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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 (الماض المعلوم ُ
الفعل )
ي
The first thing a student needs to know that the basic pattern of simple Arabic past tense used in
majority of grammar books is
َ َف َعلwhich 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:
1 The first letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called فletter
َ
and this will always have a Fatha on it like ف
2 The second letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called ع
َ ُ
letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عor عor ع
3 The last letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called لletter
and this will always have a Fatha on it like َل
4 The simple past tense is ( َم ْب ينfixed) 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 3rd person, 2nd person and 1st 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.
All forms of simple past tense are demonstrated as follows:
At this point we need to point out a few observations in the table above:
ْ َ َ
1 The تin the verb conjugation form ف َع َل ْتis a suffix but not a subject. The subject is
implied just like it is in the base form of فعل
َ َ
2The 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.
Drill:
Do not move beyond this lesson unless and until you can recite the pattern at least 3 times in a
minute!
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:
1 He went ذهب
َ َ َ
َ َ َ
2 He left خرج
3 He returned رجع
َ َ َ
َ َ َ
4 He helped نص
َ
5 He heard سمع
َ
6 He understood فهم
َ َ
َ َ
7 He memorised حفظ
َ
8 He rode ركب
َ
َ َ
9 He worked عمل
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?
َ َ َ َ َ
1 Add a ماin front of the past tense e.g. ما فعلand 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:
1 If you are using an either or statement and two past tense then you do have the option of
َ
لin front of the
using past tense but it should be used in front of both of the past tenses e.g.
ُ ْ ََ َ َ ُ ْ َ َ َ
ما أ كلت و ما شبتand it becomes I neither eat nor drank.
Lesson 3: Introduction to Passive Past Tense (الماض المجهول ُ
الفعل )
ي
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.
1 The last letter of the verb or in case of three letter past tense commonly referred to and
called لletter will have no change and this will always have a Fatha on it like َل
2 The letter immediately preceding the last letter which in case of three letter past tense is
commonly referred to and called عletter and this will always have a Kasrah on it like ع
3 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 ف
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?
ُ
1 Add a َماin front of the past tense e.g. َما فع َلand 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 ()السم الفاعل
The active participle (الفاعل )السمrefers to a person whoَ does the action described by the
َ َ
base letters. For example, the basic past tense letters of فعلmake the active participle of
َ
فاعلso just an اis added.
There are three good things about this pattern which you need to remember:
1It 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.
2 It is the same pattern used for 3rd person or 2nd person or 1st person just singular, dual,
plural and gender matters.
Plural Dual
َ ُ َ َ َ Singularَ Masculine
فاعل فاعلن فاعلون
َ َ ََ َ َ َ Feminine
فاعلة فاعلتان فاعلت
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
َ َ
َسجدwhich 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 عبدwhich 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
َ َ
َسجدwhich 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 عبدwhich means “He worshipped” what would you name the baby girl?
Lesson 6: Passive Participle ( )السم المفعول
The passive participle (الفاعل )السمrefers to a person or thing upon which the action َ
َ َ
described by the base letters is enacted. For example, the basic past tense letters of فعلmake
ْ ُ َ
the passive participle of مفعول. Please keep in mind that this rule only applies to transitive
ِّ َ َ ُ ُ ْ ُ َ
( )الفعل المتعديverbs i.e. verbs which require an object ()مــ ـف ـعـــ ــول بـــــه. In addition also
remember:
1It 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.
2 It is the same pattern used for 3rd person or 2nd person or 1st person just singular, dual,
plural and gender matters.
Drill:
Drill:
Allah (SWT) has blessed you with a baby boy and you and your wife came across an Arabic
verb ص َ َ َنwhich 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 شك َرwhich means “He Thanked” what would you name the baby boy?
ْن
Lesson 7: Superlative Noun ( )السم التفض ْيل
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 ف َع َلmake the superlative degree of أف َع ُلso
just an اis added. There are a few things which you need to remember:
1 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).
3 The plural forms of both masculine and feminine forms have a sound and a broken plural
pattern.
4 The comparative noun is the same but in Arabic you simply add أفعل منafter the noun i.e.
ْ ُ َ َْ
ْ
while without the منit is superlative degree (or noun)
Plural Plural
Dual Singular
(Broken) (Sound)
َُأ َفاعل َ َُ َْ
أفعلون أفعلن
ََ َْ َُأ ْف َعل Masculine
(Marfoo)
ََأ َفاعل ََأ ْف َعلت أفعلت َ َْ ََأ ْف َعل Masculine
(Mansoob)
ََأ َفاعل ََأ ْف َعلت أفعلت َ َْ ََأ ْف َعل Masculine
(Majroor)
َ ُ َ َْ ُ َ َْ ُ َْ ُ
ف عل فعليات فعليان فعل Feminine (Marfoo)
ُ َ ا َ َْ ُ ْ َ َْ ُ َْ ُ Feminine
ف عل فعليات فعليت فعل (Mansoob)
َ ُ َ َْ ُ ْ َ َْ ُ َْ ُ
ف عل فعليات فعليت فعل Feminine (Majroor)
Drill:
Make superlative noun of all the examples which you have learnt.
ُ
Lesson 8: Introduction to Active Present Tense (الفعل 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 يفعلwhich 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:
2 The second letter of the four letter present tense is called فletter and this will always
ْ
have a Sukoon on it like ف
3 The third letter of the four letter present tense is called عletter and but this middle letter
َ ُ
can carry all three vowels so it can be عor عor ع
4 The last letter of the four letter present tense is called لletter and this will always have a
Damma on it like ُل.The position of Damma on the last letter makes the verb "Marfoo"
َْ
3rd Person
(M)
He does N/A (Subject
optional)
فعل َي يف َع ُل
َ َْ
They (Dual)
Do
ان فعل َي يف َعلن
َ َُ َْ
They ْون فعل َي يفعلون
(Plural) Do
َ َْ
3rd Person
(F)
She does N/A (Subject
optional)
فعل ت تف َع ُل
They (Dual) َ َ َ َْ
Do
ان فعل ت تفعلن
َ َ ْ َْ
They
(Plural) Do
ن فعل َي يف َعلن
َ َْ
2nd Person
(M)
You Do فعل ت تف َع ُل
َ َ َْ
You (Dual)
Do
ان فعل ت تف َعلن
َ َ ُ َْ
You (Plural)
Do
ْون فعل ت تف َعلون
2nd Person You Do فعل ت
َ
تَ َت ْف َعل
(F)
َ َ َْ
You (Dual)
Do
ان فعل ت تف َعلن
َ َ َ ْ َْ
You (Plural)
Do
ن فعل ت تف َعلن
َ َُأ ْف َعل
1st Person I Do N/A (Subject فعل أ
always
assumed)
َ َْ
We Do N/A (Subject
always
فعل ن نف َع ُل
assumed)
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:
1 Change the vowel on the last which is the لletter and from Damma to Fatha like َل and
this makes the verb "Mansoob"
2 Change the vowel on the last which is the لletter and from Damma to Sukoon like ْلand
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.
َ ََ
1 He wrote كتب
َ َ َ
2 He entered دخل
َ َ َ
3 He sought طلب
َ ََ
4 He killed قتل
َ ََ
5 He studies درس
These two are the only Mutaharrik forms of present tense and rest of the conjugations are all
Saakin.
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.
َ ََ
1 He wrote كتب
َ َ َ
2 He entered دخل
َ َ َ
3 He sought طلب
َ ََ
4 He killed قتل
َ ََ
5 He studies درس
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.
َ ََ
1 He wrote كتب
َ َ َ
2 He entered دخل
َ َ َ
3 He sought طلب
َ ََ
4 He killed قتل
َ ََ
5 He studies درس
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 called عletter
َ ُ
and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عor عor ع.The third letter of
the four letter present tense is called عletter and but this middle letter can carry all three
َ ُ
vowels so it can be عor عor ع
Therefore when all possible combinations from past tense to present tense are settled we end
up six basic groups as follows:
ُ ُ َْ َ َ َ ُ
/
1 ( باب نص ينص )A-U Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted to ع
in the present tense.
ُ ْ َ َ َ َ َ
2 ( يصب/ ضب باب )A-I Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted
to عin the present tense.
ُ َ ْ َ/ َ َ َ َ
3 ( ) باب فتح يفتحA-A Group: In this group the عin the past tense remains as the same as
َ
عin the present tense.
ُ ُْ َ ََُ ُ
4 ( يكرم/ ) باب كرمU-U Group: In this group the عin the past tense remains as the same
ُ
as عin the present tense.
ُ َ ْ َ َ َ ُ َ
5 ( يسمع/ ) باب سمعI-A Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted to ع
in the present tense.
ُ ْ َ َ باب َحس
6 ( يحسب/ ب )I-I Group: In this group the عin the past tense remains as the
same as عin 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 عor عor ع
Lesson 10: Negative present tense?
َ َْ َ
1 Add a لin front of the present tense e.g. ل يف َع ُلand it becomes "He is not doing", this
َ
type of لwhere the verb remains in its Marfoo form is called ل النافية
َ َْ َ
2 Add a لin front of the present tense e.g. ل يف َع ْلand it becomes "He shouldn't do!", this
َ
type of لwhere the verb coverts to Majzoom form is called ل الناهيةand this is the
prohibitive Laa
َ ُ َ َْ َ
3 Add a ماin front of the present tense e.g. ما يفعلrestricts the negation to this present
moment i.e. this will mean "He is not doing, right now!"
َ َ
4 Add a ل ْمin front of the present tense (where the verb coverts to Majzoom )e.g. َ ل ْم
ْ َي ْف َعلand it negates to the past and it becomes "He did not do!", this is simailar to َما ف َع َل
and can be used interchangebly.
ْ َ َْ ْ َ
5 Add a لنin front of the present tense (where the verb coverts to Mansoob) e.g. لن يف َع َل
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 لmentioned 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 لmentioned in rule 1.
Lesson 11: Active Present Tense Mansoob?
َ ْ َ ْ َ
Unlike the past tense which is fixed (بن
)م يthe present tense changes patterns and when لن, أن,
َْ ْ َ
يك, or إذنare inserted before the present tense it becomes Mansoob. Remember that you
learned 3 groups:
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 لنmentioned 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 لنmentioned 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 (بن ي )مthe present tense changes patterns and when ل ْم, إن,
َ
َ إ, or ل نماare inserted before the present tense it becomes Mansoob. Remember that you
ذما
learned 3 groups:
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 ل ْمmentioned 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 ل ْمmentioned 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 ( الفعل المضارع
)المجهول
2 The second letter of the four letter present tense is called فletter and this will always
ْ
have a Sukoon on it like ف
3 The third letter of the four letter present tense is called عletter and but this middle letter
َ
will always a Fatha can be ع
5 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:
َ ُ َ ْ
2 Drop the first letter which is تand add an اso your verb now looks like this افعلthe
problem which you now have is which vowel to put on this اwhich you have just added? Is
َ ُ
it اor اor ?ا
ُ ُ
3 You look at the عletter and if its عthen you add اotherwise it is always اyou can
َ
NEVER have ا
ْ
2nd Person
(M)
You Do فعل ا اف َع ْل
ْ
You (Dual) اف َعل
Do
ا فعل ا
ْ
You (Plural) اف َعلو
Do
و فعل ا
ْ
2nd Person You Do اف َع يل
(F)
ي فعل ا
ْ
You (Dual) اف َعل
Do
ا فعل ا
You (Plural) َ َ ْ ْ
اف َعلن
Do
ن فعل ا
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.
1 The first letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called فletter
َ
and this will always have a Fatha on it like ف
2 The second letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called ع
َ ُ
letter and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عor عor ع
3 The last letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called لletter
and this will always have a Fatha on it like
َ ْ
In a weak verb any of these letters are either يor وthus they are called or ال ُم ْعتلweak
verbs. The rules of where this يor وappears in the verb i.e. beginning, middle or end are
different and are discussed here.
َ ْ َْ َ ْ
Al-Mithaal OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Fa (او المثال )ال ُم ْعتل الف ُاء:
1 The first letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and called
فletter is يor و
ُ ْ َ َ َ َ َ
1 ( يصب/ ضب باب )A-I Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted
to عin the present tense.
ُ ََْ َ ََ َ
2 ( يفتح/ ) باب فتحA-A Group: In this group the ع in the past tense remains as the
َ
same as عin the present tense.
When converting from past tense to present tense the weak letter وi.e. is simply dropped, see
examples below:
ُ َ َ َ
يجد- ( َوجدHe found)
ُ َ َ َ
يزن- ( َوزنHe weighed)
ُ َ َ َ
يعد- ( َوعدHe promised)
ُ ََ َ َ
يلج- ( َولجHe entered)
َ َ َ
يض ُع- ( َوض َعHe placed)
َ ( َو َهHe granted)
ُ َي َه- ب
ب
Lets recall the rules of normal conversion from present tense to Amr as follows:
1 Change the vowel on the last letter which is the لletter and from Damma to Sukoon
like
ْ لand this makes the verb "Majzoom" so َت ْف َع ُلbecomes َت ْف َع ْل
َ ْ
تand add an اso your verb now looks like this اف َع ُلthe
2 Drop the first letter which is
problem which you now have is which vowel to put on this اwhich you have just added? Is
َ ُ
it اor اor ?ا
ُ ُ
3 You look at the عletter and if its عthen you add اotherwise it is always اyou can
َ
NEVER have ا
When converting these versb where the first letter in the past tense was something interesting
happens as follows:
ُ َ َ
تجدwhich is تis dropped and Sukoon is placed on
1 The first letter is of the verb form
ْ
the last letter so the word becomes جد
2There is no reason to add اbecause the first letter doesn't have a Sukoon and it is
ْ
pronouncable so the Amr is simply جد
The active participle (الفاعل )السمrefers to a person whoَ does the action described by the
َ َ
base letters. For example, the basic past tense letters of فعلmake the active participle of
َ
فاعلso just an اis added.
The passive participle (الفاعل )السمrefers to a person or thing upon which the action َ
َ َ
described by the base letters is enacted. For example, the basic past tense letters of فعلmake
ْ ُ َ
the passive participle of مفعول.
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.
ْ َ َْ ْ َ ْ
Al-Ajwaf OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Ain (او اْلجوف )ال ُم ْعتل ال َعت:
1 The second letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and
called عletter is يor 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:
َ َْْ
قالن
َ َْ
َزا ْ ْرن
َ ْ
ذاقن
ْ
The only solution is to drop the weak letter illustrated in these by اand place some kind of a
vowel on the next letter to pronounce it!
ُ ُ َْ َ َ َ
/
1 ( ) باب نص ينصA-U Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted to
ُ
عin the present tense. In this group the Mutahhirk verb takes a Damma (to be explained
below)
ُ ْ َ َ َ َ َ
2 ( يصب/ ضب باب )A-I Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted
to عin the present tense. In this group the Mutahhirk verb takes a Kasra (to be explained
below)
ُ َ ْ َ ) باب َسم َعI-A Group: In this group the ُعin the past tense gets converted
5 ( يسمع/
َ
to عin 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 اand 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.
َُ َ َ
(قال يقولHe said)
ُ( َقام َي ُقومHe stood)
ُ َُ َ َ
(ذاق يذوقHe tasted)
َ َ َ
(باع يبي ُعHe sold)
َ
( َسا َر يس ُبHe walked)
شُ ش َيعي َ ( َعاHe 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:
َ ََ َ
(نا َم ينا ُم نومHe said)
َ ُ َ َ َ َ
(خاف يخاف خوفHe 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:
1 If the weak letter is وthen 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.
2If the weak letter is يthen 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 هنpart the rest is smooth sailing!
The two Mutaharrik present tense conjugations in this case (above) will be:
َ َُْ
يقلن
َ َُْ
تقلن
َ ْ َ َ
يخفن
َ ْ َ َ
تخفن
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.
Recall the five (5) easy one and the prefixes which they have:
ْ َ َْ َ ْ َْ ُ ْ
When the five easy ones of the Al-Ajwaf OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Ain ( )المعتل العت او اْلجوفgets
َْ
a Lam ( )لمor 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.
َُ َ
ل ْم يق ْل
َُ َ
ل ْم َتق ْل
ُ َ
ل ْم َت ُق ْل
َ
ل ْم َأق ْل
ُ َ
ل ْم نق ْل
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:
َُ ْ ُ
1 In the first instance تقولbecomes قولthen the weak letter وof also gets dropped and
ْ ُ
it simply becomes قلBUT this only happens in the first conversion, in the rest the becomes
visible and remember that there is no وin the last conjugation anyways to example is:
ُْقل
َ ُ
قول
ُ ُ
قولو
ُ
قو يل
َ ُ
قول
َ ُْ
قلن
Active Participle ()السم الفاعل
The active participle (الفاعل )السمrefers to a person whoَ does the action described by the
َ َ
base letters. For example, the basic past tense letters of فعلmake the active participle of
َ
فائلso just anءis added.
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.
ُ َ ن ن َْ ُْ
An-Naaqis OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Laam ()المعتل اللم او الناقص:
1 The third letter is of the three letter past tense which is commonly referred to and called
لletter is يor و
There are certain instances pronunciation of a weak letter becomes difficult so certain vowels
are substituted:
ْ REPLACED WITH ُْ
لؤ لؤ
ُْ ُ
ل ُْ
ل
Three (3) groups of Past-Present tense conversion for An-Naaqis OR Al-Mu'tall Al-Laam
ُ َ ن
(او الناقص
ن َ ْ
)ال ُم ْعتل اللم:
The second letter is of the three letter past tense is commonly referred to and called عletter
َ ُ
and but this middle letter can carry all three vowels so it can be عor عor ع.The third letter of
the four letter present tense is called عletter and but this middle letter can carry all three
َ ُ
vowels so it can be عor عor ع
Therefore when all possible combinations from past tense to present tense are settled we end
up six basic groups as follows:
ُ َْ
ُ ين/ نص
1(ص
َ َ باب َ
)A-U Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted to
ُ
ع
َ َ
in the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example of دعا
ُ ْ َ َ َ َ َ
2 ( يصب/ ضب باب )A-I Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted
to عin the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example ofَر َم
ُ َ ْ َ َ َ ُ َ
3 ( يسمع/ ) باب سمعI-A Group: In this group the عin the past tense gets converted to ع
َ َر
in the present tense. To demonstrate this we will use the example of ض
Meaning
دﹶعﹷا ٰرﹶمﻰ 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
دﹶعﹷوﹾتﹹنن رﹶمﹷيتﹹنن رﹶضﹻيﹿتﹹنن
دﹶعﹷوﹾتﹸ رﹶمﹷيﹿتﹸ رﹶضﹻيﹿتﹸ
دﹶعﹷوﹾنﹷا رﹶمﹷيﹿنﹷا رﹶضﹻيﹿنﹷا
Rules for the first 2 conjugations are simplified as follows:
1 First conjugation: Recall that whenever a وor ﻯis preceded by a letter with a فﹷتﹿحة
on it the وor ﻯis changed to ;اthus, the first conjugation was actually دﹶعﹷوﹶwhich
changed into دﹶعﹷاdue to the simple change to alif rule. The same is true for ٰرﹶمﻰwhich
was initially رﹶمﹷﻰﹶ
2 Second conjugation: The verb actually displays all its letters (including weak letters). This
should actually be دﹶعﹷوﹶاrhyming with فﹷعﹷلﹶ. However, the simple change to alif
rule will cause it to become دﹶعﹷااwhich 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 تﹷعلﹻيلallowed here. Thus the final form remains دﹶعﹷوﹶا
3 Third conjugation: Rhyming with فﹷعﹷلﹹوﹾاthis should be دﹶعﹷوﹸوﹾا. The first و
changes to اdue to the simple change to alif rule, leaving us with دﹶعﹷاوﹾا. This form,
however, has two سﹷاكﹻنletters coming together in it therefore we drop the first ا
leaving us with دﹶعﹷوﹾا
5 Fifth Conjugation: This was originally دﹶعﹷوﹶتﹷاrhyming with فﹷعﹷلﹷتﹷا. The و
changed to اgiving us دﹶعﹷاتﹷا. It is important to note here that in this last form the تis
actually سﹷاكﹻنbut has to carry a فﹷتﹿحةbecause of the final اwhich is the pronoun of
duality. Thus the اin the middle will drop because of gathering of two سﹷاكﹻنletters
leaving us with دﹶعﹷتﹷا
Now lets discuss our 3rd conjugations with the rules simplified as follows:
1 First conjugation: It was actually رﹶضﹻوﹶbut changed its form due a rule which is called
the edge rule. It states that “any لمposition ( وi.e. occurring at the edge of a word)
preceded by a كﹷسﹿرﹶﺓwill change to “ﻯ. This rule deals with the concept of ‘ small
‘تﹷعلﹻيلwhereby one letter changes to another but the form of the verb is not disfigured:
رﹶضﹻﻰﹶstill rhymes with سﹷمﹻعﹶ.
(رﹶضﹻيﹹوﹾاrhyming with
2 Third conjugation: The 3rd conjugation was originally
)سﹷمﹻعﹹوﹾاwhich is hard for pronunciation since the ﻯis preceded by a ضﹷمﳲة.
Moreover, this ﻯhere is then followed by a وwhich makes it even harder on the tongue. In
this case, the ضﹷمﳲةmoved from ﻯto ﺽ, which lost it كﹷسﹿرﹶﺓ. The ﻯis then
dropped because it is left with a وwhich is سﹷاكﹻن. The وcannot be dropped since it is a
pronoun (denoting ‘they, group of males’).
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
1st 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).