The passive voice is used in Arabic when the performer of the action is not mentioned. The passive voice can be used with both past verbs and present verbs.
Table of Contents
- Passive Voice – Past Tense
- Passive Voice – Present Tense
- Examples of Verbs in the Passive Voice in Arabic
- Conjugation of Verbs in the Passive Voice
- Including the Performer of the Action
- Declination of نـائِـب فـاعِـل (nā’ib fa‘il) ‘subject replacement’
- Passive Voice in Arabic Using the Verb تَــمَّ (tamma)
- Level VI – Advanced II (C2)
Passive Voice – Past Tense
The patterns of past verbs in the passive voice are as follows:
Notice that in all past-verb patterns in the passive voice:
- The first letter is always marked with a ضَـمَّـة (ḍamma) ‘short u,’ or is followed by و ‘long ū.’
- The second radical of the past verb, that is the ع (‘) in the triliteral consonantal root ف – ع – ل (f – ‘ – l), is always marked with a كَـسْـرَة (kasrah) ‘short i.’
Passive Voice – Present Tense
Similarly, the patterns of present verbs in the passive voice are as follows:
Notice that in all present-verb patterns in the passive voice:
- The first letter is always marked with a ضَـمَّـة (ḍamma) ‘short u.’
- The second radical of the present verb, that is the ع (‘) in the triliteral consonantal root ف – ع – ل (f – ‘ – l), is always marked with a فَـتْـحَـة (fatḥah) ‘short a.’
Not all patterns are used in the passive voice, as some active voice patterns already imply a passive meaning.
Examples of Verbs in the Passive Voice in Arabic
Here are some examples of verbs in the passive voice in Arabic:
| Past Verb | Pattern | Passive Voice |
| كَـتَـبَ (kataba) he wrote | (1) | كُـتِـبَ (kutiba) it was written يُـكْـتَـبُ (yuktabu) it is written |
| سَـمِـعَ (sami‘a) he heard | (1) | سُـمِـعَ (sumi‘a) it was heard يُـسْـمَـعُ (yusma‘u) it is heard |
| فَــهِــمَ (fahima) he understood | (1) | فُـهِـمَ (fuhima) it was understood يُـفْـهَـمُ (yufhamu) it is understood |
| قَـتَـلَ (qatala) he killed | (1) | قُـتِـلَ (qutila) he was killed يُـقْـتَـلُ (yuqtalu) he is killed |
| وَظَّـفَ (waẓẓafa) he employed | (2) | وُظِّــفَ (wuẓẓifa) he was employed يُـوَظَّــفُ (yuwaẓẓafu) he is employed |
| جَـرَّبَ (jarraba) he tried | (2) | جُـرِّبَ (jurriba) it was tried يُـجَـرَّبُ (yujarrabu) it is tried |
| بَـرَّأَ (barra’a) he acquitted | (2) | بُـرِّئَ (burri’a) he was acquitted يُـبَـرَّأُ (yubarra’u) he is acquitted |
| عـاقَـبَ (‘āqaba) he punished | (3) | عـوقِـبَ (‘ūqiba) he was punished يُـعـاقَـبُ (yu‘āqabu) he is punished |
| بـارَكَ (bāraka) he blessed | (3) | بـورِكَ (būrika) he was blessed يُـبـارَكُ (yubāraku) he is blessed |
| أَكْـمَـلَ (’akmala) he completed | (4) | أُكْـمِـلَ (’ukmila) it was completed يُـكْـمَـلُ (yukmalu) it is completed |
| أَعْـجَـبَ (’a‘jaba) he impressed | (4) | أُعْـجِـبَ (’u‘jiba) he was impressed يُـعْـجَـبُ (yu‘jabu) he is impressed |
| اِنْـتَـخَـبَ (intakhaba) he elected | (8) | اُنْـتُـخِـبَ (untukhiba) he was elected يُـنْـتَـخَبُ (yuntakhabu) he is elected |
| اِخْـتَـبَـرَ (ikhtabara) he tested | (8) | اُخْـتُـبِـرَ (ukhtubira) he was tested يُخْـتَـبَـرُ (yukhtabaru) he is tested |
| اِسْـتَـقْـبَـلَ (istaqbala) he received | (10) | اُسْـتُـقْـبِـلَ (ustuqbila) he was received يُـسْـتَـقْـبَـلُ (yustaqbalu) he is received |
| اِسْـتَـأْجَـرَ (ista’jara) he rented | (10) | اُسْـتُـؤْجِـرَ (ustu’jira) it was rented يُـسْـتَـأْجَـرُ (yusta’jaru) it is rented |
Conjugation of Verbs in the Passive Voice
The conjugation of past and present verbs in the passive voice in Arabic is similar to that in the active voice. Appropriate prefixes and suffixes are added based on the gender and number of the subject.
Here are some examples:
| الْـكِـتـابـانِ كُـتِـبـا مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ نَـفْـسِ الْـكـاتِـبِ٠ al-kitābāni kutibā min qibali nafsi -l-kātib. The two books were written by the same writer. |
| نُـوّابُ الْـبَـرْلَـمـانِ يُـنْـتَـخَـبـونَ كُـلَّ أَرْبَـعِ سَـنَـواتٍ٠ nuwwābu -l-barlamāni yuntakhabūna kulla ’arba‘i sanawāt. Members of Parliament are elected every four years. |
Including the Performer of the Action
The performer of the action can be denoted by مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ (min qibali) ‘by,’ if it needs to be explicitly mentioned. For example:
| الْـمَـطْـعَـمُ سَـوْفَ يُـغْـلَـقُ مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ الْـمـالِـكِ٠ al-maṭ‘amu sawfa yughlaqu min qibali -l-mālik. The restaurant will be closed by the owner. |
| نُـوّابُ الْـبَـرْلَـمـانِ يُـنْـتَـخَـبـونَ مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ الـشَّـعْـبِ٠ nuwwābu -l-barlamāni yuntakhabūna min qibali -sh-sha‘b. Members of Parliament are elected by the people. |
In less formal language, the expression is often shortened to مِــنْ (min).For example:
| نُـوّابُ الْـبَـرْلَـمـانِ يُـنْـتَـخَـبـونَ مِـنَ الـشَّـعْـبِ٠ nuwwābu -l-barlamāni yuntakhabūna min (a) -sh-sha‘b. Members of Parliament are elected by the people. |
Declination of نـائِـب فـاعِـل (nā’ib fa‘il) ‘subject replacement’
The noun that follows the verb in a passive-voice sentence is called نـائِـب فـاعِـل (nā’ib fa‘il) ‘subject replacement’ and is in the nominative case. This noun is the same as the مَـفْـعـول بِـهِ (maf‘ūl bihi) ‘object’ in the active-voice sentence, which is in the accusative. For example:
| Active Voice | كَـتَـبَ الـرَّجُـلُ الْـوَصِـيَّـةَ٠ kataba -r-rajulu -l-waṣiyyata. The man wrote the will. | الْـوَصِـيَّـةَ (al-waṣiyyata) ‘the will’ serves as مَـفْـعـول بِـه (maf‘ūl bihi) ‘object.’ |
| Passive Voice | كُـتِـبَـتِ الْـوَصِـيَّـةُ٠ kutibat (i) -l-waṣiyyatu. The will was written. | الْـوَصِـيَّـةُ (al-waṣiyyatu) ‘the will’ serves as نـائِـب فـاعِـل (nā’ib fa‘il) ‘subject replacement.’ |
Passive Voice in Arabic Using the Verb تَــمَّ (tamma)
An alternative way to express the passive voice in Arabic is by using the verb تَــمَّ (tamma) ‘it was accomplished,’ followed by a verbal noun instead of a verb:
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| Past Verb | تَـمَّ tamma | تَـمَّـتْ tammat |
| Present Verb | يَـتِـمُّ yatimmu | تَـتِـمُّ tatimmu |
Here are some examples:
| الْـكِـتـابـانِ تَـمَّـتْ كِـتـابَـتُـهُـمـا مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ نَـفْـسِ الْـكـاتِـبِ٠ al-kitābāni tammat kitābatuhumā min qibali nafsi -l-kātib. The two books were written by the same writer. |
| الْـمَـطْـعَـمُ سَـوْفَ يَـتِـمُّ إِغْـلاقُـهُ مِـنْ قِـبَـلِ الْـمـالِـكِ٠ al-maṭ‘amu sawfa yatimmu ’ighlāquhu min qibali -l-mālik. The restaurant will be closed by the owner. |
| نُـوّابُ الْـبَـرْلَـمـانِ يَـتِـمُّ اِنْـتِـخـابُـهُـمْ كُـلَّ أَرْبَـعِ سَـنَـواتٍ٠ nuwwābu -l-barlamāni yatimmu -ntikhābuhum kulla ’arba‘i sanawāt. Members of Parliament are elected every four years. |
Other lessons in Level VI: