The imperative is used to give commands or instructions in the affirmative or negative. In Arabic grammar, there are three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and jussive. Because the imperative is derived from the jussive mood—sharing similar structural rules—it is often grouped with the jussive. For clarity, we will treat the imperative as a separate grammatical category.
The imperative is conjugated in singular, dual, and plural, with distinct masculine and feminine forms in the singular and plural. The dual form uses the same conjugation for both masculine and feminine. Therefore, there are five imperative forms in total:
1. Singular masculine form, i.e., أَنْـتَ (’anta) ‘you – masculine.’
2. Singular feminine, i.e., أَنْـتِ (’anti) ‘you – feminine.’
3. Dual form, i.e., أَنْـتُـمـا (’antumā) ‘you (both).’
4. Plural masculine form, i.e., أَنْـتُـم (’antum) ‘you (all) – masculine.’
5. Plural feminine form, i.e., أَنْـتُـنَّ (’antunna) ‘you (all) – feminine.’
Each of the above forms can be used in the affirmative or negative.
To give commands in the imperative, we use the second-person present jussive form of the verb, i.e., أَنْـتَ (’anta), أَنْـتِ (’anti), أَنْـتُـمـا (’antumā), أَنْـتُـم (’antum), and أَنْـتُـنَّ (’antunna).
In the negative, we add لا (lā) before the present jussive verb in the second-person form.
In the affirmative, we begin with the second-person present jussive form of the verb, then:
- We remove the initial تُـ (tu) or تَـ (ta) in Patterns (2), (3), (5), and (6).
- We replace the initial تُـ (tu) with أَ (’a) in Pattern (4).
- We replace the initial تَـ (ta) with اِ (i) in Patterns (7–10).
- In Pattern (1), we replace the initial تَـ (ta) with ا (’alif), which changes the verb’s vocalization in most cases as follows:
- If the verb has a فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a’ or a كَـسْـرَة (kasrah) ‘short i’ on the middle radical, the ا (’alif) will be marked with a كَـسْـرَة (kasrah) ‘short i.’
- If the verb has a ضَـمَّـة (ḍammah) ‘short u’ on the middle radical, the ا (’alif) will be marked with a ضَـمَّـة (ḍammah) ‘short u.’
Here are some examples:
| Nominative | Jussive | Negative Imperative | Affirmative Imperative |
| أَنْـتَ تَـشْـرَبُ ’anta tashrabu you drink | تَــشْـرَبْ tashrab you drink | لا تَـشْـرَبْ lā tashrab Don’t drink! | اِشْـرَبْ ishrab Drink! |
| أَنْـتِ تَـذْهَــبـيـنَ ’anti tadhhabīna you go | تَــذْهَــبـي tadhhabī you go | لا تَـذْهَــبـي lā tadhhabī Don’t go! | اِذْهَــبـي idhhabī Go! |
| أَنْـتُـمـا تَـجْـلِـسـانِ ’antumā tajlisāni you sit | تَــجْـلِـسـا tajlisā you sit | لا تَـجْـلِـسـا lā tajlisā Don’t sit! | اِجْـلِـسـا ijlisā Sit! |
| أَنْتُـم تَـدْخُـلـونَ ’antum tadkhulūna you enter | تَــدْخُـلـوا tadkhulū you enter | لا تَـدْخُـلـوا lā tadkhulū Don’t enter! | اُدْخُـلـوا udkhulū Enter! |
| أَنْـتُـنَّ تَـكْـتُـبْــنَ ’antunna taktubna you write | تَــكْـتُـبْــنَ taktubna you write | لا تَـكْـتُـبْــنَ lā taktubna Don’t write! | اُكْـتُـبْــنَ uktubna Write! |
Let us …
The expression “let’s do something” in English has a parallel in Arabic. The equivalent expression in Arabic uses the prefix لِـ (li-) or فَـلْـ (fal-), followed by the jussive mood of the first-person plural verb, i.e., نَـحْـنُ (naḥnu) ‘we,’ to express a suggestion, intention, or encouragement. Here are some examples:
| Nominative | Jussive | With Prefix لِـ (li–) | With Prefix فَـلْـ (fal–) |
| نَـحْـنُ نَـذْهَـبُ naḥnu nadhhabu we go | نَـذْهَـبْ nadhhab we go | لِــنَـذْهَـبْ li-nadh hab Let’s go! | فَـلْــنَـذْهَـبْ fal-nadhhab Let’s go! |
| نَـحْـنُ نَـكْـتُـبُ naḥnu naktubu we write | نَـكْـتُـبْ naktub we write | لِــنَـكْـتُـبْ li-naktub Let’s write! | فَـلْــنَـكْـتُـبْ fal-naktub Let’s write! |
A less common expression, “let him/her/them do something,” uses the same prefixes, followed by the jussive mood of the third-person verb. Here are some examples:
| Nominative | Jussive | With Prefix لِـ (li–) | With Prefix فَـلْـ (fal–) |
| هُـوَ يَـشْـرَبُ huwa yashrabu he drinks | يَـشْـرَبْ yashrab he drinks | لِــيَـشْـرَبْ li-yashrab Let him drink! | فَـلْــيَـشْـرَبْ fal-yashrab Let him drink! |
| هِـيَ تَـذْهَـبُ hiya tadh habu she goes | تَـذْهَـبْ tadhhab she goes | لِــتَـذْهَـبْ li-tadh hab Let her go! | فَـلْــتَـذْهَـبْ fal-tadh hab Let her go! |
| هُـمْ يَـكْـسِـرون hum yaksirūn they break | يَـكْـسِـروا yaksirū they break | لِــيَـكْـسِـروا li-yaksirū Let them break! | فَـلْــيَـكْـسِـروا fal-yaksirū Let them break! |
| هُـنَّ يَـجْـلِـسْـنَ hunna yajlisna they sit | يَـجْـلِـسْـنَ yajlisna they sit | لِــيَـجْـلِـسْـنَ li-yajlisna Let them sit! | فَـلْــيَـجْـلِـسْـنَ fal-yajlisna Let them sit! |
Notice that the examples above demonstrate usage in affirmative contexts. To express the negative, expressions such as لِـنَـتَـوَقَّـفْ عَـنْ (li-natawaqqaf ‘an) ‘Let’s stop …’ or فَـلْـنَـمْـتَـنِـعْ عَـنْ (fal-namtani‘ ‘an) ‘Let’s refrain from …’ can be used, followed by a verbal noun to specify the action. For example:
| فَـلْـنَـتَـوَقَّـفْ عَـن الْأَكْـل٠ fal–natawaqqaf ‘an (i)-l-’akl. Let’s stop eating. | لِـنَـمْـتَـنِـعْ عَـن الـكِـتـابَـة٠ li–namtani‘ ‘an (i) -l-kitābah. Let’s refrain from writing. |
We will discuss verbal nouns in detail in Lesson 3 of this level.
Other lessons in Level V: