Meanings of Verb Forms
Triliteral Roots
|
Structures of Perfective Verbs with Triliteral Roots
(Active
Voice) |
|
No
additional letters |
Form I |
fa"al(a) |
فَعَلَ |
|
fa"il(a) |
فَعِلَ |
|
fa"ul(a) |
فَعُلَ |
|
1
additional letter |
Form II |
fa""al(a) |
فَعَّلَ |
|
Form III |
faa"al(a) |
فَاْعَلَ |
|
Form IV |
'af"al(a) |
أَفْعَلَ |
|
2
additional letters |
Form V |
tafa''"al(a) |
تَفَعَّلَ |
|
Form VI |
tafaa"al(a) |
تَفَاْعَلَ |
|
Form VII |
'infa"al(a) |
اِنْفَعَلَ |
|
Form VIII |
'ifta"al(a) |
اِفْتَعَلَ |
|
Form IX |
'if"all(a) |
اِفْعَلََّ |
|
3
additional letters |
Form X |
'istaf"al(a) |
اِسْتَفْعَلَ |
|
Form XI |
'if"aall(a) |
اِفْعَاْلَّ |
|
Form XII |
'if"aw"al(a) |
اِفْعَوْعَلَ |
|
Form XIII |
'if"awwal(a) |
اِفْعَوَّلَ |
|
Form XIV |
'if"anlal(a) |
اِفْعَنْلَلَ |
|
Form XV |
'if"anlaa |
اِفْعَنْلَىْ |
The
meanings and examples of Form I exist on
this page.
Form II
|
Form II of Arabic Verbs
(Active Voice) |
|
Causative
(He) made do |
fa""al(a)
tr./intr. |
فَعَّلَ |
Also called the D-stem
(D for "doubled"),
this
structure is obtained by doubling the middle root-letter. The additional
letter in the structure is the second copy of the doubled letter.
The basic meaning of this structure is a causative
meaning.
This means that the agent or the performer of
the verb caused the action denoted by the corresponding form I verb
to be performed, whether directly or indirectly, by coercion or not.
Causative
(He) made (a/the performer) do
OR
(He) had (a/the performer) do
Examples:
|
Form II |
Form I |
|
kattab(a) |
كَتَّبَ |
katab(a) |
كَتَبَ |
|
(he) made/had write |
(he) wrote |
|
'akkal(a) |
أَكَّلَ |
'akal(a) |
أَكَلَ |
|
(he) made/had eat |
(he) ate |
|
dammar(a) |
دَمَّرَ |
damar(a) |
دَمَرَ |
|
(he) made vanish
→ (he) destroyed |
(he) vanished |
|
"allam(a) |
عَلَّمَ |
"alim(a) |
عَلِمَ |
|
(he) made know
→ (he) taught |
(he) knew |
|
ta""ab(a) |
تَعَّبَ |
ta"ib(a) |
تَعِبَ |
|
(he) made tired |
(he) became tired |
|
farrah(a) |
فَرَّحَ |
farih(a) |
فَرِحَ |
|
(he) made happy |
(he) became happy |
|
sarrar(a) |
صَغَّرَ |
sarur(a) |
صَغُرَ |
|
(he) made small(er) |
(he) was/became small(er) |
|
kabbar(a) |
كَبَّرَ |
kabur(a) |
كَبُرَ |
|
(he) made big(ger) |
(he) was/became big(ger) |
|
sahhal(a) |
سَهَّلَ |
sahul(a) |
سَهُلَ |
|
(he) made easy(er) |
(he) was/became easy(er) |
Notes
-
It is not necessary for every root to be used in every form. Some roots
are used only in form I but not in any other form. Some roots are
used in several forms but not in form I, and so on.
-
It is not possible to use
a root in a certain form if you were not sure that the root is customarily
used in that form; and if you know that it is used, you should find out
first what the customary meaning of the verb is. You should not count on
your previous knowledge of the general meaning of the form, because the
verb's actual meaning can be
quite different.
Causative form II verbs
can often be directly derived from nouns
(including adjectives). This is like when they derived "crystallize" from
"crystal" and "brighten" from "bright" by adding the suffixes "-ize"
and "-en" to them, respectively. This verbalization of nouns process is
possible in Arabic via the form II verb structure among others. Of course, the nouns must
have triliteral roots in order to be verbalized this way.
Transformative
(Causative to be noun)
(He) made be noun
(He) noun-ized
Less commonly, this structure will
also mean "(he) became noun" in addition to "(he) made be
noun." This is a reflexive meaning that indicates an action
directed from the agent towards himself:
Reflexive Transformative
(He) made himself be noun
→ (he) became noun
I think of it as though they reversed the
order of "he" and "made" in the meaning formula:
(He) made be noun
→
made (he) be noun
→
(he) made himself be noun
A good thing to be aware of about Arabic is
that any verb form carrying a causative meaning will also carry a
reflexive causative meaning. Form II is the least causative form to
show this phenomenon in formal Arabic, but it does show it much in the
modern informal Arabic. We will talk more about these issues and explain
what a reflexive meaning means in detail later
on in this review.
Examples of the transformative meaning:
|
Form II Verb |
Noun |
|
"arrab(a) |
عَرَّبَ |
"arab(un) |
عَرَبٌ |
|
(he) Arabized
= (he) made Arab |
Arabs (masc.) |
|
massar(a) |
مَصَّرَ |
misr(un) |
مِصْرٌ |
|
(he) Egyptianized
= (he) made Egyptian |
Egypt (masc.) |
|
hajjar(a) |
حَجَّرَ |
hajar(un) |
حَجَرٌ |
|
(he) petrified
= (he) made stone-like
(he) became stone-like
|
a stone (masc.) |
|
qawwas(a) |
قَوَّسَ |
qaws(un) |
قَوْسٌ |
|
(he) arched, bowed
= (he) made arch-like
(he) became arch-like |
an arch (masc.) |
|
rayyar(a) |
غَيَّرَ |
rayr(un) |
غَيْرٌ |
|
(he) other-ized
(he) made be another
→
(he)
changed (tr.) |
an "other than"
(masc./fem. prep.) |
The transformative meaning is not
very different from the causative meaning, because we are still broadly
following the formula "(he) made do" but we are using the verb "be" in
place of "do" and adding a complementary noun to the formula.
In
Arab mentality, and some other mentalities I guess, "he made be" can
sometimes be not meant literally. "He made be beautiful"
or "he beautified" can mean "he made it look beautiful whereas it was not"
or "he made it look more beautiful than it was." In other words, these
verbs can have a factitious transformative
meaning,
by which I mean that they can denote figurative transformation
rather than real actual
one. I made up the "factitious transformative"
term, but I am going to be using it a lot from now on.
A more dangerous situation is when the factitious quality is used for
accusation. E.g. "he made traitor"
figuratively means "he accused with treason," etc.
Examples:
|
Form II Verb |
Noun |
|
jammal(a) |
جَمَّلَ |
jameel(un) |
جَمِيْلٌ |
|
(he) beautified
→
(he)
embellished
(he) exaggerated the
beauty of |
a
beautiful (masc.) |
|
massar(a) |
كَبَّرَ |
kabeer(un) |
كَبِيْرٌ |
|
(he) made big(ger)
→
(he)
exaggerated the size
of |
a big
(masc.) |
|
khawwan(a) |
خَوَّنَ |
khaa'in(un) |
خَاْئِنٌ |
|
(he) made traitor
→ (he)
accused with treason |
a traitor (masc.) |
|
kaffar(a) |
كَفَّرَ |
kaafir(un) |
كَاْفِرٌ |
|
(he) made disbeliever
→ (he)
accused with disbelief |
a disbeliever (masc.) |
When
the
reflexive transformative
quality
is used to make verbs out of time and place expressions, it can
figuratively mean "(he) headed into noun" or "(he) was in
noun ."
Examples:
|
Form II Verb |
Time/Place Expression |
|
sharraq(a) |
شَرَّقَ |
sharq(un) |
شَرْقٌ |
|
(he) east-ized himself
→
(he) headed eastward |
east (masc.) |
|
rarrab(a) |
غَرَّبَ |
rarb(un) |
غَرْبٌ |
|
(he) west-ized himself
→
(he) headed westward |
west (masc.) |
|
sabbah(a) |
صَبَّحَ |
subh(un) |
صُبْحٌ |
|
(he) morn-ized himself
→
(he) was in morning
→ (he) spent morning |
a morning (masc.) |
|
sayyaf(a) |
صَيَّفَ |
sayf(un) |
صَيْفٌ |
|
(he) summer-ized himself
→
(he) was in summer
→ (he) spent
summer |
a summer (masc.) |
Form II
verbs are always transitive except when they carry a reflexive
transformative meaning.
Now to
another meaning of form II, the intensive meaning.
This means intensifying the
action denoted by the corresponding form I verb, whether by character,
duration, or frequency.
Intensive
(He)
did much
Examples:
|
Form
II |
Form I |
|
kassar(a) |
كَسَّرَ |
kasar(a) |
كَسَرَ |
|
(he) broke much
→
(he) smashed |
(he) broke, fractured (tr.) |
|
hattam(a) |
حَطَّمَ |
hatam(a) |
حَطَمَ |
|
(he) broke much
→
(he) smashed |
(he) broke (tr.) |
|
qatta"(a) |
قَطَّعَ |
qata"(a) |
قَطَعَ |
|
(he) cut much
→
(he) chopped |
(he) cut |
|
harraq(a) |
حَرَّقَ |
haraq(a) |
حَرَقَ |
|
(he) burned much |
(he) burned (tr.) |
|
qattal(a) |
قَتَّلَ |
qatal(a) |
قَتَلَ |
|
(he)
killed much
→
(he) massacred |
(he) killed |
|
rallaq(a) |
غَلَّقَ |
ralaq(a) |
غَلَقَ |
|
(he) closed much |
(he) closed (tr.) |
|
fajjar(a) |
فَجَّرَ |
fajar(a) |
فَجَرَ |
|
(he) burst much
→
(he) blew up (tr.) |
(he) burst (tr.) |
What I believe is that the
intensive meaning
is just a connotative meaning of this structure but not an original
one. The initial causative meaning of these verbs evolved and became
figuratively intensive.
Finally,
we reiterate here the fact that it is not always easy to identify the
meaning relationship between the different verb forms of one root. This is
primarily due to the fact that some roots have developed multiple meanings
over time, so each verb form now can pertain to one of the meanings.
Examples on form II verbs
that have quite unexpected meanings compared to the corresponding form I
verbs:
|
Form II |
Form I |
|
qabbal(a) |
قَبَّلَ |
qabal(a) |
قَبَلَ |
|
(he) kissed |
(he) fronted |
|
jarrab(a) |
جَرَّبَ |
jarib(a) |
جَرِبَ |
|
(he) tried |
(he) had scabies |
|
rannaa |
غَنَّىْ* |
raniy(a) |
غَنِيَ |
|
(he) sang |
(he) became rich |
|
harrar(a) |
حَرَّرَ |
harr(a) |
حَرَّ* |
|
(he) freed
(he) edited |
(he) became hot |
|
qarrar(a) |
قَرَّرَ |
qarr(a) |
قَرَّ* |
|
(he) decided (tr.) |
(he) became cold
(he) stayed still |
|
rakkaz(a) |
رَكَّزَ |
rakaz(a) |
رَكَزَ |
|
(he) concentrated
(he) poised well |
(he) poised |
|
sallam(a) |
سَلَّمَ |
salim(a) |
سَلِمَ |
|
(he) handed
(he) greeted (intr.)
(he) made safe |
(he) was safe |
|
qaddam(a) |
قَدَّمَ |
qadim(a) |
قَدِمَ |
|
(he) presented (tr.)
(he) brought to the front |
(he) came
(he) became old |
*This
is an irregular defective verb. The last root letter in such a verb is turned into a
weak 'alif.
*Those
are irregular doubled verbs. They end with two identical letters with no vowel in
between.
Summary of the meanings of form II:
|
Basic
Meanings of Form II |
|
Causative |
to do |
(he) made do |
|
to be
noun
(Transformative) |
Simple |
Genuine |
(he) made be noun |
|
Factitious |
(he) claimed to be noun |
|
Reflexive |
(he) made himself be noun
→
(he) became noun |
|
Connotative Meaning of Form II |
|
Intensive |
(he)
did much |
Form III
|
Form III of Arabic Verbs
(Active Voice) |
|
Causative to be
Active Participle
(He) made be doing/doer prep.
(He) made himself
be
doing/doer prep. |
faa"al(a)
tr./intr. |
فَاْعَلَ |
Called the L-stem
(L for "lengthened"),
this is one of the most common structures of Arabic verbs, and also one of the most
vague in meaning. It is formed by elongating the short A vowel
after the
first root letter to become a long A, or an extended
'alif.
This
extended
'alif
is the additional letter in the structure.
Determining the exact meaning of this structure has always been a
difficult task. However, the inherent meaning of this structure is really
close to previous one, the D-stem. The difference here is that this
structure will always have a transformative
meaning (causative to be noun ).
Moreover, the difference here pertains also the type of the noun in the
formula. Unlike the previous structure, the noun here will be a
participle. Participles are nouns in Arabic
grammar. If you don't know what a participle is, it is simply any
adjective ending with -ing (like in "a dancing bear" = a bear
that is dancing, or a bear that dances). Those are the
present participles. Similarly, the past participles are adjectives that
look like verbs after "have," like in "a spoiled brat."
|
Present (Imperfect) Participles |
a walking, talking,
annoying something |
|
Past (Perfect) Participles |
an upset, angered,
infuriated someone |
In Arabic, the "active participle" corresponds to the English present
participle, and the "passive participle" corresponds to the English past
participle. Participles in Arabic grammar are considered nouns not verbs.
Back to the form III verbs. These verbs will mean the following in the
active voice:
(He)
made (the object) be doing
Or more often:
(he)
made
himself be doing
→ (he)
became doing
|
Form II
|
(he) made do
(he) made be noun |
|
Form III |
(he) made be doing/doer
(he) made himself be doing/doer |
The Arabic active participle can be translated to both "doing" and "doer."
The reflexive transformative meaning "(he) became doing/doer" is more
common than the other one.
This is only half the meaning of the form III structure. The other half is the
transitive aspect of the meaning. This
structure is always transitive if understood literally, which means
it will always affect an object (or sometimes two objects). However, there
are form III verbs that are intransitive by custom.
The simplest way to express transitivity would be by adding an "of" to the
formula:
(he) made be doing of
(he) became doing of
However, in the real world, the verbs will
often have transitive meanings indicated by other prepositions than "of."
e.g.
(he)
became doing
with
(he)
became doing
at
(he)
became doing
to
etc.
For
example, the verb:
شَاْهَدَ
shaahad(a)
means:
(he) became witnessing
of (something)
→ (he) watched (something)
Whereas the verb:
كَاْتَبَ
kaatab(a)
means:
(he) became writing
to (someone)
= (he) became someone who writes
(=writer)
to
(someone)
→ (he)
corresponded with
(someone)
It all depends on what the guy who invented the verb meant by
it.
Any preposition can be meant, the only general thing is that this
structure takes an object, or more than one object. Of course, verbs whose
corresponding form I verbs are intransitive cannot mean "(he) became doing
of."
Now the full meaning of the structure has
become:
Causative to be
Active Participle
(He) made be doing/doer prep.
(He) made himself
be
doing/doer prep.
This general meaning is, in fact, very
unspecific. There are so many possibilities here:
-
The transformative meaning can be affecting
others "(he) made be" or it can be self-affecting (reflexive) "(he)
became."
-
The active participle "a doing" can mean
"someone who is doing" or "someone who does," a difference that can affect
the general meaning of a verb.
-
The verb to be inserted in place of "do" can
be transitive or intransitive.
-
The implied relation between the action and
the object (the implied preposition) is arbitrary and identified by
custom.
All these variables make the possible meanings of form
III verbs very diverse. This is why people often have different
explanations for the meaning of this structure; some people explain it as
"(he) tried to do," others as "(he) exchanged doing with," etc. In fact,
all these meanings are possible depending on the specific verb.
The meaning "(he) became
doing of," which is very common, can often, but not always, be translated
to things like "(he) tried or sought to do." Although this is a
connotative meaning and not original to the structure.
Conative
(He)
made himself be doing/doer prep.
→
(he) sought to do
This meaning can be
understood in light of what we explained before about the factitious
transformative
meaning; "(he) made
himself be doing" means in this case that he was not really
"a doing," but he was sincerely "making himself one" or "seeking to be one."
So the
factitious meaning here has a sincere motive behind it.
Examples:
|
Form III |
Form I |
|
maana"(a) |
مَاْنَعَ |
mana"(a) |
مَنَعَ |
|
(he) made
himself
preventing of
{(he)
sought to prevent}
→ (he) opposed
(he) minded, objected |
(he) prevented |
|
naasar(a) |
نَاْصَرَ |
nasar(a) |
نَصَرَ |
|
(he) made
himself
supporting of
{(he) sought to
render victorious}
→ (he) supported |
(he) rendered victorious
→ (he) supported |
|
daafa"(a) |
دَاْفَعَ |
dafa"(a) |
دَفَعَ |
|
(he) made
himself
repelling
{(he) sought to
repel}
→ (he) defended (intr.) |
(he) pushed, repelled |
|
waasal(a) |
وَاْصَلَ |
wasal(a) |
وَصَلَ |
|
(he) made
himself connecting of
{(he) sought to
connect}
→ (he) continued |
(he) connected
(he) arrived |
|
haajar(a) |
هَاْجَرَ |
hajar(a) |
هَجَرَ |
|
(he)
made himself abandoning
{(he) sought to
abandon}
→
(he) migrated (intr.) |
(he) abandoned, left |
|
saafar(a) |
سَاْفَرَ |
safar(a) |
سَفَرَ |
|
(he)
made himself clearing out
{(he) sought to
clear out}
→
(he) left town, country
(he) traveled
(intr.) |
(he) cleared out |
|
haarab(a) |
حَاْرَبَ |
harab(a) |
حَرَبَ |
|
(he)
made himself robbing of
{(he) sought to
rob}
→
(he) warred with
|
(he) robbed |
|
laazam(a) |
لازَمَ |
lazim(a) |
لَزِمَ |
|
(he) made
himself
staying at/with
{(he) sought to stay
at/with}
→ (he) persisted with
(he) stuck to |
(he) stayed at/with |
|
shaarak(a) |
شَاْرَكَ |
sharik(a) |
شَرِكَ |
|
(he) made
himself
partnering with (somebody) in (something)
{(he) sought to
partner with (somebody) in (something)}
→ (he) participated with (somebody)
in (something)
takes two objects |
(he) made himself tangled
(he) partnered with |
|
"aawan(a) |
عَاْوَنَ |
"aan(a) |
عَاْنَ* |
|
(he) made
himself
assisting of
{(he) sought to
assist}
→ (he) assisted |
(he) assisted |
|
jaawaz(a) |
جَاْوَزَ |
jaaz(a) |
جَاْزَ* |
|
(he) made
himself
moving past
{(he) sought to move past}
→ (he) moved past
→ (he) exceeded |
(he) crossed, moved past
→ (he) was acceptable |
|
haawal(a) |
حَاْوَلَ |
haal(a) |
حَاْلَ* |
|
(he) made
himself
moving around
{(he) sought to move
around}
→ (he) tried (tr.) |
(he) rotated, moved around (intr.)
→ (he) transformed
(intr.)
→
(he) separated
|
*Those
are irregular hollow verbs. The middle root letter in such verbs is turned
into a weak 'alif.
Rarely
will form III verbs mean "(he) made doing" instead of "(he)
made himself doing."
|
Form III |
Form I |
|
saa"ad(a) |
سَاْعَدَ |
sa"id(a) |
سَعِدَ |
|
(he) made be happy
→ (he) helped |
(he) was happy |
|
faa"al(a) |
فَاْعَلََ |
fa"al(a) |
فَعَلَ |
|
(he) made be doing
→ (he) made chemically react |
(he) did |
|
"aafaa |
عَاْفَىْ* |
"afaa |
عَفَىْ* |
|
(he)
made be left
→ (he) cured
(he)
saved from harm |
(he) pardoned
original sense:
(he) left
(he) was left |
|
jaawab(a) |
جَاْوَبَ |
jaab(a) |
جَاْبَ* |
|
(he) made be going through
→ (he) answered
original sense:
→ (he) helped to reach |
(he)
went through
(he) voyaged (tr.) |
*Those
are irregular defective verbs. The last
root letter in such verbs is turned into a weak
'alif.
*This
is an irregular hollow verbs. The middle root letter in such
a verb is turned
into a weak 'alif.
For many from III verbs, especially when the implied preposition in the
meaning formula is "with," the verb can be translated to the
following:
Mutual
(He)
initiated mutual doing with
This means an action
carried by more than one person, but one of them (the subject of the verb)
is responsible for starting it. This is the principal meaning of form III
verbs according to classical Arab grammarians. However, there are so many
form III verbs that do not fit into this principal meaning.
I explain this meaning to myself as though they combined or couldn't
separate between the simple causative "(he) made be doing" and the
reflexive causative "(he) became doing."
Mutual
(He)
made (the object) and made himself be doings/doers prep.
→
(he)
initiated mutual doing with
Examples:
|
Form III |
Form I |
|
raaqas(a) |
رَاْقَصَ |
raqas(a) |
رَقَصَ |
|
(he) made and became dancing with
{(he) initiated mutual dancing with}
= (he) danced with
|
(he) danced |
|
jaalas(a) |
جَاْلَسَ |
jalas(a) |
جَلَسَ |
|
(he) made and became sitting with
{(he) initiated mutual sitting with}
= (he) sat with
|
(he) sat (intr.) |
|
kaatab(a) |
كَاْتَبَ |
katab(a) |
كَتَبَ |
|
(he) made and became writing to
{(he) initiated mutual
writing
with}
→
(he) corresponded with
|
(he) wrote |
|
haasab(a) |
حَاْسَبَ |
hasab(a) |
حَسَبَ |
|
(he) made and became calculating with
{(he) initiated mutual calculating with}
→ (he) settled an account with
→ (he)
held responsible for
|
(he) calculated |
|
waa"ad(a) |
وَاْعَدَ |
wa"ad(a) |
وَعَدَ |
|
(he) made and became promising of
{(he) initiated mutual promising with}
→ (he) made appointment with
(he)
dated |
(he) promised |
|
qaabal(a) |
قَاْبَلَ |
qabal(a) |
قَبَلَ |
|
(he) made and became fronting of
{(he) initiated mutual fronting with}
= (he) fronted
→
(he) met with
|
(he) fronted |
|
"aamal(a) |
عَاْمَلَ |
"amil(a) |
عَمِلَ |
|
(he) made and became working with
{(he) initiated mutual working with}
= (he) worked with
→ (he) treated, behaved toward |
(he)
worked |
|
naazal(a) |
نَاْزَلَ |
nazal(a) |
نَزَلَ |
|
(he) made and became dismounting with
{(he) initiated mutual
dismounting
with}
→ (he) fought with (in battle) |
(he) went down, descended
in battle:
(he) dismounted |
|
baaya"(a) |
بَاْيَعَ |
baa"(a) |
بَاْعَ* |
|
(he) made and became transacting with
{(he) initiated mutual
transacting
with}
→ (he) made deal with
→ (he) pledged allegiance to
|
(he) sold
classical:
(he) transacted (business) |
|
haawar(a) |
حَاْوَرَ |
haar(a) |
حَاْرَ* |
|
(he) made and became going
back with
{(he) initiated
mutual going back with}
→
(he) conversed with |
(he) was perplexed
original sense:
(he) went back |
*Those
are irregular hollow verbs. The middle root letter in such verbs is turned
into a weak 'alif.
For many verbs it gets really impossible
for me to decide whether the
supposed meaning is
one of mutuality or seeking. Therefore, I'm going to combine both.
Mutual + Conative
(He)
initiated mutual seeking to do with
It is too long, but it is the shortest I could
work out.
Examples:
|
Form
III |
Form I |
|
daarab(a) |
ضَاْرَبَ |
darab(a) |
ضَرَبَ |
|
(he)
made and became hitting of
{(he) initiated mutual seeking to hit with}
→
(he) fought |
(he) hit |
|
qaatal(a) |
قَاْتَلَ |
qatal(a) |
قَتَلَ |
|
(he)
made and became killing of
{(he)
initiated mutual seeking to
kill with}
→
(he) fought |
(he) killed |
|
saara"(a) |
صَاْرَعَ |
sara"(a) |
صَرَعَ |
|
(he)
made and became throwing down of
{(he) initiated mutual seeking to throw down with}
→
(he) wrestled |
(he) threw (someone) down |
|
laakam(a) |
لاكَمَ |
lakam(a) |
لَكَمَ |
|
(he)
made and became punching of
{(he) initiated mutual seeking to punch with}
→
(he) boxed with |
(he) punched |
|
jaathab(a) |
جَاْذَبَ |
jathab(a) |
جَذَبَ |
|
(he)
made and became pulling of (something) with (someone)
{(he) initiated mutual seeking to pull (something) with (someone)}
takes two objects |
(he) pulled |
|
naaza"(a) |
نَاْزَعَ |
naza"(a) |
نَزَعَ |
|
(he)
made and became plucking of (something) with (someone)
{(he) initiated
mutual
seeking to pluck (something) with (someone)}
→ (he) disputed over
(something) with (someone)
takes two objects |
(he) plucked |
|
naaqash(a) |
نَاْقَشَ |
naqash(a) |
نَقَشَ |
|
(he)
made and became extracting of (something) with (someone)
{(he) initiated
mutual
extracting of (something) with (someone)}
→ (he) discussed
(something) with (someone)
takes two objects |
(he) extracted
(he) engraved |
Sometimes, the verbs will have neither a meaning of conation nor of mutuality. Those are regarded to have an emphatic meaning.
Intensive
(He)
did much
Examples:
|
Form III |
Form I |
|
baalar(a) |
بَاْلَغَ |
balar(a) |
بَلَغَ |
|
(he)
made himself reaching
{(he) reached much}
→
(he) exaggerated
(intr.) |
(he) reached |
|
jaahad(a) |
جَاْهَدَ |
jahid(a) |
جَهِدَ |
|
(he)
made himself struggling
→
(he) struggled much |
(he) was tired
→
(he) struggled |
|
saa'al(a) |
سَاْئَلَ |
sa'al(a) |
سَأَلَ |
|
(he) made himself asking of
{(he) asked much}
→ (he) interrogated |
(he) asked |
|
shaahad(a) |
شَاْهَدَ |
shahid(a) |
شَهِدَ |
|
(he)
made himself witnessing of
{(he) witnessed much}
→
(he) watched |
(he) witnessed |
|
taalab(a) |
طَاْلَبَ |
talab(a) |
طَلَبَ |
|
(he)
made himself requesting from (someone)
{(he) requested much from}
→
(he) demanded (intr.) from |
(he) requested |
|
saamah(a) |
سَاْمَحَ |
samah(a) |
سَمَحَ |
|
(he) made
himself
generous with
{(he) made himself generous much}
→ (he) forgave
ultimate etymology:
(he) made happy? |
(he) was generous
→ (he) allowed |
Finally, there are few verbs of form III that appear to be derived from
simple nouns, but this is probably not true.
Examples:
|
Form III |
Noun |
|
daa"af(a) |
ضَاْعَفَ |
di"f(un) |
ضِعْفٌ |
|
(he) became multiplying/doubling
of
→ (he)
multiplied,
doubled |
a multiplied amount
a doubled amount (masc.) |
|
raayar(a) |
غَاْيَرَ |
rayr(un) |
غَيْرٌ |
|
(he) became being other than
→ (he)
was/became different from |
an "other than"
(masc./fem. prep.) |
|
haataf(a) |
هَاْتَفَ |
haatif(un) |
هَاْتِفٌ |
|
(he) became telephoning
of
→ (he)
telephoned
modernization of an archaic verb |
a
telephone
(masc.)
|
|
Basic Meanings of Form III |
|
Causative
to be Active Participle |
Simple |
(he) made be doing |
(he) made (the object)
be (an object) that is doing |
|
(he) made (the object)
be (an object) that does |
|
Reflexive |
(he) made himself be doing
→ (he) became doing |
(he) became (a
subject) that is doing |
|
(he) became (a
subject) that does |
|
Connotative Meanings of Form III |
|
Conative |
(he) sought to do
factitious reflexive transformative |
|
Mutual
(initiated by one side) |
(he) initiated mutual
doing with
combined causative & reflexive causative |
|
Intensive |
(he)
did much |
Etymology Note
Arabic does not have any
real long A vowel. Here
is the ancestral form of the form III structure according to my guess:
فَوْعَلَ
faw"al(a)
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