Case Endings Chart

This chart provides a comprehensive reference for iʿrāb (الْإِعْرَابُ) — the system of case endings that marks grammatical function in Classical Arabic.

Quick Navigation

• Overview: The Three Cases
• Singular Nouns (الْمُفْرَدُ)
• Dual Nouns (الْمُثَنَّى)
• Sound Masculine Plural (جَمْعُ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ)
• Sound Feminine Plural (جَمْعُ الْمُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمِ)
• Broken Plurals (جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيرِ)
• The Five Nouns (الْأَسْمَاءُ الْخَمْسَةُ)

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Overview: The Three Cases

Arabic nouns change their endings based on grammatical function within a sentence. These changes are called case endings (حَرَكَاتُ الْإِعْرَابِ).

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Singular Nouns (الْمُفْرَدُ)

Most singular nouns follow the triptote pattern — they take all three cases with tanwīn (التَّنْوِينُ) when indefinite.

Triptote Pattern

Analysis:

• شَيْءٍ (shayʾin): Genitive indefinite after preposition كُلِّ (every)
• قَدِيرٌ (qadīrun): Nominative indefinite — predicate describing Allah

Diptote Nouns (المَمْنُوعُ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ) — Special Pattern

Some nouns are diptote (مَمْنُوعٌ مِنَ الصَّرْفِ) — they never take tanwīn when indefinite and use fatḥah instead of kasrah in the genitive.

Common diptote patterns:

• Proper names (أَحْمَدُ, مَرْيَمُ)
• Adjective patterns like أَفْعَلُ (أَكْبَرُ, أَحْسَنُ)
• Broken plurals on patterns مَفَاعِلُ or فَوَاعِلُ (مَسَاجِدُ, صَحَارَى)

Diptote Case Endings

Case	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	ـُ (-u)	ـُ (-u)
Accusative	ـَ (-a)	ـَ (-a)
Genitive	ـَ (-a)	ـِ (-i)

Key difference: Indefinite genitive uses fatḥah (ـَ), not kasrah.

وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا

And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.

— Surah Al-A'raf 7:180

الْحُسْنَىٰ (al-ḥusnā): Feminine superlative أَفْعَلُ pattern, diptote. Here definite nominative.

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Dual Nouns (الْمُثَنَّى)

The dual (الْمُثَنَّى) indicates exactly two of something. It has only two case forms: one for nominative, one for accusative/genitive.

Analysis:

• اثْنَتَيْنِ (ithnatayni): Dual accusative (predicate after كَانَتَا)
• الثُّلُثَانِ (ath-thuluthāni): Dual nominative (subject)

Related lesson: L2.08 (Dual Nouns)

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Sound Masculine Plural (جَمْعُ الْمُذَكَّرِ السَّالِمِ)

The sound masculine plural applies to:

• Male human nouns (مُسْلِمُونَ muslimūna “Muslims”)
• Masculine adjectives (صَالِحُونَ ṣāliḥūna “righteous ones”)

الْمُؤْمِنُونَ (al-muʾminūna): Definite nominative plural (subject)

More Examples: Sound Masculine Plural in Context

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].

— Surah Ali 'Imran 3:102

مُّسْلِمُونَ (muslimūna): Nominative predicate after كَانَ-type construction

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind.

— Surah Ali 'Imran 3:110

Analysis: When masculine plural nouns are indefinite and in iḍāfah, the nūn drops:

• خَيْرَ (khayra): Accusative predicate
• Would be خَيْرُونَ (khayrūna) if not in iḍāfah

Related lesson: L2.09 (Sound Plurals)

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Sound Feminine Plural (جَمْعُ الْمُؤَنَّثِ السَّالِمِ)

The sound feminine plural ending ـَاتٌ applies to:

• Female nouns (مُسْلِمَاتٌ muslimātun “Muslim women”)
• Many non-human plurals
• Some abstract nouns

الْمُسْلِمَاتِ and الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ: Both genitive after the particle إِنَّ (which governs accusative on the first element, then subsequent coordinated nouns take genitive).

More Examples: Sound Feminine Plural Patterns

وَالصَّالِحَاتِ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ

And the righteous women among your women

— Surah An-Nur 24:32

الصَّالِحَاتِ (aṣ-ṣāliḥāti): Genitive after conjunction وَ in genitive context

Pattern recognition:

• Nominative indefinite: صَالِحَاتٌ (ṣāliḥātun)
• Accusative indefinite: صَالِحَاتٍ (ṣāliḥātin)
• Genitive indefinite: صَالِحَاتٍ (ṣāliḥātin)

The feminine plural is especially common for:

• Abstract concepts: حَسَنَاتٌ (ḥasanātun) “good deeds”, سَيِّئَاتٌ (sayyiʾātun) “bad deeds”
• Collections: آيَاتٌ (āyātun) “signs/verses”, كَلِمَاتٌ (kalimātun) “words”

Related lesson: L2.09 (Sound Plurals)

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Broken Plurals (جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيرِ)

Broken plurals (جَمْعُ التَّكْسِيرِ) change the internal structure of the word. They follow the same case endings as singular nouns.

Common broken plural patterns:

• فُعُولٌ (بُيُوتٌ buyūtun “houses” from بَيْتٌ)
• فِعَالٌ (رِجَالٌ rijālun “men” from رَجُلٌ)
• أَفْعَالٌ (أَوْلَادٌ awlādun “children” from وَلَدٌ)
• فُعَلَاءُ (عُلَمَاءُ ʿulamāʾu “scholars” from عَالِمٌ) — diptote

لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ (li-l-malāʾikati): Broken plural of مَلَكٌ (malakun “angel”), genitive after preposition لِـ

Related lesson: L2.12 (Broken Plurals)

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The Five Nouns (الأَسْمَاء الخَمْسَة)

Five special nouns use long vowels (وٌ، اٌ، يٌ) instead of short vowel case endings when they are:

1. Singular
2. Indefinite or in iḍāfah (possessive)
3. Not followed by the first-person possessive suffix (ـي)

The five nouns are:

• أَبٌ (abun) “father”
• أَخٌ (akhun) “brother”
• حَمٌ (ḥamun) “father-in-law”
• فُو (fū) “mouth”
• ذُو (dhū) “possessor of”

آبَائِي (ābāʾī): Plural of أَب (ab “father”), not the special five-noun pattern. Genitive after مِلَّةَ.

أَبَوَيْهِ (abawayhi): Dual of أَب, accusative (direct object). Shows wāw before dual suffix.

More Examples: Five Nouns Patterns

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حُسْنًا

And We have enjoined upon man goodness to parents.

— Surah Al-Ankabut 29:8

بِوَالِدَيْهِ (bi-wālidayhi): Dual genitive after preposition بِ

Five Nouns Summary:

1. أَبٌ (father): أَبُوهُ / أَبَاهُ / أَبِيهِ
2. أَخٌ (brother): أَخُوهُ / أَخَاهُ / أَخِيهِ
3. حَمٌ (father-in-law): حَمُوهُ / حَمَاهُ / حَمِيهِ
4. فُو (mouth): فُوهُ / فَاهُ / فِيهِ
5. ذُو (possessor): ذُو / ذَا / ذِي

Note: ذُو is unique — it ONLY appears in the five-noun pattern, never with regular endings.

وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ

And Allah is the possessor of great bounty.

— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:105

ذُو (dhū): Nominative (subject/predicate position)

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Cross-References

Related Curriculum Lessons

• L2.04: Nominative Case (الرَّفْع)
• L2.05: Accusative Case (النَّصْب)
• L2.06: Genitive Case (الجَرّ)
• L2.08: Dual Nouns
• L2.09: Sound Plurals
• L2.12: Broken Plurals

Other Resources

• Pronoun Charts — Attached pronoun case variations
• Verb Conjugation Tables — Verb mood endings

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Practice Tips

1. Start with recognition: Before memorizing endings, practice identifying case markers in Quranic verses.

2. Use analysis tools: When reading verses, identify:

   • Is this word the subject (nominative)?
   • Is it an object (accusative)?
   • Does it follow a preposition (genitive)?

3. Listen for pronunciation: Case endings affect recitation in formal tajwīd. Pay attention to final vowel sounds.

4. Learn patterns gradually: Master singular → dual → sound plurals → broken plurals → five nouns.

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Quick Reference: All Patterns Summary

Key Observations:

• Dual and sound masculine plural share the same ending for accusative AND genitive
• Sound feminine plural shares accusative and genitive endings
• Diptote indefinite genitive looks like accusative (ـَ)
• Five nouns use long vowels: و (wāw) for nominative, ا (alif) for accusative, ي (yāʾ) for genitive
• Broken plurals follow singular patterns exactly