The Division of Nouns Into Single, Dual and Plural
50. What is a single noun?
51. What is a dual?
52. What is a plural?
53. How is a masculine sound plural formed?
54. How is a feminine sound plural formed?
55. How is a broken plural formed?
50. A single noun is a noun that denotes one thing. For example: غلامٌ حصانٌ (a horse, a male servant)
51. A dual noun is a noun that denotes two things and is formed by adding:
• an alif and a nūn; for example: کِتابانِ رَجُلانِ (two books, two men)
• a yā' and a nūn; for example: کِتابَینِ رَجُلَینِ
52. A plural noun is a noun that denotes more than two things and is divided into three categories: a masculine sound plural, a feminine sound plural and a broken plural.
53. A masculine sound plural is formed by adding:
• a wāw and a nūn; for example: مُسلِمُونَ صَادِقُونَ (Muslims, truthful people)
• a yā' and a nūn; for example: مُسلِمِینَ صَادِقِینَ
54. A feminine sound plural is formed by adding an alif and tā'; for example: ذاهِبات کاتِبات (female authors, female leavers)
55. A broken plural is formed by changing the form of the single noun; for example: رِجالٌ ﺃرغِفَة (loaves of Syrian bread, men)