Grammar term · I'rab · The verb's endings

Do verbs have i'rab too?

i'rab al-fi'l

إِعْرَابُ الْفِعْل

I'rabThe verb's endingscore term

Also written: Irab al-fil · Verb irab · Irab of the verb · Jazm

In one line

Yes — but only one verb form has it. The mudari' takes rafa, nasab and jazm; the madi and the amr are mabni, and no verb is ever majrur.

Definition

وَلِلْأَفْعَالِ مِنْ ذٰلِكَ الرَّفْعُ وَالنَّصْبُ وَالْجَزْمُ وَلَا خَفْضَ فِيهَا.

“And verbs take of these rafa, nasab and jazm — and there is no khafd (jarr) in them.”

Key words in the Arabic

وَلِلْأَفْعَالِ مِنْ ذٰلِكَand verbs take, of these

الرَّفْعُ وَالنَّصْبُ وَالْجَزْمُrafa, nasab and jazm

وَلَا خَفْضَ فِيهَاand there is no jarr in them

Understand it

Everything in this section so far has been about the ism. The verb has an i'rab of its own, and it is a different system.

Only the فِعْل مُضَارِع — the present-tense verb — is declinable. The مَاضِي and the أَمْر are mabni: their endings are fixed.

The verb's three states

1رَفْع–(rafa)2نَصْب–(nasab)3جَزْم–(jazm)

The mudari' takes these three. The madi and the amr are mabni and take none of them.

And the states are not the same three. The mudari' takes رَفْع, نَصْب and جَزْم — and never jarr. The ism takes rafa, nasab and jarr — and never jazm. The classical wording states both halves in one sentence, and it is on the rafa page above.

يَأْكُلُ is marfu' when nothing governs it. أَنْ يَأْكُلَ is mansub, because أَنْ demands it. لَمْ يَأْكُلْ is majzum, because لَمْ demands it.

The verb's own signs, the particles that govern it, and the five verbs are all dealt with in the verb section of this guide.

How to spot it

Recognition test

If the word is a present-tense verb, check what stands in front of it: a nasib gives nasab, a jazim gives jazm, and nothing at all leaves it in rafa.

In the Qur'an

أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ

Al-'Ankabut 29:2 — “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested?”

One verb form, two states, one ayah: يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ is in nasab with its nun dropped, and يُفْتَنُونَ is in rafa with its nun kept. Only the present form does this — the past and the command never move.

Study this ayah word by word →

Jazm and jarr never cross

Jazm belongs to the verb; jarr belongs to the ism. Neither ever crosses over.

A noun is never majzum. A verb is never majrur.

The two share rafa and nasab, and nothing else. When you meet a sukun at the end of a word, you are looking at a verb — no ism is ever put into jazm.

Common questions

Why do only present-tense verbs have i'rab?

Because only they can be governed. The past tense and the command are built on a fixed ending, and nothing entering the sentence can shift them. The present resembles a noun in accepting influence, and that is why it moves.

Next in the guideمَجْزُومWhat is the majzum (jussive) state? →

Updated 23 August 2026