Noun Case Classes: Type 6 — Sound Masculine Plural and Related Forms

1. Sixth Case Class: Wāw and Yāʾ

السَّادِسُ: أَنْ يَكُونَ الرَّفْعُ بِالْوَاوِ الْمَضْمُومِ مَا قَبْلَهَا، وَالنَّصْبُ وَالْجَرُّ بِالْيَاءِ الْمَكْسُورِ مَا قَبْلَهَا.
Translation: In the sixth class, the nominative is marked by wāw preceded by ḍamma, while the accusative and genitive are marked by yāʾ preceded by kasra.

Pattern: The nominative has «ـُونَ»; the accusative and genitive have «ـِينَ». This is not a rule for every plural.

2. Three Groups Covered by the Rule

وَيَخْتَصُّ بِجَمْعِ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ، نَحْوَ مُسْلِمُونَ وَأُولُو، وَعِشْرُونَ مَعَ أَخَوَاتِهَا.
Translation: This rule applies to the sound masculine plural, such as «مُسْلِمُونَ», and also to «أُولُو» and «عِشْرُونَ» along with its related multiples of ten.

Three groups: 1. Sound masculine plurals such as مُسْلِمُونَ; 2. multiples of ten from 20 to 90; 3. أُولُو / أُولِي.

3. Source: Nominative Subject

جَاءَنِي مُسْلِمُونَ وَعِشْرُونَ رَجُلًا وَأُولُو مَالٍ.
Translation: Some Muslims, twenty men, and people of means came to me.

First segment: «جَاءَنِي مُسْلِمُونَ»
جَاءَ: past-tense verb, built on fatḥa, “came.”
نِ: nūn of protection, a particle with no syntactic case position.
ي: first-person attached pronoun, in the accusative position as the object, “to me.”
مُسْلِمُونَ: subject (fāʿil), nominative with wāw as a sound masculine plural.

Key point: “-nī” is not the subject; «مُسْلِمُونَ» is the subject.

4. Nominative Numeral and Specification

وَعِشْرُونَ رَجُلًا
Translation: And twenty men.

وَ: conjunction.
عِشْرُونَ: coordinated with «مُسْلِمُونَ», thus nominative with wāw as a sound-masculine-plural analogue.
رَجُلًا: tamyīz (specification), accusative with fatḥa, singular and indefinite; it identifies what is counted.

Why? The numeral shares the subject's nominative case, while its specification remains accusative.

5. Coordinating and Constructing Ulū Mālin

وَأُولُو مَالٍ
Translation: And people possessing wealth.

وَ: conjunction.
أُولُو: coordinated with «مُسْلِمُونَ», nominative with wāw, a form annexed to the sound masculine plural category; also muḍāf.
مَالٍ: muḍāf ilayh, genitive with kasra.

Important: «أُولُو» does not have a detachable plural nūn. Wāw/yāʾ mark its case form.

6. Source: Accusative Object

وَرَأَيْتُ مُسْلِمِينَ وَعِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا وَأُولِي مَالٍ.
Translation: And I saw some Muslims, twenty men, and people of wealth.

First segment: «وَرَأَيْتُ مُسْلِمِينَ»
وَ: coordinating particle joining this clause to the previous one.
رَأَيْتُ: past-tense verb built on sukūn because it is joined to the subject tāʾ; تُ is an attached pronoun in the nominative position as subject.
مُسْلِمِينَ: direct object, accusative with yāʾ as a sound masculine plural.

Contrast: Muslims were the subject of “came,” but are the object of “saw”; hence «ـِينَ» rather than «ـُونَ».

7. Accusative Numeral and Specification

وَعِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا
Translation: And twenty men (as objects of seeing).

وَ: conjunction.
عِشْرِينَ: coordinated with the accusative «مُسْلِمِينَ», thus accusative with yāʾ.
رَجُلًا: accusative tamyīz clarifying what twenty counts.

Compare: «عِشْرُونَ» was nominative with the subject; here «عِشْرِينَ» shares the object's accusative case.

8. Accusative Ulī Mālin

وَأُولِي مَالٍ
Translation: And people of wealth (as objects).

وَ: conjunction.
أُولِي: coordinated with «مُسْلِمِينَ», accusative with yāʾ, and muḍāf.
مَالٍ: muḍāf ilayh, genitive with kasra.

Why? The coordinated item follows the object of «رَأَيْتُ», so the proper form is «أُولِي» rather than «أُولُو».

9. Source: Preposition and Genitive

وَمَرَرْتُ بِمُسْلِمِينَ وَعِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا وَأُولِي مَالٍ.
Translation: And I passed by some Muslims, twenty men, and wealthy people.

First segment: «وَمَرَرْتُ بِمُسْلِمِينَ»
وَ: coordinating particle.
مَرَرْتُ: past-tense verb built on sukūn with the subject tāʾ; تُ is the subject pronoun.
بِ: preposition.
مُسْلِمِينَ: genitive noun governed by bāʾ, marked by yāʾ as a sound masculine plural.

Key: Accusative and genitive look the same here, but are identified by their governing elements.

10. Genitive Numeral and Specification

وَعِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا
Translation: And twenty men (after the preposition in the full sentence).

وَ: conjunction.
عِشْرِينَ: coordinated with «مُسْلِمِينَ», now genitive with yāʾ through the shared prepositional construction.
رَجُلًا: accusative tamyīz, even though its number is genitive.

Contrast: The written form «عِشْرِينَ» was accusative in the preceding source sentence and is genitive here.

11. Genitive Ulī Mālin

وَأُولِي مَالٍ
Translation: And people of wealth (after the preposition).

وَ: conjunction.
أُولِي: coordinated with «مُسْلِمِينَ», genitive with yāʾ, and muḍāf.
مَالٍ: muḍāf ilayh, genitive with kasra.

Contrast: The same «أُولِي» was accusative in the previous sentence; here it is genitive owing to the shared preposition.

12. The Three Case Forms

Nominative: مُسْلِمُونَ — wāw, with ḍamma on the preceding mīm.
Accusative: مُسْلِمِينَ — yāʾ, with kasra on the preceding mīm.
Genitive: مُسْلِمِينَ — yāʾ, with kasra on the preceding mīm.

Remember: Wāw and yāʾ are the actual case markers; the nūn following them is not the case marker.

13. Understanding the Sound Masculine Plural

In the sound masculine plural, the essential stem of the singular remains and a suitable ending is added.

مُسْلِمٌ: one Muslim man.
مُسْلِمُونَ: Muslim men, nominative.
مُسْلِمِينَ: Muslim men, accusative or genitive.

Caution: Do not apply this rule to every plural automatically; first identify the noun class.

14. A Nominative Sound Masculine Plural

حَضَرَ الْمُعَلِّمُونَ.
Translation: The teachers arrived.

حَضَرَ: past-tense verb, fixed with fatḥa.
الْمُعَلِّمُونَ: subject, nominative with wāw because it is a sound masculine plural.

Why? Its subject position requires the nominative, and wāw is the nominative sign for this noun class.

15. An Accusative Sound Masculine Plural

رَأَيْتُ الْمُعَلِّمِينَ.
Translation: I saw the teachers.

رَأَيْتُ: past-tense verb; -tu is the subject.
الْمُعَلِّمِينَ: direct object, accusative with yāʾ.

Why? The teachers are the object of seeing; sound masculine plurals take yāʾ in the accusative.

16. A Genitive Sound Masculine Plural

سَلَّمْتُ عَلَى الْمُعَلِّمِينَ.
Translation: I greeted the teachers.

عَلَى: a preposition.
الْمُعَلِّمِينَ: genitive noun, marked by yāʾ.

Compare: «رَأَيْتُ الْمُعَلِّمِينَ» is accusative, but here the preposition requires the genitive. The visible ending is the same.

17. Dual versus Sound Masculine Plural

The previous lesson’s dual and the present sound masculine plural can both use yāʾ, but their patterns differ.

طَالِبَانِ / طَالِبَيْنِ: dual; alif nominative, yāʾ accusative/genitive; nūn has kasra.
طَالِبُونَ / طَالِبِينَ: sound masculine plural; wāw nominative, yāʾ accusative/genitive; nūn has fatḥa.

Exam point: «طَالِبَيْنِ» denotes two, whereas «طَالِبِينَ» denotes more than two male students.

18. Sound versus Broken Plurals

In مُسْلِمُونَ / مُسْلِمِينَ, the stem of «مُسْلِمٌ» remains intact: a sound masculine plural.

In رَجُلٌ → رِجَالٌ, the stem changes: a broken plural.

Result: In «جَاءَ رِجَالٌ», the nominative sign is ḍamma, not wāw. Do not impose «ـُونَ / ـِينَ» on every plural.

19. Twenty and the Other Tens

The text’s عِشْرُونَ مَعَ أَخَوَاتِهَا refers to the tens that follow the same case pattern as the sound masculine plural.

عِشْرُونَ (20), ثَلَاثُونَ (30), أَرْبَعُونَ (40), خَمْسُونَ (50), سِتُّونَ (60), سَبْعُونَ (70), ثَمَانُونَ (80), تِسْعُونَ (90).

Pattern: «ـُونَ» in the nominative; «ـِينَ» in the accusative and genitive, e.g. عِشْرُونَ / عِشْرِينَ.

20. Why the Number’s Specification Is Accusative

عِشْرُونَ رَجُلًا / عِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا
Translation: Twenty men: the number changes its case, while the specifying noun «رَجُلًا» remains accusative.

عِشْرُونَ: nominative subject in «جَاءَ عِشْرُونَ رَجُلًا».
عِشْرِينَ: accusative object in «رَأَيْتُ عِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا».
عِشْرِينَ: genitive in «مَرَرْتُ بِعِشْرِينَ رَجُلًا».

Rule: With the tens 20–90, the counted specification is normally singular, indefinite, and accusative. These separate sentences are teaching adaptations of the source construction, not direct quotes.

21. The Specification After Twenty

حَضَرَ عِشْرُونَ طَالِبًا.
Translation: Twenty students arrived.

حَضَرَ: past verb built on fatḥa.
عِشْرُونَ: nominative subject with wāw; a multiple of ten treated like the sound masculine plural.
طَالِبًا: accusative tamyīz with fatḥa; singular and indefinite.

Rule: The numeral's specification stays accusative regardless of the case of the numeral.

22. Meaning and Function of Ulū and Ulī

The source expression أُولُو مَالٍ means people possessing wealth, or people of means.

أُولُو: nominative form; أُولِي: accusative and genitive form.

This word is treated among the forms attached to the sound masculine plural. «أُولُو / أُولِي» is a muḍāf and the following noun its muḍāf ilayh, as in «مَالٍ».

23. Parsing Ulū Mālin

جَاءَ أُولُو مَالٍ.
Translation: People of means arrived.

جَاءَ: past-tense verb.
أُولُو: nominative subject with wāw, also muḍāf.
مَالٍ: muḍāf ilayh, genitive with kasra.

Important: «أُولُو» does not itself have a nūn; do not treat it as a regular nūn-ending sound masculine plural.

24. Accusative and Genitive Ulī

رَأَيْتُ أُولِي مَالٍ.
Translation: I saw people of wealth.
رَأَيْتُ: past verb with first-person subject tāʾ; أُولِي: accusative object with yāʾ, and muḍāf; مَالٍ: genitive complement with kasra.

مَرَرْتُ بِأُولِي مَالٍ.
Translation: I passed by people of wealth.
مَرَرْتُ: verb and subject tāʾ; بِ: preposition; أُولِي: genitive with yāʾ, and muḍāf; مَالٍ: genitive complement.

Distinguish: The first «أُولِي» is accusative and the second genitive although the form is identical.

25. The Nūn of Dual and Plural

وَاعْلَمْ: أَنَّ نُونَ التَّثْنِيَةِ مَكْسُورَةٌ أَبَدًا، وَنُونَ جَمْعِ السَّلَامَةِ مَفْتُوحَةٌ أَبَدًا.
Translation: Know that the nūn of the dual always has kasra, whereas the nūn of the sound plural always has fatḥa.

طَالِبَانِ / طَالِبَيْنِ: final nūn with kasra.
طَالِبُونَ / طَالِبِينَ: final nūn with fatḥa.

This nūn normally remains when the word is not muḍāf.

26. The Nūn Drops in Iḍāfa

وَهُمَا يَسْقُطَانِ عِنْدَ الْإِضَافَةِ.
Translation: And both nūns are dropped when the forms enter iḍāfa (the construct phrase).

طَالِبَانِ → طَالِبَا الْعِلْمِ: the dual loses its nūn upon becoming muḍāf.
مُسْلِمُونَ → مُسْلِمُو الْمَدِينَةِ: the sound masculine plural loses its nūn in iḍāfa.

Scope: This dropping applies to the dual and sound masculine plural; not to every noun ending in nūn.

27. Dual and Plural Nūn Deletion

تَقُولُ: «جَاءَنِي غُلَامَا زَيْدٍ وَمُسْلِمُو مِصْرَ».
Translation: You say, “Zayd’s two servants and the Muslims of Egypt came to me.”

What does this example prove?
غُلَامَانِ becomes «غُلَامَا زَيْدٍ» in iḍāfa, losing the dual nūn.
مُسْلِمُونَ becomes «مُسْلِمُو مِصْرَ» in iḍāfa, losing the sound masculine plural nūn.

The complete parsing of both parts follows.

28. Complete Parsing: Zayd’s Two Servants

جَاءَنِي غُلَامَا زَيْدٍ
Translation: Zayd’s two servants came to me.

جَاءَ: past verb built on fatḥa.
نِ: protective nūn, without a case position.
ي: first-person attached pronoun, object in the accusative position.
غُلَامَا: subject, nominative with alif as a dual; also muḍāf, so its nūn has been omitted.
زَيْدٍ: muḍāf ilayh, genitive with kasra.

Original form: «غُلَامَانِ» → «غُلَامَا زَيْدٍ» in iḍāfa.

29. Complete Parsing: Muslims of Egypt

وَمُسْلِمُو مِصْرَ
Translation: And the Muslims of Egypt.

وَ: conjunction.
مُسْلِمُو: coordinated with «غُلَامَا», nominative with wāw as a sound masculine plural; it is muḍāf, so its nūn has been dropped.
مِصْرَ: muḍāf ilayh, hence genitive; in this reading the sign is fatḥa because the proper place-name is treated as a diptote.

Nuance: A three-letter feminine proper name with a consonantal middle may also be declined. Thus «مِصْرٍ» is another valid classical treatment. The printed book does not fix the final vowel here; «مِصْرَ» is one explained reading.

30. Nūn Deletion in Both Source Phrases

Dual: «غُلَامَانِ» → غُلَامَا زَيْدٍ. The dual subject is nominative with alif; nūn disappears in the construct state.
Sound masculine plural: «مُسْلِمُونَ» → مُسْلِمُو مِصْرَ. The coordinated nominative retains wāw but drops its nūn.

زَيْدٍ and مِصْرَ are both genitive complements: Zayd has kasra, whereas Egypt here follows an explained diptote reading with fatḥa.

Remember: Iḍāfa removes the nūn, not the underlying case marker alif or wāw.

31. Iḍāfa in Accusative and Genitive

رَأَيْتُ مُعَلِّمِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
Translation: I saw the teachers of the school.
رَأَيْتُ: past verb with subject tāʾ; مُعَلِّمِي: accusative object with yāʾ, muḍāf with the nūn removed; الْمَدْرَسَةِ: genitive complement with kasra.

سَلَّمْتُ عَلَى مُعَلِّمِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
Translation: I greeted the teachers of the school.
سَلَّمْتُ: past verb with subject tāʾ; عَلَى: preposition; مُعَلِّمِي: genitive with yāʾ, muḍāf with nūn removed; الْمَدْرَسَةِ: genitive complement.

Rule: Iḍāfa deletes nūn; the governing expression determines accusative or genitive.

32. Why Two Forms Look the Same

الْمُسْلِمِينَ can be either accusative or genitive without changing its written form:

رَأَيْتُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ.
Translation: I saw the Muslims. It is a direct object, hence accusative.

مَرَرْتُ بِالْمُسْلِمِينَ.
Translation: I passed by the Muslims. The preposition requires genitive.

Remember: Look at the verb and preposition, not only the final letters.

33. Avoid Common Mistakes

Incorrect: «جَاءَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ»; correct: جَاءَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ — the subject is nominative.

Incorrect: «رَأَيْتُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ»; correct: رَأَيْتُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ — the object is accusative.

Incorrect: «حَضَرَ مُسْلِمُونَ الْمَدِينَةِ»; correct: حَضَرَ مُسْلِمُو الْمَدِينَةِ — the nūn drops in iḍāfa.

The incorrect sentences are teaching counterexamples, not quotations from the source.

34. Review the Main Rules

1. The sound masculine plural takes wāw in the nominative and yāʾ in accusative/genitive.
2. The tens from 20 through 90 and أُولُو/أُولِي share this case pattern.
3. The dual nūn has kasra; the sound-plural nūn has fatḥa.
4. Both nūns drop in iḍāfa.

Self-check: Can you explain the distinction between «مُسْلِمُونَ», «مُسْلِمِينَ», and «مُسْلِمُو الْمَدِينَةِ»?