Introduction
The verb is an action word with the time that is past, present, and future. According to tense, the verbs can be divided into:
- Past tense – اَلْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي: here the action has been completed. Therefore it is past tense.
- Present tense – اِلْفِعْلُ الْمُضارِعُ: it is also called imperfect tense because the action is incomplete, i.e., it is being done in the present or will be done in the future.
Past tense – اَلْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي
In Arabic, verbs are mostly tri-literal, i.e., three-lettered. They are of two kinds:
- Consonant verbs – اَلْأَفْعَالُ الصَّحِيْحَةُ: they are based on three sound consonants. This chapter deals with these kinds of verbs.
- Weak verbs – اَلْأَفْعَالُ الْمُعَتَلَّةُ: These are called weak verbs and may have one or more of the vowels (ا – و – ى) in their tri-literal formation. These vowels (ا – و – ى) are called Huruf al ‘Illa – حُرُوفُ العِلَّةِ
Example:
وَعَدَ
To promise
قَالَ
To say
رَمَى
To throw
We will deal with the weak verbs in subsequent chapters.
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1. Consonant verbs – اَلْأَفْعَالُ الصَّحِيْحَةُ
The past tense of فَعَلَ
The basic or root word is based on the verb ف – ع – ل – فَعَلَ giving the meaning ” he did.” ف represents the first radical, ع the second, and ل the third radical. The root verb is always masculine-third person-singular.
Likewise, some other examples are:
فَتَحَ
To open
نَصَرَ
To help
The i’raab – الإِعْرابُ of letter ف and ل is not variable in the root, but the i’raab on ع is variable, i.e., it can bear fatha, kasrah or dammah.
Examples:
فَعَلَ
كَفَرَ
To deny
فَعِلَ
سَمِعَ
to listen
فَعُلَ
حَرُمَ
to be generous
نَظَرَ
To see
شَرِبَ
To drink
بَعُدَ
To be far distant
دَخَلَ
To enter
حَزِنَ
To grieve
حَسُنَ
To be good
Past tense table of فَعَلَ is a follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
فَعَلَ
He did
Dual
فَعَلَا
They both did
Plural
فَعَلُوْا
They all did
3rd person feminine
Singular
فَعَلَتْ
She did
Dual
فَعَلَتَا
They both did
Plural
فَعَلْنَ
They all did
2nd person masculine
Singular
فَعَلْتَ
You did
Dual
فَعَلْتُمَا
You both did
Plural
فَعَلْتُمْ
You all did
2nd person feminine
Singular
فَعَلْتِ
You did
Dual
فَعَلْتُمَا
You both did
Plural
فَعَلْتُنَّ
You all did
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
فَعَلْتُ
I did
Dual
–
Plural
فَعَلْنَا
We all did
From the above table, we note the following important points:
- With the addition of the letters, i.e., suffixes to the root فَعَلَ, the meaning of the verb will change. There are no prefixes used.
There is a corresponding pronoun hidden in every verb in the word. therefore, we do not need explicit pronouns to specify the doer. The following table shows the corresponding pronoun hidden in each verb formation.
Also not the suffixes added to فَعَلَ to make the pattern.
3rd person masculine
Singular
فَعَلَ
He did
Suffix: –
Hidden pronoun: هُوَ
Dual
فَعَلَا
They both did
Suffix: آ
Hidden pronoun: هُمَا
Plural
فَعَلُوْا
They all did
Suffix: وُا
Hidden pronoun: هُمْ
3rd person feminine
Singular
فَعَلَتْ
He did
Suffix: تْ
Hidden pronoun: هِيَ
Dual
فَعَلَتَا
They both did
Suffix: تا
Hidden pronoun: –
Plural
فَعَلْنَ
They all did
Suffix: نَ
Hidden pronoun: هُنَّ
2nd person masculine
Singular
فَعَلْتَ
You did
Suffix: تَ
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتَ
Dual
فَعَلْتُمَا
You both did
Suffix: تُمَا
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتُمَا
Plural
فَعَلْتُمْ
You all did
Suffix: تُم
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتُمْ
2nd person feminine
Singular
فَعَلْتِ
You did
Suffix: تِ
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتِ
Dual
فَعَلْتُمَا
You both did
Suffix: تُمَا
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتُمَا
Plural
فَعَلْتُمْ
You all did
Suffix: تُنَّ
Hidden pronoun: أَنْتُنَّ
1st person masculine / feminine
Singular
فَعَلْتُ
I did
Suffix: تُ
Hidden pronoun: أَنا
Plural
فَعَلْتُمْ
We all did
Suffix: نَا
Hidden pronoun: نَحْنُ
The past tense of سَمِعَ
3rd person masculine
Singular
سَمِعَ
He heard
Dual
سَمِعَا
They both heard
Plural
سَمِعُوا
They all heard
3rd person feminine
Singular
سَمِعَتْ
She heard
Dual
سَمِعَنا
They both heard
Plural
سَمِعْنَ
They all heard
2nd person masculine
Singular
سَمِعَتْ
She heard
Dual
سَمِعَنا
They both heard
Plural
سَمِعْنَ
They all heard
2nd person feminine
Singular
سَمِعْتِ
You heard
Dual
سَمِعَنا
You both heard
Plural
سَمِعْنَ
You all heard
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
سَمِعْتُ
I heard
Dual
–
Plural
سَمِعْنَا
We heard
The past tense of بَعُدَ
3rd person masculine
Singular
بَعُدَ
He became distant
Dual
بَعُدَا
They both became distant
Plural
بَعُدُو
They all became distant
3rd person feminine
Singular
بَعُدَتْ
She became distant
Dual
بَعُدَتَا
They both became distant
Plural
بَعُدْنا
They all became distant
2nd person masculine
Singular
بَعُدْتَ
You became distant
Dual
بَعُدْتُما
You both became distant
Plural
بَعُدْتُمْ
You all became distant
2nd person feminine
Singular
بَعُدْتِ
You became distant
Dual
بَعُدْتُما
You both became distant
Plural
بَعُدْتُنَّ
You all became distant
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
بَعُدْتُ
I became distant
Dual
–
Plural
بَعُدْنَا
We became distant
Examples of the consonant verbs at the past tense from the Holy Quran
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? (105:1)
فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ
so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided. (2:16)
أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَن يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِن دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ
Then do those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants instead of Me as allies? (18:102)
Sometimes in the second person, masculine plural و is added for the flow of pronunciation. It does not imply any meaning to the word:
وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ
[It will be said to them], “And you have certainly come to Us alone as We created you (6:64)
If the third person masculine plural فَعَلُوا comes with a pronoun, the alif – ا of فعلوا will be dropped:
كَانُوا لَا يَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ ۚ
The of قَدْ
The word قَدْ gives the meaning od certainly/ verily/has/have/indeed. It is used before the past perfect tense.
For example:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Sometimes an addition لَ is prefixed to قَدْ which further emphasizes the meaning of the verb and is written as لَقَدْ
For example:
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
2. Hamzated verbs at the past tense
Hamzah as the first radical
Verbs with hamzah أ as initial, middle, or final radical are called hamzated verbs – الْفِعْلُ الْمَهْمُوزُ. The hamzah is a consonant. Hence it can be the initial or first radical.
For example:
أَكَلَ
to eat
أَخَذَ
To take
There is no change in the past tense conjugation. It follows the same patterns as فَعَلَ. Past tense conjugation of أَكَلَ is tabulated below:
3rd person masculine
Singular
أَكَلَ
He ate
Dual
أَكَلَا
They both ate
Plural
أَكَلُوْا
They all ate
3rd person feminine
Singular
أَكَلَتْ
She ate
Dual
أَكَلَتَا
They both ate
Plural
أَكَلْنَ
They all ate
2nd person masculine
Singular
أَكَلْتَ
You ate
Dual
أَكَلْتُمَا
You both ate
Plural
أَكَلْتُمْ
You all ate
2nd person feminine
Singular
أَكَلْتِ
You ate
Dual
أَكَلْتُمَا
You both ate
Plural
أَكَلْتُنَّ
You all ate
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
أَكَلْتُ
I ate
Dual
–
Plural
أَكَلْنَا
We ate
Hamzah as the middle radical
For example:
سَأَلَ
To ask
سَئِمَ
To disgust
Past tense conjugation of سَأَلَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
سَأَلَ
He asked
Dual
سَاَلا
They both asked
Plural
سَأَلُوْا
They all asked
3rd person feminine
Singular
سَأَلَتْ
She asked
Dual
سَأَلَتَا
They both asked
Plural
سَأَلْنَ
They all asked
2nd person masculine
Singular
سَأَلْتَ
You asked
Dual
سَأَلْتُما
You both asked
Plural
سَأَلْتُمْ
They all asked
2nd person feminine
Singular
سَأَلْتِ
You asked
Dual
سَأَلْتُما
You both asked
Plural
سَأَلْتُنَّ
You all asked
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
سَأَلْتُ
I asked
Dual
–
Plural
سَأَلْنَا
We asked
It follows the same pattern as the root word فَعَلَ
Hamzah as the third radical
For example:
قَرَأَ
to read
دَرَأَ
to repel
Past tense conjugation of قَرَأَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
قَرَأَ
He asked
Dual
قَرَأَا
They both read
Plural
قَرَأُوْا
They all read
3rd person feminine
Singular
قَرَأَتْ
She asked
Dual
قَرَأَتَا
They both read
Plural
قَرَئْنَ
They all read
2nd person masculine
Singular
قَرَأْتَ
You asked
Dual
قَرَأْتُمَا
You both read
Plural
قَرَأْتُمْ
You all read
2nd person feminine
Singular
قَرَأْتِ
You asked
Dual
قَرَأْتُمَا
You both read
Plural
قَرَأْتُنَّ
You all read
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
قَرَأْتُ
I asked
Dual
–
Plural
قَرَأْنَا
We read
It follows the same pattern as the root word فَعَلَ.
Examples of hamzated verbs at the past tense used from the Holy Quran
لا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا
they will not speak except for one whom the Most Merciful permits, and he will say what is correct. (78:38)
سَأَلَ سَائِلٌ بِعَذَابٍ وَاقِعٍ
A supplicant asked for a punishment bound to happen (70:1)
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
So when you recite the Qur’an, [first] seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]. (16:98)
3. Weaks verbs at the past tense
Introduction
Assimilated verbs – الْمِثالُ, hollow verbs – الْأجْوَفُ, defective verbs – النَّاقِصُ are three types of weak verbs. Words in which the vowels ا – و – ى are present are called weak verbs. We have seen that when alif – ا comes with any of the ‘iraab, it is not alif – ا bu hamza ء as in the hamzated verb – الْمَهْمُوزُ.
When we deal with weak verbs, we notice that they deviate from the pattern of the root word فَعَلَ, and we, therefore, study each kind in detail along with the exceptions we encounter in the pattern.
In this chapter, we will deal with the assimilated verb – الْمِثالُ in detail and the hollow verb – الْأجْوَفُ and defective verb – النَّاقِصُ will be discussed in the following chapters.
Assimilated verbs – الْمِثالُ
In this kind of verb, the initial radical is weak. i.e., و or ى and comes in the place of ف. The patterns will be according to the pattern – فَعَلَ, and you will not observe any change. They are of two basic kinds.
الْمِثالُ الْواوى – where و comes in place of ف, the first radical
For example:
وَعَدَ
To promise
وَزَنَ
To weigh
وَجَدَ
To obtain/get
Past tense conjugation of وَعَدَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
وَعَدَ
He promised
Dual
وَعَدَا
they both promised
Plural
وَعَدُوْا
They all promised
3rd person feminine
Singular
وَعَدَتْ
She promised
Dual
وَعَدَتا
they both promised
Plural
وَعَدْنَ
They all promised
2nd person masculine
Singular
وَعَدْتَ
You promised
Dual
وَعَدْتُمَا
You both promised
Plural
وَعَدْتُم
You all promised
2nd person feminine
Singular
وَعَدْتِ
You promised
Dual
وَعَدْتُمَا
You both promised
Plural
وَعَدْتُنَّ
You all promised
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
وَعَدْتُ
I promised
Dual
–
Plural
وَعَدْنا
We promised
Examples from the Holy Quran of assimilated weak verbs at the past tense
فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَىٰ
But when she delivered her, she said, “My Lord, I have delivered a female.” (3:36)
وَوَهَبْنَا لَهُ إِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ نَافِلَةً ۖ وَكُلًّا جَعَلْنَا صَالِحِينَ
And We gave him Isaac and Jacob in addition, and all [of them] We made righteous. (21:72)
إِذَا وَقَعَتِ الْوَاقِعَةُ
When the Occurrence occurs (56:1)
الْمِثالُ الْيائِى – Here ى comes in place of the first radical ف
Examples:
يَسِرَ
To become easy
يَئِسَ
To dishearten
يَبِسَ
To become dry
Past tense conjugation of the verb يَسِرَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
يَئِسَ
He lost hope
Dual
يَئِسا
They both lost hope
Plural
يَئِسُوْا
they all lost hope
3rd person feminine
Singular
يَئِسَتْ
She lost hope
Dual
يَئِسَتَا
They both lost hope
Plural
يَئِسْنَ
they all lost hope
2nd person masculine
Singular
يَئِسْتَ
You lost hope
Dual
يَئِسْتُما
You both lost hope
Plural
يَئِسْتُمْ
You all lost hope
2nd person feminine
Singular
يَئِسْتِ
You lost hope
Dual
يَئِسْتُما
You both lost hope
Plural
يَئِسْتُنَّ
You all lost hope
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
يَئِسْتُ
I lost hope
Dual
–
Plural
يَئِسْنَا
We lost hope
Examples of the assimilated verbs from the Holy Quran
الْيَوْمَ يَئِسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن دِينِكُمْ
This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion (5:3)
أُولَـٰئِكَ يَئِسُوا مِن رَّحْمَتِ
those have despaired of My mercy (29:23)
وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ
And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women (65:4)
4. Hollow verbs – weak verbs at the past tense
Introduction
Hollow verbs are verbs with a weak middle radical, i.e., و or ى . They come in place of ع, the middle radical. The middle letters و or ى are replaced with alif – ا for easy pronunciation.
Hollow verbs with the letter wa الْأَجْوَفُ الْواوى
Here و comes in place of ع, the middle radical as قَوَلَ and is changed to a long alif, and become قَالَ.
Verbs with the first and third radicals as weak letters – اللَّفِيْفُ الْمَفْرُوقُ
They follow the same pattern as the defective verb رَمَى. For example:
وَقَى
To save
وَفَ
To fulfill
وَنَى
To become weak/lose strength
The past tense conjugation of the doubly weak verb وَقَى is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
قَالَ
He said
Dual
قَالا
They both said
Plural
قَالُوْا
They all said
3rd person feminine
Singular
قَالَتْ
She said
Dual
قَالَتَا
They both said
Plural
قُلْنَ
They all said
2nd person masculine
Singular
قُلْتَ
You said
Dual
قُلْتُمَا
You both said
Plural
قُلْتُمْ
You all said
2nd person feminine
Singular
قُلْتِ
You said
Dual
قُلْتُمَا
You both said
Plural
قُلْتُنَّ
You all said
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
قُلْتُ
I said
Dual
–
Plural
قُلْنَا
We said
Some other hollow verbs on the pattern of قَالَ are:
ذَاقَ
To taste
جَاعَ
To become hungry
عَاذَ
To seek
Example of the pattern of قَالَ in the Quran
قَالَ يَا آدَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ
He said, “O Adam, inform them of their names.” (2:33)
قَالَ مَا خَطْبُكُنَّ إِذْ رَاوَدتُّنَّ يُوسُفَ عَن نَّفْسِهِ ۚ قُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّـهِ مَا عَلِمْنَا عَلَيْهِ مِن سُوءٍ ۚ قَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ الْعَزِيزِ
Said [the king to the women], “What was your condition when you sought to seduce Joseph?” They said, “Perfect is Allah! We know about him, no evil.” The wife of al-‘Azeez said (12:51)
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا وَبَيَّنُوا فَأُولَـٰئِكَ أَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنَا التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Except for those who repent and correct themselves and make evident [what they concealed]. Those – I will accept their repentance, and I am the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. (2:160)
Past tense conjugation of the hollow verb خَافَ is as follows:
Here خَاف deviates from the pattern of قَالَ because the middle radical و has a kasrah -ِ on it.
3rd person masculine
Singular
خَافَ
He feared
Dual
خَافَا
They both feared
Plural
خَافُوْا
They all feared
3rd person feminine
Singular
خَافَتْ
He feared
Dual
خافَتَا
They both feared
Plural
خِفْنَ
They all feared
2nd person masculine
Singular
خِفْتَ
You feared
Dual
خِفْتُمَا
You both feared
Plural
خِفْتُمْ
You all feared
2nd person feminine
Singular
خِفْتِ
You feared
Dual
خِفْتُمَا
You both feared
Plural
خِفْتُنَّ
You all feared
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
خِفْتُ
I feared
Dual
–
Plural
خِفْنَا
We feared
The second radical bear Kasrah -ِ, therefore the feminine third person plural becomes خِفْنَ which has a kasrah on the خ. The remaining words will follow the same pattern with the kasrah.
Some other verbs with similar behavior are:
نَامَ
To sleep
كادَ
To be about to
Examples of the pattern of خَافَ used in the Holy Quran:
فَمَنْ خَافَ مِن مُّوصٍ جَنَفًا أَوْ إِثْمًا
if one fears from the bequeather [some] error or sin (2:182)
فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ
but when you fear for him, cast him into the river (28:7)
فَذَبَحُوهَا وَمَا كَادُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
So they slaughtered her, but they could hardly do it. (2:71)
Here مَاتَ is on the pattern قَالَ and خَافَ respectively. Therefore, the third person feminine plural will be in both form مِتْنَ and مُتْنَ, and thereby the table will carry on forward the kasrah and dammah, respectively.
أَإِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَعِظَامًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ
When we have died and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected? (37:16)
وَلَئِن مُّتُّمْ أَوْ قُتِلْتُمْ لَإِلَى اللَّـهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
AAnd whether you die or are killed, unto Allah, you will be gathered. (3:158)
Hollow verbs with the letter ya الْأَجْوَفُ الْيائِى
Here ى comes in place of ع, the middle radical in يَبَعَ and is changed to a long alif, and becomes بَاعَ.
Some other verbs on the pattern of بَاعَ are:
بَاتَ
To pass the night
سَارَ
To move
زَاغ
To turn aside
Past tense conjugation of بَاعَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
بَاعَ
He sold
Dual
بَاعَا
they both sold
Plural
باعُوْا
They all sold
3rd person feminine
Singular
باعَتْ
She sold
Dual
باعَتَا
they both sold
Plural
بِعْنَ
They all sold
2nd person masculine
Singular
بِعْتَ
She sold
Dual
بِعْتُما
You both sold
Plural
بِعْتُمْ
They all sold
2nd person feminine
Singular
بِعْتِ
She sold
Dual
بِعْتُما
You both sold
Plural
بِعْتُنَّ
They all sold
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
بِعْتُ
I sold
Dual
–
Plural
بِعْنَا
We sold
Examples of the pattern of بَاعَ used in the Holy quran
فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهُ هَـٰذِهِ إِيمَانًا
there are among the hypocrites those who say, “Which of you has this increased faith?” (9:124)
وَإِذَا جَاءُوكَ حَيَّوْكَ بِمَا لَمْ يُحَيِّكَ بِهِ اللَّـهُ
And when they come to you, they greet you with that [word] by which Allah does not greet you (58:8)
5. Doubly weak verb at the past tense
Introduction
In English, اللَّفِيْفُ means tangled or complicated. In this lesson, we will deal with the doubly weak verb that has more than one weak letter – حُوُوفُ الْعِلَّةِ in their formation.
Verbs with the first and third radicals as weak letters – اللَّفِيْفُ الْمَفْرُوقُ
They follow the same pattern as the defective verb رَمَى.
For example:
وَقَى
To save
وَفَى
To fulfill
وَنَى
To become weak/lose strength
The past tense conjugation of the doubly weak verb وَقَى is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
وَقَى
He saved
Dual
وَقَيَا
they both saved
Plural
وَقَوْا
They all saved
3rd person feminine
Singular
وَقَتْ
She saved
Dual
وَقَتَا
they both saved
Plural
وَقَيْنَ
They all saved
2nd person masculine
Singular
وَقَيْتَ
You saved
Dual
وَقَيْتُمَا
You both saved
Plural
وَقَيْتُمْ
You all saved
2nd person feminine
Singular
وَقَيْتِ
You saved
Dual
وَقَيْتُمَا
You both saved
Plural
وَقَيْتُنَّ
You all saved
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
وَقَيْتُ
I saved
Dual
–
Plural
وَقَيْتُنَّ
We saved
Verbs with the second and third radicals as a weak letter – اللَّفِيْفُ الْمَقْرُوْنُ
They follow the same pattern as the defective verb لَقَى.
For example:
حَيِىَ
To live
قَوِىَ
To become strong/powerful
Past tense conjugation of حَيِىَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
حَيِىَ
He lived
Dual
حَيِيَا
They both lived
Plural
حَيُوْا
They all lived
3rd person feminine
Singular
حَيِيَتْ
She lived
Dual
حَيِيَتَا
They both lived
Plural
حَيِيْنَ
They all lived
2nd person masculine
Singular
حَيِيْتَ
You lived
Dual
حَيْتُمَا
You both lived
Plural
حَيِيْنَ
You all lived
2nd person feminine
Singular
حَيِيْتِ
You lived
Dual
حَيْتُمَا
You both lived
Plural
حَيِيْتُمْ
You all lived
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
حَيِيْتُ
I lived
Dual
–
Plural
حَيِيْنَا
We lived
6. The double lettered verb at the past tense
Introduction
The double lettered verb are some verbs in which the second and third radical are identical. In such cases, the second radical will have shaddah -ّ on it, and hence it will be pronounced twice.
Example:
ظَنَّ
To think / to suspect
Some grammarians categorize double lettered verbs as tri-literal and some as bi-literal.
Past tense conjugation of the double lettered verb ظَنَّ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular
ظَنَّ
He thought
Dual
ظَنَّا
They bought thought
Plural
ظَنُّوْا
They all thought
3rd person feminine
Singular
ظَنَّتْ
She thought
Dual
ظَنَّتَا
They bought thought
Plural
ظَنَنْنَ
they all thought
2nd person masculine
Singular
ظَنَنْتَ
You thought
Dual
ظَنَنْتُمَا
You bought thought
Plural
ظَنَنْتُمْ
You all thought
2nd person feminine
Singular
ظَنَنْتِ
You thought
Dual
ظَنَنْتُمَا
You bought thought
Plural
ظَنَنْتُنَّ
You all thought
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular
ظَنّنْتُ
I thought
Dual
–
Plural
ظَنَنْنَا
We thought
In the third person feminine plural, the shaddah -ّ is removed, and the letters will be written individually. In the remaining table, this pattern is carried forward.
Some words on the pattern of ظَنَّ are:
شَدَّ
To strengthen
مَرَّ
To pass
فَرَّ
To run away
Examples of the double lettered verb at the past tense used in the Holy Quran
فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتَ مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَىٰ مَوْتِهِ إِلَّا دَابَّةُ الْأَرْضِ تَأْكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُ
When we decreed for Solomon’s death, nothing indicated to the jinn his death except a creature of the earth eating his staff.
(34:14)
قُل لَّا أَتَّبِعُ أَهْوَاءَكُمْ ۙ قَدْ ضَلَلْتُ إِذًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُهْتَدِينَ
Say, “I will not follow your desires, for I would then have gone astray, and I would not be of the [rightly] guided.” (6:56)
وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَت تَّعْبُدُ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ ۖ إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِن قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ
And that which she was worshipping other than Allah had averted her [from submission to Him]. Indeed, she was from a disbelieving people.” (27:43)
This Arabic lesson about the past tense is now finished. The next one will be insha’Allah about a consonant verb in the imperfect tense in Arabic.
Al-dirassa center offers you the possibility to study the Arabic language easily with a qualified teacher. If you are interested, do not hesitate to consult us.
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