Plural Agreement between the Subject and Predicate

Read the bilingual lesson for Plural Agreement between the Subject and Predicate and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. What Will We Learn in This Level?

● In this section, we will learn agreement in the final and most important number category: the plural. ● We will study the rules for using plural predicates with masculine plural and feminine plural subjects. ● We will learn the rule of using the masculine form for a mixed-gender plural containing men and women. ● We will work through all the plural examples in the exercise in detail and apply them in practice.

2. Basic Rules of Plural Agreement

● The rule of number agreement in an Arabic nominal sentence also applies to the plural: ○ When the subject is plural, the predicate must also be plural. ● It has three basic forms: 1. Masculine plural subject: The predicate is also masculine plural, as in: ■ Zayd, Ḥāmid, and Maḥmūd are righteous. -> زَيْدٌ وَحَامِدٌ وَمَحْمُودٌ صَالِحُونَ (sound masculine plural) 2. Feminine plural subject: The predicate is also feminine plural, as in: ■ Maryam, Zaynab, and Fāṭimah are righteous. -> مَرْيَمُ وَزَيْنَبُ وَفَاطِمَةُ صَالِحَاتٌ (sound feminine plural)

3. The Rule for a Mixed-Gender Plural Subject

● Important grammar rule: ○ As with the dual, if a plural subject contains masculine and feminine nouns together, the masculine form is always used. The predicate takes the masculine plural form. ● Example: ○ Maryam, Zaynab, and Ḥāmid are righteous. ■ Although the subject contains two feminine nouns and only one masculine noun, the presence of Ḥāmid makes the predicate sound masculine plural: مَرْيَمُ وَزَيْنَبُ وَحَامِدٌ صَالِحُونَ.

4. Practical Practice with Plural Sentences (Part One)

● Learn the Arabic equivalents of the following plural sentences: English sentence Arabic sentence / explanation Kāshif, Asad, and ʿUmar are engineers. كاشِفٌ وَأَسَدٌ وَعُمَرُ مُهَنْدِسُونَ — عُمَرُ is a diptote, so it has a single ḍammah, while the predicate مُهَنْدِسُونَ is sound masculine plural. Zayd, Ḥāmid, and Maḥmūd are righteous. زَيْدٌ وَحَامِدٌ وَمَحْمُودٌ صَالِحُونَ. Sājid, ʿĀbid, and Khālid are students. ساجِدٌ وَعَابِدٌ وَخَالِدٌ طُلَّابٌ — Here, the predicate طُلَّابٌ is the broken plural of طَالِبٌ.

5. Practical Practice with Plural Sentences (Part Two)

● Learn the Arabic equivalents of the following feminine plural sentences: English sentence Arabic sentence / explanation Sājidah, ʿĀbidah, and Khālidah are female students. سَاجِدَةُ وَعَابِدَةُ وَخَالِدَةُ طَالِبَاتٌ — طَالِبَاتٌ is a sound feminine plural predicate. Maryam, Zaynab, and Suʿdā are doctors. مَرْيَمُ وَزَيْنَبُ وَسُعْدَى طَبِيبَاتٌ — The predicate طَبِيبَاتٌ is feminine plural. Fāṭimah, ʿĀʾishah, and Ruqayyah are righteous. فَاطِمَةُ وَعَائِشَةُ وَرُقَيَّةُ صَالِحَاتٌ.

Practice questions

Question 1

What is the correct English translation of the Arabic sentence "كاشِفٌ وَأَسَدٌ وَعُمَرُ مُهَنْدِسُونَ"?

  • Kāshif, Asad, and ʿUmar are engineers
  • Kāshif, Asad, and ʿUmar are hardworking
  • Kāshif, Asad, and ʿUmar are righteous

Question 2

If a subject contains two women's names and only one man's name, such as Maryam, Zaynab, and Ḥāmid, the predicate always takes the feminine plural form.

  • True
  • False

Question 3

Select the correct Arabic translation of "Sājidah, ʿĀbidah, and Khālidah are female students."

  • سَاجِدَةُ وَعَابِدَةُ وَخَالِدَةُ طَالِبَاتٌ
  • سَاجِدَةٌ وَعَابِدَةٌ وَخَالِدَةٌ طُلَّابٌ
  • سَاجِدَةُ وَعَابِدَةُ وَخَالِدَةُ طَالِبُونَ

Question 4

Match the following plural sentences with their correct Arabic translations:

Question 5

Select the correct Arabic predicate for the sentence "Maryam, Zaynab, and Ḥāmid are righteous."

  • صَالِحُونَ
  • صَالِحَاتٌ
  • صَالِحَانِ

Question 6

Arrange the given Arabic words in the correct order to make the sentence "Kāshif, Asad, and ʿUmar are engineers."

Question 7

Select the words in the correct order to make the Arabic translation of "Sājid, ʿĀbid, and Khālid are students."

  • ساجِدٌ وَعَابِدٌ وَخَالِدٌ طُلَّابٌ
  • ساجِدٌ وَعَابِدٌ وَخَالِدٌ طَالِبُونَ
  • سَاجِدَةُ وَعَابِدَةُ وَخَالِدَةُ طَالِبَاتٌ

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