Exclamatory 'how many' (كم)

You already know كم as a question word meaning "how many" or "how much." However, in Arabic, كم can also be used to express amazement or exclamation about a large quantity, translating to "so many," "so much," or "how many!". This is known as كم الخبرية (Exclamatory Kam).

When كم is used as an exclamation, the noun that follows it behaves differently than in a question. Instead of taking the accusative case, the noun takes the genitive case (مجرور) and can be either singular or plural.

Using كم من (Kam Min)

The most common way to form an exclamation of quantity is by placing the preposition من immediately after كم, followed by the noun. This is an excellent way to marvel at the sheer abundance of spices and wares in a bustling market.

You can use this structure for both countable items (like tourists or kinds of spices) and uncountable items (like pepper or saffron).

Using كم Without من

You can also drop من and place the noun directly after كم. The meaning remains exactly the same, and the noun following كم remains in the genitive case.

Adding Adjectives

Like any other noun, the word following exclamatory كم can be modified by adjectives. Simply match the adjective to the noun's gender and its genitive case.

Seeing the endings

This course writes Arabic the way books and newspapers print it, without the short-vowel marks, so the ending this lesson is about is something you hear in the audio but never see in the drills. Here are some of them with every vowel written out:

After an exclamatory كم the noun is genitive, with or without من: سَائِحٍ, عُشْبَةٍ. The question كم takes the accusative instead, and there the alif shows: كَمْ كِتَابًا قَرَأْتَ؟ How many books did you read?