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Verbs

Perfective Structures (continued)

Quadriliteral Roots-Basic Structure

Verbs of quadriliteral roots are relatively few. Quadriliteral roots usually denote periodic sounds (e.g. jangle), periodic movements (e.g. quake), are extracted from foreign loanwords, or are altered from previous triliteral roots by adding a letter to them.

There is only one structure for verbs of quadriliteral roots with no additional letters:

Basic Structure of Quadriliteral-Rooted Verbs

(Active Voice)

fa"lal(a)

tr./intr.

فَعْلَلَ

*Note: this structure is written this way in Arabic grammar, but the third and fourth letters of the root do not have to be the same.

Examples:

Quadriliteral-Rooted Verbs

(He) muttered

tamtam(a)

تَمْتَمَ

hamham(a)

هَمْهَمَ

waswas(a)

وَسْوَسَ

(He) stammered

ta'<ta'(a)

تَأْتَأَ

fa'<fa'(a)

فَأْفَأَ

(He) jangled

salsal(a)

صَلْصَلَ

 (He) howled

walwal(a)

وَلْوَلَ

(He) quaked

(He) thundered

jaljal(a)

جَلَجَلَ

(He) made quake

zalzal(a)

زَلْزَلَ

(He) dressed (somebody)

from Aramaic etymology

sarbal(a)

سَرْبَلَ

(He) embroidered

from Persian etymology

zakhraf(a)

زَخْرَفَ

(He) put a cap on (somebody)

from Latin "calantica"

qalnas(a)

قَلْنَسَ

(He) rolled (something)

original root: د ر ج ?

dahraj(a)

دَحْرَجَ

(He) scattered (something)

original root: ب ث ر ?

ba"thar(a)

بَعْثَرَ

(He) choked

original root: ح رج ?

hashraj(a)

حَشْرَجَ

(He) reassured

original root: أ م ن ?

tam'an(a)

طَمْأَنَ

 

Arabs used, and use, the structure fa"lal(a) to carve verbs from nouns that have more than three consonants in them. We explained in this page, at length, how the verb form II is used to derive verbs from nouns with triliteral roots. There are other verb forms that can also be derived from three-letter-rooted nouns. However, to derive verbs from nouns with more than three letters to their roots, quadriliteral-rooted structure such as fa"lal(a) are used.

In modern times, fa"lal(a) has been used as well to derive verbs from three-letter-rooted nouns with more than three letters. This is why we said that this structure is used to derive verbs from nouns with more than three consonants, regardless of the root.

Examples:

Form QI Verb

Noun

'amrak(a)

أَمْرَكَ

'amerikaa

أَميرِكَاْ

(he) made American

→ Americanized (tr.)

America (fem.)

sa"wad(a)

سَعْوَدَ

'as-su"oodiyya(tu)

السُّعُوْدِيَّةُ

(he) made Saudi

→ Saudized (tr.)

Saudi Arabia (fem.)

bar"am(a)

بَرْعَمَ

bur"um(un)

بُرْعُمٌ

(he) budded

a bud (masc.)

talfan(a)

تَلْفَنَ

telifōn(un)

تلِيْفونٌ

(he) telephoned

a telephone (masc.)

 

There were many quadriliteral roots that Arab grammarians recognized as altered from triliteral roots by the addition of one letter to them. They worked out 8 standard patterns for the addition of the fourth letter and called the patterns or the structures the "annexed" quadriliteral-rooted structures without additional letters.

Here are the 8 structures:

Example

Structure

jalbab(a)

جَلْبَبَ

fa"lal(a)

فَعْلَلَ

(He) put a djellaba on (somebody)

hawqal(a)

حَوْقَلَ

faw"al(a)

فَوْعَلَ

(He) became impotent

rahwal(a)

رَهْوَلَ

fa"wal(a)

فَعْوَلَ

(He) hurried up

baytar(a)

بَيْطَرَ

fay"al(a)

فَيْعَلَ

(He) treated (an animal)

sharyaf(a)

شَرْيَفَ

fa"yal(a)

فَعْيَلَ

(He) cut

sanbal(a)

سَنْبَلَ

fan"al(a)

فَنْعَلَ

(He, a plant) eared

qalnas(a)

قَلْنَسَ

fa"nal(a)

فَعْنَلَ

(He) put a cap on (somebody)

salqaa

سَلْقَىْ

fa"laa

فَعْلَىْ

(He) laid down

Notes

  • Those are structures of four-letter-rooted verbs without additional letters.

  • The purple letters are identified as additional to the roots not to the structures.

  • In the first structure, the third and fourth letter have to be identical. This is different from the general structure mentioned above, albeit they are written the same way.

  • I don't think all the examples are correct (the last one isn't), but those are the ones I have.

  • The verb قَلْنَسَ  was mentioned because classical Arab grammarians didn't know it was from Latin etymology and thought it was altered from the root ق ل س , although the truth is the other way around. I had to put it here because I don't have other examples.

  • Those structures are rare and knowing them is of very little importance, if any.

 

An example on the conjugation of a simple quadriliteral-rooted verb:

طَمْأَنَ

tam'an(a)

(he) reassured

 

 

الْمَاْضِيْ Perfective  // ط م أ ن Root

(Form QI, Active Voice)

S

I

N

G

U

L

A

R

(I) reassured

tam'ant(u)

طَمْأَنْتُ

(You masc.) reassured

tam'ant(a)

طَمْأَنْتَ

(You fem.) reassured

tam'anti

طَمْأَنْتِ

(He) reassured

tam'an(a)

طَمْأَنَ

(She) reassured

tam'anat

طَمْأَنَتَ

D

U

A

L

(You) reassured

tam'antumaa

طَمْأَنْتُمَاْ

(They masc.) reassured

tam'anaa

طَمْأَنَاْ

(They fem.) reassured

tam'anataa

طَمْأَنَتَاْ

P

L

U

R

A

L

(We dual/plu.) reassured

tam'annaa

طَمْأَنَّاْ

(You masc.) reassured

tam'antum

طَمْأَنْتُمْ

(You fem.) reassured

tam'antunn(a)

طَمْأَنْتُنَّ

(They masc.) reassured

tam'anoo

طَمْأَنُوْا

(They fem.) reassured

tam'ann(a)

طَمْأَنَّ

 

 

Quadriliteral Roots with Additional Letters

With the additional letters, three more structures of quadriliteral roots are obtained.

Structures of Perfective Verbs with Quadriliteral Roots

(Active Voice)

No additional letters

Form QI

fa"lal(a)

فَعْلَلَ

1 additional letter

Form QII

tafa"lal(a)

تَفَعْلَلَ

2 additional letters

Form QIII

'if"anlal(a)

اِفْعَنْلَلَ

Form QIV

'if"alall(a)

اِفْعَلَلَّ

Forms QIV is an irregular doubled verb. The green short vowel in certain conjugations of this verbs is displaced backward (original form 'if"allal(a)).

Examples on the conjugation of the quadriliteral-rooted forms:

 

Re-conjugated

Example

([he] did)

Form

(You, fem. sing.) scattered

بَعْثَرْتِ

بَعْثَرَ

فَعْلَلَ

ba"tharti

ba"thar(a)

(They, masc. dual) rolled

تَدَحْرَجَاْ

تَدَحْرَجَ

تَفَعْلَلَ

tadahrajaa

tadahraj(a)

(She, fem. sing.) congregated

used form camels

اِحْرَنْجَمَتْ

اِحْرَنْجَمَ

اِفْعَنْلَلَ

'ihranjamat

'ihranjam(a)

(I) became reassured

اِطْمَأْنَنْتُ*

اِطْمَأَنَّ

اِفْعَلَلَّ

'itma'<nant(u)

'itma'ann(a)

*A doubled verb.

A review of the meanings of these structures with examples is available here.

A simplified list of the meanings:

Meanings of Verb Forms

Form QI

فَعْلَلَ

fa"lal(a) 

 

tr./intr.

Basic

(he) did

Form QII

تَفَعْلَلَ

tafa"lal(a) 

 

tr./intr.

Reflexive

(He) did himself

Reflexive Causative

(He) made himself do

Form QIII

اِفْعَنْلَلَ

'if"anlal(a)

 

intr.

Reflexive

(He) did himself

Form QIV

اِفْعَلَلَّ

'if"alall(a)

 

intr.

Stative

(he) was/became something

 

Exercise 1

 

Can you fill in the missing English pronouns inside the brackets?

 

(?) spoke

تَكَلَّمْنَاْ

(?) translated

تَرْجَمْنَاْ

(?) popped, cracked

فَرْقَعْتُنَّ

(?) scared

أَرْعَبْتُنَّ

(?) fidgeted

تَمَلْمَلا

(?) treated (one another)

تَعَاْمَلا

(?) had gooseflesh, shuddered

اِقْشَعَرَّتْ

(?) continued (intr.)

اِسْتَمَرَّتْ

(?) were/became popped, cracked

اِفْرَنْقَعْتُمْ

(?) enjoyed (intr.)

اِسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ

 

 

Answers

 

(We) spoke

تَكَلَّمْنَاْ

(We) translated

تَرْجَمْنَاْ

(You plu. fem.) popped, cracked

فَرْقَعْتُنَّ

(You plu. fem.) scared

أَرْعَبْتُنَّ

(They dual masc.) fidgeted

تَمَلْمَلا

(They dual. masc.) treated (one another)

تَعَاْمَلا

(She) had gooseflesh, shuddered

اِقْشَعَرَّتْ

(She) continued (intr.)

اِسْتَمَرَّتْ

(You plu. masc.) were/became popped, cracked

اِفْرَنْقَعْتُمْ

(You plu. masc.) enjoyed (intr.)

اِسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ

 

 

Exercise 2

 

Can you tell the forms of the verbs in the previous exercise?

 

 

Answers

 

Form V

تَكَلَّمْنَاْ

Form QI

تَرْجَمْنَاْ

Form QI

فَرْقَعْتُنَّ

Form IV

أَرْعَبْتُنَّ

Form QII

تَمَلْمَلا

Form VI

تَعَاْمَلا

Form QIV

اِقْشَعَرَّتْ

Form X

اِسْتَمَرَّتْ

Form QIII

اِفْرَنْقَعْتُمْ

Form X

اِسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ

 

 

Structures of the Perfective Verb

(Active Voice)

Form I

fa"al(a)

فَعَلَ

fa"il(a)

فَعِلَ

fa"ul(a)

فَعُلَ

Form II

fa""al(a)

فَعَّلَ

Form III

faa"al(a)

فَاْعَلَ

Form IV

'af"al(a)

أَفْعَلَ

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

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

Form QI

fa"lal(a)

فَعْلَلَ

Form QII

tafa"lal(a)

تَفَعْلَلَ

Form QIII

'if"anlal(a)

اِفْعَنْلَلَ

Form QIV

'if"alall(a)

اِفْعَلَلَّ

 

 

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