The Passive Past Tense

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

Lesson

1. The Passive Past Tense

What will you learn? ● Distinguish an active past verb from a passive past verb. ● Form the basic passive pattern فُعِلَ. ● Recognize the نائب الفاعل and its nominative case. ● Read all 14 paradigm slots. ● Handle verbs with two objects or a prepositional complement. ● Convert and translate complete examples.

2. Active and Passive: What Changes?

The difference is whether the doer is named. ● In an active verb (فعل معروف), the doer is grammatically present as an explicit noun or an attached/hidden pronoun. ● In a passive verb (فعل مجہول), the doer is not named; the event or its receiver is brought forward. شَرِبَ الْمَاءَ means “He drank the water.” The doer is a hidden pronoun, so this is still active. شَرِبَ الْوَلَدُ الْمَاءَ means “The boy drank the water.” Here the doer is explicit.

3. How to Form the Passive

Work through one sentence step by step. شَرِبَ الْوَلَدُ الْمَاءَ → The boy drank the water. 1. Put the past verb on فُعِلَ: dammah on فاء کلمہ and kasrah on عین کلمہ. 2. Omit the doer الْوَلَدُ. 3. Raise the former object الْمَاءَ to الْمَاءُ. Result: شُرِبَ الْمَاءُ — The water was drunk.

4. The Deputy Subject

The former object receives a new grammatical role. In شُرِبَ الْمَاءُ, الْمَاءُ is no longer an accusative object. It is the نائب الفاعل, and its grammatical case is nominative. Another descriptive term is مفعول ما لم يُسَمَّ فاعلُهُ: the receiver whose doer was not named. Simple examples: ● فُتِحَ الْبَابُ — The door was opened. ● كُتِبَ الدَّرْسُ — The lesson was written.

5. The 6 Third-Person Forms

Pronoun Person/number Passive form هُوَ Third-person masculine singular فُعِلَ هُمَا Third-person masculine dual فُعِلَا هُمْ Third-person masculine plural فُعِلُوا هِيَ Third-person feminine singular فُعِلَتْ هُمَا Third-person feminine dual فُعِلَتَا هُنَّ Third-person feminine plural فُعِلْنَ

6. The 8 Addressed and Speaker Forms

Pronoun Person/number Passive form أَنْتَ Second-person masculine singular فُعِلْتَ أَنْتُمَا Second-person masculine dual فُعِلْتُمَا أَنْتُمْ Second-person masculine plural فُعِلْتُمْ أَنْتِ Second-person feminine singular فُعِلْتِ أَنْتُمَا Second-person feminine dual فُعِلْتُمَا أَنْتُنَّ Second-person feminine plural فُعِلْتُنَّ أَنَا First-person singular فُعِلْتُ نَحْنُ First-person plural فُعِلْنَا The written form فُعِلْتُمَا fills both the masculine-dual and feminine-dual addressed slots, so the 14 slots have 13 distinct written forms.

7. Explicit Noun or Pronoun Inside the Verb

Do not call every sentence without an explicit noun passive. ● نَصَرَ — He helped. The hidden pronoun is the doer, so it is active. ● نَصَرُوا — They helped. The wāw is the doer, so it is active. ● نُصِرَ مَحْمُودٌ — Mahmood was helped. An explicit noun follows as نائب الفاعل, so the verb stays singular. ● نُصِرُوا — They were helped. The نائب الفاعل is encoded in the verb, so the verb is conjugated.

8. A Verb with Two Objects

Only the first object becomes نائب الفاعل. حُسِبَ مَحْمُودٌ عَالِمًا — Mahmood was considered a scholar. ● مَحْمُودٌ was the first object; it becomes the nominative نائب الفاعل. ● عَالِمًا is the second object; it remains accusative. So do not raise both objects when converting this type of sentence.

9. A Passive with a Prepositional Complement

Some examples have no direct object to promote. طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ → طُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ غَضِبَ زَيْدٌ عَلَيْهِمْ → غُضِبَ عَلَيْهِمْ Here the prepositional phrase is treated together as نائب الفاعل, and the passive verb remains singular. Do not invent a direct object where the sentence uses a preposition.

10. Convert the First 5 Sentences

Active sentence Passive sentence ضَرَبَ حَامِدٌ مَحْمُودًا ضُرِبَ مَحْمُودٌ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْإِنْسَانَ خُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ نَصَرَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُصِرَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ قَتَلَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ قُتِلَ الْكَافِرُونَ طَلَبَتِ الْمُعَلِّمَةُ زَيْنَبَ طُلِبَتْ زَيْنَبُ

11. Convert the Next 5 Sentences

Active sentence Passive sentence نَصَرُوا فَاطِمَةَ وَمَرْيَمَ نُصِرَتْ فَاطِمَةُ وَمَرْيَمُ أَمَرَ الْمُعَلِّمُ الْبَنَاتِ بِالصَّلَاةِ أُمِرَتِ الْبَنَاتُ بِالصَّلَاةِ بَعَثَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ بُعِثَ مُوسَى إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمُ الصِّيَامَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الصِّيَامُ ذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ ذُهِبَ بِنُورِهِمْ

12. Five Translation Models

Meaning Arabic He was struck ضُرِبَ The two of them (masculine) were called دُعِيَا They were helped نُصِرُوا They (feminine plural) were taken away ذُهِبَ بِهِنَّ I was commanded to pray أُمِرْتُ بِالصَّلَاةِ

Practice questions

Question 1

Which description identifies a passive past verb?

  • Its doer is explicitly named.
  • Its doer is not named.
  • It always describes the future.
  • It contains no verb.

Question 2

Sort the verb forms as active or passive.

Question 3

Which is the basic pattern of the passive past?

  • فَعَلَ
  • فَعِلَ
  • فُعِلَ
  • اِفْعَلْ

Question 4

Match each grammatical term with its function.

Question 5

Change: The boy drank the water — into the passive Arabic sentence.

Question 6

In شُرِبَ الْمَاءُ, which word is نائب الفاعل?

  • شُرِبَ
  • A hidden doer
  • الْمَاءُ
  • There is none

Question 7

The نائب الفاعل remains accusative after the active sentence is made passive.

Question 8

Sort the passive forms by grammatical person.

Question 9

Match each passive form with its person, gender and number.

Question 10

Which form means: the women were helped?

  • نُصِرَتْ
  • نُصِرُوا
  • نُصِرْنَ
  • نُصِرْنَا

Question 11

A past sentence without an explicit noun doer must always be passive.

Question 12

Why is نَصَرُوا active?

  • The wāw is the doer.
  • It has no doer.
  • It is on the pattern فُعِلَ.
  • The receiver is nominative.

Question 13

Arrange: Mahmood was considered a scholar.

Question 14

In حُسِبَ مَحْمُودٌ عَالِمًا, why does عَالِمًا keep fatḥah?

  • It is the omitted doer.
  • It is a preposition.
  • It is dual.
  • It is the second object and remains accusative.

Question 15

Sort the passives by what follows the verb.

Question 16

Which analysis fits طُبِعَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ?

  • عَلَى is the doer.
  • The phrase عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ is treated together as نائب الفاعل.
  • قُلُوبِهِمْ is an accusative direct object.
  • The verb must be plural.

Question 17

Change the sentence to passive: Ibrahim helped the believers.

Question 18

Which passive correctly converts أَمَرَ الْمُعَلِّمُ الْبَنَاتِ بِالصَّلَاةِ?

  • أُمِرَ الْبَنَاتِ بِالصَّلَاةِ
  • أُمِرَتِ الْبَنَاتُ بِالصَّلَاةِ
  • أَمَرَتِ الْبَنَاتُ بِالصَّلَاةِ
  • أُمِرْنَ الْبَنَاتُ بِالصَّلَاةِ

Question 19

Arrange the passive: Fasting was prescribed for them.

Question 20

What is the passive of ذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ in this lesson?

  • ذَهَبُوا بِنُورِهِمْ
  • ذَهَبَ بِنُورُهُمْ
  • ذُهِبُوا نُورَهُمْ
  • ذُهِبَ بِنُورِهِمْ

Question 21

Match each active sentence with the grammatical change in its passive.

Question 22

Which Arabic means: The two of them (masculine) were called?

  • دَعَوَا
  • دُعِيَ
  • دُعُوا
  • دُعِيَا

Question 23

Which Arabic expresses: They (feminine plural) were taken away?

  • ذُهِبَ بِهِنَّ
  • ذَهَبْنَ بِهِنَّ
  • ذُهِبُوا بِهِنَّ
  • ذَهَبَتْ هُنَّ

Question 24

Arrange the Arabic for: I was commanded to pray.

Question 25

The guard opened the door: فَتَحَ الْحَارِسُ الْبَابَ. Which passive is correct?

  • فُتِحَ الْبَابُ
  • فَتَحَ الْبَابُ
  • فُتِحَ الْبَابَ
  • فَتَحَ الْحَارِسَ

Question 26

In قُتِلَ الْكَافِرُونَ, the singular passive verb is correct before the explicit plural نائب الفاعل.

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