Examples and Practice Exercises for Breaking Down Numbers

Examples of Broken Plural Forms

The broken plural differs from the regular masculine and feminine plural forms. Below are diverse examples of broken plurals, indicated in bold and underlined:

Examples from the Quran on Broken Plurals

Several verses in the Quran contain broken plurals, as shown below:

• God Almighty said: {Allah knows what is in their souls}^[1]. The word "souls" is a broken plural, indicating a small number.
• God Almighty said: {Your Lord knows what is in your souls. If you are righteous, indeed He is forgiving toward those who turn back to Him}^[2]. The word "souls" is a broken plural, indicating a large number.
• God Almighty said: {He has bestowed His favors upon you, visible and hidden}^[3]. The word "favors" is a broken plural, indicating a large number.
• God Almighty said: {They ask you about the new moons. Say: They are times for the people and for pilgrimage}^[4]. The word "new moons" is a broken plural, indicating a small number.
• God Almighty said: {Praise be to Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who appoints the angels as messengers, having wings}^[5]. The word "messengers" is a broken plural, indicating a large number, while "wings" is a broken plural indicating a small number.

Examples from Arabic Poetry on Broken Plurals

Arabic poetry is rich with broken plurals in both their forms. Here are several examples:

Kab ibn Zuhair praised the Ansar:^[6]

• And those who gaze with eyes reddened ** Like embers not dimmed by sight.

The word "eyes" is a broken plural, derived from the pattern of small-numbered plurals.

Hassan ibn Thabit spoke on the day of Uhud:^[7]

• If it weren’t for the banner of al-Harithiyya, they would have been sold in markets like slaves.

The word "slaves" is a broken plural, indicating a large number.

Anas ibn Zinim apologized to the Prophet _peace be upon him_:^[8]

• Except that I said: Woe to the mother of young men ** Who were struck by misfortune, not by mere chance, but by destiny.

The word "young men" is a broken plural, derived from the pattern of small-numbered plurals.

The poet Al-Mutanabbi praised Harun ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Uraji:^[9]

• The traits of nights are that my mare’s hooves stir up dust ** My breast was pierced by them, like the one from al-Bayda.

The word "traits" is a broken plural, indicating a large number.

Kab ibn Zuhair wrote in his famous poem "Bant Saad":^[10] The day stretched out an arm, half-broken ** She rose, and answered her with troubles and wonders. Both words "troubles" and "wonders" are broken plurals, following the pattern of large-numbered plurals.

Useful Sentences Featuring Broken Plurals

Below are several useful sentences containing broken plurals, as explained:

• My father takes great care of the trees at home. The plural here is "trees," indicating a large number.
• The minister of education visited the schools in the city. The plural "schools" indicates a large number.
• I saw three young men playing in the playground. The plural "young men" indicates a small number.
• The engineer built five pillars for the house. The plural "pillars" indicates a small number.
• The believer harvested the heads of the disbelievers in battle. The plural "heads" indicates a large number.

Examples of Grammar Analysis for Broken Plurals

Broken plurals are grammatically analyzed just like singular nouns—depending on their case, they take the appropriate vowel marks: a dhamma if in the nominative case, a fatha if in the accusative, and a kasra if in the genitive case.^[11]

These markers apply when the plural is inflected. However, if the plural is unchangeable (i.e., forbidden from inflection), it takes a dhamma in the nominative case, and a fatha in both the accusative and genitive cases.^[11] Below are several examples to clarify the grammar of broken plurals:

• He conveyed God’s message to the messengers.
  • Conveyed: Past tense verb, constructed on fatha.
  • Messengers: Subject, in the nominative case, marked by a visible dhamma.
  • Message: Object, in the accusative case, marked by a visible fatha; it is a construct noun.
  • God: The construct noun's addressee, in the genitive case, marked by a visible kasra.
• I read books on rhetoric.
  • Read: Past tense verb, constructed on sukun due to connection with the pronoun suffix; the suffix is a connected pronoun, constructed on dhamma in the nominative case as the subject.
  • Books: Object, in the accusative case, marked by a visible fatha.
  • In: Preposition, constructed on sukun, with no grammatical function.
  • Rhetoric: Noun, governed by the preposition, marked by a visible kasra; it is a construct noun.
  • Book: The construct noun's addressee, governed by the preposition, marked by a visible kasra.
• I greeted the men in the street.
  • Greeted: Past tense verb, constructed on sukun due to connection with the pronoun suffix; the suffix is a connected pronoun, constructed on dhamma in the nominative case as the subject.
  • In: Preposition, constructed on sukun, with no grammatical function.
  • Men: Noun, governed by the preposition, marked by a visible kasra.
  • In: Preposition, constructed on sukun, with no grammatical function.
  • Street: Noun, governed by the preposition, marked by a visible kasra.
• I prayed in mosques that are beautiful.
  • Prayed: Past tense verb, constructed on sukun due to connection with the pronoun suffix; the suffix is a connected pronoun, constructed on dhamma in the nominative case as the subject.
  • In: Preposition, constructed on sukun, with no grammatical function.
  • Mosques: Noun, governed by the preposition, marked by a fatha instead of a kasra, because it is unchangeable (forbidden from inflection).
  • Beautiful: Description of "mosques," governed and marked by a visible kasra.
• I passed by the mosques of the neighborhood.
  • Passed: Past tense verb, constructed on sukun due to connection with the pronoun suffix; the suffix is a connected pronoun, constructed on dhamma in the nominative case as the subject.
  • By the mosques: The letter "b" is a preposition, constructed on kasra, with no grammatical function. "Mosques" is a noun governed by the preposition, marked by a visible kasra; it is a construct noun and has been inflected because it is part of a construct phrase.
  • Neighborhood: The construct noun's addressee, governed and marked by a visible kasra.

Exercises on Broken Plurals

Below are exercises on broken plurals to help clarify understanding:

Provide the broken plural of the following singular words

Identify the broken plural in the following sentences

Correct the errors in the following words

• The worker fixed many locks.
• There are five wells in this land.
• This problem has many aspects of solution.

Distinguish between small and large broken plurals in the following sentences

• The student named three of his ancestors.
• The girl donated old clothes.
• The merchant counted his coins carefully.
• The child tore pages from the library.

Form broken plurals of the following words

Analyze the broken plural in the following sentences

• I tasted various types of delicious foods.
• Muslims pray Friday prayers in mosques.
• There are many rooms in the house.
• Unique experiences in life are hard to forget.

References

1. ↑ Sura Hud, Verse 31
2. ↑ Sura Al-Isra, Verse 25
3. ↑ Sura Luqman, Verse 20
4. ↑ Sura Al-Baqarah, Verse 189
5. ↑ Sura Fatir, Verse 1
6. ↑ Edited by Professor Ali Fa’ur, Diwan of Ka‘b ibn Zuhair, page 19. Adapted.
7. ↑ Commentary by Abdul Ali Mahna, Diwan of Hassan ibn Thabit, page 29. Adapted.
8. ↑ Ibn Hisham, Al-Rawd al-Anis fi Tafsir al-Sira al-Nabawiyya, page 190. Adapted.
9. ↑ By al-Burquqi, Sharh Diwan al-Mutanabbi, page 101. Adapted.
10. ↑ "Bant Saad, my heart today is restless", Diwan. Adapted.
11. ^ ^{A B} Saad Fahd al-Saeed, Rah Malahe al-Iraba, page 10. Adapted.