Plural Forms of Verbal Noun and Their Grammatical Rules

Abstract

This study examines the plural forms of the Arabic verbal noun and the grammatical rules governing their usage. The following research questions address key questions, such as: Do all verbal nouns admit pluralization, or only certain types? What governs this process? And does pluralizing the verbal noun affect its ability to govern its complements? The article consists of an introduction, a preface, and three main sections that end with a conclusion. The preface provides a concise discussion of the concept of pluralizing the verbal noun. Section One discusses verbal nouns that may be pluralized unconditionally. Section Two examines verbal nouns whose pluralization is subject to specific conditions. Section Three explores whether the pluralized verbal noun retains its syntactic function (ʿamal) after pluralization. The Conclusion encompasses the findings, the most significant of which are:

(a) the default state of the verbal noun is singularity, as it denotes a single abstract category; (b) when the verbal noun is pluralized, it typically shifts to a meaning different from its original abstract sense; (c) verbal nouns denoting a single occurrence (masdar al-marra), verbal nouns of manner or state (maṣdar al-hay`ah), the meem-form verbal noun (al-maṣdar al-mimi), and verbal nouns with more than three root letters—provided they are not used for emphasis—may be dualized or pluralized without restriction;, and (d) the original verbal noun (al-maṣdar al-aṣli), when not intended for emphasis, may also be dualized or pluralized, as evidenced by numerous examples; the abundance of attested pluralized verbal nouns reflects one aspect of the richness and flexibility of the Arabic language. However, the syntactic function of the unstandardized pluralized infinitives is limited to the forms attested in usage, with no analogical extension. Finally, this paper provides a list of sources and references.