Lesson 145: Calling and Hoping

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Nothing new is introduced in this lesson; the point is to recognise the defective verb at reading speed. In a newspaper the verb usually comes first, in the 3rd person, often with a feminine subject (أَجْرَتِ الْحُكُومَةُ) or in the passive (أُجْرِيَ إِحْصَاءٌ), and its final weak letter has very often disappeared into an alif, a kasra or a ḍamma. Read each example below twice: once for the meaning, once asking yourself which of the three models of lesson 144 (رَمَى, دَعَا, نَسِيَ) the verb follows and which form (I to X) it belongs to. The vocabulary is that of the city: its council, bridges, quarters, hospital and stadium.

Rule 1: 1. Defective verbs in the news: the shapes to recognise

Five shapes account for nearly every defective verb you will meet in a report. (a) The perfect with no suffix, ending in alif or alif maqṣūra: دَعَا, أَدَّى, تَلَقَّى. (b) The feminine perfect, where the weak letter has gone and only ـَتْ remains: جَرَتْ, اِنْتَهَتْ, أَجْرَتْ. (c) The passive perfect in ـِيَ: أُجْرِيَ, أُلْقِيَ, دُعِيَ. (d) The indicative in ـِي or ـُو: يُؤَدِّي, يَرْجُو, تَنْتَهِي. (e) The jussive after لَمْ, where the final letter has dropped: لَمْ تَنْتَهِ, لَمْ يُجْرِ, لَمْ يَدْعُ.

دَعَا رَئِيسُ الْمَجْلِسِ السُّكَّانَ إِلَى حُضُورِ الِاجْتِمَاعِ.
daʿā raʾīsu l-majlisi s-sukkāna ilā ḥuḍūri l-ijtimāʿi
The chairman of the council called on the inhabitants to attend the meeting.
دَعَا … إِلَى 'to call (someone) to'; the alif stands for the و of د-ع-و.
أَدَّى الزِّحَامُ إِلَى تَأْخِيرِ الْحَافِلَاتِ.
adda z-ziḥāmu ilā taʾkhīri l-ḥāfilāti
The congestion led to the buses being delayed.
أَدَّى، يُؤَدِّي is Form II of أ-د-ي; alif maqṣūra because the root ends in ي.
أُجْرِيَ إِحْصَاءٌ لِسُكَّانِ الْحَيِّ.
ujriya iḥṣāʾun li-sukkāni l-ḥayyi
A census of the quarter's inhabitants was carried out.
Passive perfect of أَجْرَى (Form IV): after the kasra the weak letter is a stable ي.
تَلَقَّى الْمُسْتَشْفَى هَدِيَّةً كَبِيرَةً مِنْ أَحَدِ التُّجَّارِ.
talaqqa l-mustashfā hadiyyatan kabīratan min aḥadi t-tujjāri
The hospital received a large gift from one of the merchants.
Form V, imperfect يَتَلَقَّى. مُسْتَشْفًى is itself a noun of place from a defective root (lesson 126).
لَمْ تَنْتَهِ أَعْمَالُ الْجِسْرِ بَعْدُ.
lam tantahi aʿmālu l-jisri baʿdu
The works on the bridge have not finished yet.
Jussive: the ي of تَنْتَهِي drops and its kasra remains. بَعْدُ with ḍamma and no complement means 'yet'.
يَرْجُو الْمَجْلِسُ أَنْ يَنْتَهِيَ الْعَمَلُ قَبْلَ الشِّتَاءِ.
yarju l-majlisu an yantahiya l-ʿamalu qabla sh-shitāʾi
The council hopes that the work will finish before winter.
Indicative يَرْجُو; subjunctive يَنْتَهِيَ with its fatḥa written and pronounced.

Ten defective verbs of the newspaper

Each is given in the four shapes that appear most often in print. جَرَى, مَضَى and لَقِيَ are Form I; the rest are derived forms, whose imperfect ends in ـِي (ـَى in the Form V تَوَلَّى) and whose jussive drops the final long vowel.
He	She	Imperfect	Jussive	Verbal noun	Meaning
أَدَّى	أَدَّتْ	يُؤَدِّي	لَمْ يُؤَدِّ	تَأْدِيَةٌ	to lead to (إِلَى); to perform (a duty)
أَجْرَى	أَجْرَتْ	يُجْرِي	لَمْ يُجْرِ	إِجْرَاءٌ	to carry out, conduct
جَرَى	جَرَتْ	يَجْرِي	لَمْ يَجْرِ	جَرْيٌ	to run; (of an event) to take place
أَلْقَى	أَلْقَتْ	يُلْقِي	لَمْ يُلْقِ	إِلْقَاءٌ	to throw; to deliver (a speech)
لَقِيَ	لَقِيَتْ	يَلْقَى	لَمْ يَلْقَ	لِقَاءٌ	to meet, encounter
اِلْتَقَى بِـ	اِلْتَقَتْ بِـ	يَلْتَقِي بِـ	لَمْ يَلْتَقِ بِـ	اِلْتِقَاءٌ	to meet with
تَوَلَّى	تَوَلَّتْ	يَتَوَلَّى	لَمْ يَتَوَلَّ	تَوَلٍّ	to take charge of
اِنْتَهَى	اِنْتَهَتْ	يَنْتَهِي	لَمْ يَنْتَهِ	اِنْتِهَاءٌ	to come to an end
مَضَى	مَضَتْ	يَمْضِي	لَمْ يَمْضِ	مُضِيٌّ	to pass, elapse; to go on
أَبْدَى	أَبْدَتْ	يُبْدِي	لَمْ يُبْدِ	إِبْدَاءٌ	to express, show (an opinion, thanks)

Rule 2: 2. The news sentence: what will, did and is expected to happen

A report moves between three times. The future is marked by سَـ on the imperfect (سَتَجْرِي, سَيُفْتَحُ); the completed past by the perfect, often with قَدْ (قَدِ انْتَهَتْ); and expectation by the impersonal phrases مِنَ الْمُنْتَظَرِ أَنْ it is expected that and مِنَ الْمُحْتَمَلِ أَنْ it is probable that, both followed by the subjunctive, or their opposite مِنَ الْمُسْتَحِيلِ أَنْ it is impossible that. Statements are attributed with صَرَّحَ … بِأَنَّ declared that, أَعْلَنَ أَنَّ announced that, and results are introduced by أَسْفَرَ عَنْ resulted in, revealed. Note also بِلَا without, that is بِـ + لَا, followed by an indefinite genitive like بِغَيْرِ (lesson 128).

سَتَجْرِي الْمُبَارَاةُ فِي مَلْعَبِ الْمَدِينَةِ بَعْدَ ظُهْرِ الْجُمُعَةِ.
satajri l-mubārātu fī malʿabi l-madīnati baʿda ẓuhri l-jumuʿati
The match will take place in the city stadium on Friday afternoon.
جَرَى 'to run' is the ordinary verb for an event 'taking place'.
صَرَّحَ رَئِيسُ الْمَجْلِسِ بِأَنَّ الْجِسْرَ سَيُفْتَحُ فِي أَوَاخِرِ الشَّهْرِ.
ṣarraḥa raʾīsu l-majlisi bi-anna l-jisra sayuftaḥu fī awākhiri sh-shahri
The chairman of the council declared that the bridge would be opened at the end of the month.
أَوَاخِرُ 'the last days', أَوَائِلُ 'the first days', أَوَاسِطُ 'the middle' of a month or year.
مِنَ الْمُنْتَظَرِ أَنْ يَصِلَ الضُّيُوفُ غَدًا.
mina l-muntaẓari an yaṣila ḍ-ḍuyūfu ghadan
The guests are expected to arrive tomorrow.
Literally '(it is) of what is awaited that …': the passive participle of اِنْتَظَرَ.
مِنَ الْمُسْتَحِيلِ أَنْ يَنْتَهِيَ الْبِنَاءُ هٰذِهِ السَّنَةَ.
mina l-mustaḥīli an yantahiya l-bināʾu hādhihi s-sanata
It is impossible for the building to be finished this year.
مُسْتَحِيلٌ 'impossible' is the participle of اِسْتَحَالَ (Form X, hollow).
أَسْفَرَ الْإِحْصَاءُ عَنْ أَنَّ عَدَدَ السُّكَّانِ قَدْ زَادَ.
asfara l-iḥṣāʾu ʿan anna ʿadada s-sukkāni qad zāda
The census revealed that the number of inhabitants had increased.
أَسْفَرَ عَنْ takes أَنَّ with an accusative subject.
عَاشَ الرَّجُلُ أُسْبُوعًا كَامِلًا بِلَا طَعَامٍ.
ʿāsha r-rajulu usbūʿan kāmilan bi-lā ṭaʿāmin
The man lived a whole week without food.
بِلَا + indefinite genitive; بِلَا مَاءٍ، بِلَا نَوْمٍ.

Rule 3: 3. Reporting what someone said: حَكَى لِي أَنَّ، قَالَ إِنَّ

Reported speech after a verb of saying uses أَنَّ with an accusative subject, except after قَالَ, which takes إِنَّ (lesson 70). حَكَى، يَحْكِي to relate, tell is the defective verb of story-telling, and it introduces the human-interest paragraph of a newspaper exactly as it introduces a tale: حَكَى لِي جَارِي أَنَّ …. Pronouns inside the report are those of the reporter, not of the speaker: he said that he had forgotten is قَالَ إِنَّهُ نَسِيَ.

حَكَى لِي جَارِي أَنَّهُ لَقِيَ شَيْخًا يَبْكِي فِي السُّوقِ.
ḥakā lī jārī annahu laqiya shaykhan yabkī fi s-sūqi
My neighbour told me that he had met an old man weeping in the market.
Two defective verbs: حَكَى (perfect) and يَبْكِي (indicative, describing the state of the old man).
قَالَ الشَّيْخُ إِنَّهُ نَسِيَ أَيْنَ تَرَكَ مِحْفَظَتَهُ.
qāla sh-shaykhu innahu nasiya ayna taraka miḥfaẓatahu
The old man said that he had forgotten where he had left his wallet.
إِنَّ after قَالَ; نَسِيَ, the فَعِلَ type, keeps its ي before the fatḥa.
أَعْلَنَ الْمَجْلِسُ أَنَّ أَعْمَالَ الْجِسْرِ قَدِ انْتَهَتْ.
aʿlana l-majlisu anna aʿmāla l-jisri qadi ntahat
The council announced that the works on the bridge had finished.
قَدِ takes a kasra before the hamzat al-waṣl of اِنْتَهَتْ.

Vocabulary

Why do words end with “-un”?

The -un ending is called tanween (nunation). It marks indefinite nouns — similar to “a/an” in English.

كِتَابٌ (kitaabun) = a bookvsكِتَاب (kitaab) = book (base word)

To find the base word, simply remove the final “-un” sound (the double-stacked damma بٌ on the last letter).

جِسْرٌ

jisrun

bridge

حَيٌّ

ḥayyun

quarter, district (of a town)

مُسْتَشْفًى

mustashfan

hospital

مَلْعَبٌ

malʿabun

playing field, stadium

مُبَارَاةٌ

mubārātun

match, contest

زِحَامٌ

ziḥāmun

crowding, congestion

سُكَّانٌ

sukkānun

inhabitants, population

إِحْصَاءٌ

iḥṣāʾun

census; statistic, count

خِطَابٌ

khiṭābun

speech, address

أَدَّى، يُؤَدِّي

addā, yuʾaddī

to lead to, result in (إِلَى); to perform (a duty, the prayer)

أَجْرَى، يُجْرِي

ajrā, yujrī

to carry out, conduct (a census, an inquiry, a match)

جَرَى، يَجْرِي

jarā, yajrī

to run, flow; (of an event) to take place

أَلْقَى، يُلْقِي

alqā, yulqī

to throw, cast; to deliver (a speech, a lesson)

لَقِيَ، يَلْقَى

laqiya, yalqā

to meet, encounter, find

اِنْتَهَى، يَنْتَهِي

intahā, yantahī

to come to an end, finish; اِنْتَهَى مِنْ to finish (something)

أَبْدَى، يُبْدِي

abdā, yubdī

to express, show, display (an opinion, thanks, readiness)

Step 2 of 5: Read

City news

مِنْ أَخْبَارِ الْمَدِينَةِ

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.When will the new bridge be opened to traffic?
2.Between which two teams will the match be played?
3.What will the hospital spend the merchant's gift on?
4.What did the census reveal about the number of inhabitants?
5.What had the old man on the pavement forgotten?

In the Quran

أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ
Surah Al-Baqarah · 2:186
أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ 'I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me': the participle دَاعٍ written اَلدَّاعِ without its ي, and دَعَانِ for دَعَانِي, the perfect of دَعَا with the suffix shortened.
- أُجِيبُujībuI respond
- دَعْوَةَdaʿwata(to the) invocation
- ٱلدَّاعِl-dāʿi(of) the supplicant
- إِذَاidhāwhen
- دَعَانِ ۖdaʿānihe calls Me
Read in context
فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِى ٱلْيَمِّ
Surah Al-Qasas · 28:7
فَإِذَا خِفْتِ عَلَيْهِ فَأَلْقِيهِ فِي الْيَمِّ 'and when you fear for him, cast him into the river': the feminine imperative أَلْقِي of أَلْقَى, Form IV, with the suffix ـهِ.
- فَإِذَاfa-idhābut when
- خِفْتِkhif'tiyou fear
- عَلَيْهِʿalayhifor him
- فَأَلْقِيهِfa-alqīhithen cast him
- فِىfīin(to)
- ٱلْيَمِّl-yamithe river
Read in context
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَىٰ
Surah Ad-Duhaa · 93:3
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى 'your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased': the perfect قَلَى، يَقْلِي 'to detest', written with alif maqṣūra like رَمَى; its object is left unexpressed.
- مَاmāNot
- وَدَّعَكَwaddaʿakahas forsaken you
- رَبُّكَrabbukayour Lord
- وَمَاwamāand not
- قَلَىٰqalāHe is displeased
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 70/0 correct

Fill in the blank

Complete with the correct form of اِنْتَهَى after لَمْ:

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

دَعَا الْمَجْلِسُ سُكَّانَ الْحَيِّ إِلَى اجْتِمَاعٍ فِي الْمَلْعَبِ.

2.

أَجْرَتِ الْحُكُومَةُ إِحْصَاءً جَدِيدًا، فَأَسْفَرَ عَنْ أَنَّ السُّكَّانَ قَدْ زَادُوا.

3.

لَمْ تَنْتَهِ أَعْمَالُ الْجِسْرِ، وَمِنَ الْمُنْتَظَرِ أَنْ تَنْتَهِيَ فِي أَوَائِلِ الصَّيْفِ.

4.

أَلْقَى رَئِيسُ الْمَجْلِسِ خِطَابًا طَوِيلًا وَأَبْدَى فِيهِ شُكْرَهُ لِلسُّكَّانِ.

5.

حَكَى لِي صَدِيقِي أَنَّهُ لَقِيَ أَخَاكَ فِي الْمُسْتَشْفَى أَمْسِ.

6.

أَدَّى الزِّحَامُ فِي وَسَطِ الْمَدِينَةِ إِلَى تَأْخِيرِ الْمُبَارَاةِ سَاعَةً.

Translate from English to Arabic

Type your translation, then check it. Spelling and vowel marks are graded leniently.

1.

The match will take place on Friday in the new stadium.

2.

The hospital received a large gift from a merchant of the city.

3.

The council hopes that the bridge will be opened before winter.

4.

A census of the inhabitants of the new quarters was carried out last month.

5.

The chairman declared that the works had not finished yet.

6.

The old man lived three days without water.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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