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### 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.

{{item:1209534}}

{{item:1209533}}

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. {{item:1209529}} is a *sense*: خمس حواس are *five senses*, حواسنا الخمس *our five senses*.

{{item:1209531}}

{{item:1209543}} is a *wonder*, plural عجائب:

{{item:1209544}}

### 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.

{{item:1209540}}

### 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.

{{item:1209542}}

The definite counted noun (الطلاب الثلاثة)

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
sense (sight, hearing…)	حاسةhâssah
We have five senses.	عندنا خمس حواس.indanâ khamsu hawâssa
We use our five senses every day.	نستخدم حواسنا الخمس كل يوم.nastakhdimu hawâssanâ al-khamsa kulla yawmin.
My grandfather's sense of sight is weak.	حاسة النظر عند جدي ضعيفة.hâssatu n-nazari 'inda jaddî da'îfatun.
My father visited the seven continents.	زار أبي القارات السبع.zâra abî al-qârrâti as-sab'a
I read the five books in one week.	قرأت الكتب الخمسة في أسبوع واحد.qara'tu alkutuba alkhamsata fee usboo'in waahidin
Where are the four girls?	أين البنات الأربع؟ayna al-banâtu al-arba'u?
The first three days were difficult.	الأيام الثلاثة الأولى كانت صعبة.al-ayyâmu ath-thalâthatu al-'ûlâ kânat sa'batan.
The three sisters traveled to Egypt.	سافرت الأخوات الثلاث إلى مصر.sâfarati l-akhawâtu th-thalâthu ilâ misra.
The manager spoke with the six employees.	تحدث المدير مع الموظفين الستة.tahaddatha al-mudîru ma'a al-muwadhdhafîna as-sittah
The twenty students took part in the competition.	شارك الطلاب العشرون في المسابقة.shâraka t-tullâbu l-'ishrûna fî l-musâbaqah
The teacher spoke with the twenty students.	تحدثت المعلمة مع الطلاب العشرين.tahaddathati l-mu'allimatu ma'a t-tullabi l-'ishrin
The coach thanked the eleven players.	شكر المدرب اللاعبين الأحد عشر.shakara al-mudarribu al-lâibîna al-ahada ashara.
The three students passed the exam. (number first)	نجح ثلاثة الطلاب في الامتحان.najaha thalâthatu t-tullâbi fi l-imtihân
wonder, marvel	عجيبةajeeba
What are the seven wonders of the world?	ما هي عجائب الدنيا السبع؟mâ hiya ajâ'ibu ad-dunyâ as-sab'u?
I have seen only one of the seven wonders.	رأيت عجيبة واحدة فقط من العجائب السبع.ra'aytu 'ajîbatan wâhidatan faqat mina al-'ajâ'ibi as-sab'i

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