Elementary Arabic Morphology 3

Rules of Broken Plurals

138. Are there rules for broken plurals or not?

139. In how many places are there rules for broken plurals in regards to nouns?

140. In how many places are there rules for broken plurals in regards to adjectives?

141. Most of the time there are no rules for broken plurals except for a few forms of nouns and adjectives.

142. There are rules in the following forms of nouns on how they are made into broken plurals:

• فَعل، فُعل، فَعل، فَعَل و فَعِل become أفعال, for example: قُفل becomes أقفال.

• فِعلَة becomes فِعَل, for example: عِبرَة becomes عِبَر

• فُعلَة becomes فُعَل, for example: صُورَة becomes صُوَر

• Any triliteral noun where an alif or wāw is added after its first root letter becomes فَوَاعِل, for example: خاتَم becomes خَواتِم

• أفعل (regardless of what vowel sign its hamzah or second root letter have) becomes أفاعِل, for example: إصبَع becomes أصابِع

• Any feminine noun whose third letter is a long vowel becomes فَعائل , for example: کنیسة becomes کَنائس

• All quadriliteral nouns where a long vowel is added before its last letter become فَعالیل, for example: عُصفور becomes عَصافیر

140. There are rules in the following forms of adjectives on how they are made into broken plurals:

• أفعل فَعلاء becomes فُعل, for example: أخضَر becomes خُضر

• Comparative/superlative forms become أفاعِل, for example أکبر becomes أکابِر

• Defective verbs in the form فاعل become فُعَلَة, for example رامٍ becomes رُماة, and hollow verbs in the same form that indicate making or building something become فَعَلَة, for example: حاک becomes حَیَکَة, and all other words in this form become فُعَّل أو فُعّال و فَعَلَة و فُعَلاء

• فاعِلة becomes فَواعل or فُعَّل, for example: عاذِلة becomes عَواذِل و عُذَّل

• فَعیل if it has the meaning of an accusative indicating a form of tribulation becomes فَعلیَ for example: جریح becomes جَرحیَ

• فَعیل when it means an actor becomes أفعال, for example: شَریف becomes أشراف, if it indicates a character trait it becomes فُعَلاء و فعال, for example: کَریم becomes کُرماء و کرام, and if it is a double-lettered word or a defective word it becomes أفعلاء, for example: شقي becomes أشقیاء

• فَعُول meaning an actor becomes فُعَل or أفعال, for example: صَبور becomes صُبَر

• فَعلان فَعلیَ becomes فُعالی or فِعال, for example: سکران becomes سُکاری