Elementary Arabic Morphology 2

Infinitives

93. What is an infinitive?

94. How is an infinitive formed from triliteral verbs without increase letters?

95. How is an infinitive formed from triliteral verbs with increase letters?

96. How is an infinitive formed from quadriliteral verbs without increase letters?

97. How is an infinitive formed from quadriliteral verbs with increase letters?

98. Are there infinitives for verbs that have not been mentioned?

99. How is a mīmī infinitive formed from triliteral verbs?

100. How is a mīmī infinitive formed from verbs with more than three letters?

101. An infinitive is a noun that indicates a state or action without indicating its time. For example أخذٌ (removal) or تَسلیمٌ (submission)

102. There are many forms for infinitives taken from triliteral verbs without increase letters. They can be found in dictionaries. For example: نَصرٌ (help) and جُلوسٌ (sitting) and many more.

103. There are rules for the infinitives of triliteral verbs with increase letters:

• Form II - the infinitive of form II has the following form: تَفعیل, for example: قَدَّمَ becomes تَقدیم.

• Form III - the infinitive of form III has the following form: مُفاعَلَة, for example: نازَعَ becomes مُنازَعَة

• Form IV - إفعال, for example: أکرَمَ becomes إکرام

• Form V - تَفَعُّل, for example: تَأخَّرَ becomes تأخُّر

• Form VI - تَفاعُل, for example: تَباعَدَ becomes تَباعُد

• Form VII - اِنفعال, for example: اِنکَسَرَ becomes اِنکَسار

• Form VIII - اِفتِعال, for example: اِجتَمَعَ becomes اِجتِماع

• Form IX - اِفعِلال, for example: اِحمرَّ becomes اِحمِرار

• Form X - اِستِفعال, for example: اِستَرحَمَ becomes اِستِرحام

• Form XII - اِفعیعال, for example: اِحدَودَبَ becomes اِحدیداب

96. The two forms of the infinitive of quadriliteral verbs without increase letters are: فَعلَلَة and فِعلال, for example: دَحرَجَ becomes دَحرَجَة or دِحراج.

97. There are rules for the infinitives of quadriliteral verbs with increase letters:

• Form II - تَفَعلُل, for example: تَدَحرَجَ becomes تَدَحرُج

• Form III - اِفعِنلال, for example: اِحرَنجَمَ becomes اِحرِنجام

• Form IV - اِفعِلال, for example: اِطمَأنَّ becomes اِطمِئنان

98. There is an infinitive for triliteral and quadriliteral verbs with or without increase letters called a mīmī infinitive. It is called this because there is a mīm added to the beginning of it.

99. The mīmī infinitive is formed from triliteral verbs by putting them in the following forms:

• مَفعِل this form is used if the first root letter is a wāw. For example: وَعَدَ (he promised) becomes مَوعِد (promise).

• مَفعَل this from is used in all other cases. For example: أکَلَ (he ate) becomes مَأکَل (food).

100. The mīmī infinitive is formed from verbs with more than three letters by using the passive aorist tense and replacing the aorist letter with a mīm that has a dummah. For example: یُنحَدَرُ (is brought down) becomes مُنحَدَرٌ (fall).