5.4 Plurals — the big one
5 · Nouns — naming things, and making them plural · a plain-language guide to Assyrian (Sureth) grammar
Here's the honest truth Khan states plainly: a noun's plural is not predictable from its singular. There are several plural endings, and you learn which one a given noun takes the same way you learned its gender — as part of the word. The upside is that one ending covers the clear majority, so start there.
The workhorse: -e (by far the most common)
Swap the singular -a (or -ta) for -e and you've made most plurals:
| singular | plural (-e) | |
|---|---|---|
| ilana | ilane | tree → trees |
| malka | malke | king → kings |
| tora | tore | ox → oxen |
| khmara | khmare | donkey → donkeys |
| kalma | kalme | louse → lice |
| nuyna | nuyne | fish (sg) → fish (pl) |
When -e attaches to a -ta word, it doubles as the "collective" use of -ta above: bita "an egg" → biyye "eggs," kertopta "a potato" → kertope "potatoes." Same pairing, seen from the plural side.
This is also the ending for new/borrowed words. -e is the "living" plural — any word the language borrows and needs to pluralize grabs -e. So when in real doubt about a plural, -e is your best single guess. Just know it won't always be right.
The other endings you'll hear
You don't have to produce these on demand, but you should recognize them as "just a plural":
| ending | typical of | example |
|---|---|---|
| -ane | many inanimate -a words | yuma → yumane "days," shemma → shemmane "names," karma → karmane "vineyards," duka → dukane "places" |
| -ate | feminine words (esp. body parts, places) | akla → aklate "legs," ida → idate "hands," urkha → urkhate "roads," bakhta → bakhtate "women," yama → yamate "seas," yemma → yemmate "mothers," shabta → shabate "weeks" |
| -yate | many -ta feminines | susta → susyate "mares," skenta → skenyate "knives"; brides & cats add an -n-: kalu → kalunyate "brides," katu → katunyate "cats" |
| -vate / -avate | houses, villages, and kinship words | mata → matvate "villages," pata → patvate "faces"; baba → babavate "fathers," khata → khatvate "sisters," akhuna → akhunvate "brothers," nara → naravate "rivers" |
| reduplication | a few short words repeat their last sound | telpa → telpape "eyelashes," khuvva → khuvvave "snakes" |
A handy pattern to notice: family words love -vate / -avate. Father, mother, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandfather all pluralize this way. So if you're talking about relatives, reach for that ending first.
The must-know irregulars
A short list of very common words that break all the rules. Just memorize these — you'll use them constantly:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| beta | bate | house → houses |
| brata | bnate | girl → girls |
| bruna | bnune | son → sons |
| shita | shenne | year → years |
| nata | natyate | ear → ears |
(beta also has a longer plural betvate; both are heard.)
"Always plural" words (plurale tantum)
A handful of words exist only in the plural — there's no singular, the same way English has no "one trouser." The big one to know:
- miyya "water" — grammatically plural, always. et miyya "there is water."
- khayye "life," rakhme "mercy," avahate "parents."
Plurals in use. A wider spread of real singular → plural pairs, so the different endings start to feel familiar. Read them as "one → many":
| ending | singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| -e | gniva | gnive | eyebrow → eyebrows |
| -e | sada | sade | witness → witnesses |
| -ane | pumma | pummane | mouth → mouths |
| -ane | guyda | guydane | wall → walls |
| -ate | kenna | kennate | nest → nests |
| -ate | yona | yonate | dove → doves |
| -yate | susta | susyate | mare → mares |
| -vate | pata | patvate | face → faces |
| -avate | nara | naravate | river → rivers |
| reduplication | telpa | telpape | eyelash → eyelashes |
| irregular | mdita | mdinate | town → towns (a hidden -n- pops back) |
| irregular | kteta | ktayate | chicken → chickens |
Two of these reward a second look: mdita "town" quietly restores an -n- in the plural (mdinate), and kteta "chicken" stretches back out to ktayate. These little shape-changes are exactly why plurals are learned with the noun rather than derived on the fly.
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