Arabic Numbers Grammar

Summary: Rules governing the form and case of the counted noun (maʿdūd) in Arabic, which varies by number range.

Overview

In Arabic, the noun being counted — called the maʿdūd (المعدود) — changes form depending on the number. The rules are among the most complex in Arabic grammar.

Rules by Number Range

Number Range	Maʿdūd Form
1–2	Their own rules
3–9	Plural, opposite gender to the number
Multiples of 10 (10, 20, 30…)	Their own rules
11–99 (excluding multiples of 10)	Singular, mansūb (accusative) — tamyīz
100, 1000+	Their own rules

The 11–99 Rule in Detail

For numbers 11 through 99 (excluding round tens), the maʿdūd is:

Singular in form (not plural)
Mansūb (accusative) — functioning as a tamyīz (تمييز)

Example from the session:

Tisʿun wa ʿishrūna sūratan — "29 sūrahs"

Here sūratan is singular and mansūb. It appears in the discussion of how many sūrahs contain Muqattaat.

Tamyīz Note

The full explanation of tamyīz has been moved to Tamyiz.

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[[muqattaat]]
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