User:Erutuon/Arabic verbs
Arabic verbs (فعل fiʻl; pl. أفعال afʻāl), like the verbs in other Semitic languages, are very complex. They are based on a set of usually three consonants called a root.
- Two tenses (non-past, past; future is indicated by a prefix sa- or sawfa)
- Two voices (active, passive)
- Two genders (masculine, feminine)
- Three persons (first, second, third)
- Three numbers (singular, dual, plural)
- Six moods in the non-past only, (indicative, subjunctive, jussive, imperative, and, only in Classical Arabic, short and long energetics)
- Nineteen forms, the derivational systems indicating derivative concepts such as intensive, causative, reciprocal, reflexive, frequentative and etc. For each form, there is also an active and a passive participle (both adjectives, declined through the full paradigm of gender, number, case and state) and a verbal noun (declined for case; also, when lexicalized, may be declined for number).
Inflectional categories[edit]
Root[edit]
The root determines the basic meaning of the verb.
Person, number, and gender[edit]
There are three persons: first, second, and third. Second- and third-person forms have two genders (masculine and feminine) and three numbers (singular and plural). First-person forms have two numbers (singular and a form for both dual and plural).
Tense[edit]
There are two tenses formed by different suffixes and prefixes: past and present. The future tense is formed by adding a prefix to the present forms.
Mood[edit]
There are three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and jussive. These only occur in the present tense. There is also an imperative and a short and long energetic, which are similar to moods.
Voice[edit]
There are two voices: active and passive. These
Form[edit]
There are 15 possible derived forms for each triliteral root, labeled with Roman numerals I to XV. There are four derived forms for each quadriliteral root, labeled Iq to IVq, similar to triliteral forms II, V, VII, and IX. Derived forms express concepts like causative, intensive, reflexive, or intransitive, usually based on the meaning of the root.
Nominal forms[edit]
Each derived form has a verbal noun and participles, which can occur in active or passive forms. Derived forms that are passive in meaning only have an active participle.