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:
ضَرَبَ | To hit |
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 | فَعِلَ | فَعُلَ |
كَفَرَ | سَمِعَ | حَرُمَ |
To deny | to listen | to be generous |
نَظَرَ | شَرِبَ | بَعُدَ |
To see | to drink | to be far distant |
دَخَلَ | حَزِنَ | حَسُنَ |
To enter | To grieve | To be good |
Past tense table of فَعَلَ is a follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
فَعَلَ | فَعَلَا | فَعَلُوْا |
He did | They both did | They all did |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
فَعَلَتْ | فَعَلَتَا | فَعَلْنَ |
She did | They both did | They all did |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
فَعَلْتَ | فَعَلْتُمَا | فَعَلْتُمْ |
You did | You both did | You all did |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
فَعَلْتِ | َفَعَلْتُمَا | فَعَلْتُنَّ |
You did | You both did | You all did |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
فَعَلْتُ | – | فَعَلْنَا |
I did | – | We 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.
Singular |
Dual |
Plural |
||||
3rd person masculine | فَعَلَ |
فَعَلَا |
فَعَلُوْا |
|||
He did | They both did | They all did | ||||
Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | |
– | هُوَ | آ | هُمَا | وُا | هُمْ | |
3rd person feminine | فَعَلَتْ | فَعَلَتَا | فَعَلْنَ | |||
She did | They both did | They all did | ||||
Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | |
تْ | هِيَ | تا | – | نَ | هُنَّ | |
2nd person masculine | فَعَلْتَ |
فَعَلْتُمَا |
فَعَلْتُمْ | |||
You did | You both did | You all did | ||||
Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | |
تَ | أَنْتَ | تُمَا | أَنْتُمَا | تُم | أَنْتُمْ | |
2nd person feminine | فَعَلْتِ | فَعَلْتُمَا | فَعَلْتُنَّ | |||
You did | You both did | You all did | ||||
Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | |
تِ | أَنْتِ | تُمَا | اَنْتُمَا | تُنَّ | أَنْتُنَّ | |
First-person (masculine/ feminine) |
فَعَلْتُ | – | فَعَلْنَا | |||
I did | We did | |||||
Suffix | Hidden pronoun | Suffix | Hidden pronoun | |||
تُ | أَنأ | نَا | نَحْنُ |
The past tense of سَمِعَ
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَمِعَ | سَمِعَا | سَمِعُوا |
He heard | They both heard | They all heard |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَمِعَتْ | سَمِعَنا | سَمِعْنَ |
She heard | They both heard | They all heard |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَمِعْتَ | سَمِعْتُمَا | سَمِعْتُمْ |
You heard | You both heard | You all heard |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَمِعْتِ | سَمِعْتُمَا | سَمِعْتُنَّ |
You heard | You both heard | You all heard |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَمِعْتُ | – | سَمِعْنَا |
I heard | We heard |
The past tense of بَعُدَ
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَعُدَ | بَعُدَا | بَعُدُوا |
He became distant | They both became distant | They all became distant |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَعُدَتْ | بَعُدَتَا | بَعُدْنا |
She became distant | They both became distant | They all became distant |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَعُدْتَ | بَعُدْتُما | بَعُدْتُمْ |
You became distant | You both became distant | You all became distant |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَعُدْتِ | بَعُدْتُمَا | بَعُدْتُنَّ |
You became distant | You both became distant | You all became distant |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَعُدْتُ | – | بَعُدْنَا |
I became distant | 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 | أَخَذَ |
to eat | 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 | Dual | Plural |
أَكَلَ | أَكَلَا | أَكَلُوْا |
He ate | They both ate | They all ate |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
أَكَلَتْ | أَكَلَتَا | أَكَلْنَ |
She ate | They both ate | They all ate |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
أَكَلْتَ | أَكَلْتُمَا | أَكَلْتُمْ |
You ate | You both ate | You all ate |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
أَكَلْتِ | أَكَلْتُمَا | أَكَلْتُنَّ |
You ate | You both ate | You all ate |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
أَكَلْتُ | أَكَلْنَا | |
I ate | – | We ate |
Hamzah as the middle radical
For example:
سَأَلَ | سَئِمَ |
to ask | to disgust |
Past tense conjugation of سَأَلَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَأَلَ | سَاَلا | سَأَلُوْا |
He asked | They both asked | They all asked |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَأَلَتْ | سَأَلَتَا | سَأَلْنَ |
She asked | They both asked | They all asked |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَأَلْتَ | سَأَلْتُما | سَأَلْتُمْ |
You asked | You both asked | You all asked |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَأَلْتِ | سَأَلْتُمَا | سَأَلْتُنَّ |
You asked | You both asked | You all asked |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
سَأَلْتُ | سَأَلْنَا | |
I asked | – | We asked |
It follows the same pattern as the root word فَعَلَ
Hamzah as the third radical
For example:
قَرَأَ | دَرَأَ |
to read | to repel |
Past tense conjugation of قَرَأَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَرَأَ | قَرَأَا | قَرَأُوْا |
He read | They both read | The all read |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَرَأَتْ | قَرَأَتَا | قَرَئْنَ |
She read | They both read | The all read |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَرَأْتَ | قَرَأْتُمَا | قَرَأْتُمْ |
You read | You both read | You all read |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَرَأْتِ | قَرَأْتُمَا | قَرَأْتُنَّ |
You read | You both read | You all read |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَرَأْتُ | – | قَرَأْنَا |
I read | 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 | Dual | Plural |
وَعَدَ | وَعَدَا | وَعَدُوْا |
He promised | They both promised | They all promised |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَعَدَتْ | وَعَدَتا | وَعَدْنَ |
She promised | They both promised | They all promised |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَعَدْتَ | وَعَدْتُمَا | وَعَدْتُم |
You promised | You both promised | You all promised |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَعَدْتِ | وَعَدْتُمَا | وَعَدْتُنَّ |
You promised | You both promised | You all promised |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَعَدْتُ | – | وَعَدْنا |
I promised | – | 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 | Dual | Plural |
يَئِسَ | يَئِسا | يَئِسُوْا |
He lost hope | They both lost hope | They all lost hope |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
يَئِسَتْ | يَئِسَتَا | يَئِسْنَ |
She lost hope | They both lost hope | They all lost hope |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
يَئِسْتَ | يَئِسْتُما | يَئِسْتُمْ |
You lost hope | You both lost hope | You all lost hope |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
يَئِسْتِ | يَئِسْتُما | يَئِسْتُنَّ |
You lost hope | You both lost hope | You all lost hope |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
يَئِسْتُ | – | يَئِسْنَا |
I lost hope | – | 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 |
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 | Dual | Plural |
قَالَ | قَالا | قَالُوْا |
He said | They both said | They all said |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قَالَتْ | قَالَتَا | قُلْنَ |
She
said |
They both said | They all said |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قُلْتَ | قُلْتُمَا | قُلْتُمْ |
You said | You both said | You all said |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قُلْتِ | قُلْتُمَا | قُلْتُنَّ |
You said | You both said | You all said |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
قُلْتُ | – | قُلْنَا |
I said | – | 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 |
Dual | Plural |
خَافَ | خَافَا | خَافُوْا |
He feared | They both feared | They all feared |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
خَافَتْ | خافَتَا | خِفْنَ |
She feared | They both feared | They all feared |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
خِفْتَ | خِفْتُمَا | خِفْتُمْ |
You feared | You both feared | You all feared |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
خِفْتِ | خِفْتُمَا | خِفْتُنَّ |
You feared | You both feared | You all feared |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
خِفْتُ | – | خِفْنَا |
I feared | – | 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 |
And 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 |
زَاغَ | To turn aside |
Past tense conjugation of بَاعَ is as follows:
3rd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بَاعَ | بَاعَا | باعُوْا |
He sold | They both sold | They all sold |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
باعَتْ | باعَتَا | بِعْنَ |
She sold | They both sold | They all sold |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بِعْتَ | بِعْتُما | بِعْتُمْ |
You sold | You both sold | You all sold |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بِعْتِ | بِعْتُما | بِعْتُنَّ |
You sold | You both sold | You all sold |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
بِعْتُ | – | بِعْنَا |
I sold | – | 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 | Dual | Plural |
وَقَى | وَقَيَا | وَقَوْا |
He saved | They both saved | They all saved |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَقَتْ | وَقَتَا | وَقَيْنَ |
She saved | They both saved | They all saved |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَقَيْتَ | وَقَيْتُمَا | وَقَيْتُمْ |
You saved | You both saved | You all saved |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَقَيْتِ | وَقَيْتُمَا | وَقَيْتُنَّ |
You saved | You both saved | You all saved |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
وَقَيْتُ | – | وَقَيْنَا |
I saved | – | 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 | Dual | Plural |
حَيِىَ | حَيِيَا | حَيُوْا |
He lived | They both lived | They all lived |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
حَيِيَتْ | حَيِيَتَا | حَيِيْنَ |
She lived | They both lived | They all lived |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
حَيِيْتَ | حَيْتُمَا | حَيِيْنَ |
You lived | You both lived | You all lived |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
حَيِيْتِ | حَيْتُمَا | حَيِيْتُمْ |
You lived | You both lived | You all lived |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
حَيِيْتُ | – | حَيِيْنَا |
I lived | – | 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 | Dual | Plural |
ظَنَّ |
ظَنَّا | ظَنُّوْا |
He thought | They both thought | They all thought |
3rd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
ظَنَّتْ | ظَنَّتَا | ظَنَنْنَ |
She thought | They both thought | They all thought |
2nd person masculine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
ظَنَنْتَ | ظَنَنْتُمَا | ظَنَنْتُمْ |
You thought | You both thought | You all thought |
2nd person feminine
Singular | Dual | Plural |
ظَنَنْتِ | ظَنَنْتُمَا | ظَنَنْتُنَّ |
You thought | You both thought | You all thought |
First-person (masculine/feminine)
Singular | Dual | Plural |
ظَنّنْتُ | – | ظَنَنْنَا |
I thought | – | 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.
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