See main article: Arabic grammar. Arabic verbs (Arabic: فِعْل ; Arabic: أَفْعَال ), like the verbs in other Semitic languages, and the entire vocabulary in those languages, are based on a set of two to five (but usually three) consonants called a root (triliteral or quadriliteral according to the number of consonants). The root communicates the basic meaning of the verb, e.g. Arabic: ك-ت-ب 'write', Arabic: ق-ر-ء 'read', Arabic: ء-ك-ل 'eat'. Changes to the vowels in between the consonants, along with prefixes or suffixes, specify grammatical functions such as person, gender, number, tense, mood, and voice.
Various categories are marked on verbs:
Weakness is an inherent property of a given verb determined by the particular consonants of the verb root (corresponding to a verb conjugation in Classical Latin and other European languages), with five main types of weakness and two or three subtypes of each type.
Arabic grammarians typically use the root Arabic: ف-ع-ل to indicate the particular shape of any given element of a verbal paradigm. As an example, the form Arabic: يتكاتب (root: ك-ت-ب) 'he is corresponded (with)' would be listed generically as Arabic: يتفاعل (yuta1ā2a3u), specifying the generic shape of a strong Form VI passive verb, third-person masculine singular present indicative.
The maximum possible total number of verb forms derivable from a root — not counting participles and verbal nouns — is approximately 13 person/number/gender forms; times 9 tense/mood combinations, counting the س- future (since the moods are active only in the present tense, and the imperative has only 5 of the 13 paradigmatic forms); times 17 form/voice combinations (since forms IX, XI–XV exist only for a small number of stative roots, and form VII cannot normally form a passive), for a total of 1,989. Each of these has its own stem form, and each of these stem forms itself comes in numerous varieties, according to the weakness (or lack thereof) of the underlying root.
Each particular lexical verb is specified by four stems, two each for the active and passive voices. In a particular voice, one stem (the past stem) is used for the past tense, and the other (the non-past stem) is used for the present and future tenses, along with non-indicative moods, e.g. subjunctive and imperative. The past and non-past stems are sometimes also called the perfective stem and imperfective stem, respectively, based on a traditional misinterpretation of Arabic stems as representing grammatical aspect rather than grammatical tense. (Although there is still some disagreement about the interpretation of the stems as tense or aspect, the dominant current view is that the stems simply represent tense, sometimes of a relative rather than absolute nature. There are some unusual usages of the stems in certain contexts that were once interpreted as indicating aspectual distinctions, but are now thought to simply be idiosyncratic constructions that do not neatly fit into any aspectual paradigm.)
To the past stem, suffixes are added to mark the verb for person, number and gender, while to the non-past stem, a combination of prefixes and suffixes are added. (Very approximately, the prefixes specify the person and the suffixes indicate number and gender.) A total of 13 forms exist for each of the two stems, specifying person (first, second or third); number (singular, dual or plural); and gender (masculine or feminine).
There are six separate moods in the non-past: indicative, imperative, subjunctive, jussive, short energetic and long energetic. The moods are generally marked by suffixes. When no number suffix is present, the endings are for indicative, for subjunctive, no ending for imperative and jussive, Arabic: ـَنْ for shorter energetic, Arabic: ـَنَّ for longer energetic. When number suffixes are present, the moods are either distinguished by different forms of the suffixes (e.g. Arabic: ـُونَ for masculine plural indicative vs. Arabic: ـُو for masculine plural subjunctive/imperative/jussive), or not distinguished at all. The imperative exists only in the second person and is distinguished from the jussive by the lack of the normal second-person prefix Arabic: ـت .
The third person masculine singular past tense form serves as the "dictionary form" used to identify a verb, similar to the infinitive in English. (Arabic has no infinitive.) For example, the verb meaning 'write' is often specified as Arabic: كَتَبَ , which actually means 'he wrote'. This indicates that the past-tense stem is Arabic: كَتَبْـ ; the corresponding non-past stem is Arabic: ـكْتُبْـ , as in Arabic: يَكْتُبُ 'he writes'. Using the third person masculine singular as the dictionary citation form is more useful in that the vowels that appear in the remaining present tense forms are evident. Especially in form I verbs, without prior knowledge, these vowels are often not evident based purely on the past-tense forms.
There are three tenses in Arabic: the past tense (Arabic: اَلْمَاضِي ), the present tense (Arabic: اَلْمُضَارِع ) and the future tense. The future tense in Classical Arabic is formed by adding either the prefix or the separate word onto the beginning of the present tense verb, e.g. Arabic: سَيَكْتُبُ or Arabic: سَوْفَ يَكْتُبُ 'he will write'.
In some contexts, the tenses represent aspectual distinctions rather than tense distinctions. The usage of Arabic tenses is as follows:
In all but Form I, there is only one possible shape for each of the past and non-past stems for a given root. In Form I, however, different verbs have different shapes. Examples:
Notice that the second vowel can be any of in both past and non-past stems. The vowel occurs in most past stems, while occurs in some (especially intransitive) and occurs only in a few stative verbs (i.e. whose meaning is 'be X' or 'become X' where X is an adjective). The most common patterns are:
There are three moods (Arabic: حَالَات , a word that also means "cases"; ), whose forms are derived from the imperfective stem: the indicative mood (), usually ending in ; the subjunctive (), usually ending in ; and the jussive (), with no ending. In less formal Arabic and in spoken dialects, the subjunctive mood is used as the only imperfective tense (subjunctivism) and the final ḥarakah vowel is not pronounced.
The imperative (Arabic: صِيغَة اَلْأَمْر ) (positive, only 2nd person) is formed by dropping the verbal prefix (ت-) from the imperfective jussive stem, e.g. Arabic: قَدِّم 'present!'. If the result starts with two consonants followed by a vowel ( or ), an elidible (ا) is added to the beginning of the word, usually pronounced as "", e.g. Arabic: اِغْسِلْ 'wash!' or Arabic: اِفْعَل 'do!' if the present form vowel is , then the alif is also pronounced as , e.g. Arabic: أُكْتُب 'write!'. Negative imperatives are formed from the jussive.
The exception to the above rule is the form (or stem) IV verbs. In these verbs a non-elidible alif ا pronounced as is always prefixed to the imperfect jussive form, e.g. Arabic: أرسل "send!", Arabic: أضف [1] 'add!'.
The subjunctive is used in subordinate clauses after certain conjunctions. The jussive is used in negation, in negative imperatives, and in the hortative +jussive. For example: 2. m.:
Arabic has two verbal voices (Arabic: صِيغَات "forms", Arabic: صِيغَة ), active (Arabic: صِيغَة اَلْمَعْلُوم ), and passive (Arabic: صِيغَة اَلْمَجْهُول ). The passive voice is expressed by a change in vocalization. For example:
Thus, the active and passive forms are spelled identically in Arabic; only their vowel markings differ. There are some exceptions to this in the case of weak roots.
Every verb has a corresponding active participle, and most have passive participles. E.g. Arabic: معلم 'teacher' is the active participle to stem II. of the root Arabic: ع-ل-م ('know').
In addition to a participle, there is a verbal noun (in Arabic, Arabic: مَصْدَر , Arabic: مَصَادِر , literally meaning 'source'), sometimes called a gerund, which is similar to English gerunds and verb-derived nouns of various sorts (e.g. "running" and "a run" from "to run"; "objection" from "to object"). As shown by the English examples, its meaning refers both to the act of doing something and (by frequent semantic extension) to its result. One of its syntactic functions is as a verbal complement of another verb, and this usage it corresponds to the English gerund or infinitive (He prevented me from running or He began to run).
Some well-known examples of verbal nouns are Arabic: فتح (see Fatah) (Form I), Arabic: تنظيم (Form II), Arabic: جهاد (Form III), Arabic: إسلام (Form IV), Arabic: انتفاضة (feminine of Form VIII verbal noun), and Arabic: استقلال (Form X).
The system of verb conjugations in Arabic is quite complicated, and is formed along two axes. One axis, known as the form (described as "Form I", "Form II", etc.), is used to specify grammatical concepts such as causative, intensive, reciprocal, passive or reflexive, and involves varying the stem form. The other axis, known as the weakness, is determined by the particular consonants making up the root. For example, defective (or third-weak or final-weak) verbs have a Arabic: و or Arabic: ي as the last root consonant (e.g. Arabic: ر-م-ي 'throw', Arabic: د-ع-و 'call'), and doubled (or geminated) verbs have the second and third consonants the same (e.g. Arabic: م-د-د 'extend'). These "weaknesses" have the effect of inducing various irregularities in the stems and endings of the associated verbs.
Examples of the different forms of a sound verb (i.e. with no root weaknesses), from the root Arabic: ك-ت-ب 'write' (using Arabic: ح-م-ر 'red' for Form IX, which is limited to colors and physical defects):
| Form | Past | Meaning | Non-past | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Arabic: كَتَبَ | 'he wrote' | Arabic: يَكْتُبُ | 'he writes' |
| II | Arabic: كَتَّبَ | 'he made (someone) write' | Arabic: يُكَتِّبُ | 'he makes (someone) write' |
| III | Arabic: كاتَبَ | 'he corresponded with, wrote to (someone)' | Arabic: يُكاتِبُ | '"he corresponds with, writes to (someone)' |
| IV | Arabic: أَكْتَبَ | 'he dictated' | Arabic: يُكْتِبُ | 'he dictates' |
| V | Arabic: تَكَتَّبَ | nonexistent | Arabic: يَتَكَتُّبُ | nonexistent |
| VI | Arabic: تَكَاتَبَ | 'he corresponded (with someone, esp. mutually)' | Arabic: يَتَكَاتَبَ | 'he corresponds (with someone, esp. mutually)' |
| VII | Arabic: اِنْكَتَبَ | 'he subscribed' | Arabic: يَنْكَتِبُ | 'he subscribes' |
| VIII | Arabic: اِكْتَتَبَ | 'he copied' | Arabic: يَكْتَتِبُ | 'he copies' |
| IX | Arabic: اِحْمَرَّ | 'he turned red' | Arabic: يَحْمَرُّ | 'he turns red' |
| X | Arabic: اِسْتَكْتَبَ | 'he asked (someone) to write' | Arabic: يَسْتَكْتِبُ | 'he asks (someone) to write' |
The main types of weakness are as follows:
| Sound (Non-Weak) | Arabic: ك-ت-ب 'to write' | Arabic: كَتَبَ | Arabic: كَتَبْتُ | Arabic: يَكْتُبُ | Arabic: يَكْتُبْنَ | |
| Assimilated (First-Weak), W | Arabic: و-ج-د 'to find' | Arabic: وَجَدَ | Arabic: وَجَدْتُ | Arabic: يَجِدُ | Arabic: يَجِدْنَ | |
| Assimilated (First-Weak), Y | Arabic: ي-ب-س 'to dry' | Arabic: يَبِسَ | Arabic: يَبِسْتُ | Arabic: يَيْبَسُ | Arabic: يَيْبَسْنَ | |
| Hollow (Second-Weak), W | Arabic: ق-و-ل 'to say' | Arabic: قالَ | Arabic: قُلْتُ | Arabic: يَقُولُ | Arabic: يَقُلْنَ | |
| Hollow (Second-Weak), Y | Arabic: س-ي-ر 'to travel, go' | Arabic: سارَ | Arabic: سِرْتُ | Arabic: يَسِيرُ | Arabic: يَسِرْنَ | |
| Defective (Third-Weak, final-weak), W | Arabic: د-ع-و 'to call' | Arabic: دَعا | Arabic: دَعَوْتُ | Arabic: يَدْعُو | Arabic: يَدْعُونَ | |
| Defective (Third-Weak, final-weak), Y | Arabic: ر-م-ي 'to throw' | Arabic: رَمَى | Arabic: رَمَيْتُ | Arabic: يَرْمِي | Arabic: يَرْمِينَ | |
| Doubled (geminated) | Arabic: م-د-د 'to extend' | Arabic: مَدَّ | Arabic: مَدَدْتُ | Arabic: يَمُدُّ | Arabic: يَمْدُدْنَ |
In Arabic the grammatical person and number as well as the mood are designated by a variety of prefixes and suffixes. The following table shows the paradigm of a regular sound Form I verb, (Arabic: كتب) 'to write'. Most of the final short vowels are often omitted in speech, except the vowel of the feminine plural ending , and normally the vowel of the past tense second person feminine singular ending .
| Active | Singular | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | katab | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبْتُ | أَكْتُبُ | أَكْتُبَ | أَكْتُبْ | أَكْتُبَنَّ | أَكْتُبَنْ | – | ||||
| 2nd | katab | |||||||||
| كَتَبْتَ | تَكْتُبُ | تَكْتُبَ | تَكْتُبْ | تَكْتُبَنَّ | تَكْتُبَنْ | اُكْتُبْ | ||||
| katab | ||||||||||
| كَتَبْتِ | تَكْتُبِينَ | تَكْتُبِي | تَكْتُبِنَّ | تَكْتُبِنْ | اُكْتُبِي | |||||
| 3rd | katab | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبَ | يَكْتُبُ | يَكْتُبَ | يَكْتُبْ | يَكْتُبَنَّ | يَكْتُبَنْ | – | ||||
| katab | – | |||||||||
| كَتَبَتْ | تَكْتُبُ | تَكْتُبَ | تَكْتُبْ | تَكْتُبَنَّ | تَكْتُبَنْ | – | ||||
| Dual | ||||||||||
| 2nd | katab | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبْتُمَا | تَكْتُبَانِ | تَكْتُبَا | تَكْتُبَانِّ | – | اُكْتُبَا | |||||
| 3rd | katab | – | – | |||||||
| كَتَبَا | يَكْتُبَانِ | يَكْتُبَا | يَكْتُبَانِّ | – | – | |||||
| katab | – | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبَتَا | تَكْتُبَانِ | تَكْتُبَا | تَكْتُبَانِّ | – | – | |||||
| Plural | ||||||||||
| 1st | katab | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبْنَا | نَكْتُبُ | نَكْتُبَ | نَكْتُبْ | نَكْتُبَنَّ | نَكْتُبَنْ | – | ||||
| 2nd | katab | |||||||||
| كَتَبْتُمْ | تَكْتُبُونَ | تَكْتُبُوا | تَكْتُبُنَّ | تَكْتُبُنْ | اُكْتُبُوا | |||||
| katab | – | |||||||||
| كَتَبْتُنَّ | تَكْتُبْنَ | تَكْتُبْنَانِّ | – | اُكْتُبْنَ | ||||||
| 3rd | katab | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبُوا | يَكْتُبُونَ | يَكْتُبُوا | يَكْتُبُنَّ | يَكْتُبُنْ | – | |||||
| katab | – | – | ||||||||
| كَتَبْنَ | يَكْتُبْنَ | يَكْتُبْنَانِّ | – | – | ||||||
| Passive | Singular | |||||||||
| 1st | kutib | – | ||||||||
| كُتِبْتُ | أُكْتَبُ | أُكْتَبَ | أُكْتَبْ | أُكْتَبَنَّ | أُكْتَبَنْ | – | ||||
| 2nd | kutib | – | ||||||||
| كُتِبْتَ | تُكْتَبُ | تُكْتَبَ | تُكْتَبْ | تُكْتَبَنَّ | تُكْتَبَنْ | – | ||||
| kutib | – | |||||||||
| كُتِبْتِ | تُكْتَبِينَ | تُكْتَبِي | تُكْتَبِنَّ | تُكْتَبِنْ | – | |||||
| etc. | ||||||||||
| Nominal | Active Participle | Passive Participle | Verbal Noun | |||||||
| كَاتِب | مَكْتُوب | كَتْب، كِتْبَة، كِتَابَة | ||||||||
The initial vowel in the imperative (which is elidable) varies from verb to verb, as follows:
In unvocalised Arabic, , , and are all written the same: Arabic: كتبت. Forms and (and sometimes even ) can be abbreviated to in spoken Arabic and in pausa, making them also sound the same.
Arabic: ا in final Arabic: ـُوا is silent.
Roots containing one or two of the radicals Arabic: و (), Arabic: ي () or Arabic: ء () often lead to verbs with special phonological rules because these radicals can be influenced by their surroundings. Such verbs are called "weak" (Latin: verba infirma, 'weak verbs') and their paradigms must be given special attention. In the case of , these peculiarities are mainly orthographical, since is not subject to elision (the orthography of Arabic: ء and Arabic: ا is unsystematic due to confusion in early Islamic times). According to the position of the weak radical in the root, the root can be classified into four classes: first weak, second weak, third weak (or final weak) and doubled, where both the second and third radicals are identical. Some roots fall into more than one category at once.
Most first-weak verbs have a Arabic: و as their first radical. These verbs are entirely regular in the past tense. In the non-past, the drops out, leading to a shorter stem (e.g., Arabic: (يَجِدُ) وَجَدَ 'to find'), where the stem is Arabic: ـجِدـ in place of a longer stem like Arabic: ـجْلِدـ from the verb Arabic: جَلَدَ (يَجْلِدُ) 'to whip, flog'. This same stem is used throughout, and there are no other irregularities except for the imperative, which has no initial vowel, consistent with the fact that the stem for the imperative begins with only one consonant.
There are various types of assimilated (first-weak) Form I verbs:
| Past stem (3rd) | Non-past stem (3rd) | Imperative | Meaning | Sound verb parallel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic: وَجَدَ | Arabic: يَجِدُ | Arabic: جِدْ | 'to find' | Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعِلُ) | |
| Arabic: وَرِثَ | Arabic: يَرِثُ | Arabic: رِثْ | 'to inherit' | Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعِلُ) [rare normally, but in assimilated verbs, rather more common than {{lang|ar|فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ)}} {{transl|ar|faʿila (yafʿalu)}}] | |
| Arabic: وَضَعَ | Arabic: يَضَعُ | Arabic: ضَعْ | 'to put' | Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعَلُ) | |
| Arabic: وَجِلَ | Arabic: يَوْجَلُ | Arabic: إيجَلْ | 'to be scared' | (فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ (rare case where Arabic: و is preserved in non-past) | |
| Arabic: يَسَرَ | Arabic: يَيْسِرُ | Arabic: إيسِرْ | 'to be simple' | Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعِلُ) (Arabic: ي is normally preserved in non-past) | |
| Arabic: يَبِسَ | Arabic: يَيْبَسُ | Arabic: إيبَسْ | 'to be/become dry' | Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ) (Arabic: ي is normally preserved in non-past) | |
| Arabic: وَدَّ (وَدِدْتُ) | Arabic: يَدُّ | Arabic: إيدَدْ | 'to want to; to love' | Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ) (also a doubled verb) | |
| Arabic: وَلِيَ | Arabic: يَلِي | Arabic: لِ | 'to protect' | Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعِلُ) (also a defective verb) |
The following shows a paradigm of a typical Form I hollow (second-weak) verb Arabic: قَالَ (قُلْتُ، يَقُولُ) (root: Arabic: ق-و-ل) 'to say', parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعُلُ) type. See notes following the table for explanation.
| Past | Present Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive | Long Energetic | Short Energetic | Imperative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||||
| 1st | qul-tu | a-qūl-u | a-qūl-a | a-qul | a-qūl-anna | a-qūl-an | – | |
| قُلْتُ | أَقُولُ | أَقُولَ | أَقُلْ | أَقُولَنَّ | أَقُولَنْ | – | ||
| 2nd | qul-ta | ta-qūl-u | ta-qūl-a | ta-qul | ta-qūl-anna | ta-qūl-an | qul | |
| قُلْتَ | تَقُولُ | تَقُولَ | ْتَقُل | تَقُولَنَّ | ْتَقُولَن | قُلْ | ||
| qul-ti | ta-qūl-īna | ta-qūl-ī | ta-qūl-inna | ta-qūl-in | qūl-ī | |||
| قُلْتِ | تَقُولِينَ | تَقُولِي | تَقُولِنَّ | ْتَقُولِن | قُولِي | |||
| 3rd | qāl-a | ya-qūl-u | ya-qūl-a | ya-qul | ya-qūl-anna | ya-qūl-an | – | |
| قَالَ | ُيَقُول | َيَقُول | ْيَقُل | يَقُولَنَّ | ْيَقُولَن | – | ||
| qāl-at | ta-qūl-u | ta-qūl-a | ta-qul | ta-qūl-anna | ta-qūl-an | – | ||
| قَالَتْ | ُتَقُول | َتَقُول | ْتَقُل | تَقُولَنَّ | ْتَقُولَن | – | ||
| Dual | ||||||||
| 2nd | qul-tumā | ta-qūl-āni | ta-qūl-ā | ta-qūl-ānni | – | qūl-ā | ||
| قُلْتُمَا | تَقُولَانِ | تَقُولَا | تَقُولَانِّ | – | قُولَا | |||
| 3rd | qāl-ā | ya-qūl-āni | ya-qūl-ā | ya-qūl-ānni | – | – | ||
| قَالَا | يَقُولَانِ | يَقُولَا | يَقُولَانِّ | – | – | |||
| qāl-atā | ta-qūl-āni | ta-qūl-ā | ta-qūl-ānni | – | – | |||
| قَالَتَا | تَقُولَانِ | تَقُولَا | تَقُولَانِّ | – | – | |||
| Plural | ||||||||
| 1st | qul-nā | na-qūl-u | na-qūl-a | na-qul | na-qūl-anna | na-qūl-an | – | |
| قُلْنَا | ُنَقُول | َنَقُول | ْنَقُل | نَقُولَنَّ | ْنَقُولَن | – | ||
| 2nd | qul-tum | ta-qūl-ūna | ta-qūl-ū | ta-qūl-unna | ta-qūl-un | qūl-ū | ||
| قُلْتُمْ | تَقُولُونَ | تَقُولُوا | تَقُولُنَّ | ْتَقُولُن | قُولُوا | |||
| qul-tunna | ta-qul-na | ta-qul-nānni | – | qul-na | ||||
| قُلْتُنَّ | تَقُلْنَ | تَقُلْنَانِّ | – | قُلْنَ | ||||
| 3rd | qāl-ū | ya-qūl-ūna | ya-qūl-ū | ya-qūl-unna | ya-qūl-un | – | ||
| قَالُوا | يَقُولُونَ | يَقُولُوا | يَقُولُنَّ | ْيَقُولُن | – | |||
| qul-na | ya-qul-na | ya-qul-nānni | – | – | ||||
| قُلْنَ | يَقُلْنَ | يَقُلْنَانِّ | – | – | ||||
All hollow (second-weak) verbs are conjugated in a parallel fashion. The endings are identical to those of strong verbs, but there are two stems (a longer and a shorter) in each of the past and non-past. The longer stem is consistently used whenever the ending begins with a vowel, and the shorter stem is used in all other circumstances. The longer stems end in a long vowel plus consonant, while the shorter stems end in a short vowel plus consonant. The shorter stem is formed simply by shortening the vowel of the long stem in all paradigms other than the active past of Form I verbs. In the active past paradigms of Form I, however, the longer stem always has an vowel, while the shorter stem has a vowel or corresponding to the actual second root consonant of the verb.
No initial vowel is needed in the imperative forms because the non-past stem does not begin with two consonants.
There are various types of Form I hollow verbs:
The passive paradigm of all Form I hollow verbs is as follows:
The following shows a paradigm of a typical Form I defective (third-weak) verb Arabic: رَمَى (يَرْمِي) (root: Arabic: ر-م-ي) 'to throw', parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعِلُ) type. See notes following the table for explanation.
| Past | Present Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive | Long Energetic | Short Energetic | Imperative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||||
| 1st | ramay-tu | a-rmī | a-rmiy-a | a-rmi | a-rmiy-anna | a-rmiy-an | – | |
| رَمَيْتُ | أَرْمِي | َأَرْمِي | أَرْمِ | أَرْمِيَنَّ | ْأَرْمِيَن | – | ||
| 2nd | ramay-ta | ta-rmī | ta-rmiy-a | ta-rmi | ta-rmiy-anna | ta-rmiy-an | i-rmi | |
| رَمَيْتَ | تَرْمِي | َتَرْمِي | تَرْمِ | تَرْمِيَنَّ | ْتَرْمِيَن | اِرْمِ | ||
| ramay-ti | ta-rm-īna | ta-rm-ī | ta-rm-inna | ta-rm-in | i-rm-ī | |||
| رَمَيْتِ | تَرْمِينَ | تَرْمِي | تَرْمِنَّ | ْتَرْمِن | اِرْمِي | |||
| 3rd | ram-ā | ya-rmī | ya-rmiy-a | ya-rmi | ya-rmiy-anna | ya-rmiy-an | – | |
| رَمَی | يَرْمِي | َيَرْمِي | يَرْمِ | يَرْمِيَنَّ | ْيَرْمِيَن | – | ||
| ram-at | ta-rmī | ta-rmiy-a | ta-rmi | ta-rmiy-anna | ta-rmiy-an | – | ||
| رَمَتْ | تَرْمِي | َتَرْمِي | تَرْمِ | تَرْمِيَنَّ | ْتَرْمِيَن | – | ||
| Dual | ||||||||
| 2nd | ramay-tumā | ta-rmiy-āni | ta-rmiy-ā | ta-rmiy-ānni | – | i-rmiy-ā | ||
| رَمَيْتُمَا | تَرْمِيَانِ | تَرْمِيَا | تَرْمِيَانِّ | – | اِرْمِيَا | |||
| 3rd | ramay-ā | ya-rmiy-āni | ya-rmiy-ā | ya-rmiy-ānni | – | – | ||
| رَمَيَا | يَرْمِيَانِ | يَرْمِيَا | يَرْمِيَانِّ | – | – | |||
| ram-atā | ta-rmiy-āni | ta-rmiy-ā | ta-rmiy-ānni | – | – | |||
| رَمَتَا | تَرْمِيَانِ | تَرْمِيَا | تَرْمِيَانِّ | – | – | |||
| Plural | ||||||||
| 1st | ramay-nā | na-rmī | na-rmiy-a | na-rmi | na-rmiy-anna | na-rmiy-an | – | |
| رَمَيْنَا | نَرْمِي | َنَرْمِي | نَرْمِ | نَرْمِيَنَّ | ْنَرْمِيَن | – | ||
| 2nd | ramay-tum | ta-rm-ūna | ta-rm-ū | ta-rm-unna | ta-rm-un | i-rm-ū | ||
| رَمَيْتُمْ | تَرْمُونَ | تَرْمُوا | تَرْمُنَّ | ْتَرْمُن | اِرْمُوا | |||
| ramay-tunna | ta-rmī-na | ta-rmī-nānni | – | i-rmī-na | ||||
| رَمَيْتُنَّ | تَرْمِينَ | تَرْمِينَانِّ | – | اِرْمِينَ | ||||
| 3rd | ram-aw | ya-rm-ūna | ya-rm-ū | ya-rm-unna | ya-rm-un | – | ||
| رَمَوْا | يَرْمُونَ | يَرْمُوا | يَرْمُنَّ | ْيَرْمُن | – | |||
| ramay-na | ya-rmī-na | ya-rmī-nānni | – | – | ||||
| رَمَيْنَ | يَرْمِينَ | يَرْمِينَانِّ | – | – | ||||
The following shows a paradigm of a typical Form I defective (third-weak) verb Arabic: دَعَا (يَدْعُو) (root: Arabic: د-ع-و) 'to call', parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعُلُ) type. Verbs of this sort are entirely parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَا (يَفْعِي) type, although the exact forms can still be tricky. See notes following the table for explanation.
| Past | Present Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive | Long Energetic | Short Energetic | Imperative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||||
| 1st | daʿaw-tu | a-dʿū | a-dʿuw-a | a-dʿu | a-dʿuw-anna | a-dʿuw-an | – | |
| دَعَوْتُ | أَدْعُو | َأَدْعُو | أَدْعُ | أَدْعُوَنَّ | ْأَدْعُوَن | – | ||
| 2nd | daʿaw-ta | ta-dʿū | ta-dʿuw-a | ta-dʿu | ta-dʿuw-anna | ta-dʿuw-an | u-dʿu | |
| دَعَوْتَ | تَدْعُو | َتَدْعُو | تَدْعُ | تَدْعُوَنَّ | ْتَدْعُوَن | اُدْعُ | ||
| daʿaw-ti | ta-dʿ-īna | ta-dʿ-ī | ta-dʿ-inna | ta-dʿ-in | u-dʿ-ī | |||
| دَعَوْتِ | تَدْعِينَ | تَدْعِي | تَدْعِنَّ | ْتَدْعِن | اُدْعِي | |||
| 3rd | daʿ-ā | ya-dʿū | ya-dʿuw-a | ya-dʿu | ya-dʿuw-anna | ya-dʿuw-an | – | |
| دَعَا | يَدْعُو | َيَدْعُو | يَدْعُ | يَدْعُوَنَّ | ْيَدْعُوَن | – | ||
| daʿ-at | ta-dʿū | ta-dʿuw-a | ta-dʿu | ta-dʿuw-anna | ta-dʿuw-an | – | ||
| دَعَتْ | تَدْعُو | َتَدْعُو | تَدْعُ | تَدْعُوَنَّ | ْتَدْعُوَن | – | ||
| Dual | ||||||||
| 2nd | daʿaw-tumā | ta-dʿuw-āni | ta-dʿuw-ā | ta-dʿuw-ānni | – | u-dʿuw-ā | ||
| دَعَوْتُمَا | تَدْعُوَانِ | تَدْعُوَا | تَدْعُوَانِّ | – | اُدْعُوَا | |||
| 3rd | daʿaw-ā | ya-dʿuw-āni | ya-dʿuw-ā | ya-dʿuw-ānni | – | – | ||
| دَعَوَا | يَدْعُوَانِ | يَدْعُوَا | يَدْعُوَانِّ | – | – | |||
| daʿ-atā | ta-dʿuw-āni | ta-dʿuw-ā | ta-dʿuw-ānni | – | – | |||
| دَعَتَا | تَدْعُوَانِ | تَدْعُوَا | تَدْعُوَانِّ | – | – | |||
| Plural | ||||||||
| 1st | daʿaw-nā | na-dʿū | na-dʿuw-a | na-dʿu | na-dʿuw-anna | na-dʿuw-an | – | |
| دَعَوْنَا | نَدْعُو | َنَدْعُو | نَدْعُ | نَدْعُوَنَّ | ْنَدْعُوَن | – | ||
| 2nd | daʿaw-tum | ta-dʿ-ūna | ta-dʿ-ū | ta-dʿ-unna | ta-dʿ-un | u-dʿ-ū | ||
| دَعَوْتُمْ | تَدْعُونَ | تَدْعُوا | تَدْعُنَّ | ْتَدْعُن | اُدْعُوا | |||
| daʿaw-tunna | ta-dʿū-na | ta-dʿū-nānni | – | u-dʿū-na | ||||
| دَعَوْتُنَّ | تَدْعُونَ | تَدْعُونَانِّ | – | اُدْعُونَ | ||||
| 3rd | daʿ-aw | ya-dʿ-ūna | ya-dʿ-ū | ya-dʿ-unna | ya-dʿ-un | – | ||
| دَعَوْا | يَدْعُونَ | يَدْعُوا | يَدْعُنَّ | ْيَدْعُن | – | |||
| daʿaw-na | ya-dʿū-na | ya-dʿū-nānni | – | – | ||||
| دَعَوْنَ | يَدْعُونَ | يَدْعُونَانِّ | – | – | ||||
Verbs of this sort are work nearly identically to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَى (يَفْعِي) type. There are the same irregular endings in the same places, and again two stems in each of the past and non-past tenses, with the same stems used in the same places:
The Arabic spelling has the following rules:
The following shows a paradigm of a typical Form I defective (third-weak) verb Arabic: نَسِيَ (يَنْسَ) (root: Arabic: ن-س-ي) 'to forget', parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ) type. These verbs differ in a number of significant respects from either of the above types.
| Past | Present Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive | Long Energetic | Short Energetic | Imperative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||||
| 1st | nasī-tu | a-nsā | a-nsa | a-nsay-anna | a-nsay-an | – | ||
| نَسِيتُ | أَنْسَى | أَنْسَ | أَنْسَيَنَّ | ْأَنْسَيَن | – | |||
| 2nd | nasī-ta | ta-nsā | ta-nsa | ta-nsay-anna | ta-nsay-an | i-nsa | ||
| نَسِيتَ | تَنْسَى | تَنْسَ | تَنْسَيَنَّ | ْتَنْسَيَن | اِنْسَ | |||
| nasī-ti | ta-nsa-yna | ta-nsa-y | ta-nsa-yinna | ta-nsa-yin | i-nsa-y | |||
| نَسِيتِ | تَنْسَيْنَ | تَنْسَيْ | تَنْسَيِنَّ | ْتَنْسَيِن | اِنْسَيْ | |||
| 3rd | nasiy-a | ya-nsā | ya-nsa | ya-nsay-anna | ya-nsay-an | – | ||
| نَسِيَ | يَنْسَى | يَنْسَ | يَنْسَيَنَّ | ْيَنْسَيَن | – | |||
| nasiy-at | ta-nsā | ta-nsa | ta-nsay-anna | ta-nsay-an | – | |||
| نَسِيَتْ | تَنْسَى | تَنْسَ | تَنْسَيَنَّ | ْتَنْسَيَن | – | |||
| Dual | ||||||||
| 2nd | nasī-tumā | ta-nsay-āni | ta-nsay-ā | ta-nsay-ānni | – | i-nsay-ā | ||
| نَسِيتُمَا | تَنْسَيَانِ | تَنْسَيَا | تَنْسَيَانِّ | – | اِنْسَيَا | |||
| 3rd | nasiy-ā | ya-nsay-āni | ya-nsay-ā | ya-nsay-ānni | – | – | ||
| نَسِيَا | يَنْسَيَانِ | يَنْسَيَا | يَنْسَيَانِّ | – | – | |||
| nasiy-atā | ta-nsay-āni | ta-nsay-ā | ta-nsay-ānni | – | – | |||
| نَسِيَتَا | تَنْسَيَانِ | تَنْسَيَا | تَنْسَيَانِّ | – | – | |||
| Plural | ||||||||
| 1st | nasī-nā | na-nsā | na-nsa | na-nsay-anna | na-nsay-an | – | ||
| نَسِينَا | نَنْسَى | نَنْسَ | نَنْسَيَنَّ | ْنَنْسَيَن | – | |||
| 2nd | nasī-tum | ta-nsa-wna | ta-nsa-w | ta-nsa-wunna | ta-nsa-wun | i-nsa-w | ||
| نَسِيتُمْ | تَنْسَوْنَ | تَنْسَوْا | تَنْسَوُنَّ | ْتَنْسَوُن | اِنْسَوْا | |||
| nasī-tunna | ta-nsay-na | ta-nsay-nānni | – | i-nsay-na | ||||
| نَسِيتُنَّ | تَنْسَيْنَ | تَنْسَيْنَانِّ | – | اِنْسَيْنَ | ||||
| 3rd | nas-ū | ya-nsa-wna | ya-nsa-w | ya-nsa-wunna | ya-nsa-wun | – | ||
| نَسُوا | يَنْسَوْنَ | يَنْسَوْا | يَنْسَوُنَّ | ْيَنْسَوُن | – | |||
| nasī-na | ya-nsay-na | ya-nsay-nānni | – | – | ||||
| نَسِينَ | يَنْسَيْنَ | يَنْسَيْنَانِّ | – | – | ||||
The following shows a paradigm of a typical Form I doubled verb Arabic: مَدَّ (يَمُدُّ) (root: Arabic: م-د-د) 'to extend', parallel to verbs of the Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعُلُ) type. See notes following the table for explanation.
| Past | Present Indicative | Subjunctive | Jussive | Long Energetic | Short Energetic | Imperative | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | ||||||||
| 1st | madad-tu | a-mudd-u | a-mudd-a | a-mudd-a, ʾa-mudd-i, ʾa-mdud | a-mudd-anna | a-mudd-an | – | |
| مَدَدْتُ | أَمُدُّ | أَمُدَّ | أَمُدَّ, أَمُدِّ, أَمْدُدْ | أَمُدَّنَّ | أَمُدَّنْ | – | ||
| 2nd | madad-ta | ta-mudd-u | ta-mudd-a | ta-mudd-a, ta-mudd-i, ta-mdud | ta-mudd-anna | ta-mudd-an | mudd-a, mudd-i, u-mdud | |
| مَدَدْتَ | تَمُدُّ | تَمُدَّ | تَمُدَّ, تَمُدِّ, تَمْدُدْ | تَمُدَّنَّ | تَمُدَّنْ | مُدَّ, مُدِّ, اُمْدُدْ | ||
| madad-ti | ta-mudd-īna | ta-mudd-ī | ta-mudd-inna | ta-mudd-in | mudd-ī | |||
| مَدَدْتِ | تَمُدِّينَ | تَمُدِّي | تَمُدِّنَّ | تَمُدِّنْ | مُدِّي | |||
| 3rd | madd-a | ya-mudd-u | ya-mudd-a | ya-mudd-a, ya-mudd-i, ya-mdud | ya-mudd-anna | ya-mudd-an | – | |
| مَدَّ | يَمُدُّ | يَمُدَّ | يَمُدَّ, يَمُدِّ, يَمْدُدْ | يَمُدَّنَّ | يَمُدَّنْ | – | ||
| madd-at | ta-mudd-u | ta-mudd-a | ta-mudd-a, ta-mudd-i, ta-mdud | ta-mudd-anna | ta-mudd-an | – | ||
| مَدَّتْ | تَمُدُّ | تَمُدَّ | تَمُدَّ, تَمُدِّ, تَمْدُدْ | تَمُدَّنَّ | تَمُدَّنْ | – | ||
| Dual | ||||||||
| 2nd | madad-tumā | ta-mudd-āni | ta-mudd-ā | ta-mudd-ānni | – | mudd-ā | ||
| مَدَدْتُمَا | تَمُدَّانِ | تَمُدَّا | تَمُدَّانِّ | – | مُدَّا | |||
| 3rd | madd-ā | ya-mudd-āni | ya-mudd-ā | ya-mudd-ānni | – | – | ||
| مَدَّا | يَمُدَّانِ | يَمُدَّا | يَمُدَّانِّ | – | – | |||
| madd-atā | ta-mudd-āni | ta-mudd-ā | ta-mudd-ānni | – | – | |||
| مَدَّتَا | تَمُدَّانِ | تَمُدَّا | تَمُدَّانِّ | – | – | |||
| Plural | ||||||||
| 1st | madad-nā | na-mudd-u | na-mudd-a | na-mudd-a, na-mudd-i, na-mdud | na-mudd-anna | na-mudd-an | – | |
| مَدَدْنَا | نَمُدُّ | نَمُدَّ | نَمُدَّ, نَمُدِّ, نَمْدُدْ | نَمُدَّنَّ | نَمُدَّنْ | – | ||
| 2nd | madad-tum | ta-mudd-ūna | ta-mudd-ū | ta-mudd-unna | ta-mudd-un | mudd-ū | ||
| مَدَدْتُمْ | تَمُدُّونَ | تَمُدُّوا | تَمُدُّنَّ | تَمُدُّنْ | مُدُّوا | |||
| madad-tunna | ta-mdud-na | ta-mdud-nānni | – | undud-na | ||||
| مَدَدْتُنَّ | تَمْدُدْنَ | تَمْدُدْنَانِّ | – | اُمْدُدْنَ | ||||
| 3rd | madd-ū | ya-mudd-ūna | ya-mudd-ū | ya-mudd-unna | ya-mudd-un | – | ||
| مَدُّوا | يَمُدُّونَ | يَمُدُّوا | يَمُدُّنَّ | يَمُدُّنْ | – | |||
| madad-na | ya-mdud-na | ya-mdud-nānni | – | – | ||||
| مَدَدْنَ | يَمْدُدْنَ | يَمْدُدْنَانِّ | – | – | ||||
All doubled verbs are conjugated in a parallel fashion. The endings are for the most part identical to those of strong verbs, but there are two stems (a regular and a modified) in each of the past and non-past. The regular stems are identical to the stem forms of sound verbs, while the modified stems have the two identical consonants pulled together into a geminate consonant and the vowel between moved before the geminate. In the above verb Arabic: مَدَّ (يَمُدُّ) 'to extend (s.th.)', the past stems are Arabic: مَدَدـ (regular), Arabic: مَدّـ (modified), and the non-past stems are Arabic: مْدُدـ (regular), Arabic: مُدّـ (modified). In the table, places where the regular past stem occurs are in silver, and places where the regular non-past stem occurs are in gold; everywhere else, the modified stem occurs.
No initial vowel is needed in most of the imperative forms because the modified non-past stem does not begin with two consonants.
The concept of having two stems for each tense, one for endings beginning with vowels and one for other endings, occurs throughout the different kinds of weaknesses.
Following the above rules, endingless jussives would have a form like Arabic: تَمْدُد, while the corresponding indicatives and subjunctives would have forms like Arabic: تَمُدُّ, Arabic: تَمُدَّ . As a result, for the doubled verbs in particular, there is a tendency to harmonize these forms by adding a vowel to the jussives, usually Arabic: ـَ, sometimes Arabic: ـِ . These are the only irregular endings in these paradigms, and have been indicated in boldface. The masculine singular imperative likewise has multiple forms, based on the multiple forms of the jussive.
There are various types of doubled Form I verbs:
| Modified past stem (3rd) | Regular past stem (3rd) | Modified non-past stem (3rd) | Regular non-past stem (3rd) | Meaning | Sound verb parallel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic: مَدَّ | Arabic: مَدَدْنَ | Arabic: يَمُدُّ | Arabic: يَمْدُدْنَ | 'to extend' | Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعُلُ) |
| Arabic: تَمَّ | Arabic: تَمَمْنَ | Arabic: يَتِمُّ | Arabic: يَتْمِمْنَ | 'to finish' | Arabic: فَعَلَ (يَفْعِلُ) |
| Arabic: ظَلَّ | Arabic: ظَلِلْنَ | Arabic: يَظَلُّ | Arabic: يَظْلَلْنَ | 'to remain' | Arabic: فَعِلَ (يَفْعَلُ) |
Arabic verb morphology includes augmentations of the root, also known as forms, an example of the derived stems found among the Semitic languages. For a typical verb based on a triliteral root (i.e. a root formed using three root consonants), the basic form is termed Form I, while the augmented forms are known as Form II, Form III, etc. The forms in normal use are Form I through Form X; Forms XI through XV exist but are rare and obsolescent. Forms IX and XI are used only with adjectival roots referring to colors and physical defects (e.g. "red", "blue", "blind", "deaf", etc.), and are stative verbs having the meaning of "be X" or "become X" (e.g. Form IX 'be red, become red, blush', Form XI with the same meaning). Although the structure that a given root assumes in a particular augmentation is predictable, its meaning is not (although many augmentations have one or more "usual" or prototypical meanings associated with them), and not all augmentations exist for any given root. As a result, these augmentations are part of the system of derivational morphology, not part of the inflectional system.
The construction of a given augmentation is normally indicated using the dummy root (ف–ع–ل), based on the verb 'to do'. Because Arabic has no direct equivalent to the infinitive form of Western languages, the third-person masculine singular past tense is normally used as the dictionary form of a given verb, i.e. the form by which a verb is identified in a dictionary or grammatical discussion. Hence, the word above actually has the meaning of 'he did', but is translated as 'to do' when used as a dictionary form.
Verbs based on quadriliteral roots (roots with four consonants) also exist. There are four augmentations for such verbs, known as Forms Iq, IIq, IIIq and IVq. These have forms similar to Forms II, V, VII and IX respectively of triliteral verbs. Forms IIIq and IVq are fairly rare. The construction of such verbs is typically given using the dummy verb (root: ف-ع-ل-ل). However, the choice of this particular verb is somewhat non-ideal in that the third and fourth consonants of an actual verb are typically not the same, despite the same consonant used for both; this is a particular problem e.g. for Form IVq. The verb tables below use the dummy verb (root: ف-ع-ل-ق) instead.
Some grammars, especially of colloquial spoken varieties rather than of Classical Arabic, use other dummy roots. For example, A Short Reference Grammar of Iraqi Arabic (Wallace M. Erwin) uses فمل (root: ف-م-ل) and فستل (root: ف-س-ت-ل) for three and four-character roots, respectively (standing for "First Middle Last" and "First Second Third Last"). Commonly the dummy consonants are given in capital letters.
The system of identifying verb augmentations by Roman numerals is an invention by Western scholars. Traditionally, Arabic grammarians did not number the augmentations at all, instead identifying them by the corresponding dictionary form. For example, Form V would be called "the form".
| Verbs | Derived nouns | Typical meanings, notes | Examples | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||||
| I | فَعَلَ | يَفْعُلُ | اُفْعُلْ | فُعِلَ | يُفْعَلُ | فَاعِل | مَفْعُول | فَعْل , فُعُول , فِعْل , (فُعْل(ة , (فَعَال(ة , (فِعَال(ة , etc. | basic verb form | (كتب (يكتب 'write'; (دخل (يدخل 'enter'; (درس (يدرس 'study'; (قتل (يقتل 'kill' |
| يَفْعِلُ | اِفْعِلْ | (حمل (يحمل 'carry'; (قدر (يقدر 'be able'; (عرف (يعرف 'know'; (جلس (يجلس 'sit' | ||||||||
| يَفْعَلُ | اِفْعَلْ | usually with a guttural consonant () in second or third position | (قطع (يقطع 'cut'; (قرأ (يقرأ 'read'; (ظهر (يظهر 'seem'; (بحث (يبحث 'search' | |||||||
| فَعِلَ | often stative verbs (temporary conditions) | (فهم (يفهم 'understand'; (ركب (يركب 'ride'; (شرب (يشرب 'drink'; (لبس (يلبس 'wear' | ||||||||
| يَفْعِلُ | اِفْعِلْ | often stative verbs (temporary conditions); rare except with initial و w consonant (which disappears in non-past) | (حسب (يحسب 'estimate'; (وثق (يثق 'trust' | |||||||
| فَعُلَ | يَفْعُلُ | اُفْعُلْ | only with stative verbs (permanent conditions) | (كبر (يكبر 'grow big, grow old'; (كثر (يكثر 'be many, be numerous'; (بعد (يبعد 'be distant (from)'; (كرم (يكرم 'be/become noble' | ||||||
| II | فَعَّلَ | يُفَعِّلُ | فَعِّلْ | فُعِّلَ | يُفَعَّلُ | مُفَعِّل | مُفَعَّل | تَفْعِيل، تَفْعَال، فِعَّال، تَفْعِلَة | causative and intensive; denominative; transitive of form 1. | كتّب 'make (someone) write (something)'; دخّل 'bring in (someone/something)'; درّس 'teach'; قتّل 'massacre'; حمّل 'burden, impose'; عرّف 'announce, inform'; قطّع 'cut into pieces' |
| III | فاعَلَ | يُفَاعِلُ | فَاعِلْ | فُوعِلَ | يُفَاعَلُ | مُفَاعِل | مُفَاعَل | مُفَاعَلة، فِعَال، فِيعَال | the verbs in this form need an indirect object which is often "with" and sometimes "against". | كاتب 'write to, correspond with (someone)'; داخل 'befall (someone)'; دارس 'study with (someone)'; قاتل 'fight'; جالس 'sit with (someone), keep (someone) company'; قاطع 'disassociate (from), interrupt, cut off (someone)' |
| IV | أَفْعَلَ | يُفْعِلُ | أَفْعِلْ | أُفْعِلَ | يُفْعَلُ | مُفْعِل | مُفْعَل | إِفْعَال | usually transitive and causative of form 1 (this form has not intensive meaning). | أكتب 'dictate'; أدخل 'bring in (someone), bring about (something)'; أقدر 'enable'; أجلس 'seat'; أقطع 'make (someone) cut off (something), part company with, bestow as a fief' |
| V | تَفَعَّلَ | يَتَفَعَّلُ | تَفَعَّلْ | تُفُعِّلَ | يُتَفَعَّلُ | مُتَفَعِّل | مُتَفَعَّل | تَفَعُّل، تِفِعَّال | usually reflexive of Form II. | تدخّل 'interfere, disturb'; تدرّس 'learn'; تحمّل 'endure, undergo'; تعرّف 'become acquainted (with someone), meet'; تقطّع 'be cut off, be disrupted, be intermittent' |
| VI | تَفاعَلَ | يَتَفاعَلُ | تَفاعَلْ | تُفوعِلَ | يُتَفاعِلُ | مُتَفاعِل | مُتَفَاعَل | تَفَاعُل | reciprocal of Form III; and even "pretend to X" | تكاتب 'correspond with each other'; تداخل 'meddle, butt in'; تدارس 'study carefully with each other'; تقاتل 'fight with one another'; تحامل 'maltreat, be biased (against)'; تعارف 'become mutually acquainted, come to know (something)'; تقاطع 'part company, break off mutual relations, intersect (of roads)' |
| VII | اِنْفَعَلَ | يَنْفَعِلُ | اِنْفَعِلْ | اُنْفَعِلَ | يُنْفَعَلُ | مُنْفَعِل | مُنْفَعَل | اِنْفِعَال | anticausative verb of Form I; | انكتب 'subscribe'; انقطع 'be cut off, cease, suspend' |
| VIII | اِفْتَعَلَ | يَفْتَعِلُ | اِفْتَعِلْ | اُفْتُعِلَ | يُفْتَعَلُ | مُفْتَعِل | مُفْتَعَل | اِفْتِعَال | reflexive of Form I; often some unpredictable variation in meaning | اكتتب 'copy (something), be recorded'; اقتتل 'fight one another'; احتمل 'carry away, endure, allow'; اقتدر 'be able'; 'confess, recognize'; ; اقتطع 'take a part (of something), tear out/off, deduct' |
| IX | اِفْعَلَّ | يَفْعَلُّ | اِفْعَلِلْ | (اُفْعُلَّ) | (يُفْعَلُّ) | مُفْعَلّ | n/a | اِفْعِلَال | stative verb ("be X", "become X"), specially for colors (e.g. "red", "blue") and physical defects. | احمرّ 'turn red, blush'; اسودّ 'be/become black'; اصفرّ 'turn yellow, become pale'; احولّ 'be cross-eyed, squint' |
| X | اِسْتَفْعَلَ | يَسْتَفْعِلُ | اِسْتَفْعِلْ | اُسْتُفْعِلَ | يُسْتَفْعَلُ | مُسْتَفْعِل | مُسْتَفْعَل | اِسْتِفْعَال | "ask to X"; "want to X"; "consider (someone) to be X"; causative, and sometimes autocausative verb; often some unpredictable variation in meaning | استكتب 'ask (someone) to write (something)'; استقتل 'risk one's life'; استقدر 'ask (God) for strength or ability'; استعرف 'discern, recognize'; استقطع 'request as a fief' |
| XI | اِفْعَالَّ | يَفْعالُّ | اِفْعالِلْ | n/a | مُفْعَالّ | n/a | اِفْعِيلَال | rare except in poetry; same meaning as Form IX | احمارّ 'turn red, blush'; اصحابّ 'be/become reddish-brown'; الهاجّ 'curdle' | |
| XII | اِفْعَوْعَلَ | يَفْعَوْعِلُ | اِفْعَوْعِلْ | اُفْعُوعِلَ | يُفْعَوْعَلُ | مُفْعَوْعِل | مُفْعَوْعَل | اِفْعِيعَال | very rare, with specialized meanings; often stative | احدودب 'be convex, be hunchbacked'; اغدودن 'grow long and luxuriantly (of hair)'; احلولك 'be pitch-black'; اخشوشن 'be rough/crude, lead a rough life' |
| XIII | اِفْعَوَّلَ | يَفْعَوِّلُ | اِفْعَوِّلْ | اُفْعُوِّلَ | يُفْعَوَّلُ | مُفْعَوِّل | مُفْعَوَّل | اِفْعِوَّال | الجوّذ 'gallop'; اعلوّط 'hang on the neck of (a camel)' | |
| XIV | اِفْعَنْلَلَ | يَفْعَنْلِلُ | اِفْعَنْلِلْ | اُفْعُنْلِلَ | يُفْعَنْلَلُ | مُفْعَنْلِل | مُفْعَنْلَل | اِفْعِنْلَال | اقعنسس 'have a protruding chest and hollow back, be pigeon-breasted'; اقعندد 'reside'; اسحنكك 'become very dark' | |
| XV | اِفْعَنْلَى | يَفْعَنْلَى | اِفْعَنْلَ | اُفْعُنْلِيَ | يُفْعَنْلَى | مُفْعَنْلٍ | مُفْعَنْلًى | اِفْعِنْلَاء | احرنبى 'become very furious'; اغرندى 'curse and hit (someone)' | |
| Iq | فَعْلَقَ | يُفَعْلِقُ | فَعْلِقْ | فُعْلِقَ | يُفَعْلَقُ | مُفَعْلِق | مُفَعْلَق | فَعْلَقَة , فَعْلَاق , فِعْلَاق , فُعْلَاق | basic form, often transitive or denominative; similar to Form II, but verbal noun is different; reduplicated roots of the form فعفع are common, sometimes فعفل is also seen | دحرج 'roll (something)'; ترجم 'translate, interpret'; هندس 'sketch, make a plan'; بيطر 'practice veterinary surgery' (< 'veter(inary)'); زلزل 'shake (something), frighten'; وسوس 'whisper'; غرغر 'gargle' |
| IIq | تَفَعْلَقَ | يُتَفَعْلِقُ | تَفَعْلِقْ | تُفُعْلِقَ | يُتَفَعْلَق | مُتَفَعْلِق | مُتَفَعْلَق | تَفَعْلُق | reflexive of Form Iq; frequentative intransitive denominative; similar to Form V | تدحرج 'roll' (intrans.)'; تزلزل 'shake (intrans.), tremble'; تفلسف 'philosophize' (< فيلسوفـ 'philosopher'); تمذهب 'follow a sect' (< مذهبـ 'sect' < ذهب 'go'); تقهقر 'be driven back' |
| IIIq | اِفْعَنْلَقَ | يَفْعَنْلِقُ | اِفْعَنْلِقْ | اُفْعُنْلِقَ | يُفْعَنْلَقُ | مُفْعَنْلِق | مُفْعَنْلَق | اِفْعِنْلَاق | rare | اخرنطم 'be proud' (cf. الخرطوم 'Khartoum') |
| IVq | اِفْعَلَقَّ | يَفْعَلِقُّ | اِفْعَلْقِقْ | اُفْعُلِقَّ | يُفْعَلَقُّ | مُفْعَلِقّ | مُفْعَلَقّ | اِفْعِلْقَاق | usually intransitive; somewhat rare | اطمأنّ 'be tranquil, calm'; اضمحلّ 'fade away, dwindle'; اقشعرّ 'shudder with horror' |
Note that the present passive of forms I and IV are the same. Otherwise there is no confusion.
Sound verbs are those verbs with no associated irregularities in their constructions. Verbs with irregularities are known as weak verbs; generally, this occurs either with (1) verbs based on roots where one or more of the consonants (or radicals) is (, و), (, ي) or the glottal stop (hamzah, ﺀ); or (2) verbs where the second and third root consonants are the same.
Some verbs that would be classified as "weak" according to the consonants of the verb root are nevertheless conjugated as a strong verb. This happens, for example:
Form VIII has a ـتـ -t- that is infixed into the root, directly after the first root consonant. This ـتـ -t- assimilates to certain coronal consonants occurring as the first root consonant. In particular, with roots whose first consonant is د، ز، ث، ذ، ص، ط، ض، ظ d z th dh ṣ ṭ ḍ ẓ, the combination of root and infix ت t appears as دّ، زد، ثّ، ذّ، صط، طّ، ضط، ظّ dd zd thth dhdh ṣṭ ṭṭ ḍṭ ẓẓ. That is, the t assimilates the emphasis of the emphatic consonants ص، ط، ض، ظ ṣ ṭ ḍ ẓ and the voicing of د، ز d z, and assimilates entirely to the interdental consonants ث، ذ، ظ th dh ẓ. The consonant cluster ضط ḍṭ, as in اضطرّ 'compel, force', is unexpected given modern pronunciation, having a voiced stop next to a voiceless one; this reflects the fact that ط was formerly pronounced voiced, and ض was pronounced as the emphatic equivalent not of د but of an unusual lateral sound. (ض was possibly an emphatic voiced alveolar lateral fricative pronounced as //ɮˤ// or a similar affricated sound pronounced as //dɮˤ// or pronounced as //dˡˤ//; see the article on the letter ض ḍād.)
Other than for Form I active, there is only one possible form for each verb, regardless of whether the third root consonant is و or ي . All of the derived third-weak verbs have the same active-voice endings as (فعى (يفعي verbs except for Forms V and VI, which have past-tense endings like (فعى (يفعي verbs but non-past endings like (فعي (يفعى verbs. The passive-voice endings of all third-weak verbs (whether Form I or derived) are the same as for the (فعي (يفعى verbs. The verbal nouns have various irregularities: feminine in Form II, -in declension in Form V and VI, glottal stop in place of root w/y in Forms VII–X.
The active and passive participles of derived defective verbs consistently are of the -in and -an declensions, respectively.
Defective Form IX verbs are extremely rare. Heywood and Nahmad list one such verb, 'be/become blind', which does not follow the expected form اعميّ .[2] They also list a similarly rare Form XI verb اعمايّ 'be/become blind' — this time with the expected form.
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | فَعَى | يَفْعِي | اِفْعِ | فُعِيَ | يُفْعَى | فَاعٍ | مَفْعِيّ | فَعْي faʿy, فَعْو faʿw, فَعًى faʿan, فِعًى fiʿan, فَعَاء faʿāʾ, فَاعِية fāʿiyah, فِعَاية fiʿāyah, فَعَاوة faʿāwah, مَفْعَاة mafʿāh, مَفْعِية mafʿiyah, فُعْية fuʿyah, فُعْوة fuʿwah, فُعُوْ fuʿuww, فُعْوَان fuʿwān, etc. |
| فَعَا | يَفْعُو | اُفْعُ | مَفْعُوّ | |||||
| فَعِيَ | يَفْعَى | اِفْعَ | مَفْعِيّ | |||||
| II | فَعَّى | يُفَعِّي | فَعِّ | فُعِّيَ | يُفَعّى | مُفَعٍّ | مُفَعًّى | تَفْعِية |
| III | فَاعَى | يُفَاعِي | فَاعِ | فوعِيَ | يُفَاعَى | مُفَاعٍ | مُفَاعًى | مُفَاعَاة mufāʿāh, فِعَاء fiʿāʾ |
| IV | أَفْعَى | يُفْعِي | أَفْعِ | أُفْعِيَ | يُفْعَى | مُفْعٍ | مُفْعًى | إفْعَاء |
| V | تَفَعَّى | يَتَفَعَّى | تَفَعَّ | تُفُعِّيَ | يُتَفَعَّى | مُتَفَعٍّ | مُتَفَعًّى | تَفَعٍّ |
| VI | تَفاعَى | يَتَفاعَى | تَفاعَ | تُفوعِيَ | يُتَفاعَى | مُتَفَاعٍ | مُتَفاعًى | تَفَاعٍ |
| VII | اِنْفَعَى | يَنْفَعِي | اِنْفَعِ | (اُنْفُعِ) | (يُنْفَعَى) | مُنْفَعٍ | مُنْفَعًى | اِنْفِعَاء |
| VIII | اِفْتَعَى | يَفْتَعِي | اِفْتَعِ | اُفْتُعِيَ | يُفْتَعَى | مُفْتَعٍ | مُفْتَعًى | اِفْتِعَاء |
| IX | (اِفْعايَ (اِفْعَيَيْت | (يَفْعَايُ (يَفْعَيْنَ | اِفْعَيْ | — | — | مُفْعَاي | — | اِفْعِيَاء |
| X | اِسْتَفْعَى | يَسْتَفْعِي | اِسْتَفْعِ | اُسْتُفْعِيَ | يُسْتَفْعَى | مُسْتَفْعٍ | مُسْتَفْعًى | اِسْتِفْعَاء |
Only the forms with irregularities are shown. The missing forms are entirely regular, with w or y appearing as the second radical, depending on the root. There are unexpected feminine forms of the verbal nouns of Form IV, X.
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | (فَالَ (فِلْت | يَفِيلُ | فِلْ | فِيلَ | يُفَالُ | فَائِل | مَفِيل | usually فَوْل , فَيْل ; also فُول , فَوَال , (فِيَال(ة , فِوَال , فُوَال , (مَفَال(ة , مَفِيل etc. |
| (فَالَ (فُلْت | يَفُولُ | فُلْ | مَفُول | |||||
| (فَالَ (فِلْت | يَفَالُ | فَلْ | مَفُول | |||||
| (فَالَ (فُلْت | مَفُول | |||||||
| IV | (أَفَالَ (أَفَلْت | يُفِيلُ | أَفِلْ | أُفِيلَ | مُفِيل | مُفَال | إفَالة | |
| VII | (اِنْفَالَ (اِنْفَلْت | يَنْفَالُ | اِنْفَلْ | n/a | مُنْفَال | اِنْفِيَال | ||
| VIII | (اِفْتَالَ (اِفْتَلْت | يَفْتَالُ | اِفْتَلْ | اُفْتيلَ | يُفْتَالُ | مُفْتَال | اِفْتِيَال | |
| X | اِسْتَفَالَ | يَسْتَفْيلُ | اِسْتَفِلْ | اُسْتُفِيلَ | يُسْتَفَالُ | مُسْتَفِيل | مُسْتَفَال | اِسْتِفَالة |
When the first radical is w, it drops out in the Form I non-past. Most of the derived forms are regular, except that the sequences uw iw are assimilated to ū ī, and the sequence wt in Form VIII is assimilated to tt throughout the paradigm. The following table only shows forms with irregularities in them.
The initial w also drops out in the common Form I verbal noun علة (e.g. صلة 'arrival, link' from وصلة 'arrive').Root: و-ع-ل
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | وَعَلَ | يَعُلُ | عُلْ | وُعِلَ | يُوعَلُ | واعِل(ة) | مَوْعُود(ة) | وَعْل، وُعُول، عِلة etc. |
| يَعِلُ | عِلْ | |||||||
| يَعَلُ | عَلْ | |||||||
| وَعِلَ | ||||||||
| يعِلُ | عِلْ | |||||||
| وَعُلَ | يَعُلُ | عُلْ | ||||||
| IV | أَوْعَلَ | يُوعِلُ | أَوْعِلْ | أُوعِلَ | يُوعَلُ | مُوعِل(ة) | مُوعَل(ة) | إيعال(ة) |
| VIII | إتَّعَلَ | يَتَّعِلُ | إتَّعَلْ | أُتُّعِلَ | يُتَّعَلُ | مُتَّعِل(ة) | مُتَّعَل(ة) | إتِّعال(ة) |
| X | اِسْتَوْعَلَ | يَسْتَوْعِلُ | اِسْتَوْعِلْ | اُسْتُوعِلَ | يُسْتَوْعَلُ | مُسْتَوْعِل(ة) | مُسْتَوْعَل(ة) | اِسْتِيعال(ة) |
When the first radical is y, the forms are largely regular. The following table only shows forms that have some irregularities in them, indicated in boldface.Root: ي-ع-ل
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | يَعَلَ | يَيْعُلُ | أُعُولْ | يُعِلَ | يُوعَلُ | ياعِل(ة) | مَيْعُود(ة) | يَعْل(ة) etc. |
| يَيْعِلُ | إيعِلْ | |||||||
| وَعَلَ | يَيْعَلُ | إيعَلْ | ||||||
| وَعِلَ | ||||||||
| يَيْعِلُ | إيعِلْ | |||||||
| وَعُلَ | يَيْعُلَ | أُوعُولْ | ||||||
| IV | أَيْعَلَ | يُعِلُ | أَيْعِلْ | أُوعُولْ | أُوعُولْ | مُوعَل(ة) | مُوعَل(ة) | إيعال(ة) |
| VIII | إتَّعَلَ | يَتَّعِلُ | إتَّعَلْ | أُتُّعِلَ | يُتَّعَلُ | مُتَّعِل(ة) | مُتَّعَل(ة) | إتِّعال(ة) |
| X | اِسْتَيْعَلَ | يَسْتَيْعِلُ | اِسْتَيْعَلْ | اُسْْتُوعِلَ | يُسْتَيْعَلُ | مُسْْتَيْعِل(ة) | مُسْْتَيْعَل(ة) | اِسْتِيعال(ة) |
Root: ف-ل-ل
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | فَلَّ (فَلَلْتُ) | يَفُلُّ | فُلَّ، فُلِّ، اُفْلُلْ | فُلَّ | يُفَلُّ | فالّ(ة) | مَفْلُول(ة) | فَلّ(ة) etc. |
| يَفِلُّ | فِلَّ، فِلِّ، اِفْلِلْ | |||||||
| يَفَلُّ | فَلَّ، فَلِّ، اِفْلَلْ | |||||||
| فَلَّ (فَلِلْتُ) | يَفَلُّ | |||||||
| III | فالَّ | يُفَلُّ | فالَّ، فالِّ، فالِلْ | فُولَّ | يُفالُّ | مُفالّ(ة) | مُفالَّت(ة)، فِلال(ة) | |
| IV | أَفَلَّ | يُفِلُّ | أَفِلَّ، أَفِلِّ، أَفْلِلْ | أُفِلَّ | يُفَلُّ | مُفِلّ(ة) | مُفَلّ(ة) | إفْلال(ة) |
| VI | تَفالَّ | يَتَفالُّ | تَفالَلْ | تُفُولَّ | يُتَفالُّ | مُتَفالّ(ة) | تَفالّ(ة) | |
| VII | اِنْفَلَّ | يَنْفَلُّ | اِنْفَلَّ، اِنْفَلِّ، اِنْفَلِلْ | n/a | مُنْفَلّ(ة) | اِنْفِلال(ة) | ||
| VIII | اِفْتَلَّ | يَفْتَلُّ | اِفْتَلَّ، اِفْتَلِّ، اِفْتَلِلْ | اُفْتُلَّ | تُفْتَلُّ | مُفْتَلّ(ة) | اِفْتِلال(ة) | |
| X | اِسْتَفَلَّ | يَسْتَفِلُّ | اِسْتَفِلَّ، اِسْتَفِلِّ، اِسْتَفْلِلْ | اُسْتُفِلَّ | يُسْتَفَلُّ | مُسْتَفِلّ(ة) | مُسْتَفَلّ(ة) | اِسْتِفْلال(ة) |
The largest problem with so-called "hamzated" verbs (those with a glottal stop ʾ or "hamzah" as any of the root consonants) is the complicated way of writing such verbs in the Arabic script (see the article on hamzah for the rules regarding this). In pronunciation, these verbs are in fact almost entirely regular.
The only irregularity occurs in verbs with a hamzah ء as the first radical. A phonological rule in Classical Arabic disallows the occurrence of two hamzahs in a row separated by a short vowel, assimilating the second to the preceding vowel (hence ʾaʾ ʾiʾ ʾuʾ become ʾā ʾī ʾū). This affects the following forms:
In addition, any place where a (elidable hamzah) occurs will optionally undergo this transformation. This affects the following forms:
There are the following irregularities:
| Verbs | Derived nouns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Imperative (2nd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | ||||
| I | أَعَلَ (root: ء-ع-ل) | يأْعُلُ (آعُلُ) | أؤْعُلْ، أُوعُلْ | أؤْعُلْ، أُوعُلْ | يؤْعَلُ (أُوعَلُ) | آعِلْ | مأْعُول(ة) | أَعْل(ة) etc. |
| etc. | ||||||||
| IV | آعَلَ | يؤْعِلُ (أُوعِلُ) | آعِلْ | أُوعِلْ | يؤْعَلُ (أُوعَلُ) | مؤْعِل(ة) | مؤْعَل(ة) | إيعال(ة) |
| VIII | ائْتَعَلَ، إيتَعَلَ | يأْتَعِلُ (آتَعِلُ) | ائْتَعَلْ، إيتَعَلْ | اؤْتُعِلَ، أُوتُعِلَ | يؤْتَعَلَ (أُوتَعَلَ) | مؤْتَعِل(ة) | مؤْتَعَل(ة) | ائْتِعال(ة)، إيتِعال(ة) |
Doubly weak verbs have two "weak" radicals; a few verbs are also triply weak. Generally, the above rules for weak verbs apply in combination, as long as they do not conflict. The following are cases where two types of weaknesses apply in combination:
The following are examples where weaknesses would conflict, and hence one of the "weak" radicals is treated as strong:
The following are cases with special irregularities:
The vowels for the various forms are summarized in this table:
| Active voice | Passive voice | Active participle | Passive participle | Verbal noun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | Past (3rd) | Present (3rd) | |||||
| Before first root consonant (if vowel is present) | a in Forms IV–VI. In Forms VII–XII one has i when the hamzah is not elided. | a except in Forms II–IV, where it is u. | u | u, and a after the t of Forms V and VI | u | u except in Form I, where it is a. | a in Forms II, V, and VI. In Forms VII–XII one has i when the hamzah is not elided. | |
| Just before 2nd root consonant | a, ā, or none | a, ā, or none | u, ū, or none | a, ā, or none | a, ā, or none | a, ā, or none | i, a, ā, or none | |
| Just before third root consonant | a | Form I a, i, or u. a in Forms V, VI, and IX, i in others. | i | a | i except in Form IX, where it is a. | a except in Form I, where it is ū. | ī in Form II, u in Forms V and VI, ā elsewhere | |
| After final root consonant, 3rd person indicative | a | u | a | u | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
The Classical Arabic system of verbs is largely unchanged in the colloquial spoken varieties of Arabic. The same derivational system of augmentations exists, including triliteral Forms I through X and quadriliteral Forms I and II, constructed largely in the same fashion (the rare triliteral Forms XI through XV and quadriliteral Forms III and IV have vanished). The same system of weaknesses (strong, defective/third-weak, hollow/second-weak, assimilated/first-weak, doubled) also exists, again constructed largely in the same fashion. Within a given verb, two stems (past and non-past) still exist along with the same two systems of affixes (suffixing past-tense forms and prefixing/suffixing non-past forms).
The largest changes are within a given paradigm, with a significant reduction in the number of forms. The following is an example of a regular verb paradigm in Egyptian Arabic.
| Singular | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | كتبت | أكتب | بكتب | حكتب | style=background:silver | ||
| 2nd | كتبت | تكتب | بتكتب | حتكتب | اكتب | ||
| كتبت | تكتبي | بتكتبي | حتكتبي | اكتبي | |||
| 3rd | كتب | يكتب | بيكتب | حيكتب | |||
| كتبت | تكتب | بتكتب | حتكتب | ||||
| Plural | |||||||
| 1st | كتبنا | نكتب | بنكتب | حنكتب | style=background:silver | ||
| 2nd | كتبتوا | تكتبوا | بتكتبوا | حتكتبوا | اكتبوا | ||
| 3rd | كتبوا | يكتبوا | بيكتبوا | حيكتبوا | style=background:silver | ||
| Singular | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | كتبت | نكتب | كنكتب | غنكتب | style=background:silver | ||
| 2nd | كتبت | تكتب | كتكتب | غتكتب | كتب | ||
| كتبتي | تكتبي | كتكتبي | غتكتبي | كتبي | |||
| 3rd | كتب | يكتب | كيكتب | غيكتب | |||
| كتبت | تكتب | كتكتب | غتكتب | ||||
| Plural | |||||||
| 1st | كتبنا | نكتبوا | كنكتبوا | غنكتبوا | style=background:silver | ||
| 2nd | كتبتيوا | تكتبوا | كتكتبوا | غتكتبوا | كتبوا | ||
| 3rd | كتبوا | يكتبوا | كيكتبوا | غيكتبوا | style=background:silver | ||
This paradigm shows clearly the reduction in the number of forms:
In addition, Form IV is lost entirely in most varieties, except for a few "classicizing" verbs (i.e. verbs borrowed from Modern Standard Arabic).
See varieties of Arabic for more information on grammar differences in the spoken varieties.
See main article: Negation in Arabic. The negation of Arabic verbs varies according to the tense of the verb phrase. In literary Modern Standard Arabic, present-tense verbs are negated by adding Arabic: لا "not" before the verb, past-tense verbs are negated by adding the negative particle Arabic: لَمْ "not" before the verb, and putting the verb in the jussive mood; and future-tense expressions are negated by placing the negative particle Arabic: لَنْ before the verb in the subjunctive mood.[3]