In the last lesson, we saw "Sound Plurals" where the word stays completely whole and simply gets a nice suffix (`-oona`). Today, we learn Broken Plurals (Jam' Mukassar). Sometimes, to make a plural, you have to completely shatter the original word and rearrange its inner vowels!
You cannot just add an "-oona" or "-aatun" to a Broken Plural. The bones of the word literally "break" from the inside out and form a completely new vowel pattern!
There are almost 30 broken plural patterns in Arabic! Don't panic. You simply learn them naturally as you learn new vocabulary. Here are 4 extremely common Human broken plurals:
| Singular (One) | Broken Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
|
رَجُلٌ Rajulun |
رِجَالٌ Rijaalun |
Men |
|
وَلَدٌ Waladun |
أَوْلَادٌ Awlaadun |
Boys / Children |
|
طَالِبٌ Taalibun |
طُلَّابٌ Tullaabun |
Students |
|
طَبِيبٌ Tabeebun (Doctor) |
أَطِبَّاءُ* Atibbaa'u |
Doctors |
Can a Broken Plural (noun) match with a Sound Plural (adjective)? Yes!
As long as they are both plural, they match perfectly!