The number after the noun
Without ال, the number comes first: ثلاثة طلاب three students. To say the three students, Arabic turns it around. The noun comes first with ال, and the number follows it like an adjective, with ال too.
| indefinite | definite |
|---|---|
| ثلاثة طلاب | الطلاب الثلاثة |
| خمسة كتب | الكتب الخمسة |
| أربع بنات | البنات الأربع |
| سبع قارات | القارات السبع |
The number keeps its reverse gender agreement with the singular noun: كتاب is masculine, so الخمسة has ة; بنت is feminine, so الأربع has none.
| I read the five books in one week. | قرأت الكتب الخمسة في أسبوع واحد.qara'tu alkutuba alkhamsata fee usboo'in waahidin |
| My father visited the seven continents. | زار أبي القارات السبع.zâra abî al-qârrâti as-sab'a |
An ordinal comes after the number: الأيام الثلاثة الأولى the first three days.
Our five senses
A noun made definite by a pronoun or by an idafa takes the same number with ال. حاسة(hâssah) is a sense: خمس حواس are five senses, حواسنا الخمس our five senses.
| We use our five senses every day. | نستخدم حواسنا الخمس كل يوم.nastakhdimu hawâssanâ al-khamsa kulla yawmin. |
عجيبة(ajeeba) is a wonder, plural عجائب:
| What are the seven wonders of the world? | ما هي عجائب الدنيا السبع؟mâ hiya ajâ'ibu ad-dunyâ as-sab'u? |
Tens and teens
Tens follow the noun the same way, with no gender change, and, like a masculine plural, end in ون as the subject (الطلاب العشرون) and in ين as an object or after a preposition. In 11 to 19, only the first part takes ال: اللاعبون الأحد عشر.
| The teacher spoke with the twenty students. | تحدثت المعلمة مع الطلاب العشرين.tahaddathati l-mu'allimatu ma'a t-tullabi l-'ishrin |
The idafa
Classical Arabic, and some formal writing, can also put the number first, in an idafa with the definite noun. The meaning is the same, but today الطلاب الثلاثة is the usual form.
| The three students passed the exam. (number first) | نجح ثلاثة الطلاب في الامتحان.najaha thalâthatu t-tullâbi fi l-imtihân |
