Conjugating the Active Positive Past Tense (Maadhi Ma'roof)

1. What Is Maadhi Ma'roof?

Maadhi Ma'roof is the active past tense.
It tells us that an action happened in the past and that the doer is known.
Example:
فَعَلَ
Meaning: “he did”.
Positive (Ithbaat) means the action is stated as having happened, not denied.
In this level, you will learn the full 14-form pattern step-by-step.

2. Watch the Ending

The beginning of the verb stays familiar, but the ending changes to show who did the action.

What changed?MeaningArabic form
base formhe didفَعَلَ
ا addedthey two men didفَعَلَا
تُ addedI didفَعَلْتُ
نَا addedwe didفَعَلْنَا

So, do not look at the whole form as a new word. First notice the ending.

3. Masculine Ghaa'ib

MeaningNumberArabic form
he didsingularفَعَلَ
they two men diddualفَعَلَا
they men didpluralفَعَلُوا

Pattern to notice: one → two → group.
Dual ends with ا. Masculine plural ends with وا.

4. Feminine Ghaa'ib

MeaningNumberArabic form
she didsingularفَعَلَتْ
they two women diddualفَعَلَتَا
they women didpluralفَعَلْنَ

Useful clue: singular and dual contain ت, while the feminine plural ends in نَ.

5. Masculine Haadhir

MeaningNumberArabic form
you (one man) didsingularفَعَلْتَ
you two men diddualفَعَلْتُمَا
you men didpluralفَعَلْتُمْ

All three addressed masculine endings begin with the letter ت.
Sequence: تَ → تُمَا → تُمْ

6. Feminine Haadhir

MeaningNumberArabic form
you (one woman) didsingularفَعَلْتِ
you two women diddualفَعَلْتُمَا
you women didpluralفَعَلْتُنَّ

Important: the dual addressed form is the same for masculine and feminine:
فَعَلْتُمَا
The meaning tells you which gender is intended.

7. Mutakallim: I and We

EndingMeaningArabic form
تُI didفَعَلْتُ
نَاwe didفَعَلْنَا

These first-person forms are the same for male and female speakers.
As you learned earlier, the 14-form grid therefore needs only two Mutakallim positions.

8. The Complete 14-Form Pattern

PluralDualSingularGroup
فَعَلُوافَعَلَافَعَلَMasculine Ghaa'ib
فَعَلْنَفَعَلَتَافَعَلَتْFeminine Ghaa'ib
فَعَلْتُمْفَعَلْتُمَافَعَلْتَMasculine Haadhir
فَعَلْتُنَّفَعَلْتُمَافَعَلْتِFeminine Haadhir
فَعَلْنَا—فَعَلْتُMutakallim

Study in groups: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2.
First aim for recognition. Fluent recall comes with repeated practice.