Lesson 27 – الدَّرْسُ السَّابِعُ وَالْعِشْرُونَ

The Maqŝūr, Manqūŝ and Mamdūd Nouns - الاسْمُ الْمَقْصُورُ والْمَنْقُوصُ والْمَمْدُودُ

The Dual and the Plural of the Maqŝūr, Manqūŝ and mamdūd nouns

• In the previous parts we studied everything about the maqŝūr, manqūŝ and mamdūd nouns when they are singular. Now we will study how to transform these nouns into the dual and plural In-Shā’-Allâh.

1-          Maqŝūr Noun

1. The dual:

• To transform a maqŝūr noun into the dual case, we look at the root of the word. It has two probabilities:
• If the noun is trilateral (consists of three letters) the final Alif has to be turned back to its root (wāw) or (ya’) from which it was converted. This is depending on the lexical origin of the final Alif of the word (the long alif in any Arabic word is not a lexical letter, so it must be converted from wāw or yā’. The advanced practice of the derivatives helps to find the origin from which the Alif was converted, otherwise we need to look it up in the dictionary. After transforming the final Alif to its root the noun should be suffixed with (انِ) "-ani" in the nominative case, and (ينِ) "-yni" in the accusative and genitive cases. Consider the following examples:

• If the word is Non-triliteral (consists of more than three letters) the final long alif "-ā" must be transformed into (ي) "yā’" and the noun be suffixed with (انِ) "-ani" in the nominative case, and (ينِ) "-yni" in the accusative and genitive cases, as in the following examples:

2. The Masculine Plural:

• If we transform the maqŝūr singular noun into masculine plural, the long alif must be omitted and replaced with the masculine plural ending, and a short vowel (a) remains before the plural suffix to indicate the omitted long alif. See the following example:

3. The feminine plural:

• If we transform the maqŝūr singular noun into feminine plural, we look at the root of the word. It has two probabilities:
•  If the noun is trilateral (consists of three letters), such as (هُدَى) "hudā" and (عَصَا) "ξaŝā", the long alif must be turned to its original root from which it converted (i.e. wāw or yā’(ي) or (و) depending on the lexical origin of the final Alif of the word, then we add the feminine plural suffix. Consider the following examples:

• If the Maqŝūr noun is more than three letters, the long alif must be transformed to yā’, then we add the feminine plural sign. Consider the following example:

2-          Manqūŝ noun

• The manqūŝ noun ends with a (ي), (i.e. a long yā’) preceded by a short kasrah, such as (قَاضِي), (دَانِي), (قَاصِي). In the dual the noun does not change, but dual sign is suffixed to it. In the plural form the final long vowel (yā’) has to be omitted, and replaced with the plural suffix. If the plural is masculine, the suffix has to be preceded by a đammah in the nominative case, and a kasrah in the accusative or genitive cases, for the convenience. For example:

3-          Mamdūd noun

• The mamdūd noun (اسْمٌ مَمْدُودٌ) is a singular noun ending with a hamzah (ء) preceded by a long alif, such as (بَنَّاءٌ) "bannā’", (قَرَّاءٌ) "qarrā’", (صَحْرَاءُ) "ŝaћrā’" and (سَمَاءٌ) "samā’". There are three rules for dual and plural forms, as follows:

o   If the hamzah is part of the origin of the word, such as (قَرَّاءٌ) "qarrā’", which is taken from the verb (قَرَأَ) "qara’a" the hamzah will not change, as follows:

• If the hamzah's origin is (و), such as (سَمَاءٌ) "samā’" because it is derived from the verb (سَمَا، يَسْمُو) the hamzah changes into (و) (i.e. it turns to its root), as follows:

• If the hamzah is a feminine sign (i.e. it is not a part of the root of the noun, rather it is an augmented letter as a feminine ending), such as (صَحْرَاءُ) and (حَسْنَاءُ), the previous two rules can be applied (facultatively) in this case. We can say (صَحْرَاءَانِ) or (صَحْرَاوَانِ), and so the rest of mamdūd nouns where the hamzah is a feminine sign. For example: