Definiteplural

Definiteplural is a term used in linguistics to describe a noun phrase that combines plurality with definiteness. A definite plural refers to more than one entity that is identifiable or known to the speaker and listener, as opposed to an indefinite plural like “books” in English, which can refer to any set of books.

Across languages, definite plural can be realized in different ways. In English, definiteness is marked by the definite article the, which can accompany plural nouns: the books. Other languages combine a definite article with plural marking, such as French les livres or German die Bücher. Some languages use a dedicated plural definite suffix or suffixal pattern. For example Danish forms the definite plural of bøger as bøgerne by attaching a suffix, yielding the equivalent of “the books.” In languages with a shared definite article but no plural marker, the plural is identified by separate plural morphology or demonstratives. In Arabic and Hebrew, a definite article or prefix marks definiteness, and this applies to both singular and plural nouns (for example, al-kutub “the books” in Arabic). Turkish, which lacks a definite article, expresses definiteness through context or demonstratives rather than a distinct definite plural form. Finnish and several other languages lack a definite article entirely, using demonstratives or context to signal definiteness even with plural nouns.

The definite plural functions to anchor discourse, enabling references to a specific set of entities already introduced or identifiable in the discourse. It contrasts with indefinite plural forms and with bare plurals, whose referential status is more general or undetermined.