Number
In one line
Understand it
English counts in two: one, or more than one. Arabic counts in three.
The three numbers
| Means | ||
|---|---|---|
| Singular | مُفْرَد | one |
| Dual | مُثَنَّى | exactly two |
| Plural | جَمْع | three or more |
The dual is a word form, not a number placed in front of the noun. That is what English has no answer to.
The singular carries no ending that marks it as singular — you know it from the word itself. The dual and the two sound plurals do carry endings, which is what makes them recognisable at a glance, and what puts them in the i'rab section as well as this one.
The plural then splits again. A sound plural leaves the singular whole and adds a suffix; a broken plural takes the singular apart and recasts it. That split decides the ending: a sound plural marks its state with a letter, a broken plural with an ordinary vowel.
How to spot it
In the Qur'an
Related terms
Common questions
Why does Arabic need a separate form for two?
Because it treats two as a category of its own rather than as a small plural. Everything that agrees with a dual — its verb, its adjective, its pronoun — has a dual form as well, so the distinction runs right through the sentence.
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