The Passive Imperfect

Read the bilingual lesson for The Passive Imperfect and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. The Passive Imperfect

What will you learn? ● Change a regular active imperfect verb into the passive. ● Read the single core pattern يُفْعَلُ. ● Distinguish who does an action from who receives it. ● Understand present and future passive meanings from context. ● Apply the rule to the ten practice meanings.

2. One Core Pattern

The regular passive imperfect is recognized through يُفْعَلُ. Active imperfect Passive imperfect Core change يَنْصُرُ يُنْصَرُ Dammah on the imperfect prefix; fatḥah on the penultimate root letter يَقْبَلُ يُقْبَلُ Dammah on the imperfect prefix; fatḥah on the penultimate root letter يَضْرِبُ يُضْرَبُ Dammah on the imperfect prefix; fatḥah on the penultimate root letter The middle vowel of the active imperfect may differ, but these regular passive forms come to the same core pattern.

3. How the Vowels Change

Focus on two places. Take يَضْرِبُ: “he strikes.” 1. Change the imperfect prefix from يَـ to يُـ. 2. Give the penultimate root letter a fatḥah: رِ becomes رَ. 3. The result is يُضْرَبُ: “he is struck.” The action remains imperfect; its voice changes from active to passive.

4. What the Passive Meaning Tells Us

The doer is not named. ● يَكْتُبُ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ — The student writes the lesson. The doer is stated. ● يُكْتَبُ الدَّرْسُ — The lesson is written. The doer is not stated. The former object الدَّرْسَ becomes the nominative نائب الفاعل: الدَّرْسُ. This applies the passive relationship already learned with the past tense.

5. When an Explicit Noun Follows

Keep the verb singular before an explicit deputy subject. ● يُفْتَحُ الْبَابُ — The door is opened. ● تُقْرَأُ الرِّسَالَةُ — The letter is read. ● يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ — The criminals are recognized. The verb is singular because the explicit deputy subject follows it. Its initial prefix still agrees with masculine or feminine gender: يُـ with a masculine noun and تُـ with a feminine noun.

6. When the Receiver Is in the Verb

The verb form shows who receives the action. ● يُضْرَبُ — He is struck. ● يُرْزَقُونَ — They are provided for. ● تُرْجَعُونَ — You all will be returned. ● نُكْرَمُ — We are honored. Here there is no following explicit noun. The form itself identifies the receiver: one man, a group of men, the people addressed, or the speakers.

7. Present, Future and Negation

Context and familiar particles complete the meaning. ● يُسْأَلُ الطَّالِبُ — The student is questioned. ● لَا تُسْأَلُونَ — You all will not be questioned. ● سَيُقْرَأُ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ — This book will soon be read. The passive vowel pattern stays visible. لَا negates the statement, while سَـ makes the future meaning explicit.

8. Guided Practice: First Five Meanings

Notice the passive vowel pattern before reading the ending. Meaning Arabic rendering He is struck. يُضْرَبُ They are provided for. يُرْزَقُونَ You all will be returned. تُرْجَعُونَ The mosque door will be opened today. يُفْتَحُ بَابُ الْمَسْجِدِ الْيَوْمَ Nothing additional will be expected from her. لَا يُتَوَقَّعُ مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ زَائِدٌ In the fourth and fifth sentences, the following nominative noun carries the deputy-subject role.

9. Guided Practice: Next Five Meanings

Use voice, agreement and familiar particles together. Meaning Arabic rendering They kill and are killed. يَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ You all will not be questioned. لَا تُسْأَلُونَ He will not be shown mercy. لَا يُرْحَمُ The criminals will be recognized on the Day of Resurrection by their faces. يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِوُجُوهِهِمْ This book will soon be read. سَيُقْرَأُ هَذَا الْكِتَابُ Compare يَقْتُلُونَ with يُقْتَلُونَ carefully: the first is active and the second is passive.

10. A Reliable Reading Method

Read a passive imperfect in four steps. 1. Find the imperfect prefix: أ، ن، ي، ت. 2. Check that this prefix has dammah. 3. Check that the penultimate root letter has fatḥah. 4. Decide whether the receiver is encoded in the verb form or appears afterward as a nominative noun. Then use context, لَا or سَـ to choose a present, negative or future translation.

Practice questions

Question 1

Which is the core pattern of the regular passive imperfect?

  • يُفْعَلُ
  • يَفْعَلُ
  • فُعِلَ
  • اُفْعُلْ

Question 2

Choose the passive of يَنْصُرُ.

  • يَنصَرُ
  • يُنْصَرُ
  • نُصِرَ
  • يُنْصِرُ

Question 3

Sort the forms as active or passive.

Question 4

What does يُضْرَبُ mean here?

  • He strikes.
  • He struck.
  • He is struck.
  • Strike!

Question 5

In تُقْرَأُ الرِّسَالَةُ, which word is the deputy subject?

  • A hidden doer
  • تُقْرَأُ
  • There is no deputy subject
  • الرِّسَالَةُ

Question 6

A passive imperfect explicitly names the doer of the action.

Question 7

Match each Arabic form with its meaning.

Question 8

Arrange: The mosque door will be opened today.

Question 9

Why is يُعْرَفُ singular in يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ?

  • The explicit deputy subject follows the verb.
  • The noun is singular.
  • The sentence is active.
  • The verb is past tense.

Question 10

Arrange: They kill and are killed.

Question 11

In a regular passive imperfect, the imperfect prefix has dammah and the penultimate root letter has fatḥah.

Question 12

Sort the passives by how the receiver is shown.

Question 13

Arrange: You all will not be questioned.

Question 14

Match each feature with its grammatical function.

Question 15

Choose the best Arabic rendering: Nothing additional will be expected from her.

  • لَا تَتَوَقَّعُ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا زَائِدًا
  • لَا يُتَوَقَّعُ مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ زَائِدٌ
  • لَا يُتَوَقِّعُ مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ زَائِدٌ
  • مَا تُوُقِّعَ مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ زَائِدٌ

Question 16

يَقْتُلُونَ and يُقْتَلُونَ have the same voice and meaning.

Question 17

Arrange: The criminals will be recognized on the Day of Resurrection by their faces.

Question 18

Which form means: it is accepted?

  • يَقْبَلُ
  • قُبِلَ
  • يُقْبَلُ
  • يُقْبِلُ

Question 19

Arrange: This book will soon be read.

Question 20

Which active-passive pair is correctly formed?

  • Active: يَضْرِبُ; passive: يَضْرَبُ
  • Active: يَقْتُلُ; passive: قُتِلَ
  • Active: يَنْصُرُ; passive: يَنْصَرُ
  • Active: يَضْرِبُ; passive: يُضْرَبُ

Open the interactive quiz