When a root letter is و or ي
A verb is weak when one of its three root letters is و or ي. Those two letters do not survive every position: they stretch into a long vowel, or they disappear. The endings themselves never change. Everything you learned about كَتَبْتُ and يَكْتُبُ still applies; only the stem moves.
Three types, named after the position of the weak letter, plus doubled verbs as a fourth group.
Hollow verbs (الْأَجْوَف): weak middle letter
قَالَ (root ق و ل) and نَامَ (root ن و م) show a long ا in "he" forms. Whenever the ending starts with a consonant (ـتُ، ـتَ، ـنَا، ـنَ), that long vowel shortens.
| Pronoun | قَالَ to say | نَامَ to sleep | بَاعَ to sell |
|---|---|---|---|
| أَنَا | قُلْتُ | نِمْتُ | بِعْتُ |
| أَنْتَ | قُلْتَ | نِمْتَ | بِعْتَ |
| هُوَ | قَالَ | نَامَ | بَاعَ |
| هِيَ | قَالَتْ | نَامَتْ | بَاعَتْ |
| نَحْنُ | قُلْنَا | نِمْنَا | بِعْنَا |
| هُمْ | قَالُوا | نَامُوا | بَاعُوا |
Which short vowel appears is decided by the present tense: يَقُولُ has ū, so the short form is قُلْتُ; يَبِيعُ has ī, so بِعْتُ. Verbs with ā in the present (يَنَامُ, يَخَافُ) take a kasra: نِمْتُ, خِفْتُ.
The present is regular: أَقُولُ، تَقُولُ، يَقُولُ، نَقُولُ، يَقُولُونَ. But the jussive shortens again, because the ending is a sukun: لَمْ يَقُلْ, لَمْ يَنَمْ, لَمْ يَبِعْ.
Defective verbs (النَّاقِص): weak last letter
The weak letter sits at the end, where the case endings would be, so it bends.
| Verb | Present | I | He | She | They (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| مَشَى to walk | يَمْشِي | مَشَيْتُ | مَشَى | مَشَتْ | مَشَوْا |
| دَعَا to invite | يَدْعُو | دَعَوْتُ | دَعَا | دَعَتْ | دَعَوْا |
| نَسِيَ to forget | يَنْسَى | نَسِيتُ | نَسِيَ | نَسِيَتْ | نَسُوا |
In the jussive the final vowel drops altogether: لَمْ يَمْشِ, لَمْ يَدْعُ, لَمْ يَنْسَ.
- مَشَيْتُ إِلَى الْمَكْتَبَةِ. — I walked to the library.
- نَسِيَتْ مِفْتَاحَهَا. — She forgot her key.
Assimilated verbs (الْمِثَال): weak first letter
The past is completely regular. In the present the initial و usually disappears.
| Verb | Meaning | Present |
|---|---|---|
| وَصَلَ | to arrive | يَصِلُ |
| وَجَدَ | to find | يَجِدُ |
| وَقَفَ | to stop, to stand | يَقِفُ |
| وَضَعَ | to put | يَضَعُ |
- وَصَلْتُ أَمْسِ، وَأَصِلُ غَدًا مُبَكِّرًا. — I arrived yesterday, and I will arrive early tomorrow.
Doubled verbs (الْمُضَاعَف)
The second and third root letters are identical, so they merge under a shadda: رَدَّ he answered, يَرُدُّ. Before a consonant ending the shadda splits into two letters: رَدَدْتُ، رَدَدْنَا, but رَدَّتْ، رَدُّوا.
Watch out as an English speaker
- Do not keep the long vowel before a consonant ending. ✗ قَالْتُ / ✓ قُلْتُ.
- The jussive of a hollow verb is short. ✗ لَمْ يَقُولْ / ✓ لَمْ يَقُلْ.
- The و of an assimilated verb is gone in the present. ✗ أَوْصِلُ غَدًا / ✓ أَصِلُ غَدًا.
- A doubled verb splits before ـتُ. ✗ رَدَّتُ / ✓ رَدَدْتُ.
- Look the verb up under its root, not its surface letters: قَالَ is under ق و ل, وَصَلَ under و ص ل.
Example dialogue
مَتَى وَصَلْتَ؟ — When did you arrive?
وَصَلْتُ أَمْسِ، لَكِنِّي لَمْ أَنَمْ جَيِّدًا. — I arrived yesterday, but I did not sleep well.
مَاذَا قَالَ الطَّبِيبُ؟ — What did the doctor say?
قَالَ لِي: لَا تَنْسَ الدَّوَاءَ. وَلَكِنِّي نَسِيتُهُ، فَمَشَيْتُ إِلَى الصَّيْدَلِيَّةِ. — He told me not to forget the medicine. But I forgot it, so I walked to the pharmacy.
هَلْ وَجَدْتَهُ؟ — Did you find it?