Lesson 14
Plural Pronouns hum, hunna, humā
هم هن هما
Third-person plural and dual pronouns extend the present-tense conjugation system. هُمْ (they m), هُنَّ (they f), هُمَا (they two) each have their own verb forms.
Third-Person Plural and Dual Pronouns
PronounArabicPresent suffixExample (write)
Heهُوَيَـ (no suffix)يَكْتُبُ
Sheهِيَتَـ (no suffix)تَكْتُبُ
They two (m/f)هُمَاـَانِيَكْتُبَانِ
They (m pl)هُمْـُونَيَكْتُبُونَ
They (f pl)هُنَّـْنَيَكْتُبْنَ
Verb-Subject Agreement When Verb Precedes Subject
When a verb comes BEFORE its subject (verb-subject order), the verb stays in the singular form even if the subject is plural. When the subject comes first, the verb agrees fully in number and gender.
OrderExampleAgreement
Verb firstيَذْهَبُ الطُّلَّابُsingular verb (rule)
Subject firstالطُّلَّابُ يَذْهَبُونَplural verb agrees
يَذْهَبُ الطُّلَّابُ إِلَى الْمَكْتَبَةِ هُمْ يَذْهَبُونَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ
Yadhhabu ṭ-ṭullābu ilā l-maktabati Hum yadhhabūna kulla yawm
The students go to the library. They go every day. (subject-first → full agreement)
يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبَانِ مَعاً الطَّالِبَتَانِ تَكْتُبَانِ الدَّرْسَ
Yaktubu ṭ-ṭālibāni maʿan Aṭ-ṭālibatāni taktubāni d-dars
The two students (m dual) write together. The two students (f dual) write the lesson.
Sample Dialogue
أ: أَيْنَ يَذْهَبُ الطُّلَّابُ؟ ب: يَذْهَبُونَ إِلَى الْمَكْتَبَةِ. أ: وَالطَّالِبَاتُ؟ ب: يَكْتُبْنَ فِي الْفَصْلِ.
A: Ayna yadhhabu ṭ-ṭullāb? B: Yadhhabūna ilā l-maktaba. A: Wa-ṭ-ṭālibāt? B: Yaktubna fī l-faṣl.
A: Where are the students going? B: They are going to the library. A: And the female students? B: They are writing in the classroom.
- يَكْتُبُونَ: the wāw-nūn ending (ونَ) marks masculine plural indicative.
- يَكْتُبْنَ: the nūn suffix (no wāw, sukūn on root) marks feminine plural.
- يَكْتُبَانِ: dual suffix ـَانِ (indicative) / ـَيْنِ (subjunctive/jussive).
- Verb-first rule: verb before subject stays singular regardless of plural subject.
- مَعاً (maʿan = together) accusative adverb, often used with dual subjects.