جمع
The Arabic word for 'plural' is جمع.
The term is used as an adjective to indicate more than one.
Meaning: more than one (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word جمع literally means a collection, gathering or assembly.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you are referring to 'the plural' as a specific grammatical concept, you add the definite article to form الجمع. To specify the gender of a plural, you can use the phrases جمع مؤنث for a feminine plural and جمع مذكر for a masculine plural.
Did you know?
- Arabic has a grammatical category called the 'dual' مثنى for exactly two people or things, meaning جمع is used only for three or more.
- The root of جمع is also used to create the word for 'Friday' الجمعة, as it is the day for the community gathering.
- Arabic employs 'broken plurals' جمع التكسير, where the internal structure of a singular word is broken and reshaped rather than adding a suffix.
Examples in context
- جمع خيل هو خيول.The plural of horse is horses.This example shows how to use the word جمع to describe a plural form.Tatoeba #1579652 by Amastan, translation #1178779 by Scott
- هذا الاسم هو جمع.hadha al-ism huwa jam'This noun is plural.
- هل كلمة "كتب" جمع؟hal kalima "kutub" jam'?Is the word "books" plural?
Example conversation
A student asks a teacher about a grammar rule.
- ليلى Laylaهل هذا الاسم جمع؟hal hadha al-ism jam'?Is this noun plural?
- زياد Ziadنعم، هو جمع مذكر سالم.na'am, huwa jam' mudhakkar salim.Yes, it is a sound masculine plural.
- ليلى Laylaشكراً لك يا أستاذ.shukran laka ya ustadh.Thank you, teacher.
- زياد Ziadعفواً، بالتوفيق في دراستك.afwan, bi-tawfiq fi dirasatik.You're welcome, good luck with your studies.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
