Elementary Arabic Morphology 2

Masculine and Feminine

  1. What is a masculine noun?

  2. What is a feminine noun?

  3. How is a masculine noun differentiated from a feminine noun?

  4. What are the signs of a literated feminine noun?

  5. Are all nouns ending with the feminine tā' feminine?

  6. Are all nouns ending with the alif maqsūrah (یَ) feminine?

  7. Are all nouns ending with an alif and hamzah femine?

  8. How many types of masculine and feminine nouns are there?

  9. How is a relative clause noun put into the feminine form?

  10. How is an adjective put into the feminine form?

  11. Are there exceptions to this rule about adjectives?

  12. How is an adjective in the فعلان form put into the feminine form?

  13. How is an adjective in the أفعل form that indicates a color, defect or trickery put into the feminine form?

  14. How is an adjective in the أفعل form indicating the comparative or superlative form put into the feminine form?

  15. A masculine noun is a noun that indicates masculinity. For example: رَجُلٌ (man)

  16. A feminine noun is a noun that indicates femininity. For example: اِمرأة (woman)

  17. There is no sign for a masculine noun. It is known by its meaning. But, feminine nouns are either:

• literated, there are signs indicating its femininity. For example, اِمرأة

• unliterated, there are no signs indicating its femininity. For example, شمس (sun)

  1. There are three signs for literated feminine nouns:
    • The feminine tā': نعمة (comfort)

Alif maqsūrah: عَطشیَ (thirsty woman)

Alif and hamzah: صَحراء (desertlike)

  1. No, some nouns ending with the feminine tā' are masculine. For example: طلحة (a male name)

  2. No, The nouns that end with an alif maqsūrah which is part of its root (not added) are not feminine. For example: هُدیَ (correct guidance).

  3. No, the nouns that end with a hamzah preceded by an alif which is part of its root (not added) are not feminine. For example: بِناء (building)

  4. There are two types of masculine and feminine nouns:
    • Literal: a noun that is actually masculine or feminine, for example: رجل (man) and اِمرأة (woman).

• Figurative: a noun that is not actually masculine or feminine, for example: قَلَم (pen) and قَوس (arch).

  1. A noun (non-adjective) is made feminine in two ways:
    • Grammatically: by adding a feminine tā' to the end of the word. For example: نَمِر (panther) becomes نَمرة (female panther).

• Non-grammatically: there are no rules for this. For example: رجلٌ becomes إمرأةٌ.

  1. An adjective is made feminine by adding a feminine tā' to the end of the word. For example: کاذب (male liar) becomes کاذبة (female liar).

  2. Yes, there are three exceptions to this rule.
    • The form: فَعلان

• The form أفعل when the verb indicates color, defects, or trickery.

• The superlative and comparative form.

  1. An adjective has the فعلان form is made feminine by putting it into the فَعلیَ form. For example: عَطشان (thirsty male) becomes عَطشیَ (thirsty female).

  2. An adjective has the أفعل form and it denotes color, defect, or trickery is made feminine by putting it into the فَعلاء form. For example: أحمَر (red) becomes حَمراء (red).

  3. A superlative or comparative is made feminine by putting it into the فُعلیَ form. For example: أکبر (bigger) becomes کُبریَ (bigger)