The noun of the action
The مَصْدَر is the name of the action itself: كَتَبَ he wrote gives الْكِتَابَة, writing. English covers the same ground with "-ing" and with "to": reading is useful, I like to read. Arabic uses one noun for both.
- الْقِرَاءَةُ مُفِيدَةٌ. — Reading is useful.
- أُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ. — I like reading.
- بَعْدَ الْأَكْلِ نَذْهَبُ. — After eating we will go.
Form I has to be memorised
There is no rule that predicts the masdar of a form I verb. Learn it with the verb:
| Verb | Masdar | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| كَتَبَ | كِتَابَة | writing |
| قَرَأَ | قِرَاءَة | reading |
| دَرَسَ | دِرَاسَة | studying |
| ذَهَبَ | ذَهَاب | going |
| عَمِلَ | عَمَل | working, work |
| فَهِمَ | فَهْم | understanding |
| خَرَجَ | خُرُوج | going out |
The derived forms are predictable
| Form | Pattern | Verb | Masdar |
|---|---|---|---|
| II | تَفْعِيل | دَرَّسَ | تَدْرِيس |
| III | مُفَاعَلَة | شَارَكَ | مُشَارَكَة |
| IV | إِفْعَال | أَرْسَلَ | إِرْسَال |
| V | تَفَعُّل | تَعَلَّمَ | تَعَلُّم |
| VI | تَفَاعُل | تَعَاوَنَ | تَعَاوُن |
| VII | اِنْفِعَال | اِنْكَسَرَ | اِنْكِسَار |
| VIII | اِفْتِعَال | اِجْتَمَعَ | اِجْتِمَاع |
| X | اِسْتِفْعَال | اِسْتَخْدَمَ | اِسْتِخْدَام |
A masdar behaves like any other noun
It takes ال, it takes a case ending, and it can head an iḍāfa. What would be the object of the verb becomes the second noun of that iḍāfa:
- تَدْرِيسُ اللُّغَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ صَعْبٌ. — Teaching Arabic is hard.
- بَعْدَ قِرَاءَةِ الْكِتَابِ فَهِمْتُ الْمَوْضُوعَ. — After reading the book I understood the subject.
- أَثْنَاءَ اجْتِمَاعِ الْمُدِيرِينَ — during the managers' meeting
Masdar or أنْ plus a verb
Both are correct and often interchangeable. The masdar is shorter and more formal:
- أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ. = أُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ. — I like to read.
- قَبْلَ أَنْ أَذْهَبَ = قَبْلَ الذَّهَابِ — before I go, before going
A preposition cannot be followed directly by a conjugated verb, because it needs a noun: use the masdar (بَعْدَ الْأَكْلِ) or أَنْ plus the verb (بَعْدَ أَنْ أَكَلْتُ).
Watch out as an English speaker
- The masdar is a noun and normally needs ال or an iḍāfa. ✗ أُحِبُّ قِرَاءَةَ. / ✓ أُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ.
- A preposition cannot be followed by a conjugated verb on its own. ✗ بَعْدَ أَكَلْتُ / ✓ بَعْدَ الْأَكْلِ or بَعْدَ أَنْ أَكَلْتُ.
- The object of a masdar goes into the genitive, not the accusative. ✗ تَدْرِيسُ اللُّغَةَ / ✓ تَدْرِيسُ اللُّغَةِ.
- Form I masdars are not predictable, so guessing a pattern will produce a non-word.
Example dialogue
مَا رَأْيُكَ فِي الدِّرَاسَةِ هُنَا؟ — What do you think of studying here?
التَّعَلُّمُ سَرِيعٌ، لَكِنَّ الِاسْتِخْدَامَ الْيَوْمِيَّ أَهَمُّ. — The learning is fast, but daily use is more important.
وَهَلْ تُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ؟ — And do you like reading in Arabic?
نَعَمْ، بَعْدَ قِرَاءَةِ الصُّحُفِ أَفْهَمُ أَكْثَرَ. — Yes, after reading the newspapers I understand more.
سَأُرْسِلُ لَكَ مَوْعِدَ الِاجْتِمَاعِ. — I will send you the time of the meeting.