Lesson 67: The Subjunctive

The imperfect يَكْتُبُ that you learned in lesson 65 is only one of three shapes the imperfect can take. Arabic grammarians call these shapes moods. The indicative (اَلْمَرْفُوعُ) ends in -u and makes plain statements: يَرْجِعُ he returns. The subjunctive (اَلْمَنْصُوبُ) ends in -a and appears after certain particles: أَنْ يَرْجِعَ that he return. The jussive (اَلْمَجْزُومُ) has no vowel at all on the last radical: يَرْجِعْ. The jussive has its own lesson (lesson 71); here we study the subjunctive, which is the mood of wanting, intending, fearing and purpose.

Rule 1: 1. The three moods

Only the ending changes; the prefix and the stem stay exactly as in the indicative. The mood is decided by what stands before the verb: a plain statement takes the indicative, the particles of this lesson take the subjunctive, and the particles of lesson 71 take the jussive.

يَرْجِعُ الْمُسَافِرُ غَدًا.
yarjiʿu l-musāfiru ghadan
The traveller returns tomorrow.
Indicative: final -u.
أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ الْمُسَافِرُ غَدًا.
urīdu an yarjiʿa l-musāfiru ghadan
I want the traveller to return tomorrow.
Subjunctive after أَنْ: final -a.
يَرْجِعْ
yarjiʿ
(jussive form: no final vowel)
You will meet the jussive in lesson 71.
تَرْجِعِينَ، أَنْ تَرْجِعِي
tarjiʿīna, an tarjiʿī
you (f.) return; that you (f.) return
Where the indicative ends in nūn, the subjunctive drops it.

Rule 2: 2. The subjunctive endings

Five persons end in -u in the indicative (يَحْمِلُ، تَحْمِلُ، أَحْمِلُ، نَحْمِلُ); in the subjunctive this -u becomes -a. Five persons end in -na or -ni (تَحْمِلِينَ، يَحْمِلَانِ، تَحْمِلَانِ، يَحْمِلُونَ، تَحْمِلُونَ); in the subjunctive this nūn is dropped, and after the ـُوا of the plural a silent alif is written, as in the perfect كَتَبُوا. The two feminine plurals يَحْمِلْنَ and تَحْمِلْنَ never change: their nūn is part of the pronoun, not a mood ending.

يَحْمِلُ، أَنْ يَحْمِلَ
yaḥmilu, an yaḥmila
he carries; that he carry
تَحْمِلِينَ، أَنْ تَحْمِلِي
taḥmilīna, an taḥmilī
you (f.) carry; that you (f.) carry
يَحْمِلَانِ، أَنْ يَحْمِلَا
yaḥmilāni, an yaḥmilā
they two carry; that they two carry
تَحْمِلُونَ، أَنْ تَحْمِلُوا
taḥmilūna, an taḥmilū
you (m. pl.) carry; that you carry
The alif after ـُوا is silent.
يَحْمِلْنَ، أَنْ يَحْمِلْنَ
yaḥmilna, an yaḥmilna
they (f.) carry; that they (f.) carry
Unchanged.

The three moods of كَتَبَ side by side

Indicative, subjunctive and jussive of the imperfect يَكْتُبُ. Forms marked * drop the nūn of the indicative; the feminine plurals are identical in all three moods.
Person	Indicative	Subjunctive	Jussive
he	يَكْتُبُ	يَكْتُبَ	يَكْتُبْ
she	تَكْتُبُ	تَكْتُبَ	تَكْتُبْ
you (m.)	تَكْتُبُ	تَكْتُبَ	تَكْتُبْ
you (f.)	تَكْتُبِينَ	تَكْتُبِي *	تَكْتُبِي *
I	أَكْتُبُ	أَكْتُبَ	أَكْتُبْ
they two (m.)	يَكْتُبَانِ	يَكْتُبَا *	يَكْتُبَا *
they two (f.)	تَكْتُبَانِ	تَكْتُبَا *	تَكْتُبَا *
you two	تَكْتُبَانِ	تَكْتُبَا *	تَكْتُبَا *
they (m.)	يَكْتُبُونَ	يَكْتُبُوا *	يَكْتُبُوا *
they (f.)	يَكْتُبْنَ	يَكْتُبْنَ	يَكْتُبْنَ
you (m. pl.)	تَكْتُبُونَ	تَكْتُبُوا *	تَكْتُبُوا *
you (f. pl.)	تَكْتُبْنَ	تَكْتُبْنَ	تَكْتُبْنَ
we	نَكْتُبُ	نَكْتُبَ	نَكْتُبْ

The subjunctive of رَجَعَ / يَرْجِعُ with أَنْ

A verb whose second radical takes kasra in the imperfect. Only the ending differs from يَكْتُبُ.
Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
3 m.	أَنْ يَرْجِعَ	أَنْ يَرْجِعَا	أَنْ يَرْجِعُوا
3 f.	أَنْ تَرْجِعَ	أَنْ تَرْجِعَا	أَنْ يَرْجِعْنَ
2 m.	أَنْ تَرْجِعَ	أَنْ تَرْجِعَا	أَنْ تَرْجِعُوا
2 f.	أَنْ تَرْجِعِي	أَنْ تَرْجِعَا	أَنْ تَرْجِعْنَ
1 m. f.	أَنْ أَرْجِعَ	—	أَنْ نَرْجِعَ

Rule 3: 3. أَنْ "that" and أَلَّا "that … not"

أَنْ that introduces a clause after verbs of wanting, asking, fearing, hoping and the like. The verb after it is always subjunctive. Its negative is أَلَّا, a contraction of أَنْ لَا. Notice that English often uses to + verb where Arabic uses أَنْ + subjunctive: I want to board is literally I want that I board.

أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَرْكَبَ الْقِطَارَ.
urīdu an arkaba l-qiṭāra
I want to board the train.
طَلَبَ الْأَبُ مِنِ ابْنِهِ أَنْ يَحْمِلَ الْحَقِيبَةَ.
ṭalaba l-abu mini bnihi an yaḥmila l-ḥaqībata
The father asked his son to carry the bag.
مِنْ takes kasra before the hamzat al-waṣl of اِبْن.
هَلْ تُرِيدِينَ أَنْ تَذْهَبِي إِلَى الْمِينَاءِ؟
hal turīdīna an tadhhabī ilā l-mīnāʾi
Do you (f.) want to go to the port?
تَذْهَبِينَ loses its nūn.
أَرَادَ الْمُسَافِرُونَ أَنْ يَنْزِلُوا فِي هٰذِهِ الْمَحَطَّةِ.
arāda l-musāfirūna an yanzilū fī hādhihi l-maḥaṭṭati
The travellers wanted to get off at this station.
أَخَافُ أَلَّا تَصِلَ السَّفِينَةُ الْيَوْمَ.
akhāfu allā taṣila s-safīnatu l-yawma
I am afraid the ship will not arrive today.
أَلَّا = أَنْ + لَا.

Rule 4: 4. لَنْ "will not, never"

لَنْ is the strong negative of the future. It replaces سَـ or سَوْفَ entirely, and the verb after it is subjunctive: سَيَرْحَلُ he will depart but لَنْ يَرْحَلَ he will not depart. Never combine لَنْ with سَـ.

لَنْ أَرْحَلَ قَبْلَ الصَّبَاحِ.
lan arḥala qabla ṣ-ṣabāḥi
I will not depart before morning.
لَنْ يَصِلَ الْقِطَارُ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ.
lan yaṣila l-qiṭāru qabla ẓ-ẓuhri
The train will not arrive before noon.
لَنْ تَرْكَبَ أُخْتِي السَّفِينَةَ وَحْدَهَا.
lan tarkaba ukhtī s-safīnata waḥdahā
My sister will not board the ship alone.
لَنْ نَتْعَبَ فِي هٰذَا الطَّرِيقِ الْقَصِيرِ.
lan natʿaba fī hādhā ṭ-ṭarīqi l-qaṣīri
We will not get tired on this short road.
لَنْ تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى هٰذَا الْبَلَدِ.
lan tarjiʿū ilā hādhā l-baladi
You (pl.) will never return to this country.

Rule 5: 5. Particles of purpose: لِـ، لِئَلَّا، كَيْ، لِكَيْ، حَتَّى

To say in order to, Arabic prefixes لِـ to the subjunctive, or uses كَيْ / لِكَيْ. The negatives are لِئَلَّا (from لِأَنْ لَا) and كَيْلَا / لِكَيْلَا so that … not, lest. حَتَّى followed by the subjunctive means until or so that. You already met كَيْ and حَتَّى in reading lesson 35; now you know why the verb after them ends in -a.

ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى الْمَحَطَّةِ لِأَشْتَرِيَ تَذْكِرَةً.
dhahabtu ilā l-maḥaṭṭati li-ashtariya tadhkiratan
I went to the station to buy a ticket.
رَكِبَ الرَّجُلُ الْقِطَارَ كَيْ يَصِلَ بَاكِرًا.
rakiba r-rajulu l-qiṭāra kay yaṣila bākiran
The man took the train in order to arrive early.
حَمَلْتُ الْحَقِيبَةَ لِئَلَّا تَتْعَبَ أُمِّي.
ḥamaltu l-ḥaqībata li-allā tatʿaba ummī
I carried the bag so that my mother would not get tired.
رَحَلُوا فِي اللَّيْلِ لِكَيْلَا يَتْعَبُوا مِنَ الشَّمْسِ.
raḥalū fī l-layli li-kaylā yatʿabū mina sh-shamsi
They departed at night so as not to be worn out by the sun.
نَجْلِسُ فِي الْمَحَطَّةِ حَتَّى يَصِلَ الْقِطَارُ.
najlisu fī l-maḥaṭṭati ḥattā yaṣila l-qiṭāru
We sit in the station until the train arrives.

Rule 6: 6. فَ and وَ of result

When فَ (less often وَ) introduces the result of a preceding command, prohibition, wish, hope or question, the verb after it is subjunctive. English says so that or simply and: اِذْهَبْ إِلَى الْمَحَطَّةِ فَتَشْتَرِيَ التَّذْكِرَةَ go to the station and (so) buy the ticket. After a plain statement فَ does not do this; the verb stays indicative.

اِذْهَبْ إِلَى الْمَحَطَّةِ فَتَشْتَرِيَ التَّذْكِرَةَ.
idhhab ilā l-maḥaṭṭati fa-tashtariya t-tadhkirata
Go to the station so that you may buy the ticket.
After a command.
لَا تَرْكَبِ السَّفِينَةَ فَتَمْرَضَ.
lā tarkabi s-safīnata fa-tamraḍa
Do not board the ship, lest you fall ill.
After a prohibition.
هَلْ تَرْحَلُ مَعَنَا فَنَصِلَ مَعًا؟
hal tarḥalu maʿanā fa-naṣila maʿan
Will you depart with us, so that we arrive together?
After a question.
أَرْجُو أَنْ تَرْجِعَ سَالِمًا فَنَفْرَحَ بِكَ.
arjū an tarjiʿa sāliman fa-nafraḥa bika
I hope you return safe, so that we may rejoice in you.
After a hope.

أَنَّ with a noun, أَنْ with a verb

أَعْرِفُ أَنَّهُ يَرْجِعُ غَدًا.

aʿrifu annahu yarjiʿu ghadan

I know that he is returning tomorrow.

أُرِيدُ أَنْ يَرْجِعَ غَدًا.

urīdu an yarjiʿa ghadan

I want him to return tomorrow.

أَنَّ (with shadda, lesson 27) reports a fact and is followed by a noun or pronoun suffix; the verb that follows stays indicative. أَنْ (with sukūn) is followed directly by a subjunctive verb and expresses something wanted, feared or intended, not yet a fact.

The Subjunctive

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Rule 1: 1. The three moods

Rule 2: 2. The subjunctive endings

The three moods of كَتَبَ side by side

The subjunctive of رَجَعَ / يَرْجِعُ with أَنْ

Rule 3: 3. أَنْ "that" and أَلَّا "that … not"

Rule 4: 4. لَنْ "will not, never"

Rule 5: 5. Particles of purpose: لِـ، لِئَلَّا، كَيْ، لِكَيْ، حَتَّى

Rule 6: 6. فَ and وَ of result

أَنَّ with a noun, أَنْ with a verb

Conjugations: "To Have"

Vocabulary

Step 2 of 5: Read

A trip to uncle's house

Notes

Comprehension

In the Quran

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

Translate from English to Arabic

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

How many questions would you like?

Step 5 of 5: Finish

Person	Singular			Plural
	Arabic	Transliteration	English	Arabic	Transliteration	English
he	أَنْ يَرْجِعَ	an yarjiʿa	that he return	أَنْ يَرْجِعُوا	an yarjiʿū	that they (m.) return
she	أَنْ تَرْجِعَ	an tarjiʿa	that she return	أَنْ يَرْجِعْنَ	an yarjiʿna	that they (f.) return
you (m.)	أَنْ تَرْجِعَ	an tarjiʿa	that you (m.) return	أَنْ تَرْجِعُوا	an tarjiʿū	that you (m. pl.) return
you (f.)	أَنْ تَرْجِعِي	an tarjiʿī	that you (f.) return	أَنْ تَرْجِعْنَ	an tarjiʿna	that you (f. pl.) return
I	أَنْ أَرْجِعَ	an arjiʿa	that I return	أَنْ نَرْجِعَ	an narjiʿa	that we return