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### Counting with 100 and 1000

In Arabic, the grammatical rules for counting change depending on the number. While numbers 3 through 10 are followed by a plural noun, the words for one hundred (مئة) and one thousand (ألف) require the counted noun to be **singular**.

Additionally, this singular noun must be in the **genitive** case (majrūr), which typically means it takes a Kasratayn (ٍ ) at the end when indefinite.

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### The Publishing World

This numerical rule is especially useful when talking about book publishing, where an author (مؤلف) or a publisher (ناشر) deals with large quantities of words, texts (نص), and pages. Notice how the nouns following مئة and ألف remain singular in these examples.

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### Editors and Printing Presses

As a manuscript moves through the publishing process, you might encounter an editor (محرر) reviewing texts, or a printing press (مطبعة) producing physical volumes (مجلد) with covers (غلاف). 

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Whether counting poems or checking book titles (عنوان), the grammatical rule remains exactly the same: always use the singular genitive noun after hundreds and thousands.

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Counting with hundreds and thousands

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

interrogative

noun

numeral

particle

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

The definite article and locatives (الـ)

Basic noun gender (ة)

Sun and moon letters

Singular subject pronouns (أنا، أنت، هو، هي)

Indefinite nouns and nominal sentences (ـٌ)

Demonstrative pronouns for 'this' (هذا / هذه)

Separate prepositions (في، من، إلى، على)

Attributive adjectives

Predicative adjectives

Yes/No questions (هل، أ)

Basic questions (من، ما، أين)

Singular possessive pronouns (ـي، ـك، ـه، ـها)

Plural subject pronouns (نحن، أنتم، هم)

Plural possessive pronouns (ـنا، ـكم، ـهم)

Noun possession

Attached prepositions (بـ، لـ، كـ)

Pronouns with prepositions

Having and possessing (عند، لـ، مع)

Regular plural nouns (ـون، ـين، ـات)

Broken plurals

Dual nouns (ـان / ـين)

Plural and distant demonstratives (هؤلاء، ذلك، تلك)

Non-human plural agreement

Present tense singular verbs

Verbal sentences (VSO)

Present tense plural verbs

Topicalized sentences (SVO)

The indefinite accusative case (ـاً)

Verb object pronouns (-ني، -ك، -ه)

Present tense negation (لا)

Question words with verbs (متى، كيف...)

Adverbs of time and place

The future tense (سـ / سوف)

Intentions and desires (أن)

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Past tense singular suffixes

Past tense plural suffixes

Negating past events (ما)

Singular commands

Numbers 1 to 10

Number agreement for 1 and 2 (واحد، اثنان)

Asking how many (كم)

Numbers 3 to 10 (ثلاثة إلى عشرة)

Ordinal numbers 1 to 10 (الأول، الثاني)

Basic conjunctions (فـ، أو، لكن)

Ordering at a café (واحد، اثنان)

Food and drink with conjunctions (و، ف، أو، لكن)

There is and there are (هناك / ليس هناك)

Direct address (يا)

Giving reasons (لأنّ)

Relative pronouns (الذي / التي)

Quantifiers (كل / بعض)

The past tense of 'to be' (كان)

Past possession

Numbers 11 to 19 and tens to 80

Telling time (الساعة)

This book vs this is a book (هذا الكتاب، هذا كتاب)

Greetings (مرحبا، السلام عليكم)

How are you? and goodbye (كيف حالك، مع السلامة)

Nationalities (مصري، مصرية)

Roots and patterns (كتب، كتاب، مكتب)

Politeness (من فضلك، آسف)

Complex possession chains

Colors and traits (أفعل / فعلاء)

Plural colors and traits (فُعْل)

Comparative adjectives (أفعل من)

Superlative adjectives (أفعل)

Adverbs of manner (ـاً)

The nominative case (ـُ)

The genitive case (ـِ)

The accusative case (ـَ)

Dual noun cases (ـان / ـين)

Masculine plurals and 'the best of' (أفضل النجارين)

Emphasizing sentences (إنّ)

Connecting clauses (أنّ)

Reporting speech (قال إنّ)

Expressing contrast (لكنّ)

Comparison and probability (كأنّ, لعلّ)

Distant plural pointing (أولئك)

Plural relative pronouns (الذين, اللواتي)

Past habits (كان + present)

Ongoing actions (ما زال)

Masculine plurals online (مبرمجون، مؤثرون)

Perfective past (قد)

Probability (قد)

The subjunctive mood (أن)

Question	Answer
author	مؤلفmu'allif
The author wrote a hundred pages.	كتب المؤلف مئة صفحة.kataba al-mu'allifu mi'ata safhatin
text	نصnass
I want to read a thousand words from this text.	أريد أن أقرأ ألف كلمة من هذا النص.urîdu an aqra'a alfa kalimatin min hâdhâ an-nassi.
publisher	ناشرnâshir
dictionary	قاموسqâmûs
The publisher printed a thousand copies of the dictionary.	طبع الناشر ألف نسخة من القاموس.taba'a an-nâshiru alfa nuskhatin mina al-qâmûs.
volume	مجلدmujallad
This volume has a thousand pages in it.	هذا المجلد فيه ألف صفحة.hâdhâ al-mujalladu fîhi alfu safhatin
poem	قصيدةqasîda
Indeed, it is a beautiful poem; it has a hundred words.	إنها قصيدة جميلة، فيها مئة كلمة.innahâ qaṣîdatun jamîlatun, fîhâ mi'atu kalimatin
editor	محررmuharrir
The editor did not read a hundred pages of the text.	لم يقرأ المحرر مئة صفحة من النص.lam yaqra'i al-muharriru mi'ata safhatin mina an-nassi
printing press	مطبعةmatba'a
The printing press produces a thousand books every day.	تنتج المطبعة ألف كتاب كل يوم.tuntiju al-matba'atu alfa kitâbin kulla yawmin
cover	غلافghilâf
This cover is for a volume of a thousand pages.	هذا الغلاف لمجلد من ألف صفحة.hâdhal-ghilâfu limujalladin min alfi safhah
The publisher asked the author for a hundred poems.	طلب الناشر من المؤلف مئة قصيدة.talaba an-nâshiru mina al-mu'allifi mi'ata qasîdatin
title	عنوانunwân
The editor read a hundred titles before the agreement.	قرأ المحرر مئة عنوان قبل الموافقة.qara'a al-muharriru mi'ata 'unwânin qabla al-muwâfaqati
Did the printing press print a thousand dictionaries?	هل طبعت المطبعة ألف قاموس؟hal taba'ati-lmatba'atu alfa qâmûs?
I want to buy a hundred volumes with a beautiful cover.	أريد أن أشتري مئة مجلد بغلاف جميل.urîdu an ashtariya mi'ata mujalladin bighilâfin jamîlin
We wrote a hundred articles for the new magazine.	كتبنا مئة مقال للمجلة الجديدة.katabnâ mi'ata maqâlin lilmajallati al-jadîdah
There are a hundred new titles in this volume.	في هذا المجلد مئة عنوان جديد.fī hâdhâ al-mujalladi mi'atu 'unwânin jadîdin

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