Lesson 3 · Book page 17
The Past Tense Verb [الفِعْلُ المَاضِي]
The 14 conjugations of فَعَلَ, active and passive, and negation with مَا.
1.The model pattern
فَعَلَ (he did) is the model past tense verb. Each base letter carries a fatḥah.
2.Conjugating for the subject
The verb changes to show three things about its subject: person (1st, 2nd, 3rd), gender (masculine, feminine) and plurality (singular, dual, plural).
3.Endings, not pronouns
English puts a pronoun before the verb. Arabic adds designated letters to the end of the verb.
4.Passive voice
Change the first letter's vowel to ḍammah and the second-to-last letter's vowel to kasrah: فَعَلَ (he did) becomes فُعِلَ (it was done).
5.Passive reflects the object
Passive conjugations reflect the person, gender and plurality of the object. They use the same endings as the active voice.
6.Negation with مَا
Put مَا before the verb: مَا فَعَلَ (he did not do), مَا فُعِلَ (it was not done).
The Past Tense Verb
Table 3.2, page 21
| Subject | Active Voice | Passive Voice | Active Voice Negation | Passive Voice Negation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| He/It (S/M) هُوَ | فَعَلَ He/It (S/M) did | فُعِلَ He/It (S/M) was done | مَا فَعَلَ He/It (S/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلَ He/It (S/M) was not done |
| They (D/M) هُمَا | فَعَلَا They (D/M) did | فُعِلَا They (D/M) were done | مَا فَعَلَا They (D/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلَا They (D/M) were not done |
| They (P/M) هُمْ | فَعَلُوا They (P/M) did | فُعِلُوا They (P/M) were done | مَا فَعَلُوا They (P/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلُوا They (P/M) were not done |
| She/It (S/F) هِيَ | فَعَلَتْ She/It (S/F) did | فُعِلَتْ She/It (S/F) was done | مَا فَعَلَتْ She/It (S/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلَتْ She/It (S/F) was not done |
| They (D/F) هُمَا | فَعَلَتَا They (D/F) did | فُعِلَتَا They (D/F) were done | مَا فَعَلَتَا They (D/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلَتَا They (D/F) were not done |
| They (P/F) هُنَّ | فَعَلْنَ They (P/F) did | فُعِلْنَ They (P/F) were done | مَا فَعَلْنَ They (P/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلْنَ They (P/F) were not done |
| You (S/M) أَنْتَ | فَعَلْتَ You (S/M) did | فُعِلْتَ You (S/M) were done | مَا فَعَلْتَ You (S/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتَ You (S/M) were not done |
| You (D/M) أَنْتُمَا | فَعَلْتُمَا You (D/M) did | فُعِلْتُمَا You (D/M) were done | مَا فَعَلْتُمَا You (D/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتُمَا You (D/M) were not done |
| You (P/M) أَنْتُمْ | فَعَلْتُمْ You (P/M) did | فُعِلْتُمْ You (P/M) were done | مَا فَعَلْتُمْ You (P/M) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتُمْ You (P/M) were not done |
| You (S/F) أَنْتِ | فَعَلْتِ You (S/F) did | فُعِلْتِ You (S/F) were done | مَا فَعَلْتِ You (S/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتِ You (S/F) were not done |
| You (D/F) أَنْتُمَا | فَعَلْتُمَا You (D/F) did | فُعِلْتُمَا You (D/F) were done | مَا فَعَلْتُمَا You (D/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتُمَا You (D/F) were not done |
| You (P/F) أَنْتُنَّ | فَعَلْتُنَّ You (P/F) did | فُعِلْتُنَّ You (P/F) were done | مَا فَعَلْتُنَّ You (P/F) did not do | مَا فُعِلْتُنَّ You (P/F) were not done |
| I أَنَا | فَعَلْتُ I did | فُعِلْتُ I was done | مَا فَعَلْتُ I did not do | مَا فُعِلْتُ I was not done |
| We نَحْنُ | فَعَلْنَا We did | فُعِلْنَا We were done | مَا فَعَلْنَا We did not do | مَا فُعِلْنَا We were not done |