Adjectives and Agreement in Arabic

An Arabic adjective comes after its noun and matches it in gender, number and definiteness: ⁨كِتَاب جَدِيد⁩ (a new book), ⁨السَّيَّارَة الْجَدِيدَة⁩ (the new car).

After the Noun

The adjective always follows the noun. If the noun has ⁨ال⁩, the adjective takes ⁨ال⁩ too. If the noun is feminine, the adjective usually adds ⁨ة⁩.

Phrase or Sentence?

Matching ⁨ال⁩ makes a phrase. When only the noun has ⁨ال⁩, you get a sentence with a hidden "is": ⁨الْبَيْت الْكَبِير⁩ means "the big house", but ⁨الْبَيْت كَبِير⁩ means "The house is big".

People in the Plural

For people, the adjective is plural too. Some adjectives add ⁨ـُون⁩ or ⁨ـَات⁩, others have a broken plural that you learn with the word.

Things in the Plural

This is the big surprise: the plural of a thing takes a feminine singular adjective.

Colours

The basic colours have a feminine form of their own, without ⁨ة⁩.

Common Mistakes

• Putting the adjective first: ⁨بَيْت كَبِير⁩, not ⁨كَبِير بَيْت⁩.
• Forgetting ⁨ال⁩ on the adjective: ⁨الْمَدِينَة الْقَدِيمَة⁩ (the old city), not ⁨الْمَدِينَة قَدِيمَة⁩, which means "The city is old".
• Using a plural adjective with things: ⁨كُتُب مُفِيدَة⁩, not ⁨كُتُب مُفِيدُون⁩.
• Adding ⁨ة⁩ to a colour: ⁨سَيَّارَة حَمْرَاء⁩, not ⁨سَيَّارَة أَحْمَرَة⁩.

Example Sentences