Elementary Arabic Morphology 3

The Structure of a Noun

109. How many letters does a noun have?

110. Can a noun that has erased letters be less than two letters?

111. Principally, a noun has three letters, for example: قَلَم, four letters, for example: جَعفَر, or five letters, for example: سَفَرجَل. Any noun that has less than three letters or more than five letters has either erased letters or added letters.

112. The erasing that takes place in nouns stops at leaving the word with two letters, for example: أبٍ which is originally أبوٌ. It does not become less than this unless it is a diptote, in this case it can be one letter, for example the pronoun tā' or two letters, for example: مَن.

Maqsur, Mamdud and Manqus Nouns

111. How many types of declinable nouns are their in respects to the end of the word?

112. In how many cases is a maqsūr noun stemmed from a defective verb?

113. In how many cases is a mamdūd noun stemmed from a defective verb?

114. In how many cases is a manqūs noun stemmed from a sound verb?

115. There are three types of declinable nouns in respects to the end of the word. The first kind is a maqsūr noun which is a noun that ends in a necessary alif, for example: الفَتیَ. The second kind is a mamdūd noun which is a noun that ends in a hamzah preceded by an added alif, for example: سَماء. The third type is a manqūs noun which is a noun that ends in a necessary yā' preceded by a kasrah, for example: الدّاِعِي.

116. A maqsūr noun stems from a defective verb in four cases: First, when it is in the form أفعَل indicating a color, defect, trickery, or the superlative/comparative case, for example: الأحویَ. Second, in adverbial nouns of time and place and mīmī infinitives, for example: المَرمیَ. Third, in the plural of the form فِعلَة, for example: الحِلیَ. Fourth, the infinitive of the intransitive form فَعِلَ, for example: الرِّضَیَ.

117. A mamdūd noun stems from a defective noun in five cases: First, in infinitives of verbs with increase letters, for example: الإعطاء. Second, what is formed from the infinitives in the form تأساء. Third, the exaggerated form فَعَّال, for example: بَطَّاء. Fourth, the form فِعَال which is made plural in the formأفعِلَة, for example: رِداء. Fifth, the infinitives of the form فَعَلَ of verbs which indicate sound or sickness, for example: المُشاء.

118. A mamdūd noun stems from a sound verb in the female form of أفعَل indicating a color, for example: الحَمرَاء. All other mamdūd nouns do not have grammatical rules, for example: الأناء.