Essential Parts — Words and Sentences

Lesson Notes

The 10-Form Scale (al-Mīzān)

The scale is a reference chart: 10 verb forms (Form 1 through Form 10), each showing the pattern for the past tense (māḍī), present tense (muḍāri'), command form (amr), verbal noun (maṣdar), doer noun, and object noun. All a student needs to do is identify the root letters and substitute them into the correct form.

Form 1 (called الثُّلَاثِيُّ الْمُجَرَّدُ — the bare tri-literal) is the most frequent. Forms 2–10 add extra letters to the base and are called مَزِيدٌ فِيهِ (mazīd fīh — augmented). In terms of Quranic frequency: Form 1 is most common, then Form 4, then Form 8.

Illustrated Example — Form 1: خَلَقَ (to create)

Root: خ ل ق — meaning: to create Following the bāb of فَعَلَ / يَفْعُلُ:

• Past (māḍī): خَلَقَ — he created
• Present (muḍāri'): يَخْلُقُ — he creates
• Command (amr): اُخْلُقْ — create!
• Doer noun: خَالِقٌ — the creator (الْخَالِق — well-known Quranic name of Allah)
• Object noun: مَخْلُوقٌ — that which is created (creation)

Illustrated Example — Form 1: رَحِمَ (to show mercy)

Root: ر ح م — following the bāb of فَعِلَ / يَفْعَلُ:

• Past: رَحِمَ — he showed mercy
• Present: يَرْحَمُ — he shows mercy
• Command: اِرْحَمْ — show mercy!
• Doer noun: رَحِيمٌ — the Most Merciful (another well-known name of Allah)
• Object noun: مَرْحُومٌ — the one shown mercy

Illustrated Example — Form 2: عَلَّمَ (to teach)

Root: ع ل م — Form 2 doubles the second root letter (shadda on ayn → lam):

• Past: عَلَّمَ — he taught
• Present: يُعَلِّمُ — he teaches
• Command: عَلِّمْ — teach!
• Verbal noun (maṣdar): تَعْلِيمٌ — teaching / education
• Doer noun: مُعَلِّمٌ — teacher (one who imparts knowledge)
• Object noun: مُعَلَّمٌ — the one being taught

Illustrated Example — Form 4: أَسْلَمَ (to submit)

Root: س ل م — Form 4 adds a hamza prefix to the māḍī:

• Past: أَسْلَمَ — he submitted
• Present: يُسْلِمُ — he submits
• Command: أَسْلِمْ — submit!
• Verbal noun: إِسْلَامٌ — Islam (submission)
• Doer noun: مُسْلِمٌ — Muslim (the one who submits)
• Object noun: مُسْلَمٌ — (the one to whom submission is made)

The key insight: from one root through one door, a student can produce 140+ words by applying the full conjugation (14 past-tense forms, 14 present, 14 passive past, 14 passive present, 6 command forms, 6 prohibitive forms, plus the doer and object noun tables).

The Three Pieces of Information in Every Verb

Arabic verbs differ fundamentally from English verbs: every Arabic verb contains three pieces of information simultaneously:

1. The action — what is happening (from the root)
2. The doer pronoun — who is doing it (embedded in the verb's pattern)
3. The tense — when it happened (from the vowelling and any added letters)

Example: تُ in فَتَحْتُ (I opened) — the tense is māḍī, the action is opening (ف ت ح), and the doer is "I" (expressed by the ـتُ suffix).

The Three Verb Tenses

Structure of the Verbal Sentence (الْجُمْلَةُ الْفِعْلِيَّةُ)

The verbal sentence has three essential parts:

1. The Verb (الْفِعْل) Comes first in Arabic (unlike English where the subject comes first). Its pattern identifies tense, action, and embedded doer pronoun.

2. The Doer (الْفَاعِل) Can be:

• A pronoun embedded in the verb (e.g. ذَهَبُوا — they went; the واو = "they")
• An external noun in the رَفْع (rafa') state, placed after the verb (e.g. ذَهَبَ حَامِدٌ — Hamid went)

3. The Object (الْمَفْعُول بِهِ) Always in the نَصْب (nasb) state. Can be:

• A noun placed after the verb (with fatha/tanwin nasb)
• An attached pronoun at the end of the verb (e.g. شَكَرَتْهُ — she thanked him)