How to use the numbers thirteen to nineteen in Arabic?
These are compound numerals: the first part (3–9) + “ten” (عشرة / عشر).
The first part shows gender polarity (opposite gender of the noun).
The second part (عشرة / عشر) agrees directly with the noun in gender. The whole compound is always in the accusative. The counted noun after them is singular accusative.
Let’s see some examples:
This was for the indefinite counted nouns, but when we use the teens numerals (13–19) with definite nouns, there are some special rules:
- The counted noun is in the plural definite form (with “الـ“).
- The teens numeral comes after the noun.
- Only the first part of the numeral compound carries the definite article “الـ“.
- The teens numeral is always accusative, no matter the position in the sentence.
- Gender polarity still applies:
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- Feminine noun → masculine form in the first part.
- Masculine noun → feminine form in the first part.
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