Pronouns: Dual

01

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns are used when the two people are the ones performing the action or are the topic of the sentence. A significant advantage for learners is that dual pronouns are gender-neutral. You use the same word regardless of whether you are talking about two men, two women, or a mixed pair.

• ⁧⁧أَنْتُمَا⁩⁩ (antumāantumāʾantumāantuma): You two (2nd person dual)
• ⁧⁧هُمَا⁩⁩ (humāhumāhumāhuma): They two (3rd person dual)

• ⁧أَنْتُمَا طَالِبَانِ جَيِّدَانِ.⁩

  antumā ṭālibāni jayyidāni.antumā ṭālibāni d͟jayyidāni.ʾantumā ṭālibāni ǧayyidāni.antuma ṭalibani jayidani.

  You two are good students.

• ⁧هُمَا فِي الْمَكْتَبِ.⁩

  humā fī al-maktab.humā fī al-maktab.humā fiy ʾal-maktab.huma fy al-maktab.

  They two are in the office.

• ⁧هَلْ أَنْتُمَا مِنْ مِصْرَ؟⁩

  hal antumā min miṣr?hal antumā min miṣr?hal ʾantumā min miṣr?hal antuma min miṣr?

  Are you two from Egypt?

02

Possessive Suffixes

To indicate ownership involving two people (e.g., "the house of you two"), you attach a suffix to the end of the noun. These suffixes mirror the subject pronouns closely.

• ⁧⁧ـكُمَا⁩⁩ (-kumā-kumā-kumā-kuma): Your (dual)
• ⁧⁧ـهُمَا⁩⁩ (-humā-humā-humā-huma): Their (dual)

• ⁧أَيْنَ كِتَابُكُمَا؟⁩

  ayna kitābukumā?ayna kitābukumā?ʾayna kitābukumā?ayna kitabukuma?

  Where is your (two) book?

• ⁧سَيَّارَتُهُمَا جَدِيدَةٌ.⁩

  sayyāratuhumā jadīdah.sayyāratuhumā d͟jadīdah.sayyāratuhumā ǧadiydah.sayaratuhuma jadydah.

  Their (two) car is new.

• ⁧هَذَا عَمَلُهُمَا.⁩

  hādhā ‘amaluhumā.hādhā ‘amaluhumā.hādhā ‘amaluhumā.hadha ‘amaluhuma.

  This is their (two) work.

03

Object Pronouns and Prepositions

The same suffixes used for possession ⁧⁧ـكُمَا⁩⁩ (-kumā-kumā-kumā-kuma) and ⁧⁧ـهُمَا⁩⁩ (-humā-humā-humā-huma) are used when the dual pronoun is the direct object of a verb or follows a preposition.

• With Verbs: Attached to the verb to show who is receiving the action.
• With Prepositions: Attached to words like "with", "to", or "from".

• ⁧أَنَا أُحِبُّكُمَا.⁩

  anā uḥibbukumā.anā uḥibbukumā.ʾanā uḥibbukumā.ana uḥibukuma.

  I love you two.

• ⁧هَلْ سَأَلْتَهُمَا؟⁩

  hal sa’altahumā?hal sa’altahumā?hal sa’altahumā?hal sa’altahuma?

  Did you ask them two?

• ⁧سَأَذْهَبُ مَعَهُمَا.⁩

  sa-adhhabu ma‘ahumā.sa-adhhabu ma‘ahumā.sa-adhhabu ma‘ahumā.sa-adhabu ma‘ahuma.

  I will go with them two.

04

Agreement in Sentences

When using dual pronouns, the rest of the sentence must often change to match. This concept is called agreement. If the subject is dual ⁧⁧هُمَا⁩⁩ (humāhumāhumāhuma) or ⁧⁧أَنْتُمَا⁩⁩ (antumāantumāʾantumāantuma), the associated nouns, adjectives, and verbs usually take a dual ending as well (often ⁧⁧ـَانِ⁩⁩ (-āni-āni-āni-ani)).

• ⁧هُمَا يَأْكُلَانِ.⁩

  humā ya’kulāni.humā ya’kulāni.humā ya’kulāni.huma ya’kulani.

  They two are eating.

• ⁧أَنْتُمَا مُهَنْدِسَانِ.⁩

  antumā muhandisāni.antumā muhandisāni.ʾantumā muhandisāni.antuma muhandisani.

  You two are engineers.