Asking "How Many Times?"
To ask "how many times" an action happens or happened, pair the question word كم (how many) with the word مرة (time/instance). Because كم is always followed by a singular noun, مرة remains singular. You can follow this phrase directly with a verb.
| How many times do you travel to Egypt? | كم مرة تسافر إلى مصر؟kam marratan tusâfiru ilâ misra? |
| How many times did you take the medicine? | كم مرة أخذت الدواء؟kam marratan akhadhta ad-dawâ'a? |
| How many times did you try? | كم مرة حاولت؟kam marratan hâwalta? |
Asking "How Many [Items]?"
You can use this same structure—كم followed by a singular noun and then a verb—to ask about the exact quantity of items involved in an action.
In this lesson, you will practice with several common countable nouns:
- حبة (pill)
- صفحة (page)
- كلمة (word)
- زجاجة (bottle)
- قطعة (piece)
- خطوة (step)
Notice how the singular noun is placed immediately after كم, followed by the verb.
| How many pills did you take? | كم حبة أخذت؟kam habbatan akhadhta? |
| How many pages do you read a day? | كم صفحة تقرأ في اليوم؟kam safhatan taqra'u fil yawmi? |
| How many words did you write in the message? | كم كلمة كتبت في الرسالة؟kam kalimatan katabta fi r-risâlah? |
| How many bottles of water do you drink? | كم زجاجة ماء تشرب؟kam zujâjata mâ'in tashrabu? |
Expressing "One" Item
When answering these questions to say you did something "one" time or with "one" item, you will use the number "one" as an adjective.
All the unit nouns introduced in this lesson (like مرة, حبة, and صفحة) end in ة, making them feminine. Therefore, they are described using the feminine word for "one": واحدة. Remember that Arabic adjectives always come after the noun they describe.
| I took one pill of the medicine. | أخذت حبة واحدة من الدواء.akhadhtu habbatan wâhidatan mina ad-dawâ'i |
| I read one page and I wrote one word. | قرأت صفحة واحدة وكتبت كلمة واحدة.qara'tu safhatan wâhidatan wa katabtu kalimatan wâhidatan. |
| Did you walk one step? | هل مشيت خطوة واحدة؟hal mashayta khutwatan wâhidatan? |
