Sarf - The rules for تَعلِیل - A summary of اجوف and ناقِص

We already know that there are three letters in the Arabic alphabet which are called ﺣﹹﺮﹸﻭﻑﹺ ﻋﹻﻠﳲﺖ (or the weak letters), namely ﻭ and ﺍ and ﻱ. The presence of these letters within the base letters of a verb will cause certain changes to occur which can change the final form of the verb. In this post, Insha Allah, I will list down the rules which deal with ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ occurring at the  ﻻﻡ position and the  ﻉ position of the verb. Most of these rules have already been encountered when we discussed the ﺃﺟﹿﻮﹶﻑ and the ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb (discussed here and here). Since there are quite a few of these rules,  and because we will see many of them in future ﺻﹷﺮﹾﻑ discussions, therefore it is beneficial to list these at one place for reference purposes.

Rules for ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ:

1. Simple Change to Alif rule: Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ﻱ preceded by a ﻣﹷﻔﹿﺘﹹﻮﺡ letter, change the واو or ﻱ to ﺍ. See here for examples of this rule
2. The ﻣﹻﻴﺰﺍﻥﹲ rule: Any واو which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ. See here for examples of this rule
3. Whenever the ﻉ position of a passive ﻣﺎﺿﻰ is a واو or ﻱ remove the vowel from the letter before it and transfer the ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ to this letter. See here for examples of this rule
4. Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ﻱ preceded by a ﺳﹹﻜﹹﻮﻥ , transfer the vowel from the weak letter to the letter before it. Now, if the vowel being transfered is a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ then change this letter to an ﺍ. See here for examples of this rule

Rules for ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ:

1. The Edge Rule: It states that “any ﻻﻡ position ﻭ (i.e. occurring at the edge of a word) preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ “. This is depicted by the first ﻣﺎﺿﻰ conjugation of ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ which was originally ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻮﹶ. See here for examples of this rule
2. Fourth Position or Beyond Rule: If a ﻭ comes in the fourth position or later in a word and it is not preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ ﻭ, it changes into a ﻯ. See here for examples of this rule
3. Whenever there is a ﻻﻡ position ﻭ or ﻯ preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ, make the ﻭ or the ﻯ as ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ. Now, if the ﻭ or ﻯ is preceded by an appropriate short vowel and followed by an appropriate long vowel (see here for this discussion) then drop this ﻭ or ﻯ. The change of ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹸﻭﹾﻥﹶ to ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ is handled by this rule
4. If there is a ﻭ or ﺍ or ﻱ at the end of a verb then they are dropped in case of ﺟﹷﺰﹶﻡﹾ. For example, ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻡﹺ which was originally ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻰ or ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻉﹸ which was originally ﻟﹷﻢﹾ ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ

Hopefully this list will come in handy for the students of ﺻﹷﺮﹾﻑ when dealing with ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ and ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verbs. Insha Allah, in the future, I will post about other هفتِ أقسام and their governing rules as well.

Sarf - The Irregular Verb - ناقِص - Part 2

Disclaimer: This post is due to a major contribution from Humairah (blogging here). Any mistakes, of course, are mine.

We have already discussed the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ of the ناقِص verb. In this post, Insha Allah, I will discuss the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ patterns for the same and we will see how some conjugations undergo ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ .

In the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ of the ناقِص verb, 6 conjugations do not have ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ since they rhyme with their ﺻﺤﻴﺢ counterparts. These are conjugations number 2,5,6,8,11, and 12 i.e. the 4 duals and the 2 plural feminines. For example, the set of these 6 conjugations from the ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ table will rhyme with ﻳﹷﻀﹿﺮﹺﺏﹸ whereas the set of these 6 conjugations in the ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ table will rhyme with ﻳﹷﺴﹿﻤﹷﻊﹸ. Below, I will give the complete listing of the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ for 3 ناقِص verbs:

1	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
2	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
3	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ
4	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
5	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
6	ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
7	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ
8	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
9	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ
10	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
11	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ
12	ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ	ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
13	ﺃﹶﺩﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﺃﹶﺭﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﺍﹶﺭﹾﺿٰﻰ
14	ﻧﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ	ﻧﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ	ﻧﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ

Only the 5 singulars (1,4,7,13,14) and 3,9, and 10 have ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ in them. Note that we include conjugation 14 in the singular group since it looks like a singular

If you remember, the edge rule for a ناقِص verb states that “any ﻻﻡ position ﻭ (i.e. occurring at the edge of a word) preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ will change to ﻯ “. However, look at the cases of ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ or ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﺎﻥﹺ or ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ . They all have ﻭ at the ﻻﻡ position since we know that the base letters in the ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ table are ﺭ ﺽ and ﻭ . Thus the first example should have been ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹶﺍﻥﹺ because the ﻭ is not preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ. However, it is changing to a ﻯ . On top of this, we have also stated that that there is no ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ in this conjugation. To address this anomaly we say that since the final form of the verb is still rhyming with its ﺻﺤﻴﺢ counter part i.e. ﻳﹷﻔﹿﻌﹷﻼﹶﻥﹺ , therefore there has only been a change of a letter rather than a full blown ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ . To explain the change of the letter (i.e. ﻭ to ﻯ ) we state a rule which deals with a ﻭ or ﻯ occurring beyond the third position in a ناقِص verb. This rule can be named “Fourth position or beyond rule” and states that:

If a ﻭ comes in the fourth position or later in a word and it is not preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ ﻭ, it changes into a ﻯ .

Having noted this aspect, we now move on to deal with those conjugations which have full ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ in them.

First conjugation : In the case of ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ it was actually ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹸ rhyming withﻳﹷﻨﹿﺼﹹﺮﹸ . The final ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ was awkward onﻭ and was dropped. In the case of ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ this was actually ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹸ. Again, the ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ was dropped since it was awkward on the ﻯ . For the case of ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ the original was ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹸ. The ﻭ is at the fourth position so change it to ﻯ according to the “Fourth position or beyond rule”. This leave us with ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻰﹸ which has a ﻯ which is ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ and is preceded by a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ so this is changed to ﺍ according to the Simple Change to Alif rule , giving us ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ

Third Conjugation: Here ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ was originally ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹸﻭﹾﻥﹶ. The ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ on the ﻭ was dropped which leaves us with two ﻭ which are ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ . Thus, one of these ﻭ is dropped giving us ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ

The above process can actually be encompassed in a two step rule which states that: “Whenever there is a ﻻﻡ position ﻭ or ﻯ preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ, make the ﻭ or the ﻯ as ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ. Now, if the ﻭ or ﻯ is preceded by an appropriate short vowel and followed by an appropriate long vowel (see here for this discussion) then drop this ﻭ or ﻯ.” This rule also takes care of the 9th conjugation of ﻳﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹾ as well as the 10th conjugation of ﻳﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻲﹾ.

For the ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ table, the third conjugation was originally ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹸﻭﹾﻥﹶ rhyming with ﻳﹷﺴﹿﻤﹷﻌﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ. The ﻭ was changed (according to the Fourth position rule) to ﻯ since it is preceded by a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ giving us ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹹﻮﹾﻥﹶ. Now we have a ﻯ which is ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ and is preceded by a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ so we change it to an ﺍ using the Simple Change to Alif rule , the introduction of which results in gathering of two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters. Thus, the ﺍ is dropped, leaving us with ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ

10th Conjugation : The starting point for this conjugation was ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹹﻮﹺﻳﹿﻦﹶ rhyming with ﺗﹷﻨﹿﺼﹹﺮﹺﻳﻦﹶ. The ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ is inappropriate before the ﻭ so the ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ was moved to the letter before it. This resulted in gathering of two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters. The ﻭ was dropped, leaving us with ﺗﹷﺪﹾﻋﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ . This transformation is governed by the following general rule: “If a ﻭ is preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ and followed by a ﻯ , the preceding letter is made ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and the vowel on ﻭ is transferred to the preceding letter. Then the ﻭ changes into a ﻯ and falls off due to gathering to two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters”

In the case of ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ this was originally ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ rhyming withﺗﹷﻀﹿﺮﹺﺑﹿﻦﹶ. The ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ was inappropriate on the ﻯ so the ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ was dropped, leaving us with two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters. Thus, one of the ﻯ is dropped giving us ﺗﹷﺮﹾﻣﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ.

The 10th conjugation in the ﻳﹷﺮﹾﺿٰﻰ table was originally ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻮﹺﻳﹿﻦﹶ rhyming with ﺗﹷﺴﹿﻤﹷﻌﹻﻴﹿﻦﹶ. The ﻭ is changed to ﻯ according to the Fourth position or beyond rule. This leaves us with ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ. Again, one of the ﻯ is dropped due to the gathering of two ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letters giving us ﺗﹷﺮﹾﺿﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ

Almost of these rules can also be applied when constructing the passive conjugations for the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ of the ناقِص verb. In some future post I will Insha Allah try to list all the rules governing ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ. Until then, hopefully, this introduction will come in handy for the students of Classical Arabic.

Sarf - The Irregular Verb - ناقِص - Part 1

Disclaimer: This post is due to a major contribution from Humairah (blogging here). Any mistakes, of course, are mine.

As we have already learned, ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb is one which has ﻭ or ﻯ at its ﻻﻡ position. For the purpose of illustration we will take three examples of a ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb: ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ (he called) , which comes from ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ baab , ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ (he threw), which comes from ﺿﹷﺮﹶﺏﹶ baab, and ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ (he was pleased), which comes from ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ baab. In this post I will, Insha Allah, deal with the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ conjugations of the ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb.

ﻣﺎﺿﻰ of ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ:

Below, I will list the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ conjugations for both ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ and ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ. Note that the ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ only occurs in the first 5 conjugations of both these verbs. I will Insha Allah also explain why the ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ occurs in each case. We will deal with ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ separately later in this post, Insha Allah.

1	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ
2	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹷﺎ
3	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺍ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻮﹾﺍ
4	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺖﹾ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﺖﹾ
5	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺘﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﺘﹷﺎ
6	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﻥﹶ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﻦﹶ
7	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹶ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹶ
8	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻤﹷﺎ
9	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻢﹾ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻢﹾ
10	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹺ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹺ
11	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻤﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﹷﺎ
12	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺗﹹﻦﱠ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﺘﹹﻦﱠ
13	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﺕﹸ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﺖﹸ
14	ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹾﻧﹷﺎ	ﺭﹶﻣﹷﻴﹿﻨﹷﺎ

In the Arabic Language certain pronunciation issues arise when weak letters are preceded by inappropriate vowels. For example, it is difficult to pronounce a ﻭ which is ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ and is preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ or a ﻯ which is ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ and is preceded by a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ. In such cases we implement rules which change these weak letters to other, pronounceable, letters coupled with a shift in the vowel itself from one letter to another. Thus, for ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ to occur the ﻭ or ﻯ need to be ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ and need to be preceded by inappropriate vowels.

On the other hand, a ﻭ which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a ﺿﹷﻤﳲﺔ is very normal; similarly a ﻯ which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a ﻛﹷﺴﹿﺮﹶﺓ is very normal. Moreover, a ﻭ or ﻯ preceded by a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ is also considered normal for pronunciation. Now, if you note that in the above table there is no ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ from the 6th conjugation downwards because in there the ﻭ or ﻯ is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a normal vowel i.e. a ﻓﹷﺘﹿﺤﺔ.

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

Second conjugation: This should actually be ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ rhyming with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻼﹶ . However, the simple change to alif rule will cause it to become ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎﺍ which is difficult to pronounce and thus the final alif will drop leaving us with ﺩﹶﻋﹷﺎ . Note that this is exactly the same as the first conjugation so there is actually no ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ allowed here. Thus the final form remains ﺩﹶﻋﹷﻮﹶﺍ

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

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

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

All the above rules can be equally applied to the first five conjugation of the ﺭﹶﻣﻰٰ table.

As for ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ the only major ﺗﹷﻌﻠﹻﻴﻞ is in the 3^rd conjugation, all other rhyming with the corresponding conjugations of ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ

1	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻰﹶ
2	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺎ
3	ﺭﹶﺿﹹﻮﹾﺍ
4	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺖﹾ
5	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹷﺘﹷﺎ
6	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﻦﹶ
7	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹶ
8	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﺎ
9	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻢﹾ
10	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹺ
11	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻤﹷﺎ
12	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺘﹹﻦﱠ
13	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﺖﹸ
14	ﺭﹶﺿﹻﻴﹿﻨﹷﺎ

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

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

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

This concludes our discussion of introducing the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ for the ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb. The next post, Insha Allah, will deal with the ﻣﹹﻀﹷﺎﺭﹺﻉ of the ﻧﹷﺎﻗﹻﺺﹾ verb.

Arabic Grammar Books

In this post I am providing links for some very important books available on the Internet which relate directly to what we are studying in the class. I had known about this site for sometime,however Hafsa prompted me to look at the books more closely. So thanks to her . These books are available at the al-Inaam Website. I have asked for their permission to put these PDF files on my web site and am waiting for the reply. Until then, here are the links:

• Arabic Tutor - Vol 1
  
• Arabic Tutor -Vol 2
• Arabic Tutor - Vol 3
• Treasures of Arabic Morphology - Sarf
• Ilm-un-Nahw

I hope that these books will go a long way in increasing our knowledge of the Arabic Language. May Allah bless those who have translated these for us.

Sarf - The Irregular Verb - اَجوَف

In the last post we learned about the 7 categories into which Arabic verbs can be grouped and then we saw how introduction of weak letters can cause verbs to become irregular i.e. cause their conjugations to differ from the normal conjugations of regular verbs. Now we will, Insha Allah, start going into details of each of the verb categories which deal with irregular verbs. Our first post deals with ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ which, as you may recall, is a verb having واو or ياء at the ﻉ position.

ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ verbs in Arabic Language come from either one of the 3 baabs: ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ, ﺿﹷﺮﹶﺏﹶ, or ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ . Thus , ﻗﹷﺎﻝﹶ comes from the ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ baab, ﺑﹷﺎﻉﹶ comes from ﺿﹷﺮﹶﺏﹶ baab, and ﺧﹷﺎﻑﹶ comes from ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ baab. The very first thing when dealing with irregular verbs is to find the actual base letters in it. Remember, irregular verbs are called irregular since one or more of their base letters have either changed to some other letter or have dropped altogether due, mainly, to pronunciation issues. We will now see how we can find the base letters in ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ verbs and during this exercise we will come up with a rule to form irregular verbs in this category starting from their base letter.
The base letter in an irregular verb can be found by:

1. Looking at nouns formed from these verbs
2. Looking at the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ of the irregular verb

Exposure to Arabic Language leads us to the fact that the 3 nouns formed from ﻗﹷﺎﻝﹶ and ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ, and ﺑﹷﺎﻉﹶ are ﻗﻮﻝ(a saying), ﺑﻴﻊ(a transaction or a sale), and ﺧﻮﻑ(fear), respectively. Also, as we will learn shortly, the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ of the three verbs also contain واو

in its middle. Thus, we can now derive the original verbs using this fact and the knowledge of baab from which each verb comes.

Original Form	Final Form
ﻗﹷﻮﹶﻝﹶ	ﻗﹷﺎﻝﹶ
ﺑﹷﻴﹷﻊﹶ	ﺑﹷﺎﻉﹶ
ﺧﹷﻮﹺﻑﹶ	ﺧﹷﺎﻑﹶ

Now we are ready to state our rule for dealing with active voice of the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ of ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ .
Simple Change to Alif rule (Active ﻣﺎﺿﻰ) :

Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ياء preceded by a ﻣﹷﻔﹿﺘﹹﻮﺡ letter, change the واو or ياء to alif.

As you can see that this rule completely covers the conjugation given in the table above.

Now I will list the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ table for ﻗﹷﺎﻝﹶ which will throw up some more light on the treatment of ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ

ﻗﹷﺎﻝﹶ	He said
ﻗﹷﺎﻻﹶ	They (two males) said
ﻗﹷﺎﻟﹹﻮ	They (more than two males)said
ﻗﹷﺎﻟﹷﺖﹾ	She said
ﻗﹷﺎﻟﹷﺘﺎﹶ	They (two females) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﻦﹶ	They (more than two females)said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺖﹶ	You (male) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺘﹹﻤﺎ	You (two males) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺘﹹﻢ	You (more than 2 males) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺖﹺ	You (female) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺘﹹﻤﺎ	You(2 females) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺘﹹﻦﱠ	You(more than 2 females) said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﺖﹸ	I said
ﻗﹹﻠﹿﻨﺎ	We said

Note the loss of alif from 6^th conjugation onwards. Also, note the change from fatha to dhamma. The alif is dropped because it is not easy to pronounce an alif followed by a ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ letter because of the introduction of an unnecessary ﻣﹷﺪ. The dhamma is introduced as a trace for the fact that it was a واو which dropped from the verb. Similarly for ﺑﹷﻴﹷﻊﹶ the 6^th conjugation would be ﺑﹻﻌﺖﹶ , with the first letter having a kasra (and onwards to the last conjugation) signifying that the dropped letter was a ياء .

For ﺧﹷﺎﻑﹶ , however, this simple rule does not apply in totality. The 6^th conjugation here is ﺧﹻﻔﹿﻦﹶ rather than ﺧﹹﻔﹿﻦﹶ, which one would expect. This is explained by the fact that in the case of ﺧﹻﻔﹿﻦﹶ the kasra signifies that the verb is ﻣﹷﻜﺴﹹﻮﺭﹸ ﺍﻟﹿﻌﹷﻴﻦ (has a kasra on the ﻉ position) because ﺧﹷﺎﻑﹶ originates from the ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ baab, therefore its middle letter has to have a kasra on it. In this case we do get a hint as to which letter was dropped.

To deal with the passive voice we recognize that the following are the starting points for the above mentioned 3 verbs:

Original Form	Final Form
ﻗﹹﻮﹺﻝﹶ	ﻗﹻﻴﻞﹶ
ﺑﹹﻴﹻﻊﹶ	ﺑﹻﻴﻊﹶ
ﺧﹹﻮﹺﻑﹶ	ﺧﹻﻴﻒﹶ

Using the above table we can state the following rule for the passive ﻣﺎﺿﻰ of the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ type:

Whenever the ﻉ position of a passive ﻣﺎﺿﻰ is a واو or ياء remove the vowel from the letter before it and transfer the kasra to this letter. Now, if the ﻉ position is a واو change it to a ياء in accordance with the ﻣﹻﻴﺰﺍﻥﹲ rule, which states that any واو which is ﺳﹷﺎﻛﹻﻦ and is preceded by a kasra will change toياء

Note: 6^th conjugation onwards the conjugations are same for both active and passive voice for the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ type

The ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ for the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ type:

These come from the ﺻﺤﻴﺢ counterparts of the corresponding verb which means that the originals will rhyme with the corresponding baabs. The following table list the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ for the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ.

ﺑﺎﺏ	ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ for the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ
ﻳﹷﻨﹿﺼﹹﺮﹸ	ﻳﹷﻘﹿﻮﹸﻝﹸ
ﻳﹷﻀﹿﺮﹺﺏﹸ	ﻳﹷﺒﹿﻴﹻﻊﹸ
ﻳﹷﺴﹿﻤﹷﻊﹸ	ﻳﹷﺨﹿﻮﹶﻑﹸ

As is the case with the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ of the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ , changes occur in the final forms of these verbs due to presence of weak letters. These changes are given below:

Original Form	Final Form
ﻳﹷﻘﹿﻮﹸﻝﹸ	ﻳﹷﻘﹹﻮﻝﹸ
ﻳﹷﺒﹿﻴﹻﻊﹸ	ﻳﹷﺒﹻﻴﻊﹸ
ﻳﹷﺨﹿﻮﹶﻑﹸ	ﻳﹷﺨﺎﻑﹸ

These changes are governed by the following rule:

Whenever there is a ﻣﹹﺘﹷﺤﹷﺮﱢﻙ weak letter i.e. a واو or a ياء preceded by a ﺳﹹﻜﹹﻮﻥ , transfer the vowel from the weak letter to the letter before it. Now, if vowel being transfered is a fatha then change this letter to an alif.

This rule can conveniently be called:

Transfer the vowel - in case of fatha change to alif Rule

Below, I give the full conjugations for the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ for the ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ using ﻳﹷﻘﹿﻮﹸﻝﹸ as an example:

يَقُولُ	He says
يَقُولاَنِ	They (two males) say
يَقُولُونَ	They (more than two males) say
تَقُولُ	She says
تَقُولاَنِ	They (two females) say
يَقُلْنَ	They (more than two females) say
تَقُولُ	You (male) say
تَقُولاَنِ	You (two males) say
تَقُولُونَ	You (more than 2 males) say
تَقُولِينَ	You (female) say
تَقُولاَنِ	You(2 females) say
تَقُلْنَ	You(more than 2 females) say
أَقُولُ	I say
نَقُولُ	We say

Hopefully this brief introduction to ﺃﺟﻮﹶﻑ will be a good starting point for understanding irregularities in Arabic verbs, Insha Allah.

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.

Sarf - ابواب الافعال - Introduction to Verb Groupings

Up until now we have been dealing with just one type of the base verb i.e. ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ . However, this is not the only way a base verb can occur in Arabic. In fact, the ﻣﺎﺿﻰ verb (and consequently the ﻣﹹﻀﺎﺭﹺﻉ verb) can occur in several different patterns depending upon the vowelling and number of letters in the base verb. In this post, I will, Insha Allah, explain about different patterns of Arabic verbs along with some of their examples.

To start with, we may be tempted to assume that any two verbs which have the same voice, same tense, and the same conjugation number will look alike and will rhyme with one another. However, this is not the case as can bee seen by looking at the following 3 examples:

1. ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ
2. ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ
3. ﺩﹶﻫﹿﺮﹶﺝﹶ

The first verb, ﻧﹷﺼﹷﺮﹶ  (to help), rhymes with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ and has the same number of letters as ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ . The second verb, ﺳﹷﻤﹻﻊﹶ (to hear), although having the same number of letters as ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ , does not rhyme with it due to a kasra on the middle letter. Finally, the last verb, ﺩﹶﻫﹿﺮﹶﺝﹶ (to roll), does not rhyme with ﻓﹷﻌﹷﻞﹶ , and also has 4 letters in it, rather than 3. As a rule of thumb, differences in Arabic verbs can occur due to one of 6 reasons:

• 3 of these reasons relate to number of letters in the base verb and its vowelling pattern
• 3 of these reaso