Gateway to Arabic verbs

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{jb_quote}This chapter introduces the student to the world of Arabic verbs.{/jb_quote}

Gateway to Arabic verbs

Introduction Verbs & Methodology:

In this chapter we introduce the student to Arabic verbs, Insha’Allah. These lessons are primarily based on the book of Shaykh (Dr) Husain Abdul Sattar (HA) and then gradually advance to higher levels. Insha’Allah it is intended that this single page will teach the student which is usually taught to an average Darul-uloom student as far as the science of Arabic verb conjugation is concerned.

In the traditional Darul-uloom system (in India) an average student was expected to recite each table 5 times (in one minute) without breaking his breath! You MUST MASTER these tables through sheer practise and pick up speed to the point where your mind is on “Auto-Pilot” and conjugating at the speed of lightening; there is NO short-cut! The modern students (of today) severely lack the skills to recite and decipher classical text on the fly which inhibits their levels of understanding.

The classical system of reciting, reciting and reciting these tables until you can do so on “Auto-Pilot” still works. Shaykh Abul-Hasan Ali Nadwi (RA) who is considered as one of the Masters of Arabic language of our times used to say that the student should not move on UNLESS & UNTIL he can recite a table of a given verb 5 times (in one minute) without breaking his breath! Test yourself against the method given by one of the Masters of the Arabic language.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Active Past Tense (الفعلُ الماضي المعلوم)

The first thing a student needs to know that the basic pattern of simple Arabic past tense used in majority of grammar books is فَعَلَ which consists of 3 letters as follows. The student needs to understand the following rules with regard to simple past tense which consists of 3 letters:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called ف letter and this will always have a Fatha on it like فَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} The second letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and calledع letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عَ or عِ or عُ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The last letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and calledل letter and this will always have a Fatha on it like لَ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} The simple past tense is مَبْنِي (fixed) so its appearence never changes and it always looks the same!

Remember that English grammar only has Singular and Plural but Arabic grammar actually has Singular, Dual and Plural so accounting for 3^rd person, 2^nd person and 1^st person a student has to memorise 14 conjugations of the verbs. We suggest using a simply technique and associating each conjugated state with a position on the right hand finger. Experience has taught us that after a few sessions’ students begin to pick their own mistakes and associate each conjugated state to its correct grammatical form. Here is a sample which the students need to come to terms with in English before practising with real verbs.

Conjugation-Begin

All forms of simple past tense are demonstrated as follows:

	Meaning	Subject/Suffix	Base Form	Verb
3^rd Person (M)	He did	N/A	فعل	فَعَلَ	Advanced Lesson: Saakin Form of the verb, note that the suffix has a Sukoon on it
	They (Dual) Did	ا	فعل	فَعَلاَ
	They (Plural) Did	وْا	فعل	فَعَلُوا
3^rd Person (F)	She did	(not Subject)تْ	فعل	فَعَلَتْ
	They (Dual) Did	تَا	فعل	فَعَلَتَا
	They (Plural) Did	نَ	فعل	فَعَلْنَ	Advanced Lesson: Mutaharrik Form of the verb, note that the suffix has a vowel on it
2^nd Person (M)	You Did	تَ	فعل	فَعَلْتَ
	They (Dual) Did	تُمَا	فعل	فَعَلْتُمَا
	You (Plural) Did	تُمْ	فعل	فَعَلْتُمْ
2^nd Person (F)	You Did	تِ	فعل	فَعَلْتِ
	They (Dual) Did	تُمَا	فعل	فَعَلْتُمَا
	You (Plural) Did	تُنَّ	فعل	فَعَلْتُنَّ
1^st Person	I did	تُ	فعل	فَعَلْتُ
1^st Person	We did	نَا	فعل	فَعَلْنَا

At this point we need to point out a few observations in the table above:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The تْ in the verb conjugation form فَعَلَتْ is a suffix but not a subject. The subject is implied just like it is in the base form of فَعَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc}The extreme right column dividing the verbs into Saakin and Mutaharrik is a little advanced to explain at this point so it should be skipped for beginner students except for just showing them the vowel signs.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc}He/She is the same as "It"

These conjugated verb forms should be taught to the students using the right hand as follows:

Conjugation-Begin-Past

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a minute! stop watch

Assignment:

Students should be given the following common past tense and made to conjugate them first and then pointing out the subject in each of them:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} He went ذَهَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} He left خَرَجَ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} He returned رَجَعَ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} He helped نَصَرَ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} He heard سَمِعَ

{jb_bluedisc}6{/jb_bluedisc} He understood فَهِمَ

{jb_bluedisc}7{/jb_bluedisc} He memorised حَفِظَ

{jb_bluedisc}8{/jb_bluedisc} He rode رَكِبَ

{jb_bluedisc}9{/jb_bluedisc} He worked عَمِلَ

{jb_bluedisc}10{/jb_bluedisc} He became noble كَرُمَ

{jb_bluedisc}11{/jb_bluedisc} He became large/bigger كَبُرَ

{jb_bluedisc}12{/jb_bluedisc} He approached قَرُبَ

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all of the patterns at least 3 times in a minute!

Lesson 2: Negative past tense?

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Add a مَا in front of the past tense e.g. مَا فَعَلَ and it becomes "He did not do!"

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the first pattern (with a negative) at least 3 times in a minute!

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the all of the patterns (with a negative) given as an exercise at least 3 times in a minute!

Advance Rule:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} If you are using an either or statement and two past tense then you do have the option of using لَا in front of the past tense but it should be used in front of both of the past tenses e.g. مَا أَكَلْتُ وَ مَا شَرِبْتُand it becomes I neither eat nor drank.

Lesson 3: Introduction to Passive Past Tense (الفعلُ الماضي المجهول)

Take a normal past tense which you have learned and convert it this way; there is no other pattern. The meaning changes from He did to It was done to him.

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The last letter of the verb or in case of three letter past tense commonly referred to and calledل letter will have no change and this will always have a Fatha on it like لَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} The letter immediately preceding the last letter which in case of three letter past tense is commonly referred to and calledع letter and this will always have a Kasrah on it like عِ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} All other vowelled letters get replaced with a Damma. In the case of three letter past tense, the first letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called ف letter and this will always have a Damma on it like فُ

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the first pattern (with a negative) at least 3 times in a minute!

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the all of the patterns (with a negative) given as an exercise at least 3 times in a minute!

Lesson 4: Negative Passive Past tense?

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Add a مَا in front of the past tense e.g. مَا فُعِلَ and it becomes "It was not done to him!"

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the first pattern (with a negative) at least 3 times in a minute!

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the all of the patterns (with a negative) given as an exercise at least 3 times in a minute!

Lesson 5: Active Participle (الاسم الفاعل)

The active participle (الاسم الفاعل) refers to a person who does the action described by the base letters. For example, the basic past tense letters of فَعَلَ make the active participle of فَاعِلٌ so just an ا is added.

There are three good things about this pattern which you need to remember:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc}It is now a Noun and not a Verb which means that it will go to three states i.e.State of Rafa or Marfoo, State of Nasab or Mansoob and State of Jar or Majroor. This concept is thoroughly covered in Part 3 of our Introductory lesson (please revise if needed) but know that the method of converting the state differs and it is not as simple as described in Introduction.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} It is the same pattern used for 3rd person or 2nd person or 1st person just singular, dual, plural and gender matters.

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} It is the same pattern for nearly all 3 letter verbs.

Plural	Dual	Singular
فَاعِلُونَ	فَاعِلَانِ	فَاعِلٌ	Masculine
فَاعِلَاتٌ	فَاعِلَتَانِ	فَاعِلَةٌ	Feminine

Drill:

Students should make active participle of the verbs provided above in examples.

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby boy and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb سَجَدَ which means “He Prostrated” what would you name the baby boy?

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby boy and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb عَبَدَ which means “He worshipped” what would you name the baby boy?

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby girl and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb سَجَدَ which means “He Prostrated” what would you name the baby girl?

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby girl and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb عَبَدَ which means “He worshipped” what would you name the baby girl?

Lesson 6: Passive Participle (الاسم المفعول )

The passive participle (الاسم الفاعل) refers to a person or thing upon which the action described by the base letters is enacted. For example, the basic past tense letters of فَعَلَ make the passive participle of مَفعُوْلٌ . Please keep in mind that this rule only applies to transitive (الفِعْلُ المُتَعَدِّي) verbs i.e. verbs which require an object (مـَـــفــعـــُـــول بـــِــه). In addition also remember:

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} It is the same pattern used for 3rd person or 2nd person or 1st person just singular, dual, plural and gender matters.

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} It is the same pattern for nearly all 3 letter verbs.

Plural	Dual	Singular
مَفْعُولُونَ	مَفْعُولَانِ	مَفْعُولٌ	Masculine
مَفْعُولَاتٌ	مَفْعُولَتَانِ	مَفْعُولَةٌ	Feminine

Drill:

Students should make passive participle of the verbs provided above.

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby boy and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb نَصَرَ which means “He Helped” what would you name the baby boy?

Drill:

Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby boy and you and your wife came across an Arabic verb شَكَرَ which means “He Thanked” what would you name the baby boy?

Lesson 7: Superlative Noun (الاسم التَّفْضِيْل )

This is to convert a verb into a comparative or superlative degree, its the same pattern for both in Arabic. For example, the basic past tense letters of فَعَلَ make the superlative degree of أَفْعَلُ so just an ا is added. There are a few things which you need to remember:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The lack of Tanween on the last letter should indicate to you that this conversion is diptote! We have covered the issue of diptotes (vs full grammatical inflection) in Part 3 of Lesson 4 (please revise if needed).

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} The female singular pattern is fixed (مَبنِي) meaning that it will not reflect the changes in grammatical states.

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The plural forms of both masculine and feminine forms have a sound and a broken plural pattern.

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} The comparative noun is the same but in Arabic you simply add أَفْعَلُ مِنْ after the noun i.e. while without the مِنْ it is superlative degree (or noun)

Plural (Broken)	Plural (Sound)	Dual	Singular
أَفَاعِلُ	أَفْعَلُونَ	أَفْعَلَانِ	أَفْعَلُ	Masculine (Marfoo)
أَفَاعِلَ	أَفْعَلِينَ	أَفْعَلِينِ	أَفْعَلَ	Masculine (Mansoob)
أَفَاعِلَ	أَفْعَلِينَ	أَفْعَلِينِ	أَفْعَلَ	Masculine (Majroor)
فُعَلٌ	فُعْلَيَاتٌ	فُعْلَيَانِ	فُعْلَى	Feminine (Marfoo)
فُعَلاً	فُعْلَيَاتٍ	فُعْلَيَيْنِ	فُعْلَى	Feminine (Mansoob)
فُعَلٍ	فُعْلَيَاتٍ	فُعْلَيَيْنِ	فُعْلَى	Feminine (Majroor)

Drill:

Make superlative noun of all the examples which you have learnt.

Lesson 8: Introduction to Active Present Tense (الفعلُ المضارع المعلوم)

The first thing a student needs to know that the basic pattern of simple Arabic present tense used in majority of grammar books is يَفْعَلُ which consists of 4 letters as follows. The student needs to understand the following rules with regard to simple past tense which consists of 3 letters:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the four letter present tense is a prefix with always carries a Fathah so this will always be يَ or تَ orأَ or نَ . You won't have any other letters in the start.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} The second letter of the four letter present tense is called ف letter and this will always have a Sukoon on it like فْ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The third letter of the four letter present tense is calledع letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عَ or عِ or عُ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} The last letter of the four letter present tense is called ل letter and this will always have a Damma on it like لُ .The position of Damma on the last letter makes the verb "Marfoo"

All forms of simple Arabic present tense are demonstrated as follows:

	Meaning	Subject/Suffix	Base Form	Prefix	Verb
3^rd Person (M)	He does	N/A (Subject optional)	فعل	يَ	يَفْعَلُ
	They (Dual) Do	انِ	فعل	يَ	يَفْعَلاَنِ
	They (Plural) Do	وْنِ	فعل	يَ	يَفْعَلُونَ
3^rd Person (F)	She does	N/A (Subject optional)	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلُ
	They (Dual) Do	انِ	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلاَنِ
	They (Plural) Do	نَ	فعل	يَ	يَفْعَلْنَ
2^nd Person (M)	You Do		فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلُ
	You (Dual) Do	انِ	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلاَنِ
	You (Plural) Do	وْنِ	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلُونَ
2^nd Person (F)	You Do		فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلِينَ
	You (Dual) Do	انِ	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلاَنِ
	You (Plural) Do	نَ	فعل	تَ	تَفْعَلْنَ
1^st Person	I Do	N/A (Subject always assumed)	فعل	أَ	أَفْعَلُ
1^st Person	We Do	N/A (Subject always assumed)	فعل	نَ	نَفْعَلُ

Five (5) easy ones:

The easiet way to introduce the present tense is to teach students five (5) easy ones which simply carry a prefix as follows:

Conjugation-Begin-Present-Basic-5

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Change the vowel on the last which is the ل letter and from Damma to Fatha like لَ and this makes the verb "Mansoob"

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Change the vowel on the last which is the ل letter and from Damma to Sukoon like لْ and this makes the verb "Majzoom"

Assignment:

Students should be given the following common past tense verbs to convert to present tense and derive the five (5) easy ones in all three grammatical states i.e. Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom.

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} He wrote كَتَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} He entered دَخَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} He sought طَلَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} He killed قَتَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} He studies دَرَسَ

Two (2) Mabni ones:

These are created by taking يَفْعَلُ or تَفْعَلُ and first converting it intoيَفْعَلْ or تَفْعَلْ respectively and then adding نَ to it. These are Mabni so there is no visible change in Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom.

These two are the only Mutaharrik forms of present tense and rest of the conjugations are all Saakin.

Conjugation-Begin-Present-Basic-7

Assignment:

Students should be given the following common past tense verbs to convert to present tense and seven conjugations in all three grammatical states i.e. Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom.

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} He wrote كَتَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} He entered دَخَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} He sought طَلَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} He killed قَتَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} He studies دَرَسَ

Seven (7) Vanishing Noones:

This isn't a grammatical classification but something easy to remember. In these conjugations the ن at the end vanishes when the verb goes from Marfoo to Mansoob or Marfoo to Majzoom states. First the entire table in the Marfoo state:

Conjugation-Begin-Present

You have guessed it correctly the Mansoob and Majzoom states of these conjugation states are the same!

Assignment:

Students should be given the following common past tense verbs to convert to present tense in all three grammatical states i.e. Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom.

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} He wrote كَتَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} He entered دَخَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} He sought طَلَبَ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} He killed قَتَلَ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} He studies دَرَسَ

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a minute!

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all of the patterns at least 3 times in a minute!

Lesson 9: Six (6) groups of Past-Present tense conversion:

The second letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and calledع letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عَ or عِ or عُ .The third letter of the four letter present tense is calledع letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عَ or عِ or عُ

Therefore when all possible combinations from past tense to present tense are settled we end up six basic groups as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب نَصَر /يَنْصُرُ )A-U Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عُ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب ضَرَبَ /يَضْرِبُ )A-I Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عِ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب فَتَحَ /يَفْتَحُ )A-A Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense remains as the same as عَ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب كَرُمَ /يَكْرُمُ )U-U Group: In this group the عُ in the past tense remains as the same as عُ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب سَمِعَ /يَسْمَعُ )I-A Group: In this group the عُ in the past tense gets converted to عَ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}6{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب حَسِبَ /يَحْسِبُ )I-I Group: In this group the عِ in the past tense remains as the same as عِ in the present tense.

The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic Dictionary you will find that after the past tense in brackets you will find the vowel sign which the present tense will take when it gets converted i.e. it can be عَ or عِ or عُ

Lesson 10: Negative present tense?

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Add a لَا in front of the present tense e.g. لَا يَفْعَلُ and it becomes "He is not doing", this type of لَا where the verb remains in its Marfoo form is called لا النافية

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Add a لَا in front of the present tense e.g. لَا يَفْعَلْand it becomes "He shouldn't do!", this type of لَا where the verb coverts to Majzoom form is called لا الناهية and this is the prohibitive Laa

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} Add a مَا in front of the present tense e.g. مَا يَفْعَلُ restricts the negation to this present moment i.e. this will mean "He is not doing, right now!"

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} Add a لَمْ in front of the present tense (where the verb coverts to Majzoom )e.g. لَمْ يَفْعَلْand it negates to the past and it becomes "He did not do!", this is simailar to مَا فَعَلَ and can be used interchangebly.

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} Add a لَنْ in front of the present tense (where the verb coverts to Mansoob) e.g. لَنْ يَفْعَلَ restricts the negation to future i.e. this will mean "He will not be doing!"

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَا mentioned in rule 1.

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all of the patterns at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَا mentioned in rule 1.

Lesson 11: Active Present Tense Mansoob?

Unlike the past tense which is fixed (مَبنِي) the present tense changes patterns and when لَنْ , أَنْ, كَيْ, or إِذَنْ are inserted before the present tense it becomes Mansoob. Remember that you learned 3 groups:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Five Easy Ones

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Two fixed (مَبنِي) ones

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The Vanishing Noon group

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَنْ mentioned in rule.

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all of the patterns at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَنْ mentioned in rule.

Assignment:

Students need to perform the exercises covered in Madina Series Book 2 (Lessons 11-18)

Lesson 12: Active Present Tense Majzoom?

Unlike the past tense which is fixed (مَبنِي) the present tense changes patterns and when لَمْ , إِنْ, إِذمَا, or لَمَّا are inserted before the present tense it becomes Mansoob. Remember that you learned 3 groups:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Five Easy Ones

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Two fixed (مَبنِي) ones

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The Vanishing Noon group

Drill:

Recite Surah Al-Ikhlas (Chapter112) and note down Present tense in Majzoom state and explain why (i.e. which prefix) caused it to become Majzoom?

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَمْ mentioned in rule.

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all of the patterns at least 3 times in a minute with the simple لَمْ mentioned in rule.

Assignment:

Students need to perform the exercises covered in Madina Series Book 2 (Lessons 11-18)

Lesson 13: Introduction to Passive Present Tense (الفعلُ المضارع المجهول)

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the four letter present tense is a prefix with always carries a Damma so this will always be يُ or تُ orأُ or نُ . You won't have any other letters in the start.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} The second letter of the four letter present tense is called ف letter and this will always have a Sukoon on it like فْ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The third letter of the four letter present tense is calledع letter and but this middle letter will always a Fatha can be عَ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} The rules of negative, Mansoob and Majzoom respectively apply the same way.

Drill:

Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite all the patterns in the examples at least 3 times in a minute

Introduction to Command Verb:

You can only command someone who is in front of you so you have only 2nd person verb conjugation to memorise with the following rules:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} Change the vowel on the last letter which is the ل letter and from Damma to Sukoon like لْ and this makes the verb "Majzoom" so تَفْعَلُ becomes تَفْعَلْ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Drop the first letter which is تَ and add an اso your verb now looks like this افْعَلُ the problem which you now have is which vowel to put on this ا which you have just added? Is it اَ or اِ or اُ ?

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} You look at the ع letter and if its عُ then you add اُ otherwise it is alwaysاِ you can NEVER have اَ

	Meaning	Subject/Suffix	Base Form	Prefix	Verb
2^nd Person (M)	You Do		فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلْ
	You (Dual) Do	ا	فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلا
	You (Plural) Do	و	فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلو
2^nd Person (F)	You Do	ي	فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلِي
	You (Dual) Do	ا	فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلا
	You (Plural) Do	نَ	فعل	اِ	اِفْعَلْنَ

Assignment:

Students need to perform the exercises covered in Madina Series Book 2 (Lessons 11-18)

Progress check?

If you have read the lessons carefully and done the drills you should be able to pick up patterns while reciting the Qur’aan on almost every page (if not every verse). You may not know the meanings but you should be able to distinguish various verbs and their grammatical states etc.

STOP: LESSONS FROM HERE ON ARE BEING REVISED

Introduction to weak Verbs:

Lets recall the definition of simple past tense which we discussed earlier, it was as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called ف letter and this will always have a Fatha on it like فَ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} The last letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and calledل letter and this will always have a Fatha on it like

In a weak verb any of these letters are either ي or و thus they are called or الْمُعْتَلُّ weak verbs. The rules of where this ي or و appears in the verb i.e. beginning, middle or end are different and are discussed here.

Al-Mithaal OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Fa (الْمُعْتَلُّ الْفَاءُ او الْمِثَال):

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and called ف letter is ي or و

Weak letter و :

The past tense to present tense conversion only takes places in two groups:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب ضَرَبَ /يَضْرِبُ )A-I Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عِ in the present tense.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب فَتَحَ /يَفْتَحُ )A-A Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense remains as the same as عَ in the present tense.

When converting from past tense to present tense the weak letterو i.e. is simply dropped, see examples below:

وَجَدَ - يَجِدُ (He found)
وَزَنَ - يَزِنُ(He weighed)
وَعَدَ - يَعِدُ(He promised)

وَلَجَ - يَلَجُ(He entered)
وَضَعَ - يَضَعُ(He placed)
وَهَبَ - يَهَبُ(He granted)

Lets recall the rules of normal conversion from present tense to Amr as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} You look at the ع letter and if its عُ then you add اُ otherwise it is alwaysاِ you can NEVER have اَ

When converting these versb where the first letter in the past tense was something interesting happens as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The first letter is of the verb form تَجِدُ which is تَ is dropped and Sukoon is placed on the last letter so the word becomes جِدْ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc}There is no reason to add ا because the first letter doesn't have a Sukoon and it is pronouncable so the Amr is simply جِدْ

Active Participle (الاسم الفاعل)

Passive Participle (الاسم المفعول )

Assignment:

Students need to perform full present tense conjugation in Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom states and then conversion to Amr and then also create active and passive particples.

Weak letter ي :

This will be covered later.

Al-Ajwaf OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Ain (الْمُعْتَلُّ الْعَينِ او الْأَجوَفْ):

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The second letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and called ع letter is ي or و

Two Saakin Rule in Arabic:

In Arabic a word having two letters (both with Saakin on it) cannot be pronounced and something has to change e.g. these words are unpronouncable:

قَاْلْنَ
زَاْرْنَ
ذَاْقْنَ

The only solution is to drop the weak letter illustrated in these by اْ and place some kind of a vowel on the next letter to pronounce it!

Weak letter و or ي :

The past tense to present tense conversion only takes places in three groups:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب نَصَر /يَنْصُرُ )A-U Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عُ in the present tense. In this group the Mutahhirk verb takes a Damma (to be explained below)

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب ضَرَبَ /يَضْرِبُ )A-I Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عِ in the present tense. In this group the Mutahhirk verb takes a Kasra (to be explained below)

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب سَمِعَ /يَسْمَعُ )I-A Group: In this group the عُ in the past tense gets converted to عَ in the present tense. In this group the Mutahhirk verb takes a Kasra (to be explained below)

Here are some exmaples in which the weak letter is illustrated by اْ and you have no choice but to find the present tense form and then you notice what the weak letter actually is i.e. either ي or و . In each of these cases notice how you can figure out what the weak letter actually is by just noticing the letter positioning.

قَالَ يَقُولٌ (He said)
قَام يَقُومُ(He stood)
ذَاقَ يَذُوقُ(He tasted)

بَاعَ يَبِيعُ(He sold)
سَارَ يَسِيرُ(He walked)
عَاشَ يَعِيشُ(He lived)

But there comes a group of these where this strategy of looking at the present tense doesn't work so you have no choice but to look at the Masdar form to figure out what the weak letter actually is:

نَامَ يَنَامُ نَومٌ (He said)
خَافَ يَخَافُ خَوفٌ(He stood)

The rules for conjugating them are actually very simple:

When converting these versb where the first letter in the past tense was something interesting happens as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} If the weak letter is و then in the Mutaharrik past tense it gets dropped and replaced with a Damma on the previous letter and in the Mutaharrik present tense it gets dropped and replaced with a Damma on the previous letter.

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc}If the weak letter is ي then in the Mutaharrik past tense it gets dropped and replaced with a Damma on the previous letter and in the Mutaharrik present tense it gets dropped and replaced with a Damma on the previous letter. Same rules applies if you have to go to Masdar to detect the weak letter.

The following illustrations of the past tense will make it easier to understand. You need to understand that once you get to the هُنِّ part the rest is smooth sailing!

Conjugation-Waw-Qaala

The two Mutaharrik present tense conjugations in this case (above) will be:

يَقُلْنَ

تَقُلْنَ

Conjugation-Waw-Khawfa

يَخَفْنَ

تَخَفْنَ

The two Mutaharrik present tense conjugations in this case (above) will be:

Assignment:

Students need to perform full past and present tense conjugations of the examples given.

Majzoom Five (5) easy ones:

Recall the five (5) easy one and the prefixes which they have:

Conjugation-Begin-Present-Basic-5

When the five easy ones of the Al-Ajwaf OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Ain (الْمُعْتَلُّ الْعَينِ او الْأَجوَفْ) gets a Lam (لَمْ) or gets concerted to Majooz form again the weak letter is dropped again because in Arabic a word having two letters (both with Saakin on it) cannot be pronounced.

لَمْ يَقُلْ
لَمْ تَقُلْ
لَمْ تَقُلْ
لَمْ أَقُلْ
لَمْ نَقُلْ

Assignment:

Students need to perform full present tense conjugation in Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom states of all the examples given above.

Conversion to Amr

Recall the rules for conversion to Amr above, then here are specific rules for these kinds of verbs:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} In the first instance تَقُولٌ becomes قُولْ then the weak letter و of also gets dropped and it simply becomes قُلْ BUT this only happens in the first conversion, in the rest the becomes visible and remember that there is no و in the last conjugation anyways to example is:

قُلْ
قُولَا
قُولُو
قُولِي
قُولَا
قُلْنَ

Active Participle (الاسم الفاعل)

Passive Participle (الاسم المفعول )

To be described later.

Assignment:

Students need to perform full present tense conjugation in Marfoo, Mansoob and Majzoom states and then convert to Amr of all the examples given above. Also produce active participles.

An-Naaqis OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Laam (الْمُعْتَلُّ اللَّامِ او النَّاقَصُ):

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} The third letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and called ل letter is ي or و

There are certain instances pronunciation of a weak letter becomes difficult so certain vowels are substituted:


لِؤْ	REPLACED WITH	لُؤْ
لُئْ	REPLACED WITH	لِئْ

Three (3) groups of Past-Present tense conversion for An-Naaqis OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Laam (الْمُعْتَلُّ اللَّامِ او النَّاقَصُ):

Therefore when all possible combinations from past tense to present tense are settled we end up six basic groups as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب نَصَر /يَنْصُرُ )A-U Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عُ in the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example of دَعَا

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب ضَرَبَ /يَضْرِبُ )A-I Group: In this group the عَ in the past tense gets converted to عِ in the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example ofرَمَى

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} ( باب سَمِعَ /يَسْمَعُ )I-A Group: In this group the عُ in the past tense gets converted to عَ in the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example ofرَضِىَ

Meaning
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺎ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺍ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻮﹾﺍ	ﺭﹶﺿﹹﻮﹾﺍ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺖ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﺖﹾ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺖﹾ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺘﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﺘﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺘﹷﺎ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﻦﹶ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹶ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹶ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹶ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﺎ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻢﹾ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻢﹾ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻢﹾ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹺ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹺ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹺ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﺎ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻦﱠ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻦﱠ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻦﱠ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹸ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹸ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹸ
	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﻧﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﻨﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﻨﹷﺎ

Rules for the first 2 conjugations are simplified as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} First conjugation: Recall that whenever a ﻭ or ﻯ is preceded by a letter with a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ on it the ﻭ or ﻯ is changed to ﺍ; thus, the first conjugation was actually ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶ which changed into ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ due to the simple change to alif rule. The same is true for ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ which was initially ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻰﹶ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Second conjugation: The verb actually displays all its letters (including weak letters). This should actually be ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ rhyming with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻼﹶ . However, the simple change to alif rule will cause it to become ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎﺍ which is difficult to pronounce and thus the final alif will drop leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ . Note that this is exactly the same as the first conjugation so there is actually no ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ allowed here. Thus the final form remains ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ

{jb_bluedisc}3{/jb_bluedisc} Third conjugation: Rhyming with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻠﹹﻮﹾﺍ this should be ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹸﻭﹾﺍ . The first ﻭ changes to ﺍ due to the simple change to alif rule, leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎﻭﹾﺍ . This form, however, has two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters coming together in it therefore we drop the first ﺍ leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺍ

{jb_bluedisc}4{/jb_bluedisc} Fourth Conjugation: This was originally ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺕﹾ rhyming with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻠﹷﺖﹾ . The ﻭ changed to ﺍ causing it to become ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎﺕﹾ. Because of the gathering of ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters the ﺍ is dropped leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺖﹾ

{jb_bluedisc}5{/jb_bluedisc} Fifth Conjugation: This was originally ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺗﹷﺎ rhyming with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻠﹷﺘﹷﺎ . The ﻭ changed to ﺍ giving us ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎﺗﹷﺎ. It is important to note here that in this last form the ﺕ is actually ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ but has to carry a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ because of the final ﺍ which is the pronoun of duality. Thus the ﺍ in the middle will drop because of gathering of two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺘﹷﺎ

Now lets discuss our 3rd conjugations with the rules simplified as follows:

{jb_bluedisc}1{/jb_bluedisc} First conjugation: It was actually ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻮﹶ but changed its form due a rule which is called the edge rule. It states that “any ﻻﻡ position ﻭ (i.e. occurring at the edge of a word) preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ “. This rule deals with the concept of ‘ small ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ ‘ whereby one letter changes to another but the form of the verb is not disfigured: ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ still rhymes with ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ .

Note: this ‘small ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ ‘ happens in all 14 conjugations for ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ

{jb_bluedisc}2{/jb_bluedisc} Third conjugation: The 3rd conjugation was originally ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹹﻮﹾﺍ (rhyming with ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻌﹹﻮﹾﺍ ) which is hard for pronunciation since the ﻯ is preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ . Moreover, this ﻯ here is then followed by a ﻭ which makes it even harder on the tongue. In this case, the ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ moved from ﻯ to ﺽ, which lost it ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ. The ﻯ is then dropped because it is left with a ﻭ which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ. The ﻭ cannot be dropped since it is a pronoun (denoting ‘they, group of males’).

sss

Meaning
	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
	ﺃﹶﺩﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺃﹶﺭﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺍﹶﺭﹾﺿٰﻰ
	ﻧﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﻧﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﻧﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ

Continues...s

	Meaning	Subject	Base Form	Verb
3^rd Person (M)


3^rd Person (F)


2^nd Person (M)


2^nd Person (F)


1^st Person
1^st Person

The lack of Tanween on the last letter should indicate to you that this conversion is diptote! We have covered the issue of diptotes (vs full grammatical inflection) in Part 3 of Lesson 4 (please revise if needed).