It is peculiar to the Arabick to form plurals from nouns already in the

plural number, as ♫♬♪ a tribe or sect. First plural 3, second ditto, , and third ditto, . The last of these, from which it is not

allowable to form another, is called, the last of plurals. The following, which will be sufficient for our purpose, are Mr. Lums

den's general rules for their formation, (Pers. Gram. vol. i. p. 344).

و

فعال The measure of the singular being h, that of the plural will be

شمار

ر بار

مسجد as ; مفاعل and so also of and دفاتر a book ; plural دفتر

فعال and فَعِيله or ; تهالك and , تهلكه as ; تَفَاعِل and تَفعله or ; مَسَاجِد and

Nothing can be more easy than the declension of Arabick nouns, there

Any noun having the (5) tanvin loses it when the noun becomes de

الاضافة finite, either by construction being المعرفة or by the article

Irregular plurals having four syllables, of which the two first have fathahs,

as

2nd, Such as end in or a short alif, ass, and 3rd, others

ending in alif mamdūdah and ḥamza, as; but if hamza belong to the root, the tanvīn is preserved. 4th. Nouns having a broken plural of

A

A

وفَعَالِلُ وَأَفَاعِلُ وَمَنَاعِيلُ وفَعَادِلُ أَفَعِلاء وفعلاءً فَعَالي فعلي the forms of 5th, Comparatives and superlatives of the فعاليلُ and فَوَاعِلُ وَمَفَاعِلُ فَفَاعِلُ

form of, provided they do not form the feminine by the addition of *. 6th, Nouns of the form of les, of which the feminine is. 7th, Proper names of women ending in , as well as masculine nouns of the same termination. 8th, Foreign names having more than three letters, or having no more, but the second letter moveable. 9th, Also such as have

been formed from quadriliteral appellatives, ass, a scorpion; jäs, a man so called. 10th, Proper names of the forms of,, or of any

person of the aorist, as, . 11th, All proper names compounded

ވ

of two words, as Hadramaut; and 12th, Adjectives derived from

There is no irregularity in the Dual, whatever be the form of any noun.

When the noun becomes definite, the tanvin is superseded by the single

vowels, viz. (s) by (,) and (-) by (-).

The broken plurals, both masculine and feminine, are declined as the singular masculine above given, respect being had to the terminating vowel.

All nouns in the Arabick language are said to be indefinite, or Kac, unless restricted either by the addition of the article J, by construc

5019

tion, or by the addition of one or other of the pronouns. In either of

the two last cases, both the tanvin of the singular (if there be any) and of both the dual, and the regular plural masculine,

the terminating disappear.

صفات OF PERSIAN ADJECTIVES

THE Persian adjectives admit of no variation, but in the degrees of com

parison. The positive is made comparative by adding to it, and super

ترین خوبترین خوب ,khub, خوب

lative by adding ; as, → khūb, fair, ♬ khūbtar, fairer, „j

khubtarin, fairest. Arabick adjectives, when applied to the Persian language, frequently form the comparative and superlative degrees in the

وصعب تیرین more difficult وصعب تر difficult و صعب same manner; as

most difficult. These are termed

Lawl.

Our than after a comparative is expressed by the preposition;

az; as

بَيَاضِ رُوي تُو روشنتر از رخ روز سُرخ

سَوَادِ زُلف تو تاریکتر از ظلمت داج

The brightness of thy face is more splendid than the cheek of day: the

blackness of thy locks is darker than the hue of night.