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

Regular Masculine Plurals and Cases

Just like the dual form, regular masculine plurals (used for groups of male human beings or mixed groups) indicate their grammatical case by changing their suffix, rather than relying on short vowels.

The Nominative Plural (ـون)

When a regular masculine plural acts as the subject or predicate of a sentence, it is in the Nominative case. You form this by adding the suffix ـون to the end of the singular noun.

Notice that adjectives describing a Nominative plural noun must match it, taking the same ـون ending.

The Accusative and Genitive Plural (ـين)

If the plural noun is the direct object of a verb (Accusative case) or immediately follows a preposition (Genitive case), the suffix changes to ـين.

Note: This is written exactly the same as the dual suffix, but is pronounced differently (dual is "-ayn", plural is "-een").

Superlative Adjectives in Idafa

To say "the best", "the fastest", or "the biggest" of a group, Arabic uses a superlative adjective pattern (أفعل) followed by a definite plural noun.

Grammatically, this forms an Idafa (possession) construction. Because the plural noun is the second part of the Idafa, it is always in the Genitive case. Therefore, it must take the ـين suffix.

Notice that while Arabic uses the plural noun in this construction (literally "the best of the contractors"), it is often translated into English using the singular ("the best contractor").

Contrasting the Cases

Always pay attention to the role the plural noun plays in the sentence. Compare how the word for "ironworkers" changes from the Nominative (subject) to the Genitive (after a superlative in an Idafa):