Counting with مِئَة (mi'ah : one hundred) and أَلْف (alf : one thousand)
Arabic GrammarNumbersMudaf and MudasufNoun CasesIntermediate LevelSarf
This session covers how to use مِئَة (mi'ah : one hundred) and أَلْف (alf : one thousand) in counting and in مُضَاف–مُضَاف إِلَيْه (mudāf–mudāf ilayh : possessive construct) structures, with practice on forming larger numbers in Arabic.
Original Recording
Original class recording
Key Points
- 1مِئَة (mi'ah : one hundred) and أَلْف (alf : one thousand) function as مُضَاف (mudāf : first term of a genitive construct) when followed by the counted noun, which becomes مُضَاف إِلَيْه (mudāf ilayh : genitive second term).
- 2Example: مِئَةُ طَالِبٍ (mi'atu tālibin : one hundred students) — مِئَة is مُضَاف and طَالِب is مُضَاف إِلَيْه in the مُفْرَد (mufrad : singular) مَجْرُور (majrūr : genitive) form.
- 3For multiples of one hundred, Arabic uses compound forms: مِئَتَان (mi'atān : two hundred), ثَلَاثُمِئَة (thalāthu mi'ah : three hundred), etc.
- 4أَلْف (alf : one thousand) follows the same مُضَاف–مُضَاف إِلَيْه pattern as مِئَة.
Discussion Questions
- How is مِئَة (mi'ah : one hundred) used in a مُضَاف–مُضَاف إِلَيْه (possessive) construct?
- What is the difference between مِئَة (mi'ah : one hundred) and أَلْف (alf : one thousand) in terms of their grammatical behaviour when used with counted nouns?