Broken Plurals
Common broken plural patterns for everyday nouns
I can recognize and use common broken plural patterns
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
كُتُبٌ كَثيرَةٌ
Many books
الطُّلّابُ في الصَّفِّ
The students are in class
المَدارِسُ قَريبَةٌ
The schools are nearby
أَولادٌ صِغارٌ
Small boys
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
جمع التكسير (Broken Plural)
Most Arabic nouns form plurals by changing the internal vowel pattern (not just adding a suffix). These are called broken plurals because the word's structure "breaks."
| Singular | Plural | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| كِتاب (book) | كُتُب | فُعُل |
| طالِب (student) | طُلّاب | فُعّال |
| مَدرَسَة (school) | مَدارِس | مَفاعِل |
| وَلَد (boy) | أَولاد | أَفعال |
| بَيت (house) | بُيوت | فُعول |
Key: Broken plurals must be memorized with each noun. Non-human plurals are treated as feminine singular for adjective agreement.
Common Error Patterns
Using wrong broken plural pattern
Broken plurals must be memorized: كتاب→كتب, طالب→طلاب, بيت→بيوت
Using plural adjective with non-human plural
Non-human plurals take fem. sing. adjective: كتب كثيرة (not كثيرون)
كُتُبٌ كَثيرَةٌ
Many books
كتاب → كُتُب (فُعُل pattern). Adjective كثيرة is fem. sing. for non-human plural.
الطُّلّابُ في الصَّفِّ
The students are in class
طالب → طُلّاب (فُعّال pattern). Human plural — used for male students.
المَدارِسُ قَريبَةٌ
The schools are nearby
مدرسة → مَدارِس (مَفاعِل pattern). قريبة = fem. sing. adjective for non-human plural.
أَولادٌ صِغارٌ
Small boys
ولد → أولاد (أفعال pattern). Human plural → adjective agrees: صغير → صغار.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises