Complete Conjugation of the Hollow Wāw Verb: Qāla–Yaqūlu

1. The Aim of the Complete Paradigm

The complete conjugation (ṣarf kabīr) sets one verb through its perfect, imperfect, passive, negative, emphatic, imperative and prohibitive patterns. Here the model is قَالَ — يَقُولُ, a hollow wāw verb of the نَصَرَ يَنْصُرُ class.
Its root is ق و ل, meaning “to say.” The original wāw sometimes becomes alif, sometimes disappears, and elsewhere remains visible.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
قَالَhe said.
قِيلَit was said.
يَقُولُhe says.
يُقَالُit is said.

The key is to recognize all four as expressions of the same root with different morphology.

2. Order of the Fourteen Positions

Each verbal chart keeps the same order: six third-person positions, six second-person positions, then two first-person positions. Number and gender must be identified before analyzing weak-letter changes.

PronounPerson and number
هُوَHe
هُمَا (م)Two men
هُمْMen, plural
هِيَShe
هُمَا (ف)Two women
هُنَّWomen, plural
أَنْتَYou, man
أَنْتُمَا (م)You two, masculine
أَنْتُمْYou men
أَنْتِYou, woman
أَنْتُمَا (ف)You two, feminine
أَنْتُنَّYou women
أَنَاI
نَحْنُWe

For example, قَالَا is third-person masculine dual, but قَالَتَا is feminine dual. قُلْتُ is first-person singular; قُلْنَا is first-person plural.

3. The Complete Perfect Active and Passive

The active perfect expresses someone’s saying; the passive perfect presents the saying without naming the agent in the verb form.

PositionActive perfectPassive perfect
هُوَقَالَقِيلَ
هُمَا (م)قَالَاقِيلَا
هُمْقَالُواقِيلُوا
هِيَقَالَتْقِيلَتْ
هُمَا (ف)قَالَتَاقِيلَتَا
هُنَّقُلْنَقِلْنَ
أَنْتَقُلْتَقِلْتَ
أَنْتُمَا (م)قُلْتُمَاقِلْتُمَا
أَنْتُمْقُلْتُمْقِلْتُمْ
أَنْتِقُلْتِقِلْتِ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)قُلْتُمَاقِلْتُمَا
أَنْتُنَّقُلْتُنَّقِلْتُنَّ
أَنَاقُلْتُقِلْتُ
نَحْنُقُلْنَاقِلْنَا

Compare قَالَ / قِيلَ, with their different long vowels, and قُلْتَ / قِلْتَ, where the long middle vowel has disappeared but ḍammah versus kasrah distinguishes active from passive.

4. Why Qāla, Qultu and Qulna Differ

The masculine third-person singular is قَالَ, but the first-person singular is قُلْتُ and feminine third-person plural is قُلْنَ. Adding endings changes the syllable structure; retaining the long alif would produce an impermissible consonantal meeting.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
قَالَhe said.
قُلْتُI said.
قُلْنَthey (women) said.

The form “قَالْتُ” is not the proper conjugation. قِلْتُ is passive, not the active perfect.

5. The Complete Imperfect Active and Passive

The imperfect generally appears as يَقُولُ in the active and يُقَالُ in the passive. Both derive from one root, but prefix and internal vowels distinguish the voice.

PositionActive imperfectPassive imperfect
هُوَيَقُولُيُقَالُ
هُمَا (م)يَقُولَانِيُقَالَانِ
هُمْيَقُولُونَيُقَالُونَ
هِيَتَقُولُتُقَالُ
هُمَا (ف)تَقُولَانِتُقَالَانِ
هُنَّيَقُلْنَيُقَلْنَ
أَنْتَتَقُولُتُقَالُ
أَنْتُمَا (م)تَقُولَانِتُقَالَانِ
أَنْتُمْتَقُولُونَتُقَالُونَ
أَنْتِتَقُولِينَتُقَالِينَ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)تَقُولَانِتُقَالَانِ
أَنْتُنَّتَقُلْنَتُقَلْنَ
أَنَاأَقُولُأُقَالُ
نَحْنُنَقُولُنُقَالُ

In the feminine third-person plural, يَقُلْنَ and يُقَلْنَ contrast by short vowels, not by long wāw versus alif.

6. Inflectional Nūn Versus Feminine-Plural Nūn

In يَقُولَانِ، يَقُولُونَ، تَقُولِينَ, the final nūn is the inflectional nūn, dropped in the subjunctive or jussive:
لَنْ يَقُولَا; لَمْ يَقُولُوا; لَنْ تَقُولِي.
By contrast, the nūn in يَقُلْنَ, تَقُلْنَ belongs to the feminine-plural ending, not to indicative inflection.
Thus لَمْ يَقُلْنَ retains its nūn. Confusing these two categories produces invalid forms.

7. Complete Jussive Negation with Lam

لَمْ negates with past-time reference and makes the imperfect jussive. The long wāw disappears in singular يَقُولُ → لَمْ يَقُلْ; dual and masculine plural forms instead lose the inflectional nūn while retaining their long-vowel positions.

PositionLam + activeLam + passive
هُوَلَمْ يَقُلْلَمْ يُقَلْ
هُمَا (م)لَمْ يَقُولَالَمْ يُقَالَا
هُمْلَمْ يَقُولُوالَمْ يُقَالُوا
هِيَلَمْ تَقُلْلَمْ تُقَلْ
هُمَا (ف)لَمْ تَقُولَالَمْ تُقَالَا
هُنَّلَمْ يَقُلْنَلَمْ يُقَلْنَ
أَنْتَلَمْ تَقُلْلَمْ تُقَلْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَمْ تَقُولَالَمْ تُقَالَا
أَنْتُمْلَمْ تَقُولُوالَمْ تُقَالُوا
أَنْتِلَمْ تَقُولِيلَمْ تُقَالِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَمْ تَقُولَالَمْ تُقَالَا
أَنْتُنَّلَمْ تَقُلْنَلَمْ تُقَلْنَ
أَنَالَمْ أَقُلْلَمْ أُقَلْ
نَحْنُلَمْ نَقُلْلَمْ نُقَلْ

لَمْ يَقُلْ — he did not say.
لَمْ يُقَلْ — it was not said.

8. Complete Future Negation with Lan

لَنْ negates future reference and puts the imperfect into the subjunctive. The long wāw remains in singular لَنْ يَقُولَ, unlike jussive لَمْ يَقُلْ.

PositionLan + activeLan + passive
هُوَلَنْ يَقُولَلَنْ يُقَالَ
هُمَا (م)لَنْ يَقُولَالَنْ يُقَالَا
هُمْلَنْ يَقُولُوالَنْ يُقَالُوا
هِيَلَنْ تَقُولَلَنْ تُقَالَ
هُمَا (ف)لَنْ تَقُولَالَنْ تُقَالَا
هُنَّلَنْ يَقُلْنَلَنْ يُقَلْنَ
أَنْتَلَنْ تَقُولَلَنْ تُقَالَ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَنْ تَقُولَالَنْ تُقَالَا
أَنْتُمْلَنْ تَقُولُوالَنْ تُقَالُوا
أَنْتِلَنْ تَقُولِيلَنْ تُقَالِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَنْ تَقُولَالَنْ تُقَالَا
أَنْتُنَّلَنْ تَقُلْنَلَنْ تُقَلْنَ
أَنَالَنْ أَقُولَلَنْ أُقَالَ
نَحْنُلَنْ نَقُولَلَنْ نُقَالَ

لَنْ يَقُولَ — he will not say.
لَنْ يُقَالَ — it will not be said.
In the five verbs the inflectional nūn is dropped; the feminine-plural nūn remains.

9. Emphatic Active Forms with Heavy Nūn

An emphatic lām with heavy nūn of emphasis strongly reinforces an imperfect verb. Some pronoun endings are shortened, while feminine plurals need a separating vowel/alif pattern.

PositionHeavy-nūn active
هُوَلَيَقُولَنَّ
هُمَا (م)لَيَقُولَانِّ
هُمْلَيَقُولُنَّ
هِيَلَتَقُولَنَّ
هُمَا (ف)لَتَقُولَانِّ
هُنَّلَيَقُلْنَانِّ
أَنْتَلَتَقُولَنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَتَقُولَانِّ
أَنْتُمْلَتَقُولُنَّ
أَنْتِلَتَقُولِنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَتَقُولَانِّ
أَنْتُنَّلَتَقُلْنَانِّ
أَنَالَأَقُولَنَّ
نَحْنُلَنَقُولَنَّ

لَيَقُولَنَّ — he will certainly say.
لَتَقُولِنَّ — you (feminine singular) will certainly say.
Simply appending a nūn to every unaltered indicative form does not yield the correct paradigm.

10. Emphatic Passive Forms with Heavy Nūn

Emphasis on a passive verb reinforces the event, not a newly identified agent. From passive يُقَالُ comes لَيُقَالَنَّ.

PositionHeavy-nūn passive
هُوَلَيُقَالَنَّ
هُمَا (م)لَيُقَالَانِّ
هُمْلَيُقَالُنَّ
هِيَلَتُقَالَنَّ
هُمَا (ف)لَتُقَالَانِّ
هُنَّلَيُقَلْنَانِّ
أَنْتَلَتُقَالَنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَتُقَالَانِّ
أَنْتُمْلَتُقَالُنَّ
أَنْتِلَتُقَالِنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَتُقَالَانِّ
أَنْتُنَّلَتُقَلْنَانِّ
أَنَالَأُقَالَنَّ
نَحْنُلَنُقَالَنَّ

لَيُقَالَنَّ — it will certainly be said.
لَتُقَالِنَّ — you (feminine singular) will certainly be spoken of.
The passive prefix and internal long ā distinguish voice; the heavy nūn marks emphasis.

11. Light Nūn: Only the Licensed Positions

The light nūn of emphasis is a non-geminated, vowelless nūn. It cannot be forced into every slot occupied by the heavy nūn; the source chart leaves six slots as dashes.

PositionLight-nūn activeLight-nūn passive
هُوَلَيَقُولَنْلَيُقَالَنْ
هُمَا (م)——
هُمْلَيَقُولُنْلَيُقَالُنْ
هِيَلَتَقُولَنْلَتُقَالَنْ
هُمَا (ف)——
هُنَّ——
أَنْتَلَتَقُولَنْلَتُقَالَنْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)——
أَنْتُمْلَتَقُولُنْلَتُقَالُنْ
أَنْتِلَتَقُولِنْلَتُقَالِنْ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)——
أَنْتُنَّ——
أَنَالَأَقُولَنْلَأُقَالَنْ
نَحْنُلَنَقُولَنْلَنُقَالَنْ

A dash indicates a non-used formation in the book's paradigm, not an accidentally missing entry. The distinctions between active/passive and allowable positions both matter.

12. Commands for Third, Second and First Persons

The imperative/command system includes not only direct second-person commands but also third- and first-person jussive commands with lām al-amr:

Word / formMeaning / explanation
لِيَقُلْlet him say.
قُلْsay!
لِأَقُلْlet me say.

PositionActive commandPassive command
هُوَلِيَقُلْلِيُقَلْ
هُمَا (م)لِيَقُولَالِيُقَالَا
هُمْلِيَقُولُوالِيُقَالُوا
هِيَلِتَقُلْلِتُقَلْ
هُمَا (ف)لِتَقُولَالِتُقَالَا
هُنَّلِيَقُلْنَلِيُقَلْنَ
أَنْتَقُلْلِتُقَلْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)قُولَالِتُقَالَا
أَنْتُمْقُولُوالِتُقَالُوا
أَنْتِقُولِيلِتُقَالِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)قُولَالِتُقَالَا
أَنْتُنَّقُلْنَلِتُقَلْنَ
أَنَالِأَقُلْلِأُقَلْ
نَحْنُلِنَقُلْلِنُقَلْ

Passive لِيُقَلْ means “let it be said”; it must not be confused with active قُلْ.

13. Why the Direct Imperative Is Qul

The masculine singular direct imperative from تَقُولُ is قُلْ, not a permanently used form such as “اُقْوُلْ.” Removal of the imperfect prefix, transfer of the weak radical’s vowel and loss of an unnecessary initial helping hamzah yield the shorter command.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
قُلْsay (one man).
قُولَاsay (two people).
قُولُواsay (male plural).
قُولِيsay (one woman).

Retention of the long wāw depends on the ending and whether consonantal sukūns would meet.

14. Commands with Nūn of Emphasis

The imperative also takes nūn of emphasis. Heavy nūn strengthens the command; not all dual or feminine-plural slots permit the light nūn in the source chart.

CommandActivePassive
Plain, third masc singularلِيَقُلْلِيُقَلْ
Heavy nūn, third masc singularلِيَقُولَنَّلِيُقَالَنَّ
Light nūn, third masc singularلِيَقُولَنْلِيُقَالَنْ
Plain, second masc singularقُلْلِتُقَلْ
Heavy nūn, second masc singularقُولَنَّلِتُقَالَنَّ

The development قُلْ → قُولَنَّ is not just a mechanical appendage: the long vowel also returns in the emphatic form.

15. Complete Active and Passive Prohibition

Prohibitive lā makes the imperfect jussive. In singular hollow-wāw forms the long vowel disappears; in dual and masculine-plural forms the inflectional nūn may disappear.

PositionActive prohibitionPassive prohibition
هُوَلَا يَقُلْلَا يُقَلْ
هُمَا (م)لَا يَقُولَالَا يُقَالَا
هُمْلَا يَقُولُوالَا يُقَالُوا
هِيَلَا تَقُلْلَا تُقَلْ
هُمَا (ف)لَا تَقُولَالَا تُقَالَا
هُنَّلَا يَقُلْنَلَا يُقَلْنَ
أَنْتَلَا تَقُلْلَا تُقَلْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَا تَقُولَالَا تُقَالَا
أَنْتُمْلَا تَقُولُوالَا تُقَالُوا
أَنْتِلَا تَقُولِيلَا تُقَالِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَا تَقُولَالَا تُقَالَا
أَنْتُنَّلَا تَقُلْنَلَا تُقَلْنَ
أَنَالَا أَقُلْلَا أُقَلْ
نَحْنُلَا نَقُلْلَا نُقَلْ

لَا تَقُلْ — do not say.
لَا تُقَلْ — let it not be said about you.
In لَا يَقُولُوا the plural wāw remains, but the final inflectional nūn has been removed.

16. Prohibitive Lā Versus Negative Lā

Not every لَا is prohibitive. Plain negative لَا يَقُولُ leaves the imperfect indicative: “he does not say.” But لَا تَقُلْ is a prohibition: “do not say.”

ParticleEffectExample
Negative lāNegates; does not itself make jussiveلَا يَقُولُ
Prohibitive lāProhibits and makes jussiveلَا تَقُلْ
LamPast negation and jussiveلَمْ يَقُلْ
LanFuture negation and subjunctiveلَنْ يَقُولَ

Both the verb ending and the clause’s meaning identify the function of lā.

17. Emphatic Prohibition

Adding heavy nūn of emphasis to a prohibition makes it more forceful:
لَا تَقُولَنَّ — you must certainly not say.
لَا تُقَالَنَّ — you must certainly not be spoken of.
Light-nūn examples include لَا تَقُولَنْ and لَا تُقَالَنْ.

TypeActive, second masc singularPassive, second masc singular
Plainلَا تَقُلْلَا تُقَلْ
Heavy nūnلَا تَقُولَنَّلَا تُقَالَنَّ
Light nūnلَا تَقُولَنْلَا تُقَالَنْ

The six source-chart positions absent for light nūn should not be manufactured here either.

18. Six Active and Six Passive Participles

The active participle denotes “one who says”; the passive participle denotes “something said.” They share root ق و ل but have different morphological patterns.

PositionActive participlePassive participle
Masc. singularقَائِلٌمَقُولٌ
Masc. dualقَائِلَانِمَقُولَانِ
Masc. pluralقَائِلُونَمَقُولُونَ
Fem. singularقَائِلَةٌمَقُولَةٌ
Fem. dualقَائِلَتَانِمَقُولَتَانِ
Fem. pluralقَائِلَاتٌمَقُولَاتٌ

In قَائِلٌ the original middle wāw is represented by hamzah; in مَقُولٌ a wāw remains visible.

19. Deriving the Active Perfect Qāla

The explanatory underlying form for قَالَ is قَوَلَ. The wāw is movable and follows fatḥah, so it changes to alif:
قَوَلَ → قَالَ.
The alif remains in forms such as قَالَا، قَالُوا، قَالَتْ. But suffixes such as -tu, -ta, -ti, -na produce forms including قُلْتُ، قُلْتَ، قُلْنَ.
The difference follows the syllable structure of the perfect forms: a weak long vowel cannot remain unchanged before every consonantal ending.

20. Deriving the Passive Perfect Qīla

The reconstructed passive perfect is قُوِلَ. The kasrah of wāw moves to qāf, and wāw after kasrah becomes yāʾ, producing قِيلَ.
قَالَ → قِيلَ contrasts the ordinary active/passive forms, although each is derived from its own underlying pattern.
In قُلْتُ (“I said”) versus قِلْتُ (“I was spoken of”), the long middle vowel is absent; initial ḍammah versus kasrah conveys the voice distinction.

21. Deriving Yaqūlu by Vowel Transfer

The reconstructed active imperfect is يَقْوُلُ. The vowel of moving wāw is transferred to the preceding vowelless qāf, producing يَقُولُ. This is vowel transfer (naql al-ḥarakah).

Word / formMeaning / explanation
يَقُولُhe says.
يَقُولُونَthey (men) say.
يَقُلْنَthey (women) say.

In the feminine plural, the consonant-cluster situation with the nūn ending also removes the middle wāw; this is an additional operation beyond simple vowel transfer.

22. Deriving the Passive Imperfect Yuqālu

The reconstructed passive imperfect is يُقْوَلُ. Its fatḥah transfers from the weak radical to the preceding qāf; the wāw then changes to alif after fatḥah, yielding the actual form يُقَالُ.
يَقُولُ — he says.
يُقَالُ — it is said.
The retained wāw of the active and the alif of the passive reflect different phonological rules applied to one underlying root, not different lexical roots.

23. Why the Jussive Shortens Both Voices

The source for لَمْ يَقُلْ is يَقُولُ. Jussive sukūn creates a meeting with the already long/vowelless middle wāw; the weak long vowel is elided.
لَمْ يَقُلْ — he did not say.
لَمْ يُقَلْ — it was not said.
In the passive the alif in يُقَالُ likewise disappears under jussive formation.
The cause in both cases is meeting of two sukūns. Elision does not erase the active/passive distinction, since the remaining vowels still differ.

24. Why Qāʾil but Maqūl?

The active participle قَائِلٌ is explained from the pattern-form قَاوِلٌ: in the فَاعِل pattern, an original medial wāw after the long alif becomes hamzah.
The underlying passive participle is مَقْوُولٌ; vowel transfer and reduction of consecutive wāws yield the standard مَقُولٌ.
قَائِلٌ — one who says; مَقُولٌ — something said.
Each pattern follows its own rule; the hamzah of the active participle must not be inserted indiscriminately into the passive participle.

25. Integrated Derivation and Recognition Table

For a hollow-wāw verb, four elements matter: root, inflection, condition and actual outcome.

TypeUnderlying/explanatory shapeStandard form
Active perfectقَوَلَقَالَ
Passive perfectقُوِلَقِيلَ
Active imperfectيَقْوُلُيَقُولُ
Passive imperfectيُقْوَلُيُقَالُ
Active lam-jussiveلَمْ يَقُولْلَمْ يَقُلْ
Passive lam-jussiveلَمْ يُقَالْلَمْ يُقَلْ
Direct imperativejussive derived formقُلْ
Active participleقَاوِلٌقَائِلٌ
Passive participleمَقْوُولٌمَقُولٌ

The underlying column serves morphological explanation; its reconstructed entries are not meant as ordinary attested speech forms.