Singular, dual and plural
Arabic · Key Stage 2 · The School
Three numbers, not two
English has singular and plural. Arabic has three: singular for one, DUAL for exactly two, and plural for three or more. The dual is not optional or poetic — it is required whenever there are exactly two of something, which is why body parts that come in pairs are so often in the dual.
Sound plurals add an ending
A SOUND plural keeps the word intact and adds an ending — the word stays recognisable and you can hear the singular inside it. These are regular, and they are used for most descriptions of people and for many feminine nouns. If you can hear the singular still there, you are looking at a sound plural.
Broken plurals change the shape
A BROKEN plural rebuilds the word around the same consonants: kitab becomes kutub, qalam becomes aqlam. The root letters survive, the pattern between them changes. These are the majority of Arabic plurals and must be learned with the noun, in the same way English speakers learn mouse and mice rather than deriving them.
كِتاب — a book. كِتابانِ — TWO books, using the dual ending ـانِ. Arabic has a special form for exactly two, which English does not. كُتُب — books, three or more. Now try مُسْلِم, مُسْلِمانِ, مُسْلِمون. Saying كِتابات for two books would be understood and would be wrong — the dual is not optional.