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### Naming Decades

To talk about a specific decade, like "the twenties" or "the nineties," Arabic builds on the cardinal numbers for the tens. You create the word for a decade by following a simple pattern:
- Start with the oblique form of the number (the one ending in **ـين**, such as **عشرين** for twenty).
- Attach the Nisba suffix (**ـيـ**).
- Add the feminine sound plural ending (**ـات**).

This pattern transforms **عشرين** into **عشرينيات** (twenties). When referring to a specific decade, such as "the twenties," simply add the definite article **الـ** (**العشرينيات**).

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### Decades in Context

These words act exactly like regular nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a preposition (often **في** to say "in" a decade), or the second part of an Idafa (possessive construction).

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Since they are plural nouns ending in **ـات**, they take standard feminine sound plural case endings. The pattern remains perfectly consistent up to "the nineties."

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Naming decades (الستينيات)

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)

Negating states and possession (ليس)

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
twenties	عشرينياتishriniyyât
The radio became famous in the twenties.	أصبح المذياع مشهورا في العشرينيات.asbaha al-midhyâ'u mash'hûran fî al-'ishrîniyyâti
We will not use the technology of the twenties.	لن نستخدم تكنولوجيا العشرينيات.lan nastakhdima tiknoolôjyâ al-'ishriiniyyât
thirties	ثلاثينياتthalâthîniyyât
Television began to develop in the thirties.	بدأ التلفاز يتطور في الثلاثينيات.bada'a attilfâzu yatatawwaru fî aththalâthînîyyât
Was your grandmother watching television in the thirties?	هل كانت جدتك تشاهد التلفاز في الثلاثينيات؟hal kânat jaddatuka tushâhidu at-tilfâza fî ath-thalâthîniyyât
forties	أربعينياتarba'îniyyât
The female engineers invented the first computer in the forties.	اخترعت المهندسات أول حاسوب في الأربعينيات.ikhtara'ati al-muhandisâtu awwala hâsûbin fi al-arba'îniyyâti
As soon as the forties ended, computers became larger.	بمجرد أن انتهت الأربعينيات، أصبحت الحواسيب أكبر.bimujarradi ani antahati al-arba'iniyyâtu, asbahati al-hawâsîbu akbara.
fifties	خمسينياتkhamsiniyyât
The camera became small in the fifties.	صارت الكاميرا صغيرة في الخمسينيات.sârati l-kâmîrâ saghîratan fî l-khamsîniyyât.
Did you see the technology of the fifties?	هل رأيت تكنولوجيا الخمسينيات؟hal ra'ayta taknûlûjyâ al-khamsîniyyât?
sixties	ستينياتsittiniyyât
She was a famous programmer in the sixties.	كانت مبرمجة مشهورة في الستينيات.kânat mubarmijatan mashhûratan fis-sittîniyyât.
Ahmad, nothing changed quickly in the sixties.	يا أحمد، لا شيء تغير بسرعة في الستينيات.yâ ahmad, lâ shay'a taghayyara bisur'ah fî s-sittîniyyât.
seventies	سبعينياتsab'iniyyât
The portable tape spread in the seventies.	انتشر الشريط المحمول في السبعينيات.intashara ash-sharîtu al-mahmûlu fî as-sab'îniyyât.
No one bought a computer in the seventies.	لا أحد اشترى حاسوبا في السبعينيات.lâ ahada shtarâ hâsûban fî as-sab'îniyyât
eighties	ثمانينياتthamâniiniyyât
What wonderful technology in the eighties!	يا لها من تكنولوجيا رائعة في الثمانينيات!yâ lahâ min teknolojiyâ râ'i'atin fî ath-thamâniniyyât!
When did computers spread? In the eighties?	متى انتشرت الحواسيب؟ في الثمانينيات؟matâ intasharati al-hawâsibu? fi ath-thamâniniyyâti?
nineties	تسعينياتtis'îniyyât
The internet spread quickly in the nineties.	انتشر الإنترنت بسرعة في التسعينيات.intashara al-internet bisur'atin fi at-tis'îniyyât.
Ibrahim, we started using the internet in the nineties.	يا إبراهيم، بدأنا نستخدم الإنترنت في التسعينيات.yâ ibrâhîmu, bada'nâ nastakhdimu al-interneta fî at-tisîniyyâti.