Lesson 54 · مَسَاجِدُ
Words without -un: مَكَّةُ, أَحْمَدُ, مَسَاجِدُ
Some nouns never take the -un or -in endings, and after a preposition they end in -a instead of -i: هٰذَا أَحْمَدُ (not “aḥmadun”), فِي مَكَّةَ (in Makkah). Grammarians call them مَمْنُوعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ.
Learn with pictures
Tap a picture to hear the sentence.
Examples
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى مَكَّةَdhahabtu ilaa makkataI went to Makkah.
هٰذَا أَحْمَدُhaadhaa aḥmaduThis is Ahmad.
سَلَّمْتُ عَلَى فَاطِمَةَsallamtu ʿalaa faaṭimataI greeted Fatima.
فِي الْمَدِينَةِ مَسَاجِدُ كَثِيرَةٌfil-madiinati masaajidu kathiiratunThere are many mosques in Madinah.
صَلَّيْتُ فِي مَسَاجِدَ كَثِيرَةٍṣallaytu fii masaajida kathiiratinI prayed in many mosques.
صَلَّيْتُ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِṣallaytu fil-masaajidiI prayed in the mosques.
Key points
- Most names of cities and women: مَكَّةُ, فَاطِمَةُ, زَيْنَبُ; and men’s names on the pattern أَفْعَلُ or ending in ـانُ: أَحْمَدُ, عُثْمَانُ.
- Some plural shapes: مَسَاجِدُ mosques · مَدَارِسُ schools · مَفَاتِيحُ keys.
- Colours (lesson 32) and comparatives (lesson 22) are the same: أَحْمَرُ, أَكْبَرُ. With al- they behave normally again: فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ.
Practice
Tap a question to see the answer.
Say “from Makkah to Madinah”.
مِنْ مَكَّةَ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ min makkata ila l-madiinati
Say “I saw Zaynab.”
رَأَيْتُ زَيْنَبَ ra’aytu zaynaba
Say “many schools”.
مَدَارِسُ كَثِيرَةٌ madaarisu kathiiratun