Some verbs are irregular, meaning they deviate from the regular conjugation patterns. Verbs that have specific characteristics in their radicals are likely to be irregular. In this lesson, we will discuss two types of irregular tri-consonantal verbs in Arabic, classified by their radical characteristics:
- Verbs with ء (hamzah) as one of the three radicals. A verb of this type is called فِـعْـل مَـهْـمـوز (fi‘l mahmūz) ‘hamzated verb.’
- Verbs with identical middle and final radicals. A verb of this type is called فِـعْـل مُـضَـعَّـف (fi‘l muḍa‘‘af) ‘doubled verb.’
Verbs with Hamzah as a Radical
We begin with verbs that have ء (hamzah) as the final radical. These verbs are conjugated regularly. Consider the following examples, with the past and present verbs conjugated in the third-person masculine singular, and the imperative verbs in the masculine singular. Notice that the shape of the final ء (hamzah) follows more complex rules.
| Past | Present | Imperative |
| قَـرَأَ qara’a he read | يَـقْـرَأُ yaqra’u he reads | اِقْـرَأْ iqra’ Read! |
| بَـدَأَ bada’a he began | يَـبْـدَأُ yabda’u he begins | اِبْـدَأْ ibda’ Begin! |
| اِخْـتَـبَـأَ ikhtaba’a he hid | يَـخْـتَـبِـئُ yakhtabi’u he hides | اِخْـتَـبِـئْ ikhtabi’ Hide! |
| بَـطُـؤَ baṭu’a he slowed | يَـبْـطُـؤُ yabṭu’u he slows | اُبْـطُـؤْ ubṭu’ Slow down! |
| بَـرِئَ bari’a he recovered | يَـبْـرَأُ yabra’u he recovers | اِبْـرَأْ ibra’ Recover! |
Most verbs with ء (hamzah) as the middle radical are conjugated regularly, with the exception of two verbs: سَـأَلَ (sa’ala) ‘he asked’ and رَأى (ra’ā) ‘he saw,’ which are irregular only in the imperative.
| Past | Present | Imperative |
| دَأَبَ da’aba he persisted | يَـدْأَبُ yad’abu he persists | اِدْأَبْ id’ab Persist! |
| سَـئِـمَ sa’ima he was fed up | يَـسْـأَمُ yas’amu he is fed up | اِسْـأَمْ is’am Get fed up! |
| سَـأَلَ sa’ala he asked | يَـسْـأَلُ yas’alu he asks | اِسْـأَلْ (or) سَـلْ is’al (or) sal Ask! |
| رَأى ra’ā he saw | يَـرى yarā he sees | رَ ra See! |
Note that the verb سَـأَلَ (sa’ala) ‘he asked’ has two forms in the singular masculine imperative: the regular form اِسْـأَلْ (is’al) and the irregular form سَـلْ (sal). The regular form, اِسْـأَلْ (is’al), is used more frequently in spoken language. However, in formal literary contexts, the irregular form is used when the verb is at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
| سَــلْ مـا تُـريـدُ٠ sal mā turīd. Ask whatever you want. | أَجِـبْ ثُـمَّ اسْـأَلْ٠ ’ajib thumma –s’al. Answer then ask. |
The verb رَأى (ra’ā) ‘he saw’ has a ء (hamzah) as the middle radical and a weak final radical. Verbs with weak radicals, i.e., و (wāw) ‘w’ and ي (yā’) ‘y,’ will be covered in Level VI, Lesson 2.
Below are the irregular imperative forms of the two verbs سَـأَلَ (sa’ala) ‘he asked’ and رَأى (ra’ā) ‘he saw,’ as well as the verb أَرى (’arā) ‘he made someone see,’ which is derived from رَأى (ra’ā) using the causative past verb Pattern (4), i.e., أَفْـعَـلَ (’af‘ala).
| Sing. m. | Sing. f. | Dual | Plural m. | Plural f. |
| سَـلْ sal | سَـلـي salī | سَـلا salā | سَـلـوا salū | سَـلْـنَ salna |
| رَ ra | رَيْ ray | رَيـا rayā | رَوْا raw | رَيـنَ rayna |
| أَرِ ’ari | أَري ’arī | أَرِيـا ’ariyā | أَروا ’arū | أَريـنَ ’arīna |
Most verbs with ء (hamzah) as the first radical are conjugated regularly. However, there are three common verbs in this group that are irregular in the imperative: أَكَـلَ (’akala) ‘he ate,’ أَخَـذَ (’akhadha) ‘he took,’ and أَمَـرَ (’amara) ‘he ordered.’ The three verbs drop the starting hamzah in the imperative.
| Past | Present | Imperative |
| أَمِـنَ ’amina he felt safe | يَـأْمَـنُ ya’manu he feels safe | اِئْـمَـنْ i’man Feel safe! |
| أَسِـفَ ’asifa he regretted | يَـأْسَـفُ ya’safu he regrets | اِئْـسَـفْ i’saf Regret! |
| أَذِنَ ’adhina he gave permission | يَـأْذَنُ ya’dhanu he gives permission | اِئْـذَنْ i’dhan Give permission! |
| أَكَـلَ ’akala he ate | يَـأْكُـلُ ya’kulu he eats | كُـلْ kul Eat! |
| أَخَـذَ ’akhadha he took | يَـأْخُـذُ ya’khudhu he takes | خُـذْ khudh Take! |
| أَمَـرَ ’amara he ordered | يَـأْمُـرُ ya’muru he orders | اُؤْمُـرْ (or) مُـرْ u’mur (or) mur Order! |
Note that the verb أَمَـرَ (’amara) ‘he ordered’ has two forms in the singular masculine imperative: the regular form اُؤْمُـرْ (u’mur) and the irregular form مُـرْ (mur). The regular form is often used if the verb is not at the beginning of the sentence.
The following are the imperative forms of the three irregular verbs in this group—أَكَـلَ (’akala) ‘he ate,’ أَخَـذَ (’akhadha) ‘he took,’ and أَمَـرَ (’amara) ‘he ordered’:
| Sing. m. | Sing. f. | Dual | Plural m. | Plural f. |
| كُـلْ kul | كُـلـي kulī | كُـلا kulā | كُـلـوا kulū | كُـلْـنَ kulna |
| خُـذْ khudh | خُـذي khudhī | خُـذا khudhā | خُـذوا khudhū | خُـذْنَ khudhna |
| مُـرْ mur | مُـري murī | مُـرا murā | مُـروا murū | مُـرْنَ murna |
Verbs with Identical Middle & Final Radicals
Another type of verb that is always irregular in the jussive and imperative is called the فِـعْـل مُـضَـعَّـف (fi‘l muḍa‘‘af) ‘doubled verb.’ Verbs in this group have identical middle and final radicals, and a شَــدَّة (shaddah) always marks the middle radical in the third-person singular conjugation.
Here are some examples of past and present doubled verbs in the third-person singular masculine:
| Root | م – ر – ر m – r – r | م – د – د m – d – d | ف – ر – ر f – r – r | ظ – ل – ل ẓ – l – l |
| past | مَــرَّ marra he passed | مَــدَّ madda he extended | فَــرَّ farra he ran away | ظَــلَّ ẓalla he remained |
| present | يَـمُــرُّ yamurru he passes | يَــمُــدُّ yamuddu he extends | يَـفِــرُّ yafirru he runs away | يَـظَــلُّ yaẓallu he remains |
Consider the verb مَــرَّ (marra) in the past tense:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st person m/f | أَنـا مَـرَرْتُ ’anā marartu I passed | نَـحْـنُ مَـرَرْنـا naḥnu mararnā We passed | |
| 2nd person masculine | أَنْـتَ مَـرَرْتَ ’anta mararta You passed | أَنْـتُمـا مَـرَرْتُـمـا ’antumā marartumā You (both) passed | أَنْـتُـمْ مَـرَرْتُـمْ ’antum marartum You (all) passed |
| 2nd person feminine | أَنْـتِ مَـرَرْتِ ’anti mararti You passed | أَنْـتُـنَّ مَـرَرْتُـنَّ ’antunna marartunna You (all) passed | |
| 3rd person masculine | هُــوَ مَــرَّ huwa marra He passed | هُــمـا مَــرّا humā marrā They (both) passed | هُــمْ مَــرّوا hum marrū They passed |
| 3rd person feminine | هِــيَ مَــرَّتْ hiya marrat She passed | هُــمـا مَــرَّتـا humā marratā They (both) passed | هُــنَّ مَـرَرْنَ hunna mararna They passed |
Notice that the شَــدَّة (shaddah) appears on the middle radical in all third-person forms, except for the third-person feminine plural, i.e., مَـرَرْنَ (mararna).
In the present tense, مَــرَّ (marra) is conjugated as follows:
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| 1st person m/f | أَنـا أَمُــرُّ ’anā ’amurru I pass | نَـحْـنُ نَــمُــرُّ naḥnu namurru We pass | |
| 2nd person masculine | أَنْـتَ تَـمُــرُّ ’anta tamurru You pass | أَنْـتُمـا تَــمُــرّانِ ’antumā tamurrāni You (both) pass | أَنْـتُـمْ تَــمُــرّونَ ’antum tamurrūna You (all) pass |
| 2nd person feminine | أَنْـتِ تَــمُــرّيـنَ ’anti tamurrīna You pass | أَنْـتُـنَّ تَـمْـرُرْنَ ’antunna tamrurna You (all) pass | |
| 3rd person masculine | هُــوَ يَــمُــرُّ huwa yamurru He passes | هُــمـا يَــمُــرّانِ humā yamurrāni They (both) pass | هُــمْ يَــمُــرّونَ hum yamurrūna They pass |
| 3rd person feminine | هِــيَ تَــمُــرُّ hiya tamurru She passes | هُــمـا تَــمُــرّانِ humā tamurrāni They (both) pass | هُــنَّ يَـمْـرُرْنَ hunna yamrurna They pass |
Notice that the شَــدَّة (shaddah) appears on the middle radical in all forms, except for the second- and third-person feminine plural.
The imperative of the verb مَــرَّ (marra) is conjugated as follows:
| Sing. m. | Sing. f. | Dual | Plural m. | Plural f. |
| مُــرَّ murra | مُـرّي murrī | مُـرّا murrā | مُـرّوا murrū | اُمْـرُرْنَ umrurna |
Notice that the شَــدَّة (shaddah) appears on the middle radical in all forms, except for the feminine plural, i.e., اُمْـررْنَ (umrurna).
Consider the following three verbs in this group: مَــرَّ (marra) ‘he passed,’ فَــرَّ (farra) ‘he escaped,’ and ظَــلَّ (ẓalla) ‘he remained.’ We conjugate the three verbs in the third-person singular masculine in the indicative and jussive, and in the second-person singular masculine in the imperative, as follows:
| Indicative | Jussive | Imperative | |
| Past | Present | Present | |
| مَــرَّ marra he passed | يَــمُــرَّ yamurru he passes | يَــمُــرَّ yamurra he passes | مُــرَّ murra Pass! |
| فَــرَّ farra he ran away | يَــفِــرَّ yafirru he runs away | يَــفِــرَّ yafirra he runs away | فِـــرَّ firra Run away! |
| ظَــلَّ ẓalla he remained | يَــظَــلَّ yaẓallu he remains | يَــظَــلَّ yaẓalla he remains | ظَــلَّ ẓalla Remain! |
Notice the following:
- Doubled verbs are marked with a فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a’ on the final radical in both the jussive and imperative. In contrast, regular verbs in the jussive and imperative are marked with سُـكـون (sukūn) on the final radical.
- Whereas the first radical in the past tense is marked with a فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a,’ the first radical in the imperative takes the same vowel on its first radical as in the present tense.
The rules explained in this section regarding the فِـعْـل مُـضَـعَّـف (fi‘l muḍa‘‘af) apply to basic مُـجَـرَّد ثُـلاثـي (mujarrad thulāthī) ‘triliteral abstract’ verbs, such as those encountered thus far, as well as to the derived forms that add prefixes, suffixes, and infixes to the triliteral abstract verb.
Below are examples of the verb مَــدَّ (madda) ‘he extended,’ along with three derived forms of the same verb. We conjugate the four verbs in the third-person singular masculine in both the indicative and jussive moods, as well as in the second-person singular masculine in the imperative, as follows:
| Indicative | Jussive | Imperative 2nd person | |
| Past | Present | Present | |
| مَــدَّ madda he extended | يَــمُــدُّ yamuddu he extends | يَــمُــدَّ yamudda he extends | مُــدَّ mudda Extend! |
| أَمَــدَّ ’amadda he provided | يُــمِــدُّ yumiddu he provides | يُــمِــدَّ yumidda he provides | أَمِــدَّ ’amidda Provide! |
| اِمْـتَـدَّ imtadda he spanned | يَـمْـتَـدُّ yamtaddu he spans | يَـمْـتَـدَّ yamtadda he spans | اِمْـتَـدَّ imtadda Span! |
| اِسْـتَـمَـدَّ istamadda he drew upon | يَـسْـتَـمِـدُّ yastamiddu he draws upon | يَـسْـتَـمِـدَّ yastamidda he draws upon | اِسْـتَـمِـدَّ istamidda Draw upon …! |
Back to: Giving Commands & The Imperative
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