Lesson 10 · هٰؤُلَاءِ
More than one: plurals and “these”
Arabic makes plurals in two ways. Many words for people add an ending: مُسْلِمٌ becomes مُسْلِمُونَ (Muslim men) and مُسْلِمَةٌ becomes مُسْلِمَاتٌ (Muslim women). Most other words change their inside pattern instead, a bit like English man → men: كِتَابٌ becomes كُتُبٌ (books). To point at people, use هٰؤُلَاءِ (haa’ulaa’i, these).
Learn with pictures
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Examples
هٰؤُلَاءِ مُسْلِمُونَhaa’ulaa’i muslimuunaThese are Muslims.
هٰؤُلَاءِ طَالِبَاتٌhaa’ulaa’i ṭaalibaatunThese are (female) students.
الْمُدَرِّسُونَ فِي الْفَصْلِal-mudarrisuuna fil-faṣliThe teachers are in the classroom.
هٰذِهِ كُتُبٌhaadhihi kutubunThese are books.
الْبُيُوتُ كَبِيرَةٌal-buyuutu kabiiratunThe houses are big.
أَيْنَ الْأَقْلَامُ؟ayna l-aqlaamu?Where are the pens?
هٰؤُلَاءِ رِجَالٌhaa’ulaa’i rijaalunThese are men.
الْمُسْلِمَاتُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِal-muslimaatu fil-masjidiThe Muslim women are in the mosque.
Key points
- Men: add ـُونَ (-uuna). مُدَرِّسٌ becomes مُدَرِّسُونَ (teachers).
- Women: change ـَةٌ to ـَاتٌ (-aat). طَالِبَةٌ becomes طَالِبَاتٌ (female students).
- Broken plurals have to be learned word by word: بَيْتٌ → بُيُوتٌ (houses), قَلَمٌ → أَقْلَامٌ (pens), رَجُلٌ → رِجَالٌ (men).
- The plural of a thing is treated as feminine singular: هٰذِهِ كُتُبٌ (these are books), not هٰؤُلَاءِ.
Practice
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Make “engineers” (men) from مُهَنْدِسٌ.
مُهَنْدِسُونَ muhandisuuna
Make “nurses” (women) from مُمَرِّضَةٌ.
مُمَرِّضَاتٌ mumarriḍaatun
Say “These are houses.”
هٰذِهِ بُيُوتٌ haadhihi buyuutun
Houses are things, so use هٰذِهِ, not هٰؤُلَاءِ.