كم

Core meaning

Two words of the same spelling: the second person plural suffix ("you", "your"), and the free-standing كَمْ, which asks or proclaims a quantity ("how many", "how long").

Uses

1. لَكُمْ, كُمْ → "you", "your", "to you" : the suffix designating the addressees, never used alone.

   • «مَا لَكُمْ» — "What is wrong with you?" (37:154)

2. كَمْ → "how many", "how long" : the free-standing word of the same spelling, which asks or proclaims a quantity.

   • «كَمْ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُم مِّنْ ءَايَةٍۭ بَيِّنَةٍۢ» — "how many clear signs We gave them" (2:211)
   • «كَم مِّن فِئَةٍۢ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةًۭ كَثِيرَةًۢ» — "How many a small battalion has overcome a large battalion" (2:249)

Evidence from the text

The suffix attaches to the verb, the noun or the preposition and designates collectively those addressed; once the address is set, it continues through these suffixes without the independent subject أَنتُمْ being repeated. The question مَا لَكُمْ, "What is wrong with you?" (37:154, 68:36), is its barest form.

Standing alone, كَمْ is another word: it asks for a quantity ("How long have you remained?", 2:259) or proclaims it (2:249).

Distinctions

• انتم — the independent pronoun "you", subject of the clause.
• كما — the dual suffix, "you two".