The regular masc. pl., on the contrary, is almost exclusively restricted to proper names of men, to their diminutives, to verbal adjectives and participles, to super

latives of the form, or to professional Adjectives,

The irregular, or broken plurals, as they are called, are the most capricious formation in the language. They can only be learnt by careful study of the dictionaries. De Sacy enumerates thirty-one forms. The following rules, taken from Delaporte's Idiome Arabe, indicate some of the more usual modes of formation.

1. Substantives of three letters, the second of which

is, form their plural by changing into and ad

2. Substantives of five letters, of which the 4th is a weak letter, form their plural by inserting after the second; the weak letter of the singular becomes or rein the plural.

mains

5-19

سلاطین Sultan سلطان قراطيس paper قرطاس .

139

مساكين ,poor مسكين مكاتيب letter مكتوب

3. The generality of Triliteral Substantives, in which a weak letter is neither second nor third, form their plural

before the ultima, as

رجال كلاب,dog وَكَلَابٌ قلوب,heart قلب ,mam رجل

Also in Triliteral Nouns whose second letter is the plural is frequently formed by the insertion of

وى

ز بیوت house بیت before the last radical, as

طيور ,bird

ا

4.

Substantives of four letters none of which are weak, form the Plural by inserting after the second, as

terminal is added in the singular it is rejected in the

The greater number of words indicating flowers or fruits, or a part of an entire species, ending in , form

their plural merely by rejecting this, as a piece

.onions بصل an onion بصلة ;straw تین ,of straw

5.

Professional Adjectives of which is the second

letter, form their plural by transposing the to the

L

third place, and doubling the second radical, as

ولا 5

کتاب

كاتب

a scribe; la, ka a physician. Note how

و حاكم حكام

ever that the same forms, if not professional, form the

the plural by inserting in the third place, as

33

کرسی

Adjectives of the form, not being comparatives or superlatives, form their plural for both genders on the

As has been already observed, Comparative Adjec tives do not vary according to number. The same is the case with Superlatives when the term of comparison is expressed; otherwise they vary as positive Adjectives.

The following table, taken from Erpenius, and representing the more ordinary forms which the plural assumes, may be useful: