Sarf – Categories of Irregular Verbs – هفتِ أقسام

We have already seen how variations in verb patterns in the Arabic Language can take place due to 6 reasons, 3 of which deal with a difference in the number of base letters and the vowelling pattern of the verb. In this post I will give a listing of the other 3 reasons with an example of each, Insha Allah.

These 3 are related to irregularities i.e the presence of certain letters within the verb. Following is a list of these irregularities :

• The presence of a همزة
• The presence of a weak letter i.e. a واو or a ياء
• The last two base-letters being the same letter i.e. a doubled letter (حرف مشدد)

Based on the presence or absence of one of these reasons the scholars of Sarf have divided the Arabic verbs in 7 categories, or to give the Persian term for it, in هفتِ أقسام

Type name	Characteristic	Example
ﺻﺤﻴﺢ	No weak letters;no duplication of letters	ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ , ﻛﹷﺮﹸﻡﹶ
ﻣﻬﻤﹹﻮﺯ	ﺃ anywhere in the base verb	ﻗﺮﺃ , ﺳﺄﻝﹶ , ﺃﻛﹷﻞﹶ
ﻣﹻﺜﺎﻝ	واو or ياء at the front	ﻭﹶﻋﹷﺪﹶ , ﻳﹷﺴﹹﺮﹶ
ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ	واو or ياء at the ﻉ position	ﻗﹷﻮﹶﻝﹶ , ﺑﹷﻴﹷﻊﹶ
ﻧﺎﻗﹻﺺ	واو or ياء at the ﻝ position	ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ , ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶ
ﻟﹷﻔﻴﻒ	Two weak letters in the verbs	ﻭﹶﻗﻰٰ , ﻃﹷﻮﻰٰ
ﻣﹹﻀﺎﻋﹷﻒ	Second and third letter same	ﻣﹷﺮﱠ , ﻓﹷﺮﱠ

Category 3, 4, 5, and 6 all involve a واو or a ياء and verbs falling under these categories are collectively called معتل .

This brief introduction is a prelude to the vast part of Sarf which deals with irregularities in Arabic verbs. I will, Insha Allah, post more detail about each of these categories in the near future.