Lesson 5 · Book page 29
The Present Tense Verb in the State of Rafa' [رَفْع]
Grammatical states, the default state of rafa', and the stateless (مَبْنِيّ) forms.
1.Grammatical states
Arabic words take on grammatical states, shown on their last letter. There are four: rafa' (رَفْع), nasb (نَصْب), jarr (جَرّ) and jazm (جَزْم).
2.Verbs take three
Verbs only take rafa', nasb and jazm. Jarr is for nouns only.
3.Rafa' is the default
All present tense verbs, active and passive, are in rafa' by default. Its signs are a ḍammah on the last letter (يَفْعَلُ) or a final nūn (تَفْعَلُونَ).
4.The three questions
1) What is the word's state? 2) What caused it? 3) How is the state shown?
5.Stateless (مَبْنِيّ)
Some words never enter states. Two present tense forms are stateless: يَفْعَلْنَ and تَفْعَلْنَ. Their final nūn marks a group of women, not a state.
6.Past tense is stateless
All past tense verbs are مَبْنِيّ.
The Present Tense Verb
Table 4.2, page 26
| Subject | Active Voice | Passive Voice | Active Voice Negation | Passive Voice Negation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| He/It (S/M) هُوَ | يَفْعَلُ He/It (S/M) does | يُفْعَلُ He/It (S/M) is being done | لَا يَفْعَلُ He/It (S/M) does not do | لَا يُفْعَلُ He/It (S/M) is not being done |
| They (D/M) هُمَا | يَفْعَلَانِ They (D/M) do | يُفْعَلَانِ They (D/M) are being done | لَا يَفْعَلَانِ They (D/M) do not do | لَا يُفْعَلَانِ They (D/M) are not being done |
| They (P/M) هُمْ | يَفْعَلُونَ They (P/M) do | يُفْعَلُونَ They (P/M) are being done | لَا يَفْعَلُونَ They (P/M) do not do | لَا يُفْعَلُونَ They (P/M) are not being done |
| She/It (S/F) هِيَ | تَفْعَلُ She/It (S/F) does | تُفْعَلُ She/It (S/F) is being done | لَا تَفْعَلُ She/It (S/F) does not do | لَا تُفْعَلُ She/It (S/F) is not being done |
| They (D/F) هُمَا | تَفْعَلَانِ They (D/F) do | تُفْعَلَانِ They (D/F) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلَانِ They (D/F) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلَانِ They (D/F) are not being done |
| They (P/F) هُنَّ | يَفْعَلْنَ They (P/F) do | يُفْعَلْنَ They (P/F) are being done | لَا يَفْعَلْنَ They (P/F) do not do | لَا يُفْعَلْنَ They (P/F) are not being done |
| You (S/M) أَنْتَ | تَفْعَلُ You (S/M) do | تُفْعَلُ You (S/M) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلُ You (S/M) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلُ You (S/M) are not being done |
| You (D/M) أَنْتُمَا | تَفْعَلَانِ You (D/M) do | تُفْعَلَانِ You (D/M) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلَانِ You (D/M) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلَانِ You (D/M) are not being done |
| You (P/M) أَنْتُمْ | تَفْعَلُونَ You (P/M) do | تُفْعَلُونَ You (P/M) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلُونَ You (P/M) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلُونَ You (P/M) are not being done |
| You (S/F) أَنْتِ | تَفْعَلِينَ You (S/F) do | تُفْعَلِينَ You (S/F) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلِينَ You (S/F) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلِينَ You (S/F) are not being done |
| You (D/F) أَنْتُمَا | تَفْعَلَانِ You (D/F) do | تُفْعَلَانِ You (D/F) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلَانِ You (D/F) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلَانِ You (D/F) are not being done |
| You (P/F) أَنْتُنَّ | تَفْعَلْنَ You (P/F) do | تُفْعَلْنَ You (P/F) are being done | لَا تَفْعَلْنَ You (P/F) do not do | لَا تُفْعَلْنَ You (P/F) are not being done |
| I أَنَا | أَفْعَلُ I do | أُفْعَلُ I am being done | لَا أَفْعَلُ I do not do | لَا أُفْعَلُ I am not being done |
| We نَحْنُ | نَفْعَلُ We do | نُفْعَلُ We are being done | لَا نَفْعَلُ We do not do | لَا نُفْعَلُ We are not being done |