Arabic Number phrase
Number phrase – اَلْمُرَكَّبُ الْعَدَدِيُّ
- In this section, we will learn the use of the first two numbers in Arabic, In-Shā’-Allâh (God Willing) relating to feminine /Ma’dood/. To recap the rules we learnt in the previous section:
- We have already learnt in the previous lesson that in Arabic language the phrase comprising of a number and a noun following that number is called a Number Phrase i.e., اَلْمُرَكَّبُ الْعَدَدِيُّ the number is called /A’adad/ i.e., اَلْعَدَدُ and the noun describing that number is called /Ma’adood/ اَلْمَعْدُوْدُ i.e., the noun for that number.
- The number phrase for number “one” and “two” are treated as an Adjective Phrase. We have already learnt the rules for the Adjective Phrase in
- The nouns for the numbers “one” and “two” always precede the number i.e., they come before the number and are treated as the adjective of that number i.e.:
- The noun will take the same case as the number.
- It will take the same gender.
- It will always be an indefinite noun.
- For example:
o One note-book will be translated as كُرَّاسَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ
o Two faculties will be translated as كُلِّيَّتَانِ اثْنَتَانِ
- Let’s use some more examples to understand this rule:
Picture | Translation | Arabic |
| One cow is in the field | فِي الْحَقْلِ بَقَرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ. |
| I have two daughters | لِي بِنْتَانِ اثْنَتَانِ. |
| He read one book | قَرَأَ كِتَابًا وَاحِدًا. |
| She studied two stories | دَرَسَتْ قِصَّتَيْنِ اثْنَتَيْنِ. |
| The books are in one bag | اَلْكُتُبُ فِي حَقِيبَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ. |
| The boys are in two gardens | اَلأَوْلادُ فِي حَدِيقَتَيْنِ اثْنَتَيْنِ. |
Number phrase – اَلْمُرَكَّبُ الْعَدَدِيُّ
- In this part of the lesson, we will revise the Arabic numbers from 3 to 10 and the rules relating to their use, In-Shā’-Allâh (God Willing). In Arabic language, for the numbers 3 to 10, the following rules are applied, this is revision with examples of feminine /ma’dood/:
- The number always precedes the noun, i.e., the noun always appears after the number, e.g.:
- ثَلاثُ أَخَوَاتٍ meaning “Three sisters”
- The noun should always be in plural form whereas the number always appears in singular form, e.g.:
- أَرْبَعُ كَلِمَاتٍ meaning “Four words.
The number will take different cases according to the situation, but the noun will always take the genitive case, e.g.: - سَبْعُ جَامِعَاتٍ meaning “Seven universities”.
The noun is always indefinite, and hence it takes the double /Kasrah/ and no /alif-laam/ e.g.: - عَشْرُ عَمَّاتٍ meaning “Ten paternal aunts”.
- أَرْبَعُ كَلِمَاتٍ meaning “Four words.
- The number of the feminine noun is always masculine .i.e., whenever there is a feminine noun, the number for that noun should always be in masculine form e.g.:
- خَمْسُ نِسَاءٍ meaning “Five women”
- Let’s use some examples for a better understanding of the rule:
Picture | Translation | Arabic |
| I have three note-books | عِنْدِي ثَلاثُ كرَّاسَاتٍ. |
| She went to five different lady doctors | ذَهَبَتْ إِلَى خَمْسِ طَبِيبَاتٍ مُخْتَلِفَاتٍ. |
| You sat with six friends | جَلَسْتِ مَعَ سِتِّ صَدِيقَاتٍ. |
| Hameeda visited eight cities | زَارَتْ حَمِيدَةُ ثَمَانِيَ مُدُنٍ. |