A rabic V erb Forms and T heir Patterns Form
V erb Pattern FaMaLa FaMiLa FaMuLa
Pattern Summa ry
II
FaMMaLa
Double middle radical
III
FaaMaLa
Long vowel after the first radical
IV
’aFMaLa
Prefix ’a- in perfect tense
V
taFaMMaLa
Prefix ta- and double middle radical
VI
taFaaMaL
Prefix ta- and long vowel after first radical
VII
’inFaMaLa
Prefix -n-
VIII
’iFtaMaLa
Infix -t- after first radical
IX
’iFMaLL
Doubled last radical
X
’istaFMaLa
Prefix -st-
I
Memorize
Most words in Arabic are often derived from a three letter root consonant. Here we examine all the possible forms a verb can take in the Arabic language. The chart above lists the 10 most common forms you will encounter. It is important to note that not all verbs will have all the 10 forms listed above. The “F” indicated the first radical of the root verb. The “M” indicates the middle radical of the root and the “L” indicated the last radical of the tri-literal root verb. Each form represents a different meaning of a verb. The chart listed below gives some trends in the meanings of each form of a verb. Examples have been provided for illustration purposes.
A rabic V erb Forms and T heir M eanings Form I
E xample ( ﻗﺘﻞqatala): to kill ( ﻛﺘﺐkataba): to write ( ﺳﻠﻢsalima): to be safe
M eaning of V erb Memorize
II
( ﻗﺖّﻝqattala): to massacre ( ﻛﺖّﺏkattaba): to cause to write ( ﺱﻝّﻡsallama): to make safe
intensive, causative, declarative, or denominative of Form I
III
( ﻗﺎﺗﻞqātala): to try to kill ( ﻛﺎﺗﺐkātaba): to correspond with ( ﺳﺎﻟﻢsālama): to make peace with
indirect object of Form I is the direct object of Form III; conative and always transitive
IV
( ﺍﻛﺘﺐaktaba): to dictate ( ﺍﺧﻠﻒaxlafa): to leave / compensate ( ﺍﺳﻠﻢaslama): to submit
Causative
V
( ﺗﻔﺮّﻕtafarraqa): to scatter ( ﺗﺨﻞّﻑtaxallafa): to hold back from ( ﺗﺴﻞّﻡtasallama): to receive the surrender
reflexive or passive of Form II
VI
( ﺗﻘﺎﺗﻞtaqaatala): to fight with one another ( ﺗﻚﺍﺗﺐtakaataba): to write to each other ( ﺗﺴﺎﻟﻢtasaalama): to make peace together ( ﺗﻨﺎﻋﺲtanaa‘asa): to pretend to sleep
reciprocal or one of pretence
VII
( ﺍﻧﻜﺘﺐinkataba): to subscribe ( ﺍﻧﻜﺴﺮinkasara): to be broken
reflexive or passive
VIII
( ﺍﻗﺘﺘﻞiqtatala): to fight with one another ( ﺍﻛﺘﺘﺐiktataba): to write to each other ( ﺍﺳﺘﻠﻢistalama): to kiss the Black Stone
reflexive or sometimes passive
IX
ّ( ﺍﺣﻤﺮiHmarra): to turn red, to blush ّ( ﺍﺻﻔﺮiSfarra): to turn yellow, to pale ّ( ﺍﺑﻴﺾibyaDDa): to turn white ّ( ﺍﺯﺭﻕizraqqa): to turn blue
denote color or bodily defect
X
( ﺍﺳﺘﻘﺘﻞistaqtala): to risk one’s life ( ﺍﺳﺘﻜﺘﺐistaktaba): to ask someone to write ( ﺍﺳﺘﺴﻠﻢistaslama): to submit, to keep to the middle of the road
ask or think that the sense of Form I should be done