Arabic Verbs Conjugation: How To Determine The Masculine And Feminine

Dina Sarayra 6/24/2021
About Arabic language
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Arabic Verbs and Their Importance

Verbs are an important part of speech in language so it is crucial to memorize them. However, memorizing them is not enough as you should also learn to conjugate them. Verbs in Arabic can be either masculine or feminine depending on who you are speaking to. It can also depend on whether it is the past, present or future tense. Arabic verbs can also change depending on the number of people the action aims at or who are doing the action themselves i.e. the object and subject respectively. So, verb conjugation in Arabic is the process of how we derive verbs from their set of base letters or root word, which is usually 3 or 4, and they we conjugate them based on their plurality, voice, gender, and other aspects. In total, there are 18 conjugations in Arabic taking into account the gender and plurality. If you’re a beginner in Arabic, it’s important to note that this is not the stage for you yet as this requires practice and feedback.

Masculinity and Femininity: Arabic Style

Masculine and feminine in Arabic is quite easy to grasp when it comes to verbs. Feminine words in Arabic are usually the same as the masculine verb except that it stars with the letter taa’ which looks like this ت isolated. The masculine verb starts with the letter yaa’ (ي) and the feminine form replace that prefix with the taa’ prefix. For example, the masculine verb for ‘write’ is /Yaktub/, and in feminine form that verb is /Taktub/ in Arabic. Another example is /Yadrus/ which means ‘he studies’ in masculine form, and /Tadrus/ is the feminine form. All of these examples are in singular form which is important to note as it changes depending the plurality.

Dual Forms and How They Function

The next form is when the verbs are dual meaning there are two entities in question. However, the dual form is the same as in second person. For example, the verb ‘you (dual) helped’ would be /Nasartuma/ in both masculine and feminine form in Arabic. When it comes to the plural form of Arabic verbs, meaning its 3 or more entities in question, it differs. This time, we are working with a suffix meaning it’s an affix at the end of the word. Feminine verbs in Arabic end in the letter noon (ن) if they are plural. For example, the masculine form of verb ‘thanked’ is /Shakartum/, and the feminine form of the verb in Arabic is /Shakartuma/. You can see that there is a clear pattern here in that the feminine form would usually be the masculine form + an affix.

Final Thoughts to Take Home

With practice, you will be able to conjugate Arabic verbs correctly so as to be able to form sentences in Arabic correctly. This includes of course how to say the words woman and man in Arabic.

Woman in Arabic is /Imra’a / (امرأة) and man in Arabic is /Rajul/ (رجل).

So if you want to say “I am a woman” you would say /Ana imra’a/. On the other hand, if you are a man and want to make sure this you clarify this, here is what you say: /Ana rajul/

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