Elementary Arabic Morphology 2

The Status of Verbs

  1. Are all verbs declinable?

  2. How many states of verbs are there?

  3. What are the signs of the different states of verbs?

  4. Are there exceptions to this rule?

  5. What are the five verbs?

  6. What is the sign of the nominative state in the five verbs?

  7. What is the sign of the subjunctive state in the five verbs?

  8. What is the sign of the jussive state in the five verbs?

  9. What is the sign of the jussive state in defective verbs?

  10. Aorist verbs are declinable except if the nūn of emphasis or the feminine nūn is added to it. In that case the verb would be indeclinable.

  11. There are three states for verbs: nominative, subjunctive, and jussive.

  12. The signs of these states are:

• Nominative: dummah

• Subjunctive: fathah

• Jussive: sakūn

  1. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule in:

• The five verbs

• Defective verbs in the jussive case

  1. The five verbs are aorist tense verbs that:

• have a dual alif, for example: یَضرِبانِ (they 'two' are hitting)

• have a plural wāw, for example: یَضرِبونَ (they are hitting)

• have a you feminine pronoun, for example: تَضرِبینَ (you 'female' are hitting)

  1. The nominative sign in the five verbs is the nūn remaining at the end of the verb. For example: یَضرِبانِ (those 'two' are hitting) which is an aorist tense verb in the nominative state and its sign is the nūn because it is one of the five verbs.

  2. The subjunctive sign in the five verbs is the subtraction of the nūn. For example: لَن تَضرِبي (you 'female' never hit) which is an aorist tense verb in the subjunctive state because of lan and its sign is the subtraction of the nūn because it is one of the five verbs.

  3. The jussive sign in the five verbs is the subtraction of the nūn. For example: لَم تَضرِبوا (you 'plural' did not hit) which is an aorist tense verb in the jussive state because of lam and its sign is the subtraction of the nūn because it is one of the five verbs.

  4. The jussive sign in the defective verbs is the subtraction of the weak letter. This is if it is not one of the five verbs in which the nūn would be subtracted. For example: لَم یَرمِ (he did not throw) which is an aorist tense verb in the jussive state because of lam and its sign is the subtraction of the weak letter because it is a weak verb of the root letter.