Source text, three building states, feminine versus subject tāʾ, fourteen conjugation slots and worked parsing Read the bilingual lesson for The Past Verb: Definition, Building, Conjugation and Parsing and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. The Section on Verbs
الْقِسْمُ الثَّانِي فِي الْفِعْلِ
The course moves from nouns to verbs. This level focuses on the past-tense verb.
2. Three Verb Categories
وَقَدْ سَبَقَ تَعْرِيفُهُ، وَأَقْسَامُهُ ثَلَاثَةٌ: مَاضٍ وَمُضَارِعٌ وَأَمْرٌ.
The matn identifies three categories: past, imperfect, and imperative. Their meanings and grammatical behavior differ.
3. One Root, Three Forms
كَتَبَ — يَكْتُبُ — اُكْتُبْ
The root k-t-b is shared, but the verb forms differ in temporal or directive meaning. Today examines kataba.
4. Original Definition of Past
وَهُوَ فِعْلٌ دَلَّ عَلَى زَمَانٍ قَبْلَ زَمَانِكَ.
In its basic use, a past verb describes an event before the time at which it is reported.
5. Applying the Definition
قَرَأَ الطَّالِبُ الدَّرْسَ.
Qaraʾa is a past verb, aṭ-ṭālibu its subject, and ad-darsa its direct object. This is an added instructional example.
6. What Mabnī Means
الْمَاضِي مَبْنِيٌّ
The past verb is indeclinable: it does not take the imperfect verb’s mood inflections. Its building form depends on attached elements.
7. Original Rule: Fatḥ
وَهُوَ مَبْنِيٌّ عَلَى الْفَتْحِ إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ مَعَهُ ضَمِيرٌ مَرْفُوعٌ مُتَحَرِّكٌ وَلَا وَاوٌ كَضَرَبَ.
The matn makes fatḥ conditional on the absence of an attached movable nominative pronoun or plural wāw, as in ḍaraba.
8. Original Rule: Sukūn
وَمَعَ الضَّمِيرِ الْمَرْفُوعِ الْمُتَحَرِّكِ عَلَى السُّكُونِ كَضَرَبْتُ.
With an attached movable nominative subject pronoun, the past is built on sukūn, as in ḍarabtu.
9. Original Rule: Ḍamm
وَعَلَى الضَّمِّ مَعَ الْوَاوِ كَضَرَبُوا.
With plural wāw, the past is built on ḍamm, as in ḍarabū. The wāw is subject.
10. Compare the Three Forms
ضَرَبَ — ضَرَبْتُ — ضَرَبُوا
All three are past forms. Their final stem vowel differs because of the attached subject morphology.
11. Built on Fatḥ
ضَرَبَ
Ḍaraba is a past verb built on fatḥ. This is the default when no relevant attached subject pronoun triggers sukūn or ḍamm.
12. With an Overt Subject
ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ.
Ḍaraba stays built on fatḥ; Zayd is a separate nominative subject.
13. An Object Does Not Change the Building
ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا.
The direct object is accusative, but the past verb remains built on fatḥ. Do not confuse object case with verb building.
14. The Feminine Tāʾ
ضَرَبَتْ هِنْدٌ.
The past stem remains built on fatḥ. The final tāʾ is a feminine marker; Hind is the overt subject.
15. Do Not Confuse Two Tāʾs
ضَرَبَتْ — ضَرَبْتُ
The feminine marker -at is not a subject pronoun. The first-person -tu is an attached nominative subject pronoun and triggers sukūn.
16. With the Dual Subject Alif
ضَرَبَا
Ḍarabā is built on fatḥ. The dual alif is an attached nominative subject pronoun and does not trigger sukūn.
17. Feminine Dual Past
ضَرَبَتَا
Ḍarabatā remains built on fatḥ; the tāʾ is feminine marking and the following alif is the dual subject pronoun.
18. Not Every Suffix Is a Subject
ضَرَبَهُ زَيْدٌ.
In ḍarabahu, -hu is the object pronoun, while Zayd is subject. An object suffix does not trigger sukūn.
19. Built on Ḍamm
ضَرَبُوا
With wāw al-jamāʿah, the past verb is built on ḍamm; the wāw itself is the attached nominative subject.
20. The Written Alif After Wāw
ضَرَبُوا — كَتَبُوا — ذَهَبُوا
The final alif is a spelling convention (alif fāriqah). It is not pronounced as an extra vowel or treated as a second subject.
21. Plural Subject with an Object
فَتَحُوا الْبَابَ.
Fataḥū is built on ḍamm. The wāw is subject; al-bāba is accusative object.
22. Wāw al-Jamāʿah versus Nūn al-Niswah
كَتَبُوا — كَتَبْنَ
Masculine plural uses wāw and ḍamm; feminine plural uses nūn al-niswah and sukūn.
23. Built on Sukūn
ضَرَبْتُ
Ḍarabtu is built on sukūn on the bāʾ. Tāʾ is the attached nominative subject pronoun.
24. Three Vowels of Tāʾ al-Fāʿil
ضَرَبْتُ — ضَرَبْتَ — ضَرَبْتِ
The vowel on the subject tāʾ distinguishes first person, second-person masculine, and second-person feminine. The verb stem stays built on sukūn.
25. First-Person Plural
ضَرَبْنَا
Ḍarabnā has a first-person plural subject suffix -nā and is built on sukūn.
26. Second-Person Dual
ضَرَبْتُمَا
Ḍarabtumā is built on sukūn and addresses two people, regardless of gender. The attached pronoun functions as subject.
27. Second-Person Masculine Plural
ضَرَبْتُمْ
Ḍarabtum is second-person masculine plural; ḍarabū is third-person masculine plural. Their building forms differ.
28. Second-Person Feminine Plural
ضَرَبْتُنَّ
Ḍarabtunna addresses multiple women; ḍarabna describes multiple women in the third person.
29. Nūn al-Niswah
ضَرَبْنَ
Ḍarabna ends with nūn al-niswah, an attached nominative subject pronoun. The past verb is built on sukūn.
30. Why Sukūn Appears
ضَرَبْتُ — ضَرَبْنَا — ضَرَبْنَ
The lesson follows the matn’s attached movable nominative-pronoun rule, covering the subject tāʾ, -nā, and nūn al-niswah.
31. Six Third-Person Forms
ضَرَبَ — ضَرَبَا — ضَرَبُوا — ضَرَبَتْ — ضَرَبَتَا — ضَرَبْنَ
The six third-person forms show all three building states. Four have fatḥ, one ḍamm, one sukūn.
32. Six Second-Person Forms
ضَرَبْتَ — ضَرَبْتُمَا — ضَرَبْتُمْ — ضَرَبْتِ — ضَرَبْتُمَا — ضَرَبْتُنَّ
Six second-person slots are counted, although both dual forms are identical in spelling. All are built on sukūn.
33. Two First-Person Forms
ضَرَبْتُ — ضَرَبْنَا
The two first-person forms both take sukūn through their attached nominative subject suffix.
34. All Fourteen Slots
6 + 6 + 2 = 14
This is a teaching expansion, not a claim that the matn enumerates all fourteen. Learners should infer building states from the endings.
35. Two Different Duals
ضَرَبَا — ضَرَبْتُمَا
Both describe two people, but ḍarabā is third person built on fatḥ; ḍarabtumā is second person built on sukūn.
36. Two Feminine Third Persons
ضَرَبَتْ — ضَرَبْنَ
A feminine marker does not itself serve as subject; nūn al-niswah is the feminine plural subject pronoun.
37. Person Changes, Building Stays
كَتَبْتَ — كَتَبْتُ — كَتَبْتِ
A different vowel on the subject tāʾ changes person or gender but not the stem’s building on sukūn.
38. Overt and Attached Subjects
جَلَسَ زَيْدٌ. / جَلَسْتُ.
Jalasa Zaydun has an overt subject. Jalastu uses an attached subject pronoun.
39. When the Subject Is Implicit
ذَهَبَ — ذَهَبَتْ
With no expressed subject, the third-person singular past uses an implicit subject pronoun: huwa or hiya.
40. Sukūn Is Not Jussive Here
ضَرَبْتُ — لَمْ يَضْرِبْ
The sukūn in ḍarabtu is building; in lam yaḍrib it is a jussive mood sign on an imperfect verb.
41. Negation Does Not Rebuild Past
مَا كَتَبَ زَيْدٌ.
Mā negates this past clause; kataba remains built on fatḥ. Distinguish it from lam + imperfect.
42. Past Tense in a Question
هَلْ حَضَرَ زَيْدٌ؟
Hal asks a question but does not alter the past verb’s building.
43. Transitive and Intransitive Past
جَلَسَ زَيْدٌ. / فَتَحَ زَيْدٌ الْبَابَ.
Whether transitive or intransitive, the past verb follows the same building rules.
44. Past Verbs Ending in Alif
رَمَى — دَعَا
Ramā/daʿā are past verbs with estimated fatḥ on their final alif; the building state remains fatḥ.
45. Weak-Final Past with Tāʾ
رَمَى — رَمَيْتُ
The weak-final stem surfaces differently before -tu (ramaytu); the past is built on sukūn when subject tāʾ attaches.
46. Full Parsing: Writing
كَتَبَ الطَّالِبُ رِسَالَةً.
Kataba is built on fatḥ; aṭ-ṭālibu is nominative subject; risālatan accusative object.
47. Full Parsing: Feminine Subject
قَرَأَتْ هِنْدٌ كِتَابًا.
Qaraʾat is built on fatḥ; the feminine tāʾ is not the subject. Hind is nominative subject and kitāban accusative object.
48. Full Parsing: We Arrived
وَصَلْنَا.
Waṣalnā is built on sukūn; -nā is the subject. It is an intransitive example.
49. Full Parsing: They Opened
فَتَحُوا الْبَابَ.
Fataḥū is built on ḍamm, wāw is subject, and al-bāba is accusative object. The added alif is orthographic.
50. Diagnose the Building
كَتَبَ — كَتَبْتَ — كَتَبُوا — كَتَبْنَ
A decision rule: wāw al-jamāʿah → ḍamm; attached movable nominative pronoun → sukūn; otherwise fatḥ (including estimated fatḥ with final alif).
51. Final Self-Check
ضَرَبَتْ — ضَرَبْتُ — ضَرَبُوا
Learners should identify both building and subject: fatḥ with feminine marker, sukūn with first-person tāʾ, ḍamm with plural wāw.
52. Takeaways
فِعْلٌ مَاضٍ — الْفَتْحُ — السُّكُونُ — الضَّمُّ
Summary of meaning, indeclinability, three building states, the two tāʾs, and next lesson on the imperfect.
Practice questions
Question 1
How many major verb types does the matn list?
Question 2
What is the basic time reference of māḍī?
- Only the future
- Meaning without time
- Always a command
- Before the reporting time
Question 3
What is the syntactic status of the past verb?
- Always declinable
- A genitive noun
- It is indeclinable
- Only jussive
Question 4
How many building states does the matn mention?
Question 5
On what is kataba built?
Question 6
Building of ḍaraba in ḍaraba Zaydun?
Question 7
What is ʿamran?
- Nominative subject
- Past verb
- Accusative object
- Preposition
Question 8
Who is the subject?
- ʿAmran
- Zaydun
- Ḍaraba
- An implied particle
Question 9
What is the tāʾ in ḍarabat Hindun?
- Feminine marker, not the subject
- Subject tāʾ
- Object pronoun
- Preposition
Question 10
Building of ḍarabat Hindun?
Question 11
What is the subject in ḍarabtu?
- Feminine tāʾ
- Object
- Attached -tu pronoun
- Dual alif
Question 12
Building of ḍarabtu?
Question 13
Meaning of ḍarabta?
- You, masculine singular, struck
- I struck
- She struck
- They struck
Question 14
Addressee of ḍarabti?
- One male
- Plural males
- First-person plural
- One female
Question 15
Role of -nā in ḍarabnā?
- Negation
- Feminine marker
- First-person plural subject
- Genitive pronoun
Question 16
Building of ḍarabnā?
Question 17
Subject of ḍarabū?
- Plural wāw
- Auxiliary written alif
- Subject tāʾ
- Third-person -hu
Question 18
Building of ḍarabū?
Question 19
Name for the final alif after wāw?
- Dual alif
- Alif maqṣūrah
- Alif fāriqah
- Alif waṣl
Question 20
Subject in ḍarabna?
- Plural wāw
- Nūn al-niswah
- Feminine tāʾ
- Dual alif
Question 21
Building of ḍarabna?
Question 22
Role of alif in ḍarabā?
- Direct object
- Preposition
- Accusative tanwīn
- Dual subject pronoun
Question 23
Building of ḍarabā?
Question 24
Subject in ḍarabatā?
- Feminine tāʾ
- Dual alif
- Implied wāw
- Direct object
Question 25
Building of ḍarabtumā?
Question 26
Which form is second-person masculine plural?
- Ḍarabū
- Ḍarabna
- Ḍarabā
- Ḍarabtum
Question 27
Which is second-person feminine plural?
- Ḍarabna
- Ḍarabtu
- Ḍarabtunna
- Ḍarabat
Question 28
Which is third-person feminine plural?
- Ḍarabtunna
- Ḍarabna
- Ḍarabat
- Ḍarabnā
Question 29
Does ḍarabtumā work for both second-person dual genders?
- Same form for both
- Only for males
- Only for females
- It is third-person plural
Question 30
How many past conjugation slots are traditionally counted?
Question 31
How many third-person slots?
Question 32
The key distinction between the two tāʾs?
- Both subjects
- First feminine marker; second subject
- Both objects
- First subject; second feminine marker
Question 33
Subject in ḍarabat Hindun?
- Hindun
- Final tāʾ
- Ḍaraba
- No subject
Question 34
What is -hu in ḍarabahu Zaydun?
- Subject pronoun
- Plural wāw
- Jussive particle
- Object pronoun
Question 35
Building of ḍarabahu Zaydun?
Question 36
Building of kataba after negative mā?
Question 37
What is yaḍrib in lam yaḍrib?
- Jussive imperfect
- Past built on sukūn
- Active participle
- Imperative
Question 38
Which consonant bears sukūn in ḍarabtu?
Question 39
Function of al-bāba?
- Nominative subject
- Genitive possessor
- Accusative direct object
- Topic
Question 40
What occupies the subject slot in waṣalnā?
- Plural wāw
- -nā
- Feminine tāʾ
- Overt noun
Question 41
Why is fatḥ not visible in ramā?
- Final alif cannot bear the vowel visibly
- It is imperfect
- It is jussive
- It is a noun
Question 42
Building of ramaytu?
- Visible fatḥ
- Ḍamm
- Genitive
- Sukūn
Question 43
Case and function of kitāban?
- Nominative subject
- Genitive possessor
- Accusative object
- Jussive verb
Question 44
Which pair has fatḥ then sukūn?
- Ḍarabū, ḍarabna
- Ḍarabat, ḍarabtu
- Ḍarabta, ḍarabū
- Ḍarabnā, ḍarabtum
Question 45
Which statement follows from the past being mabnī?
- It does not take mood inflections from governing particles
- It cannot have a subject
- It cannot have an object
- It has only one inflected form
Question 46
Main clue to past built on sukūn?
- Any direct object
- Any feminine marker
- Any preposition
- Attached movable nominative pronoun
Question 47
Every past form is always built on fatḥ.
Question 48
The tāʾ in ḍarabat is subject tāʾ.
Question 49
In ḍarabtu, -tu is first-person subject.
Question 50
The written alif after wāw is also a subject.
Question 51
Ḍarabna is third-person feminine plural.
Question 52
Ḍarabā and ḍarabtumā have the same building.
Question 53
Ḍarabtumā serves both dual addressee genders.
Question 54
Of the fourteen past slots, two are first-person.
Question 55
Mā makes past kataba jussive.
Question 56
In lam yaḍrib, yaḍrib is an imperfect verb.
Question 57
Object -hu makes past ḍarabahu built on sukūn.
Question 58
Ramā may have estimated building fatḥ.
Question 59
The two sukūns have identical grammatical causes.
Question 60
Hindun is the subject of ḍarabat.
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