Formal Modern Standard Arabic has dedicated imperfect forms for an all-female plural subject or audience: أنتن تكتبنَ “you women write” and هن يكتبنَ “they write (all female).” The ending ـنَ, called نون النسوة, carries feminine-plural agreement. In a regular strong verb, the preceding stem consonant has sukūn: تكتبْنَ، يكتبْنَ.
Unlike the nūn in masculine plural يكتبونَ, this feminine-plural nūn is not deleted by subjunctive or jussive governors. يكتبنَ، لن يكتبنَ، لم يكتبنَ have the same surface verb shape. The governor still establishes mood and time; the agreement ending simply makes those mood distinctions inaudible. Compare this invariance with mood-sensitive ـانِ on the dual imperfect page.
Two imperfect cells, one ending
Regular Form I كَتَبَ / يَكْتُبُ “write,” root ك-ت-ب, supplies the clearest model:
| Subject | Form | Structure | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَنْتُنَّ | تَكْتُبْنَ | تَـ + كْتُبْ + نَ | you women write |
| هُنَّ | يَكْتُبْنَ | يَـ + كْتُبْ + نَ | they write (all female) |
The prefix distinguishes second from third person: تـ addresses the women, while يـ refers to them. The ending is identical.
أنتن تكتبن الملخصات للقسم العربي
ʾantunna taktubna l-mulakhkhaṣāti lil-qismi l-ʿarabiyy
You write the summaries for the Arabic section. (Addressing a group of women.)
هن يكتبن إلى أسرهن كل مساء
hunna yaktubna ʾilā ʾusarihinna kulla masāʾ
They write to their families every evening. (All female.)
The subject pronouns are shown for clarity and contrast. The verb alone can carry the subject: in an established all-female context, يكتبن already means “they write.”
Why the stem ends in sukūn
With a strong verb, the imperfect is built on sukūn before nūn al-niswa: يكتبْنَ، يفتحْنَ، يراجعْنَ. Traditional grammar describes these forms as مبنيّ على السكون rather than as visibly inflected for indicative, subjunctive, and jussive endings.
المترجمات يراجعن المصطلحات قبل تسليم النص
al-mutarjimātu yurājiʿna l-muṣṭalaḥāti qabla taslīmi n-naṣṣ
The translators review the terminology before submitting the text. (All female.)
Form III رَاجَعَ / يُرَاجِعُ “review,” root ر-ج-ع, keeps its u-vocalized person prefix and long ā, but the final root consonant ع receives sukūn before ـنَ: يُرَاجِعْنَ.
لا تفتحن النوافذ قبل تشغيل نظام التهوية
lā taftaḥna n-nawāfidha qabla tashghīli niẓāmi t-tahwiya
Do not open the windows before turning on the ventilation system. (Addressing women.)
This is prohibitive لا + jussive imperfect. The surface verb is still تفتحنَ because nūn al-niswa makes the verb mood-invariant. The sukūn before نَ belongs to the construction; it is not an extra jussive change.
Mood changes around an invariant verb
Compare all three mood environments with Form II سَلَّمَ / يُسَلِّمُ “submit/deliver,” root س-ل-م:
| Environment | Verb | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| ungoverned indicative | يُسَلِّمْنَ | they submit / are submitting |
| لَنْ + subjunctive | لَنْ يُسَلِّمْنَ | they will not submit |
| لَمْ + jussive | لَمْ يُسَلِّمْنَ | they did not submit |
The doubled middle radical identifies Form II. That verified pattern matters for the prefix يُـ and internal stem, while the table’s mood conclusion remains the same for all Forms.
المهندسات يسلمن المخططات هذا الصباح
al-muhandisātu yusallimna l-mukhaṭṭaṭāti hādhā ṣ-ṣabāḥ
The engineers are submitting the plans this morning. (All female.)
المهندسات لن يسلمن المخططات قبل موافقة البلدية
al-muhandisātu lan yusallimna l-mukhaṭṭaṭāti qabla muwāfaqati l-baladiyya
The engineers will not submit the plans before municipal approval. (All female.)
المهندسات لم يسلمن المخططات في الموعد الأول
al-muhandisātu lam yusallimna l-mukhaṭṭaṭāti fī l-mawʿidi l-ʾawwal
The engineers did not submit the plans by the first deadline. (All female.)
Do not infer indicative mood merely because the verb “keeps its nūn.” لن and لم still govern; their effect is syntactically real even when the suffix blocks a visible ending contrast.
Subject position and human reference
Full feminine-plural agreement normally appears after a preverbal subject or when the subject is contained in the verb. In neutral formal verb–subject order, a verb before an explicit human feminine plural subject is singular feminine.
تراجع المحررات الصفحة الأخيرة قبل الطباعة
turājiʿu l-muḥarrirātu ṣ-ṣafḥata l-ʾakhīrata qabla ṭ-ṭibāʿa
The editors review the last page before printing. (Verb first.)
المحررات يراجعن الصفحة الأخيرة قبل الطباعة
al-muḥarrirātu yurājiʿna ṣ-ṣafḥata l-ʾakhīrata qabla ṭ-ṭibāʿa
The editors review the last page before printing. (Subject first.)
Nūn al-niswa normally refers to rational feminine plurals. A nonhuman plural instead takes feminine-singular agreement:
الوثائق تصل إلى المكتب في حقائب مختومة
al-wathāʾiqu taṣilu ʾilā l-maktabi fī ḥaqāʾiba makhtūma
The documents arrive at the office in sealed bags.
Plural الوثائق is grammatically nonhuman, so تصلُ is feminine singular; يصلنَ would wrongly personify or misclassify it.
Weak and geminate stems before ـنَ
Attaching nūn al-niswa can expose stem alternations that a sound model does not show.
Hollow Form I قَالَ / يَقُولُ “say,” root ق-و-ل, shortens its long vowel: هُنَّ يَقُلْنَ, not يقولنَ.
هن يقلن إن الطريق الساحلي أسرع في الصباح
hunna yaqulna ʾinna ṭ-ṭarīqa s-sāḥiliyya ʾasraʿu fī ṣ-ṣabāḥ
They say that the coastal road is faster in the morning. (All female.)
Final-weak دَعَا / يَدْعُو “invite/call,” root د-ع-و, has feminine plural يَدْعُونَ. It looks and sounds like masculine-plural indicative يدعونَ, but mood reveals the difference: masculine plural loses its nūn after لن (لن يدعوا), while feminine plural keeps nūn al-niswa (لن يدعونَ).
المنظمات يدعون إلى حماية الممرات الإنسانية
al-munaẓẓimātu yadʿūna ʾilā ḥimāyati l-mamarrāti l-ʾinsāniyya
The female organizers call for protecting the humanitarian corridors.
Geminate Form I مَدَّ / يَمُدُّ “extend,” root م-د-د, unfolds before the suffix: يَمْدُدْنَ.
المسؤولات يمددن فترة التسجيل حتى نهاية الشهر
al-masʾūlātu yamdudna fatrata t-tasjīli ḥattā nihāyati sh-shahr
The officials are extending the registration period until the end of the month. (All female.)
These are lexical stem facts, not optional pronunciation repairs. Store قال / يقول / يقلن and مد / يمد / يمددن with their principal parts.
Formal status and register
The feminine plural is normal (formal) MSA in legislation, journalism, academic prose, prepared speech, and any careful context referring to an all-female group. Many regional spoken varieties simplify, replace, or restrict these forms (regional). That variation does not justify replacing هن يفعلن with a masculine plural in edited MSA.
على المشاركات أن يحضرن بطاقات الهوية عند التسجيل
ʿalā l-mushārikāti ʾan yuḥḍirna biṭāqāti l-huwiyyati ʿinda t-tasjīl
The female participants must bring their identity cards when registering.
After أن, the verb is syntactically subjunctive but remains يحضرنَ on the surface.
Common Mistakes
Replacing feminine plural with masculine plural
❌ الموظفات يكتبون التقارير
Incorrect—an all-female human plural requires يكتبن.
✅ الموظفات يكتبن تقارير الزيارة مساء الخميس
al-muwaẓẓafātu yaktubna taqārīra z-ziyārati masāʾa l-khamīs
The employees write the visit reports on Thursday evening. (All female.)
Deleting nūn after لن
❌ المهندسات لن يسلم المخططات
Incorrect—nūn al-niswa remains after لن: لن يسلمن.
✅ المهندسات لن يسلمن المخططات قبل الفحص
al-muhandisātu lan yusallimna l-mukhaṭṭaṭāti qabla l-faḥṣ
The engineers will not submit the plans before inspection. (All female.)
Using full agreement before an explicit VSO subject
❌ يراجعن المحررات العقود
Incorrect in neutral formal VSO—use singular feminine تراجع before the explicit plural subject.
✅ تراجع المحررات العقود قبل توقيعها
turājiʿu l-muḥarrirātu l-ʿuqūda qabla tawqīʿihā
The editors review the contracts before they are signed.
Giving a nonhuman plural نون النسوة
❌ الرسائل يصلن في الصباح
Incorrect—nonhuman plural الرسائل takes feminine-singular تصل.
✅ الرسائل تصل إلى الفرع في الصباح
ar-rasāʾilu taṣilu ʾilā l-farʿi fī ṣ-ṣabāḥ
The letters arrive at the branch in the morning.
Keeping the hollow long vowel
❌ هن يقولن إن الخطة جاهزة
Incorrect in fully inflected MSA—the hollow stem shortens before نون النسوة.
✅ هن يقلن إن الخطة تحتاج إلى تعديل
hunna yaqulna ʾinna l-khuṭṭata taḥtāju ʾilā taʿdīl
They say that the plan needs revision. (All female.)
Key Takeaways
- تـ...ـنَ addresses an all-female plural; يـ...ـنَ refers to one.
- Nūn al-niswa is an agreement suffix and remains after subjunctive and jussive governors.
- A regular strong imperfect has sukūn immediately before ـنَ.
- Human VSO uses a preceding singular verb; nonhuman plurals take feminine-singular agreement rather than nūn al-niswa.
- Hollow and geminate roots may shorten or unfold before the suffix, so verify the stem.
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Imperfect Prefix Vowels across FormsA2 — Choose the a- or u-vocalized active-imperfect person prefix by verb Form while learning Form I internal vowels lexically.
- Dual Imperfect FormsA2 — Use the dual imperfect ending ـانِ and delete its nūn after subjunctive and jussive governors.
- The Arabic Verb SystemA1 — See how Arabic verb stems, agreement, mood, voice, and derived Forms work together in complete sentences.