Complete Paradigms of the Hollow Yāʾ Verb: Bāʿa–Yabīʿu

1. Hollow Yāʾ Verbs: Root and Class

A hollow yāʾ verb has yāʾ as its second root consonant. The paradigm here is بَاعَ — يَبِيعُ of the ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ class, with the root ب ي ع, “to sell.”

Word / formMeaning / explanation
بَاعَhe sold.
بِيعَit was sold.
يَبِيعُhe sells.
يُبَاعُit is sold.

The underlying yāʾ may appear as an alif, as a short kasrah in contracted forms, or as a long ī vowel. The lexical root remains the same even as the inflectional form changes.

2. The Underlying Root and Its Visible Changes

The middle alif of بَاعَ is not an original root letter; the second root letter is yāʾ. Root identification therefore cannot rely only on the visible spelling.
بَيَعَ → بَاعَ: the moving yāʾ, preceded by fatḥah, changes to alif.
بَيْعٌ: yāʾ remains in this noun/verbal noun; it is not a perfect-tense conjugation.
بِعْتُ: in the first-person form the long middle vowel contracts, and kasrah points back to the yāʾ origin.
A visible alif and an underlying yāʾ must not be confused; changing the outward form does not change the root.

3. The Fourteen Pronoun Positions

Every complete paradigm uses fourteen fixed positions: six third-person, six second-person, and two first-person forms. The same order governs the perfect and imperfect, active and passive.

PronounReference
هُوَHe
هُمَا (م)Two males
هُمْMale plural
هِيَShe
هُمَا (ف)Two females
هُنَّFemale plural
أَنْتَYou, male
أَنْتُمَا (م)You two, masculine
أَنْتُمْYou, male plural
أَنْتِYou, female
أَنْتُمَا (ف)You two, feminine
أَنْتُنَّYou, female plural
أَنَاI
نَحْنُWe

Both third-person dual categories refer to two people, but the feminine category has its own verbal marking. Where surface forms coincide, the pronoun and context identify the person.

4. Perfect Active and Passive: Fourteen Forms

The active perfect ascribes selling to an agent, while the passive perfect foregrounds what was sold and the act of being sold.

PositionActivePassive
هُوَبَاعَبِيعَ
هُمَا (م)بَاعَابِيعَا
هُمْبَاعُوابِيعُوا
هِيَبَاعَتْبِيعَتْ
هُمَا (ف)بَاعَتَابِيعَتَا
هُنَّبِعْنَبِعْنَ
أَنْتَبِعْتَبِعْتَ
أَنْتُمَا (م)بِعْتُمَابِعْتُمَا
أَنْتُمْبِعْتُمْبِعْتُمْ
أَنْتِبِعْتِبِعْتِ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)بِعْتُمَابِعْتُمَا
أَنْتُنَّبِعْتُنَّبِعْتُنَّ
أَنَابِعْتُبِعْتُ
نَحْنُبِعْنَابِعْنَا

بَاعَ / بِيعَ distinguish active and passive by vowel pattern. Some contracted suffixed forms, such as بِعْتُ, may coincide in surface appearance; the context can determine the intended voice.

5. Why Bāʿa Becomes Biʿtu and Biʿna

بَاعَ has a long middle vowel, but that vowel cannot remain before certain consonantal endings. The alif drops, while kasrah on the first root consonant reflects the original yāʾ.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
بَاعَhe sold.
بِعْتُI sold.
بِعْنَthey (women) sold.

The invented “بَاعْتُ” is not correct; the proper form is بِعْتُ. The root is unchanged: this is a predictable phonological contraction.

6. Imperfect Active and Passive: Fourteen Forms

The imperfect active begins as يَبِيعُ, and the passive as يُبَاعُ. The passive has the initial prefix with ḍammah and a long ā internally.

PositionActive imperfectPassive imperfect
هُوَيَبِيعُيُبَاعُ
هُمَا (م)يَبِيعَانِيُبَاعَانِ
هُمْيَبِيعُونَيُبَاعُونَ
هِيَتَبِيعُتُبَاعُ
هُمَا (ف)تَبِيعَانِتُبَاعَانِ
هُنَّيَبِعْنَيُبَعْنَ
أَنْتَتَبِيعُتُبَاعُ
أَنْتُمَا (م)تَبِيعَانِتُبَاعَانِ
أَنْتُمْتَبِيعُونَتُبَاعُونَ
أَنْتِتَبِيعِينَتُبَاعِينَ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)تَبِيعَانِتُبَاعَانِ
أَنْتُنَّتَبِعْنَتُبَعْنَ
أَنَاأَبِيعُأُبَاعُ
نَحْنُنَبِيعُنُبَاعُ

The feminine plural gives يَبِعْنَ and يُبَعْنَ. The long vowel is shortened, and the voice distinction is reflected in the remaining short vowels.

7. Why Yabīʿu Becomes Yabiʿna

يَبِيعُ carries a long ī vowel. Adding the feminine-plural ending leads to يَبِعْنَ; the long vowel disappears because of the structure of the form, not because the meaning changes.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
يَبِيعُhe sells.
يَبِعْنَthey (women) sell.
يُبَاعُit is sold.
يُبَعْنَthey (feminine) are sold.

Do not delete the feminine-plural nūn under the rule for the inflectional nūn; it marks a different grammatical relationship.

8. Lan: Negation with Subjunctive Forms

لَنْ makes the imperfect subjunctive and negates a future event. يَبِيعُ → لَنْ يَبِيعَ shows final ḍammah changing to fatḥah; the inflectional nūn is removed from the relevant five forms.

PositionActive after lanPassive after lan
هُوَلَنْ يَبِيعَلَنْ يُبَاعَ
هُمَا (م)لَنْ يَبِيعَالَنْ يُبَاعَا
هُمْلَنْ يَبِيعُوالَنْ يُبَاعُوا
هِيَلَنْ تَبِيعَلَنْ تُبَاعَ
هُمَا (ف)لَنْ تَبِيعَالَنْ تُبَاعَا
هُنَّلَنْ يَبِعْنَلَنْ يُبَعْنَ
أَنْتَلَنْ تَبِيعَلَنْ تُبَاعَ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَنْ تَبِيعَالَنْ تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُمْلَنْ تَبِيعُوالَنْ تُبَاعُوا
أَنْتِلَنْ تَبِيعِيلَنْ تُبَاعِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَنْ تَبِيعَالَنْ تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُنَّلَنْ تَبِعْنَلَنْ تُبَعْنَ
أَنَالَنْ أَبِيعَلَنْ أُبَاعَ
نَحْنُلَنْ نَبِيعَلَنْ نُبَاعَ

لَنْ يَبِيعَ — he will not sell.
لَنْ يُبَاعَ — it will not be sold.
In the feminine plural لَنْ يَبِعْنَ, nūn remains because it is the feminine-plural marker.

9. Lam: Past Negation with Jussive Forms

لَمْ makes the imperfect jussive and refers to an event that did not happen in the past. In singular forms, the weak medial vowel contracts: لَمْ يَبِعْ.

PositionActive after lamPassive after lam
هُوَلَمْ يَبِعْلَمْ يُبَعْ
هُمَا (م)لَمْ يَبِيعَالَمْ يُبَاعَا
هُمْلَمْ يَبِيعُوالَمْ يُبَاعُوا
هِيَلَمْ تَبِعْلَمْ تُبَعْ
هُمَا (ف)لَمْ تَبِيعَالَمْ تُبَاعَا
هُنَّلَمْ يَبِعْنَلَمْ يُبَعْنَ
أَنْتَلَمْ تَبِعْلَمْ تُبَعْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَمْ تَبِيعَالَمْ تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُمْلَمْ تَبِيعُوالَمْ تُبَاعُوا
أَنْتِلَمْ تَبِيعِيلَمْ تُبَاعِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَمْ تَبِيعَالَمْ تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُنَّلَمْ تَبِعْنَلَمْ تُبَعْنَ
أَنَالَمْ أَبِعْلَمْ أُبَعْ
نَحْنُلَمْ نَبِعْلَمْ نُبَعْ

لَمْ يَبِعْ — he did not sell.
لَمْ يُبَعْ — it was not sold.
In لَمْ يَبِيعُوا, the plural wāw is retained but the inflectional nūn disappears; this is different from singular jussive contraction.

10. Comparing Lam and Lan

Both particles negate, but their time reference and grammatical effect differ.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
لَمْ يَبِعْhe did not sell: jussive, with a contracted weak vowel.
لَنْ يَبِيعَhe will not sell: subjunctive, with the long vowel retained.
لَمْ يُبَعْit was not sold.
لَنْ يُبَاعَit will not be sold.

Merely switching the particle without changing the verb often creates an incorrect form. The five inflectional nūn forms lose that nūn; the feminine-plural marker stays.

11. Inflectional Nūn and the Feminine-Plural Nūn

In يَبِيعَانِ، يَبِيعُونَ، تَبِيعِينَ, final nūn is the inflectional nūn. It drops after لَنْ and لَمْ: لَنْ يَبِيعَا, لَمْ يَبِيعُوا, لَنْ تَبِيعِي.
But يَبِعْنَ, تَبِعْنَ end in the feminine-plural nūn, which links the verb to women as its subjects.
That nūn remains in لَمْ يَبِعْنَ and لَنْ يَبِعْنَ. The two kinds of nūn cannot be treated as interchangeable.

12. The Heavy Nūn: Active Paradigm

The heavy-nūn active paradigm has different suffix handling across persons. لَيَبِيعَنَّ is third-person masculine singular, while لَتَبِيعِنَّ belongs to the addressed feminine singular.

PositionActive with heavy nūn
هُوَلَيَبِيعَنَّ
هُمَا (م)لَيَبِيعَانِّ
هُمْلَيَبِيعُنَّ
هِيَلَتَبِيعَنَّ
هُمَا (ف)لَتَبِيعَانِّ
هُنَّلَيَبِعْنَانِّ
أَنْتَلَتَبِيعَنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَتَبِيعَانِّ
أَنْتُمْلَتَبِيعُنَّ
أَنْتِلَتَبِيعِنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَتَبِيعَانِّ
أَنْتُنَّلَتَبِعْنَانِّ
أَنَالَأَبِيعَنَّ
نَحْنُلَنَبِيعَنَّ

Dual forms retain their specific alif-related structure, and masculine plurals show a different adjustment. One singular-ending formula cannot simply be applied unchanged to every person.

13. The Heavy Nūn: Passive Paradigm

Emphasis does not name the agent in the passive. لَيُبَاعَنَّ retains the passive imperfect’s internal long ā and contrasts with the active لَيَبِيعَنَّ.

PositionPassive with heavy nūn
هُوَلَيُبَاعَنَّ
هُمَا (م)لَيُبَاعَانِّ
هُمْلَيُبَاعُنَّ
هِيَلَتُبَاعَنَّ
هُمَا (ف)لَتُبَاعَانِّ
هُنَّلَيُبَعْنَانِّ
أَنْتَلَتُبَاعَنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَتُبَاعَانِّ
أَنْتُمْلَتُبَاعُنَّ
أَنْتِلَتُبَاعِنَّ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَتُبَاعَانِّ
أَنْتُنَّلَتُبَعْنَانِّ
أَنَالَأُبَاعَنَّ
نَحْنُلَنُبَاعَنَّ

Attaching an emphatic ending does not by itself change active into passive or vice versa. The voice contrast lies in the verb pattern as well as the affix.

14. Light-Nūn Forms and Their Gaps

The light emphatic nūn is vowelless. The source chart gives eight available positions; four dual positions and two feminine-plural positions are blank. These are not invitation to invent forms.

PositionActive light nūnPassive light nūn
هُوَلَيَبِيعَنْلَيُبَاعَنْ
هُمَا (م)——
هُمْلَيَبِيعُنْلَيُبَاعُنْ
هِيَلَتَبِيعَنْلَتُبَاعَنْ
هُمَا (ف)——
هُنَّ——
أَنْتَلَتَبِيعَنْلَتُبَاعَنْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)——
أَنْتُمْلَتَبِيعُنْلَتُبَاعُنْ
أَنْتِلَتَبِيعِنْلَتُبَاعِنْ
أَنْتُمَا (ف)——
أَنْتُنَّ——
أَنَالَأَبِيعَنْلَأُبَاعَنْ
نَحْنُلَنَبِيعَنْلَنُبَاعَنْ

A dash means that this position is not used in the specified light-nūn pattern; it is not a printing omission to complete mechanically.

15. Active and Passive Commands: Fourteen Positions

The fourteen-position command chart uses lām al-amr for third and first persons, but a direct second-person active imperative has a shorter form. بِعْ addresses one man; لِيَبِعْ expresses a command concerning an absent person.

PositionActive commandPassive command
هُوَلِيَبِعْلِيُبَعْ
هُمَا (م)لِيَبِيعَالِيُبَاعَا
هُمْلِيَبِيعُوالِيُبَاعُوا
هِيَلِتَبِعْلِتُبَعْ
هُمَا (ف)لِتَبِيعَالِتُبَاعَا
هُنَّلِيَبِعْنَلِيُبَعْنَ
أَنْتَبِعْلِتُبَعْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)بِيعَالِتُبَاعَا
أَنْتُمْبِيعُوالِتُبَاعُوا
أَنْتِبِيعِيلِتُبَاعِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)بِيعَالِتُبَاعَا
أَنْتُنَّبِعْنَلِتُبَعْنَ
أَنَالِأَبِعْلِأُبَعْ
نَحْنُلِنَبِعْلِنُبَعْ

بِعْ — sell! (to one man).
لِيُبَعْ — let it be sold.

16. Deriving Biʿ, Bīʿā and Bīʿū

The direct active imperative is obtained by removing the imperfect prefix from the required jussive/imperative stem.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
تَبِيعُ → تَبِعْ → بِعْsell! (one man).
تَبِيعَانِ → تَبِيعَا → بِيعَاsell! (two people).
تَبِيعُونَ → تَبِيعُوا → بِيعُواsell! (a group of men).

The masculine singular contracts to a short vowel, but dual and masculine-plural forms retain long ī. Therefore “بِيعْ” is not the correct singular masculine command.

17. Direct Imperative Versus Lām al-Amr

بِعْ is a direct second-person command. لِيَبِعْ addresses a third-person action and therefore uses lām al-amr. لِأَبِعْ and لِنَبِعْ express first-person proposal or volition.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
بِعْ هذا الكتابَsell this book!
لِيَبِعْ هذا الكتابَlet him sell this book.
لِنَبِعْ هذا الكتابَlet us sell this book.

These sentences show how the lām-based request differs from the direct short imperative.

18. Active and Passive Prohibition: Fourteen Positions

The prohibitive lā makes the imperfect jussive and expresses forbidding. لَا تَبِعْ means “do not sell,” whereas لَا تُبَعْ has a passive meaning.

PositionActive prohibitionPassive prohibition
هُوَلَا يَبِعْلَا يُبَعْ
هُمَا (م)لَا يَبِيعَالَا يُبَاعَا
هُمْلَا يَبِيعُوالَا يُبَاعُوا
هِيَلَا تَبِعْلَا تُبَعْ
هُمَا (ف)لَا تَبِيعَالَا تُبَاعَا
هُنَّلَا يَبِعْنَلَا يُبَعْنَ
أَنْتَلَا تَبِعْلَا تُبَعْ
أَنْتُمَا (م)لَا تَبِيعَالَا تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُمْلَا تَبِيعُوالَا تُبَاعُوا
أَنْتِلَا تَبِيعِيلَا تُبَاعِي
أَنْتُمَا (ف)لَا تَبِيعَالَا تُبَاعَا
أَنْتُنَّلَا تَبِعْنَلَا تُبَعْنَ
أَنَالَا أَبِعْلَا أُبَعْ
نَحْنُلَا نَبِعْلَا نُبَعْ

لَا يَبِعْ — let him not sell.
لَا يُبَعْ — let it not be sold.
The weak medial vowel drops in the relevant jussive forms; this must not be generalized mechanically to every position.

19. Heavy and Light Nūn in Commands and Prohibitions

Commands and prohibitions can also take emphatic endings: the basic command or prohibition remains, but its force increases.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
بِعْ → بِيعَنَّcertainly sell!
لَا تَبِعْ → لَا تَبِيعَنَّdo not sell under any circumstances!
لَا تَبِيعَنْprohibition with light emphatic nūn.
لِيَبِيعَنَّlet him certainly sell.

Heavy nūn is doubled; light nūn is vowelless. Unused light-nūn positions are not completed by analogy.

20. Six Participial Forms: Active and Passive

The active participle refers to the seller: بَائِعٌ. The passive participle refers to what is sold: مَبِيعٌ.

FormActive participlePassive participle
Masculine singularبَائِعٌمَبِيعٌ
Masculine dualبَائِعَانِمَبِيعَانِ
Masculine pluralبَائِعُونَمَبِيعُونَ
Feminine singularبَائِعَةٌمَبِيعَةٌ
Feminine dualبَائِعَتَانِمَبِيعَتَانِ
Feminine pluralبَائِعَاتٌمَبِيعَاتٌ

These nominal forms follow six number-and-gender positions; do not confuse them with the fourteen-person verbal paradigm.

21. Why the Active Participle Contains Hamzah

The active participle of a hollow-yāʾ root follows the فَاعِلٌ pattern. Leaving the original yāʾ unchanged after the long alif would produce the intermediate form; the relevant morphological rule replaces that yāʾ with hamzah.
ب ي ع → بَايِعٌ → بَائِعٌ.
بَائِعٌ — seller (masculine).
بَائِعَةٌ — seller (feminine).
The visible hamzah does not imply a root ب أ ع. The root remains ب ي ع, and the hamzah is explained by the participial pattern.

22. Why the Passive Participle Is Mabīʿ

For the passive participle on the مَفْعُولٌ pattern, the underlying hollow-yāʾ form is represented as مَبْيُوعٌ. The weak-letter and vowel adjustments produce the attested مَبِيعٌ.
مَبْيُوعٌ → مَبِيعٌ.
مَبِيعٌ — an item that has been sold.
مَبِيعَةٌ — a feminine noun referring to something sold.
Do not confuse مَبِيعٌ with بَائِعٌ: the former is affected by the action, whereas the latter performs it.

23. Derivational Reasoning: Transfer, Replacement, Deletion

The various hollow-yāʾ forms do not all undergo the same adjustment.
بَاعَ: a moving yāʾ after fatḥah becomes alif — replacement (ibdāl).
يَبِيعُ: the long ī sound reflects the stem’s vowel structure and the management of the medial weak consonant.
لَمْ يَبِعْ: the long medial vowel disappears under jussive contraction — deletion.
بَائِعٌ: medial yāʾ becomes hamzah within the active-participle pattern — hamzah substitution.
Memorizing the surface shape alone does not explain why a particular rule applies.

24. Comparing Hollow Wāw and Hollow Yāʾ

Both classes can have an alif in the visible perfect stem, but the root and various conjugational vowels differ.

FeatureHollow wāwHollow yāʾ
Rootق و لب ي ع
Active perfectقَالَبَاعَ
First-person perfectقُلْتُبِعْتُ
Active imperfectيَقُولُيَبِيعُ
With lamلَمْ يَقُلْلَمْ يَبِعْ
Active participleقَائِلٌبَائِعٌ
Passive participleمَقُولٌمَبِيعٌ

Ḍammah in قُلْتُ reflects its wāw-origin pattern, whereas kasrah in بِعْتُ reflects yāʾ. Root classification also depends on established lexical knowledge.

25. From Paradigms to Accurate Meaning

Person, tense, voice, negation and command are distinct dimensions within this hollow-yāʾ paradigm.

Word / formMeaning / explanation
بَاعَhe sold: active perfect.
بِيعَit was sold: passive perfect.
يَبِيعُونَthey sell: masculine plural imperfect.
لَنْ يُبَاعَit will not be sold: passive subjunctive.
لَمْ يَبِعْhe did not sell: active jussive.
بِعْsell!: second-person imperative.
لَا تَبِعْdo not sell!: prohibition.
مَبِيعٌsomething sold: passive participle.

The lexical root is constant; morphology changes the precise grammatical information communicated.