Arabic: An Essential Grammar

25.4 The feminine ending ta ̄

marbu ̄t ̇

ah ...ـة is elided with the

noun when adding the nisbah suffix يٌّ ِـ ... /...iyyun/ or يـ ٌةَِّـ ... /...iyyatun/,

e.g.

25.5 If the noun ends in the long vowel ـا.َ .. /...a ̄/, this is elided with

the noun when adding the nisbah suffix يٌّ ِـ ... /...iyyun/ or يـ ٌةَِّـ ... /...iyya-

tun/, e.g.

25.6 The feminine singular form of the relative adjective (nisbah) is

often used as a noun with abstract meaning, e.g.

َش ْهـ ٌر يٌّ َش ْه ِر ي ٌةََّشـ ْه ِر

sˇahrun, month sˇahriyyun, monthly sˇahriyyatun

Relative adjective (nisbah)

Noun Masc. Fem.

َث َقا َف ٌة يٌّ َث َقا ِف ي ٌةََّث َقا ِف

t ̄

aqa ̄fatun, culture t ̄

aqa ̄fiyyun, cultural t ̄

aqa ̄fiyyatun

ِم ْهـ َن ٌة يٌّ ِم َهـ ِن ي ٌةَِّم َهـ ِن

mihnatun, profession mihaniyyun, professional mihaniyyatun

Noun Masc. Fem.

َأ ْم ِري َكا يٌّ َأ ْم ِري ِك ي ٌةََّأ ْم ِري ِك amrı

ka ̄, America

amrı

kiyyun, American

amrı

kiyyatun

ِف ْنَلـ ْن َدا يٌّ ِف ْنَلـ ْن ِد ي ٌةَِّف ْنَلـ ْن ِد

finlanda ̄, Finland finlandiyyun, Finnish finlandiyyatun

Noun Masc. Fem. (abstract noun)

ِإ ْن َسا ٌن يٌّ ِإ ْن َسا ِن ي ٌةَِّإ ْن َسا ِن insa ̄nun, man

insa ̄niyyun,

human

insa ̄niyyatun, humanity,

humaneness

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Adjectival patterns, relative adjectives, comparative