Grammar term · I'rab · The verb — a different system

Do verbs have i'rab too?

i'rāb al-fi'l
إِعْرَابُ الْفِعْل
I'rabThe verb — a different systemcore 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 muḍāri' takes rafa, nasab and jazm; the māḍī and the amr are mabnī, and no verb is ever majrūr.
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.”
(الآجرّومية)
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 mabnī: their endings are fixed.

The verb's three states

The muḍāri' takes these three. The māḍī and the amr are mabnī and take none of them.

And the states are not the same three. The mudāri' 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 marfū' when nothing governs it. أَنْ يَأْكُلَ is manṣūb, because أَنْ demands it. لَمْ يَأْكُلْ is majzūm, 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 nāṣib gives nasab, a jāzim gives jazm, and nothing at all leaves it in rafa.
Jazm and jarr never cross

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

A noun is never majzūm. A verb is never majrūr.

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

Related terms
Next in the guideمَجْزُومJussive state (jazm) →
Draft · awaiting final review. This page is being rewritten and checked against the source books.