Explanation of the words of Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him): "And *dhan* and *tan* are for the dual in the nominative case *** And in other cases, *dhan* and *tayan*, remember and you will obey."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : The dual is of masculine and feminine. He said: "And *dhan* and *tan* are for the dual in the nominative case":
But *dhan* is for the masculine, and *tan* is for the feminine. The masculine dual is indicated in the nominative case by *dhan*, and in other cases by *dhan*: "in other cases" means other than the nominative, which is the accusative and the genitive. In these cases, one says *dhan* and *tayan*. For example, you say: "These are two men," and you say: "Indeed, these two men," and you say: "I passed by these two men." The first is: "These are two men," which is in the nominative case. The second is: "Indeed, these two men," which is in the accusative case. The third is in the genitive case. However, do not say "nominative," "accusative," or "genitive"; rather, say "built in the position of nominative," "built in the position of genitive," and "built in the position of accusative." And on what is it built? They said: It is built on the alif in the nominative case, and on the ya in the accusative and genitive cases. So, in parsing "These are two standing," you say: The ha is for pointing, and *dhan* is a subject built on the alif in the position of nominative. The nun resembles the substitute for tanwin; it resembles the nun that occurs as a substitute for tanwin in the singular noun. Do not say here that it is a substitute for tanwin in the singular noun, because a singular noun of a demonstrative pronoun is not tanwinated. And you say regarding "dhan": It is a demonstrative pronoun built on the ya in the position of accusative if it is accusative, or in the position of genitive if it is genitive. As for the feminine, one says: "tan". How is *tan*? What is this? *Tan*! You say: "These are two women," and you say: "Indeed, these two women," yes, and you say: "I passed by these two women," built on the ya in the position of genitive. And the summary now: What does the dual have in the nominative case? What does the dual have in the nominative case?
The student: Two words.
The Shaykh : Are they? *Dhan* is for the masculine, and *tan* is for the feminine. And for the accusative and genitive as well, there are two forms: *dhan* for the masculine, and *tayan* for the feminine.
But *dhan* is for the masculine, and *tan* is for the feminine. The masculine dual is indicated in the nominative case by *dhan*, and in other cases by *dhan*: "in other cases" means other than the nominative, which is the accusative and the genitive. In these cases, one says *dhan* and *tayan*. For example, you say: "These are two men," and you say: "Indeed, these two men," and you say: "I passed by these two men." The first is: "These are two men," which is in the nominative case. The second is: "Indeed, these two men," which is in the accusative case. The third is in the genitive case. However, do not say "nominative," "accusative," or "genitive"; rather, say "built in the position of nominative," "built in the position of genitive," and "built in the position of accusative." And on what is it built? They said: It is built on the alif in the nominative case, and on the ya in the accusative and genitive cases. So, in parsing "These are two standing," you say: The ha is for pointing, and *dhan* is a subject built on the alif in the position of nominative. The nun resembles the substitute for tanwin; it resembles the nun that occurs as a substitute for tanwin in the singular noun. Do not say here that it is a substitute for tanwin in the singular noun, because a singular noun of a demonstrative pronoun is not tanwinated. And you say regarding "dhan": It is a demonstrative pronoun built on the ya in the position of accusative if it is accusative, or in the position of genitive if it is genitive. As for the feminine, one says: "tan". How is *tan*? What is this? *Tan*! You say: "These are two women," and you say: "Indeed, these two women," yes, and you say: "I passed by these two women," built on the ya in the position of genitive. And the summary now: What does the dual have in the nominative case? What does the dual have in the nominative case?
The student: Two words.
The Shaykh : Are they? *Dhan* is for the masculine, and *tan* is for the feminine. And for the accusative and genitive as well, there are two forms: *dhan* for the masculine, and *tayan* for the feminine.