Past tense Verb | اَلْفِعْلُ الْمَاضِي

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 

Certainly, will the believers have succeeded: (23:1)

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

We have certainly created man in the best of stature; (95:4)

 

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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