. Moroccan Arabic. In Moroccan Arabic, nearly every noun has a corresponding diminutive, and they are used quite frequently in speech, typically with an affective value. The typical diminutive has the Moroccan form fʻila, fʻiyyel, fʻilel or similar – always with two initial consonants and a following, which is the regular outcome of Classical fuʻay-.
Adverb
Adverbials are expressed using adjectives in the indefinite accusative, often written with the ending ـًا but pronounced "-an" even if it's not written, e.g.: قَرَأَ ٱلْكِتَابَ قِرَاءَةً بَطِيئَةً qaraʼa al-kitāba qirāʼatan baṭīʼatan, literally: "he read the book a slow reading"; i.e., "He read the book slowly". This type of construction is known as the "absolute accusative".Adverbs can be formed from adjectives, ordinal numerals: كَثِيرًا kaṯīran "frequently, a lot, often", نَادِرًا nādiran "rarely", أَوَّلاً ʼawwalan "firstly" or from nouns: عَادَةً ʻādatan "usually", جِدًا ǧiddan "very".
The second method to form adverbs is to use a preposition and a noun, e.g. بِـ bi-, e.g. بِسُرْعَةٍ bi-surʻa "swift, with speed", بِٱلضَّبْطِ bi-ḍ-ḍabṭ "exactly".