Lesson 81: The Derived Forms: Overview

Step 1 of 5: Learn

Take the root د ر س. From it Arabic makes دَرَسَ he studied, دَرَّسَ he taught, تَدَارَسَ he studied together with others and several more, all by adding letters to the same three radicals. Each of these shapes is called a form (وَزْنٌ, literally measure), and the forms are numbered I to X in every European grammar and dictionary. Form I is the bare verb you already know; the others are built on it. Western grammars list fifteen forms in all, but XI to XV are so rare that this course, like the book, treats only the first ten. Before the new forms are introduced, the full conjugation of Form I is set out below, active and passive, so that you can measure every later form against it.

Rule 1: 1. مُجَرَّد and مَزِيد فِيهِ

A verb that consists of the three radicals alone is called اَلْفِعْلُ الْمُجَرَّدُ the bare verb: دَرَسَ, كَتَبَ, جَمَعَ. A verb to which one, two or three letters have been added is اَلْفِعْلُ الْمَزِيدُ فِيهِ the verb with an increase: دَرَّسَ (the middle radical doubled), كَاتَبَ (an alif inserted), اِجْتَمَعَ (a hamzat al-waṣl and a ت added), اِسْتَعْمَلَ (three letters, ا س ت, added). The added letters never change the root; they change what the root means.

دَرَسَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ.
darasa ṭ-ṭālibu d-darsa
The student studied the lesson.
مُجَرَّد: the three radicals only.
دَرَّسَ الْمُعَلِّمُ الدَّرْسَ.
darrasa l-muʿallimu d-darsa
The teacher taught the lesson.
مَزِيد: one letter added, the doubled ر. To teach is to make someone study.
كَاتَبَ أَخِي صَدِيقَهُ فِي الْيَمَنِ.
kātaba akhī ṣadīqahu fi l-yamani
My brother corresponded with his friend in Yemen.
An alif after the first radical: the action is directed at someone.
اِجْتَمَعَ التَّلَامِيذُ فِي الْمَكْتَبَةِ.
ijtamaʿa t-talāmīdhu fi l-maktabati
The pupils gathered in the library.
Two letters added to جَمَعَ 'to gather (something)': the subject gathers itself.
اِسْتَعْمَلَ التِّلْمِيذُ الْمِسْطَرَةَ.
istaʿmala t-tilmīdhu l-misṭarata
The pupil used the ruler.
Three letters added to عَمِلَ 'to work': to put something to work.

The ten forms: patterns

Every pattern is shown on the model root ف ع ل. The maṣdar (verbal noun) and the participles will be studied form by form from lesson 82 onward; learn the shapes now, the details later.
Form	Perfect	Imperfect	Maṣdar	Active participle	Passive participle
I	فَعَلَfaʿala	يَفْعُلُyafʿulu (also yafʿalu, yafʿilu)	فَعْلٌfaʿl (many patterns)	فَاعِلٌfāʿil	مَفْعُولٌmafʿūl
II	فَعَّلَfaʿʿala	يُفَعِّلُyufaʿʿilu	تَفْعِيلٌtafʿīl	مُفَعِّلٌmufaʿʿil	مُفَعَّلٌmufaʿʿal
III	فَاعَلَfāʿala	يُفَاعِلُyufāʿilu	مُفَاعَلَةٌ / فِعَالٌmufāʿala / fiʿāl	مُفَاعِلٌmufāʿil	مُفَاعَلٌmufāʿal
IV	أَفْعَلَafʿala	يُفْعِلُyufʿilu	إِفْعَالٌifʿāl	مُفْعِلٌmufʿil	مُفْعَلٌmufʿal
V	تَفَعَّلَtafaʿʿala	يَتَفَعَّلُyatafaʿʿalu	تَفَعُّلٌtafaʿʿul	مُتَفَعِّلٌmutafaʿʿil	مُتَفَعَّلٌmutafaʿʿal
VI	تَفَاعَلَtafāʿala	يَتَفَاعَلُyatafāʿalu	تَفَاعُلٌtafāʿul	مُتَفَاعِلٌmutafāʿil	مُتَفَاعَلٌmutafāʿal
VII	اِنْفَعَلَinfaʿala	يَنْفَعِلُyanfaʿilu	اِنْفِعَالٌinfiʿāl	مُنْفَعِلٌmunfaʿil	مُنْفَعَلٌmunfaʿal (rare)
VIII	اِفْتَعَلَiftaʿala	يَفْتَعِلُyaftaʿilu	اِفْتِعَالٌiftiʿāl	مُفْتَعِلٌmuftaʿil	مُفْتَعَلٌmuftaʿal
IX	اِفْعَلَّifʿalla	يَفْعَلُّyafʿallu	اِفْعِلَالٌifʿilāl	مُفْعَلٌّmufʿall	— (none)
X	اِسْتَفْعَلَistafʿala	يَسْتَفْعِلُyastafʿilu	اِسْتِفْعَالٌistifʿāl	مُسْتَفْعِلٌmustafʿil	مُسْتَفْعَلٌmustafʿal

The ten forms: one verb each

The same ten shapes filled with real verbs, with the shift of meaning each form most often brings. Only the Form I verbs are to be used actively for now.
Form	Perfect · Imperfect	Maṣdar	Active participle	Passive participle	Meaning and shift
I	دَرَسَ يَدْرُسُdarasa, yadrusu	دَرْسٌ / دِرَاسَةٌdars / dirāsa	دَارِسٌdāris	مَدْرُوسٌmadrūs	to study: the basic meaning of the root
II	دَرَّسَ يُدَرِّسُdarrasa, yudarrisu	تَدْرِيسٌtadrīs	مُدَرِّسٌmudarris	مُدَرَّسٌmudarras	to teach: causative (make someone study); also intensive
III	كَاتَبَ يُكَاتِبُkātaba, yukātibu	مُكَاتَبَةٌmukātaba	مُكَاتِبٌmukātib	مُكَاتَبٌmukātab	to correspond with: the action aimed at a person, effort or reciprocity
IV	أَخْرَجَ يُخْرِجُakhraja, yukhriju	إِخْرَاجٌikhrāj	مُخْرِجٌmukhrij	مُخْرَجٌmukhraj	to bring out: causative of خَرَجَ 'to go out'
V	تَعَلَّمَ يَتَعَلَّمُtaʿallama, yataʿallamu	تَعَلُّمٌtaʿallum	مُتَعَلِّمٌmutaʿallim	مُتَعَلَّمٌmutaʿallam	to learn: reflexive of II عَلَّمَ 'to teach' (be taught, teach oneself)
VI	تَكَاتَبَ يَتَكَاتَبُtakātaba, yatakātabu	تَكَاتُبٌtakātub	مُتَكَاتِبٌmutakātib	— (rare)	to write to one another: reciprocal of III
VII	اِنْكَسَرَ يَنْكَسِرُinkasara, yankasiru	اِنْكِسَارٌinkisār	مُنْكَسِرٌmunkasir	— (rare)	to get broken: passive-reflexive of كَسَرَ 'to break'
VIII	اِجْتَمَعَ يَجْتَمِعُijtamaʿa, yajtamiʿu	اِجْتِمَاعٌijtimāʿ	مُجْتَمِعٌmujtamiʿ	مُجْتَمَعٌmujtamaʿ	to gather together: reflexive of جَمَعَ 'to gather'
IX	اِحْمَرَّ يَحْمَرُّiḥmarra, yaḥmarru	اِحْمِرَارٌiḥmirār	مُحْمَرٌّmuḥmarr	— (none)	to turn red: colours and bodily defects only
X	اِسْتَعْمَلَ يَسْتَعْمِلُistaʿmala, yastaʿmilu	اِسْتِعْمَالٌistiʿmāl	مُسْتَعْمِلٌmustaʿmil	مُسْتَعْمَلٌmustaʿmal	to use: to seek or put to work, from عَمِلَ 'to work'

Reading the two tables

Three things are true of every derived form and are worth fixing now. First, the imperfect prefix of Forms II, III and IV has u (يُدَرِّسُ, يُكَاتِبُ, يُخْرِجُ); all the other forms keep the a you know from Form I. Second, every participle from Form II onward begins with مُـ, and the active participle has i before the last radical while the passive has a: مُدَرِّسٌ teacher but مُدَرَّسٌ taught. Third, the hamza of Forms VII to X is a hamzat al-waṣl, silent after a vowel exactly like the hamza of the imperative: وَاجْتَمَعَ wa-jtamaʿa; the hamza of Form IV is a true hamza, أَخْرَجَ, always pronounced. You already know several derived verbs as vocabulary: سَافَرَ (III), سَلَّمَ (II), تَعَلَّمَ (V), اِشْتَرَى (VIII). Find them in the tables.

Rule 2: 2. Recognising a form by its added letters

To name the form of a verb, strip it down to its three radicals and look at what is left over. A shadda on the middle radical means II, or V if a تَـ is prefixed; an alif after the first radical means III, or VI with the تَـ; a hamza with sukūn on the first radical, أَفْعَلَ, is IV; a hamzat al-waṣl followed by نْ is VII, followed by a radical and تَ is VIII, followed by سْتَ is X. The sentences below use one derived verb each; read them for recognition, not yet for production.

يُدَرِّسُ أَبِي اللُّغَةَ الْعَرَبِيَّةَ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
yudarrisu abi l-lughata l-ʿarabiyyata fi l-madrasati
My father teaches Arabic at the school.
Shadda on the middle radical, prefix u: Form II.
تَعَلَّمَتْ أُخْتِي الْقِرَاءَةَ فِي سَنَةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ.
taʿallamat ukhti l-qirāʾata fī sanatin wāḥidatin
My sister learnt to read in a single year.
تَـ before a Form II shape: Form V.
أَخْرَجَ الْمُعَلِّمُ الْكَرَارِيسَ مِنَ الصُّنْدُوقِ.
akhraja l-muʿallimu l-karārīsa mina ṣ-ṣundūqi
The teacher took the notebooks out of the box.
أَ with sukūn on the first radical: Form IV.
اِنْكَسَرَتِ الْمِسْطَرَةُ فِي حَقِيبَتِي.
inkasarati l-misṭaratu fī ḥaqībatī
The ruler broke in my bag.
Hamzat al-waṣl and نْ: Form VII.
اِجْتَمَعَ التَّلَامِيذُ أَمَامَ الْمَكْتَبَةِ.
ijtamaʿa t-talāmīdhu amāma l-maktabati
The pupils assembled in front of the library.
Hamzat al-waṣl, first radical, then تَ: Form VIII.
اِسْتَعْمَلْتُ قَلَمَ أَخِي فِي الِامْتِحَانِ.
istaʿmaltu qalama akhī fi l-imtiḥāni
I used my brother's pen in the exam.
Hamzat al-waṣl and سْتَ: Form X. Note that اِمْتِحَانٌ itself is the maṣdar of a Form VIII verb.

Form I complete: the active اَلْمَعْلُومُ

Perfect, the three moods of the imperfect, and the imperative, on كَتَبَ يَكْتُبُ. Active participle كَاتِبٌ. The dash marks persons that have no imperative.
Person	Perfect	Indicative	Subjunctive	Jussive	Imperative
he	كَتَبَ	يَكْتُبُ	يَكْتُبَ	يَكْتُبْ	—
she	كَتَبَتْ	تَكْتُبُ	تَكْتُبَ	تَكْتُبْ	—
you (m.)	كَتَبْتَ	تَكْتُبُ	تَكْتُبَ	تَكْتُبْ	اُكْتُبْ
you (f.)	كَتَبْتِ	تَكْتُبِينَ	تَكْتُبِي	تَكْتُبِي	اُكْتُبِي
I	كَتَبْتُ	أَكْتُبُ	أَكْتُبَ	أَكْتُبْ	—
they two (m.)	كَتَبَا	يَكْتُبَانِ	يَكْتُبَا	يَكْتُبَا	—
they two (f.)	كَتَبَتَا	تَكْتُبَانِ	تَكْتُبَا	تَكْتُبَا	—
you two	كَتَبْتُمَا	تَكْتُبَانِ	تَكْتُبَا	تَكْتُبَا	اُكْتُبَا
they (m.)	كَتَبُوا	يَكْتُبُونَ	يَكْتُبُوا	يَكْتُبُوا	—
they (f.)	كَتَبْنَ	يَكْتُبْنَ	يَكْتُبْنَ	يَكْتُبْنَ	—
you (m. pl.)	كَتَبْتُمْ	تَكْتُبُونَ	تَكْتُبُوا	تَكْتُبُوا	اُكْتُبُوا
you (f. pl.)	كَتَبْتُنَّ	تَكْتُبْنَ	تَكْتُبْنَ	تَكْتُبْنَ	اُكْتُبْنَ
we	كَتَبْنَا	نَكْتُبُ	نَكْتُبَ	نَكْتُبْ	—

Form I complete: the passive اَلْمَجْهُولُ

The passive has no imperative. Passive participle مَكْتُوبٌ. Perfect u-i, imperfect u-a, endings exactly as in the active.
Person	Perfect	Indicative	Subjunctive	Jussive
he	كُتِبَ	يُكْتَبُ	يُكْتَبَ	يُكْتَبْ
she	كُتِبَتْ	تُكْتَبُ	تُكْتَبَ	تُكْتَبْ
you (m.)	كُتِبْتَ	تُكْتَبُ	تُكْتَبَ	تُكْتَبْ
you (f.)	كُتِبْتِ	تُكْتَبِينَ	تُكْتَبِي	تُكْتَبِي
I	كُتِبْتُ	أُكْتَبُ	أُكْتَبَ	أُكْتَبْ
they two (m.)	كُتِبَا	يُكْتَبَانِ	يُكْتَبَا	يُكْتَبَا
they two (f.)	كُتِبَتَا	تُكْتَبَانِ	تُكْتَبَا	تُكْتَبَا
you two	كُتِبْتُمَا	تُكْتَبَانِ	تُكْتَبَا	تُكْتَبَا
they (m.)	كُتِبُوا	يُكْتَبُونَ	يُكْتَبُوا	يُكْتَبُوا
they (f.)	كُتِبْنَ	يُكْتَبْنَ	يُكْتَبْنَ	يُكْتَبْنَ
you (m. pl.)	كُتِبْتُمْ	تُكْتَبُونَ	تُكْتَبُوا	تُكْتَبُوا
you (f. pl.)	كُتِبْتُنَّ	تُكْتَبْنَ	تُكْتَبْنَ	تُكْتَبْنَ
we	كُتِبْنَا	نُكْتَبُ	نُكْتَبَ	نُكْتَبْ

Rule 3: 3. The six faces of a Form I verb

A complete entry for any verb has six parts, and from now on you should be able to produce all six from the two citation forms: the perfect (نَسَخَ), the imperfect in its three moods (يَنْسَخُ, يَنْسَخَ, يَنْسَخْ), the imperative (اِنْسَخْ, hamza i because the second radical has a), the passive (نُسِخَ, يُنْسَخُ), the active participle (نَاسِخٌ) and the passive participle (مَنْسُوخٌ). The sentences below show them all on one school verb.

نَسَخَ التِّلْمِيذُ التَّمْرِينَ فِي كُرَّاسَتِهِ.
nasakha t-tilmīdhu t-tamrīna fī kurrāsatihi
The pupil copied the exercise into his notebook.
Perfect.
لَنْ أَنْسَخَ الْقَاعِدَةَ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَفْهَمَ مَعْنَاهَا.
lan ansakha l-qāʿidata qabla an afhama maʿnāhā
I shall not copy the rule before I understand its meaning.
Two subjunctives, after لَنْ and أَنْ.
اِنْسَخُوا الْأَمْثِلَةَ مِنَ السَّبُّورَةِ وَلَا تَنْسَخُوا مِنْ كُرَّاسَةِ صَاحِبِكُمْ.
insakhu l-amthilata mina s-sabbūrati wa-lā tansakhū min kurrāsati ṣāḥibikum
Copy the examples from the board and do not copy from your friend's notebook.
Imperative, then prohibition with the jussive.
لَمْ تُنْسَخِ الْقَاعِدَةُ أَمْسِ لِأَنَّ الْمُعَلِّمَ كَانَ غَائِبًا.
lam tunsakhi l-qāʿidatu amsi li-anna l-muʿallima kāna ghāʾiban
The rule was not copied yesterday because the teacher was absent.
Passive jussive after لَمْ.
اَلتِّلْمِيذُ النَّاسِخُ حَاضِرٌ وَالتَّمْرِينُ الْمَنْسُوخُ عَلَى الْمَكْتَبِ.
at-tilmīdhu n-nāsikhu ḥāḍirun wa-t-tamrīnu l-mansūkhu ʿala l-maktabi
The pupil who is copying is present and the copied exercise is on the desk.
Active and passive participle as adjectives.

Conjugations: "To Have"

Person	Singular			Plural
	Arabic	Transliteration	English	Arabic	Transliteration	English
he	دَرَسَ	darasa	he studied	دَرَسُوا	darasū	they (m.) studied
she	دَرَسَتْ	darasat	she studied	دَرَسْنَ	darasna	they (f.) studied
you (m.)	دَرَسْتَ	darasta	you (m.) studied	دَرَسْتُمْ	darastum	you (m. pl.) studied
you (f.)	دَرَسْتِ	darasti	you (f.) studied	دَرَسْتُنَّ	darastunna	you (f. pl.) studied
I	دَرَسْتُ	darastu	I studied	دَرَسْنَا	darasnā	we studied
they two (m. / f.)	دَرَسَا	darasā	they two (m.) studied	دَرَسَتَا	darasatā	they two (f.) studied
you two	دَرَسْتُمَا	darastumā	you two studied	-	-	-
he (imperfect)	يَدْرُسُ	yadrusu	he studies	يَدْرُسُونَ	yadrusūna	they (m.) study
she (imperfect)	تَدْرُسُ	tadrusu	she studies	يَدْرُسْنَ	yadrusna	they (f.) study
you (m., imperfect)	تَدْرُسُ	tadrusu	you (m.) study	تَدْرُسُونَ	tadrusūna	you (m. pl.) study
you (f., imperfect)	تَدْرُسِينَ	tadrusīna	you (f.) study	تَدْرُسْنَ	tadrusna	you (f. pl.) study
I (imperfect)	أَدْرُسُ	adrusu	I study	نَدْرُسُ	nadrusu	we study
they two (imperfect)	يَدْرُسَانِ	yadrusāni	they two (m.) study	تَدْرُسَانِ	tadrusāni	they two (f.) / you two study
he (passive)	دُرِسَ	durisa	it was studied	يُدْرَسُ	yudrasu	it is studied
you (m., imperative)	اُدْرُسْ	udrus	study!	اُدْرُسُوا	udrusū	study! (m. pl.)

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).

وَزْنٌ

waznun

pattern, measure (of a verb); weight

حَرْفٌ

ḥarfun

letter (of the alphabet); particle

قَاعِدَةٌ

qāʿidatun

rule; base

مِثَالٌ

mithālun

example

تَمْرِينٌ

tamrīnun

exercise

مَعْنًى

maʿnan

meaning

مَكْتَبَةٌ

maktabatun

library; bookshop

كُرَّاسَةٌ

kurrāsatun

notebook, exercise book

مِسْطَرَةٌ

misṭaratun

ruler (for drawing lines)

نَسَخَ يَنْسَخُ

nasakha, yansakhu

to copy (out), transcribe

نَشِيطٌ

nashīṭun

diligent, energetic

حَاضِرٌ

ḥāḍirun

present, in attendance

Step 2 of 5: Read

In the school library

فِي مَكْتَبَةِ الْمَدْرَسَةِ

Tap any word to look it up.

Notes

Comprehension

1.When does the class go to the library?
2.What were the pupils told not to do?
3.Why had Khālid not copied the rule?
4.According to the teacher, how is the meaning of a word known?

In the Quran

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ
Surah Al-Ikhlas · 112:3
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ: two Form I jussives after لَمْ, the first active, the second passive (يُولَدْ, prefix u and a on the second radical), side by side.
- لَمْlamNot
- يَلِدْyalidHe begets
- وَلَمْwalamand not
- يُولَدْyūladHe is begotten
Read in context
أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟
Surah Al-'Ankabut · 29:2
أَنْ يُتْرَكُوا: the passive subjunctive of Form I تَرَكَ after أَنْ, 'that they will be left alone'; the ن of يُتْرَكُونَ has dropped.
- أَنanthat
- يُتْرَكُوٓا۟yut'rakūthey will be left
Read in context
عَلَّمَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
Surah Al-'Alaq · 96:5
عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ: Form II عَلَّمَ 'he taught' and the Form I jussive لَمْ يَعْلَمْ 'he did not know' from the same root in one ayah, showing the causative shift of the doubled middle radical.
- عَلَّمَʿallamaTaught
- ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَl-insānaman
- مَاmāwhat
- لَمْlamnot
- يَعْلَمْyaʿlamhe knew
Read in context

Step 3 of 5: Practice

Exercises

Strict harakat

Exercise 1 of 100/0 correct

Conjugate

Give the passive perfect of نَسَخَ for 'she' (i.e. 'it (f.) was copied'):

Step 4 of 5: Quiz

Translate from Arabic to English

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

1.

نَسَخَ التَّلَامِيذُ الْقَاعِدَةَ الْجَدِيدَةَ فِي كَرَارِيسِهِمْ.

2.

لَمْ يُكْتَبِ التَّمْرِينُ عَلَى السَّبُّورَةِ لِأَنَّ الْمُعَلِّمَ كَانَ غَائِبًا.

3.

اُدْرُسِي هٰذِهِ الْأَمْثِلَةَ يَا فَاطِمَةُ حَتَّى تَفْهَمِي مَعْنَى الْقَاعِدَةِ.

4.

اَلتِّلْمِيذُ النَّشِيطُ يَفْتَحُ كِتَابَهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْمُعَلِّمُ.

5.

كُلُّ الْحُرُوفِ مَكْتُوبَةٌ عَلَى السَّبُّورَةِ وَكُلُّ التَّلَامِيذِ حَاضِرُونَ.

6.

لَا تَنْسَخْ مِنْ كُرَّاسَةِ أَخِيكَ، بَلِ اكْتُبْ بِقَلَمِكَ وَمِسْطَرَتِكَ.

Translate from English to Arabic

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

1.

The meaning of this word is not known.

2.

Copy (m. pl.) the three examples and do not write on the desk.

3.

We shall study the rules of the language in the library tomorrow.

4.

The exercise was copied, but the rule was not understood.

5.

The two pupils did not study, so they will not understand the examples.

6.

Open (f. sg.) your notebook and write the letters with the ruler.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

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