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Verbs
Passive Voice
(continued)
Irregular
verbs
For description of irregular verb types,
you may go here
1) Doubled Verbs
Doubled verbs are
verbs that end with ashadda(t),
which indicates doubled consonants
without a vowel in between.
Passive doubled verbs
conjugate just like the active ones. Only vowels will be different,
including the omitted or displaced-back green vowel. When untying in the
perfective, the inserted green vowel will always be
i,
and in the imperfective it will always be
a.
2)
Mithaal
Verbs
Mithaalverbs
are verbs whose first original letter is a weak letter.
Passive
Mithaal
verbs take pronominal prefixes and suffixes like the active ones; however,
in the imperfective, they do not lose their weak letter in any situation.
Examples:
Passive
Active
wujid(a)
وُجِدَ
wajad(a)
وَجَدَ
≡ (he/it) was/became found by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become found by somebody
(he) found
(he) has found
wudi"(a)
وُضِعَ
wada"(a)
وَضَعَ
≡ (he/it) was/became put by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become put by somebody
(he) put
(he) has put
yuwjad(u)
يُوْجَدُ
yajid(u)
يَجِدُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes found by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming found by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become found by somebody
(he) finds
(he) is finding
(he) will find
yuwda"(u)
يُوْضَعُ
yada"(u)
يَضَعُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes put by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming put by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become put by somebody
(he) puts
(he) is putting
(he) will put
3) Hollow Verbs
Hollow verbs are verbs
whose second original letter is a weak letter.
Since the internal passive
is about changing vowels, the middle weak
letter of hollow verbs will be affected, because it
changes with changes in vowels.
However, the rule here is
easy and I am not going to complicate it by going through the details and
differences between classical dialects etc.
For the
perfective hollow verbs, the internal
long A will be always transformed to a long I in the passive voice
(corresponds to the green vowel
i
) regardless of anything and in all the verb forms.
-CaaC-
→
-CeeC-
Examples:
Passive
Active
qeel(a)
قِيْلَ
qaal(a)
قَاْلَ
≡ (he/it) was/became said by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become said by somebody
(he) said
(he) has said
bee"(a)
بِيْعَ
baa"(a)
بَاْعَ
≡ (he/it) was/became sold by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become sold by somebody
(he) sold
(he) has sold
kheef(a)
خِيْفَ
khaaf(a)
خَاْفَ
≡ (he/it) was/became feared by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become feared by somebody
(he) feared
(he) has feared
'ureed(a)
أُرِيْدَ
'araad(a)
أَرَاْدَ
≡ (he/it) was/became wanted by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become wanted by somebody
(he) wanted
(he) has wanted
'ukhteer(a)
اُخْتِيْرَ
'ikhtaar(a)
اِخْتَاْرَ
≡ (he/it) was/became chosen by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become chosen by somebody
(he) chose
(he) has chosen
'ustu"eed(a)
اُسْتُعِيْدَ
'ista"aad(a)
اِسْتَعَاْدَ
≡ (he/it) was/became taken back by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become taken back by somebody
(he) took back
(he) has taken back
The internal long vowel of
the imperfective hollow verbs
will always become a long A in the passive voice (corresponds to the green
vowel a
) regardless of anything and in all the verb forms.
-CooC-
-CeeC-
→
-CaaC-
-CaaC-
Examples:
Passive
Active
yuqaal(u)
يُقَاْلُ
yaqool(u)
يَقُوْلُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes said by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming said by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become said by somebody
(he) says
(he) is saying
(he) will say
yubaa"(u)
يُبَاْعُ
yabee"(u)
يَبِيْعُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes sold by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming sold by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become sold by somebody
(he) sells
(he) is selling
(he) will sell
yukhaaf(u)
يُخَاْفُ
yakhaaf(u)
يَخَاْفُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes feared by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become feared by somebody
(he) fears
(he) will fear
yuraad(u)
يُرَاْدُ
yureed(u)
يُرِيْدُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes wanted by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become wanted by somebody
(he) wants
(he) will want
yukhtaar(u)
يُخْتَاْرُ
yakhtaar(u)
يَخْتَاْرُ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes chosen by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming chosen by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become chosen by somebody
(he) chooses
(he) is choosing
(he) will choose
yusta"aad(u)
يُسْتَعَاْدُ
yasta"eed(u)
يَسْتَعِيْدُ
≡ (it) is/becomes responded by somebody
≡ (it) is being/becoming responded by somebody
≡ (it) will be/become responded by somebody
(he) responds
(he) is responding
(he) will respond
Adding pronominal prefixes
and suffixes to passive hollow verbs works just like for the active hollow
verbs; however, there is a little difference that regards perfective
hollow verbs.
For the active perfective
hollow verbs, we explained that the
middle long A will be replaced in most conjugations with a specific short
vowel.
Conjugation of Perfective Hollow Verbs
(Active Voice)
Form I
fawal(a)
aa→u
fayal(a)
aa→i
fa"il(a)
Other Forms
aa→a
In the passive voice of
from I, the resultant middle short vowel will be the opposite of that of
the active verbs.
Conjugation of Perfective Hollow Verbs
(Passive
Voice)
Form I
fawal(a)
ee→i
fayal(a)
ee→u
fa"il(a)
Other Forms
ee→i
Examples:
Passive
Active
qilt(u)
قِلْتُ
qult(u)
قُلْتُ
≡ (I) was/became said by somebody
(I) said
bu"t(u)
بُعْتُ
bi"t(u)
بِعْتُ
≡ (I) was/became sold by somebody
(I) sold
khuft(u)
خُفْتُ
khift(u)
خِفْتُ
≡ (I) was/became feared by somebody
(I) feared
'uridt(u)
أُرِدْتُ
'aradt(u)
أَرَدْتُ
≡ (I) was/became wanted by somebody
(I) wanted
It is
important to note that passive perfective hollow form I verbs are
virtually never used in Modern Standard Arabic in conjugations that
require replacing their middleee's
with a short vowel, that is, the above mentioned rule of changing
u to
iand
i to
u
in these verbs is only of theoretical and historical notability but not of
practical one.
4) Defective Verbs
Defective verbs are verbs
whose last original letter is a weak letter.
Since the green short
vowel in the passive perfective
verbs is always
i,
these verbs will always end with
-iy(a).
Examples:
Passive
Active
du"iy(a)
دُعِيَ
da"aa
دَعَاْ
≡ (he/it) was/became called by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/became called by somebody
(he) called
(he) has called
'utiy(a)
أُتِيَ
'ataa
أَتَىْ
≡ (he/it) was/became came (to) by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/became came (to) by somebody
(he) came (to)
(he) has came (to)
nusiy(a)
نُسِيَ
nasiy(a)
نَسِيَ
≡ (he/it) was/became forgotten by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/became forgotten by somebody
(he) forgot
(he) has forgotten
'untuhiy(a)
اُنْتُهِيَ
'intahaa
اِنْتَهَىْ
≡ (it) was/became finished by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/became finished by somebody
(he) finished
(he) has finished
Since the green short
vowel in the passive imperfective
verbs is always a,
these verbs will always end with
-aa.
Examples:
Passive
Active
yud"aa
يُدْعَىْ
yad"uw
يَدْعُوْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes called by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming called by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become called by somebody
(he) calls
(he) is calling
(he) will call
yu'<taa
يُؤْتَىْ
ya'<tiy
يَأْتِيْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes came (to) by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming came (to) by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become came (to) by somebody
(he) comes
(he) is coming
(he) will come
yunsaa
يُنْسَىْ
yansaa
يَنْسَىْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes forgotten by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become forgotten by somebody
(he) forgets
(he) will forget
yuntahaa
يُنْتَهَىْ
yantahiy
يَنْتَهِيْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes finished by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming finished by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become finished by somebody
(he) finishes
(he) is finishing
(he) will finish
Passive defective verbs
take pronominal prefixes and suffixes just like the active verbs.
Verbs that have a middle and final weak
original letters
C-C-C
Verbs that have a first and final weak
original letters
C-C-C
The first type enfolds the definitions of both
hollow and defective verbs, yet it is always treated as a defective
verb only, and the middle weak letter is treated as if it were a sound
letter.
Examples:
Passive
Active
luwiy(a)
لُوِيَ
lawaa
لَوَىْ
≡ (he/it) was/became bent by
somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become bent
by somebody
(he) bent (tr.)
(he) has bent (tr.)
yulwaa
يُلْوَىْ
yalwiy
يَلْوِيْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes bent by
somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming bent
by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become bent by
somebody
(he) bends (tr.)
(he) is bending (tr.)
(he) will bend (tr.)
The second type of the enfolding verbs enfolds
the definitions of both Mithaaland defective verbs. These verbs
get the dealing of both Mithaaland defective verbs together.
Examples:
Passive
Active
wu"iy(a)
وُعِيَ
wa"aa
وَعَىْ
≡ (he/it) was/became understood by somebody
≡ (he/it) has been/become understood by somebody
(he) understood
(he) has understood
yuw"aa
يُوْعَىْ
ya"iy
يَعِيْ
≡ (he/it) is/becomes understood by somebody
≡ (he/it) is being/becoming understood by somebody
≡ (he/it) will be/become understood by somebody
(he) understands
(he) is understanding
(he) will understand
Enfolding Verbs
Root:
C-C-C
Treat as
defective verbs
Root:
C-C-C
Treat as
Mithaal
& defective verbs
Where
C
is a sound consonant, and
C
is a weak consonant.
Transitive
and Intransitive Passive Verbs
The
passive voice is two types, personal passive and impersonal passive.
Personal Passive
He
was known as a smart guy
Impersonal Passive
It
is now known that this was not true
The personal passive can only be made out of transitive verbs (verbs that
can have objects).
For
example:
Active
Passive
He
saw
something
He
was seen
He
ate
something
He
was eaten
He
smelled
something
He
was smelt
He
slept
...
...
He
died
...
...
He
got sick
...
...
Notice
that verbs that cannot have objects (intransitive verbs) like "sleep" and
"die" cannot be made into personal passive; it is not possible to "sleep
something" or "die something," so there is no such thing as for someone
"to be slept" or "to be died."
However,
for the impersonal passive, there is indeed such thing as "to be slept" or
"to be died;" the impersonal passive can be made out of intransitive as
well as transitive verbs.
Examples:
Active
Passive
Somebody saw
It
was
seen
(by somebody)
Somebody ate
It
was
eaten
(by somebody)
Somebody
smelled
It
was
smelt
(by somebody)
Somebody slept
It
was
slept
(by somebody)
Somebody died
It
was
died
(by somebody)
Somebody got
sick
It
was
gotten sick
(by somebody)
In Arabic,
any verb can be made passive.
When
transitive verbs are made
into the passive of the unknown, they will have either one of two
meanings:
Personal Passive
≡ (He) was/became done by somebody
Impersonal Passive
≡ (It) was/became done by somebody
When
intransitive verbs are made into the passive of the unknown, they will
have only one meaning:
Personal Passive
---
Impersonal Passive
≡ (It) was/became done by somebody
Examples on passive
intransitive verbs:
Passive
Active
thuhib(a)
ذُهِبَ
thahab(a)
ذَهَبَ
≡ (it) was gone by somebody
) →somebody)
went
(he) went
tu"ib(a)
تُعِبَ
ta"ib(a)
تَعِبَ
≡ (it) was become tired by somebody
) →somebody)
became tired
(he)
became tired
furih(a)
فُرِحَ
farih(a)
فَرِحَ
≡ (it) was become happy by somebody
) →somebody)
became happy
(he)
became happy
suhil(a)
سُهِلَ
sahul(a)
سَهُلَ
≡ (it) was "been"/become
easy(er) by somebody
) →somebody)
was/became
easy(er)
(he)
was/became easy(er)
surir(a)
صُغِرَ
sarur(a)
صَغُرَ
≡ (it) was "been"/become small(er) by somebody
→ (somebody) was/became small(er)
(he) was/became small(er)
'untuliq(a)
اُنْطُلِقَ
'intalaq(a)
اِنْطَلَقَ
≡ (it) was "been"/become
launched
by somebody
→ (somebody) was/became
launched
(he) was/became launched
'ujtuhid(a)
اُجْتُهِدَ
'ijtahad(a)
اِجْتَهَدَ
≡ (it) was "been"/become diligent
by somebody
→ (somebody) was/became diligent
(he) was/became diligent
'ukhdurr(a)
اُخْضُرَّ
'ikhdarr(a)
اِخْضَرَّ
≡ (it) was greened (up) by somebody
→ (somebody) greened (up)
(he)
greened (up)
'ustujiyb(a)
اُسْتُجِيْبَ
'istajaab(a)
اِسْتَجَاْبَ
≡ (it) was answered by somebody
→ (somebody) answered
(he) answered (plea),
responded
Such passive intransitive
verbs are not uncommon in Arabic. Verb forms that are always or frequently
intransitive include forms VI, VII, IX, X, XI,
fa"ul(a)
verbs of form I, and others.
A
simplified formula for the
meaning of passive intransitive verbs would be:
(Somebody) did
This is
particularly useful for stative verbs which do not have direct English
equivalents such as ta"ib(a),
farih(a),
sahul(a),
etc.
For
example, the verb:
سَلِمَ
salim(a)
(He)
was/became safe
The
passive is:
سُلِمَ
sulim(a)
(Somebody)
was/became safe
We just
changed "he" to "somebody;" this is simpler than going through the full
formula "it was "been"/become safe
by somebody."
