The document discusses Arabic verb forms (patterns) and their meanings. There are 6 main verb forms that are described through their meaning patterns and examples. Form I conveys basic actions. Form II intensifies actions. Form III conveys shared actions. Form IV makes actions transitive or causes possession. Form V is reflexive of Form II or involves pretending. Form VI conveys shared actions without specifying initiation.

1. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
II ‫ل‬‫ع‬‫ف‬  to convey the performance of the action with
intensity, force, repetition, etc.
 ‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬ (to break), ‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬ (to break into pieces i.e. to smash),
 ‫ل‬‫ت‬‫ق‬ (to kill), ‫تل‬‫ق‬ (to massacre)
 to make intransitive verbs of form I transitive
 to make transitive verbs of form I doubly transitive
 ‫م‬‫ر‬‫ح‬ (to be unlawful), ‫م‬‫ر‬‫ح‬ (to make s.th. unlawful),
 ‫ر‬‫ه‬‫ط‬ (to be clean / pure), ‫هر‬‫ط‬ (to purify / cleanse s.th.)
 ‫د‬‫ع‬‫ق‬ (to sit), ‫د‬‫ع‬‫ق‬ (to seat s.o.)
 ‫م‬‫ل‬‫ع‬ (to know s.th.), ‫م‬‫ل‬‫ع‬ (to make s.o. know s.th. i.e. to
teach)
 ‫ر‬‫ك‬‫ذ‬ (to remember s.th.), ‫ر‬‫ك‬‫ذ‬ (to make s.o. remember s.th.)
 to declare / estimate s.o. as having the quality of
form I
 ‫ر‬ ‫ف‬‫ك‬ (to disbelieve), ‫ر‬ ‫ف‬‫ك‬ (to declare / call s.o. a
disbeliever)
 ‫ب‬‫ذ‬‫ك‬ (to lie), ‫ب‬‫ذ‬‫ك‬ (to declare / call s.o. a liar)
 ‫ق‬‫د‬‫ص‬ (to tell the truth), ‫دق‬‫ص‬ (to regard s.o. as telling the
truth i.e. to believe him)
 to abbreviate a statement / clause
 ‫ح‬‫ب‬‫س‬ (to say: "‫ال‬ ‫ان‬‫ح‬&‫ب‬‫س‬" )
 ‫م‬‫ل‬‫س‬ (to say: "&
‫م‬‫ك‬&‫ي‬‫ل‬‫ع‬ ‫م‬‫ل‬‫الس‬" )
 to become like s.th.
 ‫س‬‫و‬‫ق‬ (to be like a "‫س‬&
‫و‬‫ق‬" i.e. bow, to bend)
 ‫ر‬‫ج‬‫ح‬ (to be like a "‫ر‬‫ج‬‫ح‬" i.e. stone)
 to go in the direction of s.th.
 ‫ق‬‫ر‬‫ش‬ (to go in the direction of the ‫ق‬&
‫ر‬‫الش‬ i.e. the east)
 ‫ب‬‫ر‬‫غ‬ (to go in the direction of the ‫ب‬&
‫ر‬‫&غ‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ i.e. the west)
 to remove s.th. (from s.th.)  ‫ة‬ ‫ه‬‫اك‬‫&ف‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ر‬ ‫ش‬‫ق‬ [I removed the ‫ر‬ &
‫ش‬‫&ق‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ (i.e. skin) from the
fruit i.e. I peeled it]

2.  to accept s.th.
 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫ف‬ ‫ش‬ [I accepted the ‫ة‬‫اع‬‫ف‬ ‫الش‬ (i.e. intercession) of
Zaid]
Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
III ‫ل‬‫اع‬‫ف‬
 to convey the meaning of an action shared between
two or more, such that the doer is the one who initiated
the action and the object the one who responded in
kind
 5‫ا‬‫ر‬ &
‫م‬‫ع‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ى‬‫اش‬‫م‬ (Zaid walked with ‘Amr i.e. they walked
together)
 5‫ا‬‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ل‬‫ات‬‫ق‬ (Zaid fought with ‘Amr)
 to follow s.th. with s.th. (i.e. to do something
consecutively / continuously)
 ‫ه‬‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫اب‬‫ت‬‫و‬ ‫م‬&
‫و‬‫الص‬ ‫ت‬&‫الي‬‫و‬ (I fasted consecutively)

3. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
IV ‫ل‬‫ع‬&‫أف‬  to make intransitive verbs of form I
transitive
 to make transitive verbs of form I doubly
transitive
 ‫د‬‫ع‬‫ق‬ (to sit), ‫د‬‫&ع‬‫أق‬ (to seat s.o.)
 ‫أ‬‫ر‬‫ق‬ (to read s.th.), ‫أ‬‫&ر‬‫أق‬ (to make s.o. read s.th. i.e.
to teach him to read it)
 to become the bearer / possessor of s.th.
 ‫ة‬‫ر‬‫ج‬‫الش‬ ‫ت‬‫ر‬‫م‬&‫ث‬‫أ‬ (the tree became a bearer of fruit
i.e. it bore fruit)
 ‫ل‬‫ج‬‫الر‬ ‫ن‬‫&ب‬‫ل‬‫أ‬ (the man became the possessor of milk)
 to enter into a time or place
 ‫ح‬‫ب‬ &
‫أص‬ [to enter into the time of ‫اح‬‫ب‬ ‫الص‬ (i.e. the
morning)]
 ‫أم‬&
‫ش‬‫أ‬ [to enter ‫ام‬‫الش‬ (i.e. Syria)]
 to remove s.th. (from s.th.)
 ‫اب‬ ‫ت‬‫&ك‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ت‬ &
‫م‬‫ج‬&‫ع‬‫أ‬ [I removed the ‫ة‬ ‫م‬&
‫ج‬‫&ع‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ (i.e.
foreignness) from the book by placing the dots on the
letters)
 to find / regard s.o. as having the quality
signified by form I
 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫دت‬‫م‬&
‫أح‬ (I found Zaid to be praiseworthy)
 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬ &
‫م‬‫ر‬&
‫ك‬‫أ‬ (I found Zaid to be honourable i.e. I
honoured him)
 to become worthy of / be ready for s.th.
 :
‫د‬&‫ن‬‫ه‬ &
‫ت‬‫ج‬‫ز‬&
‫أو‬ (Hind became worthy of / is ready for
marriage)
 ‫ع‬&
‫ر‬‫ز‬ ‫ال‬ ‫د‬ ‫ص‬&
‫أح‬ (the crops became ready for
harvesting)
 to exhibit s.th. / put s.th up for a particular
purpose
 ‫اع‬ ‫ت‬‫&م‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ :
‫د‬ &‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫اع‬ ‫أب‬ (Zaid exhibited the goods for
selling)
 To have the meaning of form X  5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬ &
‫م‬‫ظ‬&‫ع‬‫أ‬ (i.e. 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬&
‫م‬‫ظ‬&‫ع‬‫ت‬ &
‫س‬‫ا‬ – I took Zaid as
being great / magnificent)

4.  to be reflexive of form II
 ‫ر‬‫ط‬&‫ف‬‫أ‬‫ف‬ 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ر‬‫ط‬‫ف‬ (I gave Zaid s.th. to break his fast
so he broke his fast)
 to enable s.o. to do s.th.  ‫ر‬&
‫النه‬ 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ر‬‫ف‬&
‫أح‬ (I enabled Zaid to dig the trench)
Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
V ‫ل‬‫ع‬‫ف‬‫ت‬
 to be reflexive of form II
 ‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬‫ت‬‫ف‬ ‫اج‬‫ج‬R
‫ز‬‫ال‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬ (Zaid smashed the glass so
it smashed)
 to take s.th. as s.th.
 ‫ه‬‫ب‬&
‫و‬‫ث‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫د‬‫س‬‫و‬‫ت‬ [Zaid took his robe as a ‫ة‬‫اد‬‫س‬‫و‬ (i.e.
cushion)]
 to pretend / feign / try hard to have a
particular attribute
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫ب‬‫ص‬‫ت‬ (Zaid tried hard to be patient)
 to avoid s.th  :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫د‬‫ج‬‫ه‬‫ت‬ [Zaid avoided ‫د‬&
‫و‬‫ج‬‫&ه‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ (i.e. sleep)]
 to do s.th gradually or in stages
 ‫اء‬‫&م‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫ر‬‫ج‬‫ت‬ (I sipped the water in stages)
 ‫&م‬‫ل‬‫&ع‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫&ت‬‫ظ‬‫ف‬‫ح‬‫ت‬ (I memorised it in stages)

5. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
VI ‫ل‬‫اع‬‫ف‬‫ت‬
 to convey the meaning of an action shared
between two or more, such that each one of is a doer
without specifying the one who initiated the action
(at the same time there is a decrease in transitivity
from form IV)
 5‫ا‬‫ب‬&
‫و‬‫ث‬ ‫و‬:
‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬‫و‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ب‬‫اذ‬‫ج‬‫ت‬ (Zaid and ‘Amr both pulled
at the piece of clothing)
 ‫و‬:
‫ر‬ &
‫م‬‫ع‬‫و‬ :
‫د‬ &‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫م‬ ‫اص‬‫خ‬‫ت‬ (Zaid and ‘Amr argued with
each other)
[Compare these two examples with "5‫ا‬‫ب‬&
‫و‬‫ث‬ 5‫ا‬‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ب‬‫اذ‬‫ج‬" and "
5‫ا‬‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫م‬‫اص‬‫خ‬" ]
 to pretend or feign doing an action
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫م‬‫او‬‫ن‬‫ت‬ (Zaid pretended to sleep)
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ى‬‫اك‬‫ب‬‫ت‬ (Zaid pretended to cry)
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ل‬‫اه‬‫ج‬‫ت‬ (Zaid pretended to be ignorant)
 for s.th. to occur gradually or in stages
 ‫ل‬&‫ي‬W‫الن‬ ‫د‬‫اي‬‫ز‬‫ت‬ (the Nile gradually increased)
 ‫ل‬ ‫ب‬‫ال‬ ‫ت‬‫د‬‫ار‬‫و‬‫ت‬ (the camels gradually approach the
water-place)
 to be reflexive of form IV
 ‫د‬‫ع‬‫با‬‫ت‬‫ف‬ 5‫ا‬‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ R
‫دت‬‫اع‬‫ب‬ (I distanced Zaid so he became
distant)
 to seek / desire the quality denoted by form
I
 ‫د‬‫ج‬ &
‫س‬‫&م‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ &
‫ن‬‫م‬ ‫ت‬&‫ب‬‫ار‬‫ق‬‫ت‬ (I sought / desired to be close
to the mosque)

6. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
VII ‫ل‬‫ع‬‫ف‬&‫ن‬‫ا‬  to be reflexive of form I mostly (and is
specific to physical activities)
 ‫ح‬‫ت‬‫ف‬&‫ان‬‫ف‬ ‫اب‬‫&ب‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ح‬‫ت‬‫ف‬ (I opened the door so it
opened)
 ‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬&‫ن‬‫ا‬‫ف‬ ‫اج‬‫ج‬R
‫ز‬‫ال‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ر‬‫س‬‫ك‬ (I broke the glass so it
broke)
 ‫ع‬‫ط‬‫ق‬&‫ان‬‫ف‬ ‫ل‬&‫ب‬‫&ح‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫ط‬‫ق‬ (I cut the rope so it got cut)

7. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
VIII ‫ل‬‫ع‬‫ت‬&‫ف‬‫ا‬
 to take or acquire or get s.th. for oneself
 :
‫د‬&‫زي‬ ‫م‬‫ت‬‫ت‬&
‫خ‬‫ا‬ (Zaid acquired / got himself a ring)
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫م‬‫د‬‫ت‬&
‫خ‬‫ا‬ (Zaid acquired / got himself a servant)
 to do s.th. with effort / meaning / exert
oneself in s.th.
 5‫ا‬‫ر‬&‫ي‬‫ث‬‫ك‬5‫ل‬‫ا‬‫م‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ب‬‫س‬‫ت‬&
‫ك‬‫ا‬ [Zaid acquired (with effort /
meaning) lots of a money]
 for two or more people to be involved in
an activity
 ‫و‬:
‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬‫و‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫م‬‫ص‬‫ت‬&
‫خ‬‫ا‬ (Zaid and ‘Amr were involved
in an argument)
 to present, show or manifest s.th.
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫ذ‬‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫ا‬ [Zaid presented or showed an ‫ر‬&
‫ذ‬‫ع‬ (i.e.
excuse)]
 to indicate increased intensity and strength
of a particular action or quality
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫د‬‫ق‬ (Zayd was capable) but :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫د‬‫&ت‬‫ق‬‫ا‬ (Zayd
was capable to a much greater degree). Also ‫ر‬‫اد‬ ‫&ق‬‫ل‬‫ا‬
(Powerful) vs ‫ر‬‫د‬‫ت‬&
‫ق‬‫&م‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ (Most Powerful)
 to be reflexive of form I mostly
 &
‫ت‬‫ع‬‫م‬‫ت‬&
‫اج‬‫ف‬ ‫ل‬‫ب‬‫ال‬ ‫ت‬&‫ع‬‫م‬‫ج‬ (I gathered the camels, so
they gathered)
 to indicate choosing or selecting
 ‫لم‬‫وس‬ ‫ه‬‫علي‬ ‫ال‬ ‫لى‬‫)ص‬ ‫ا‬5
‫د‬‫م‬‫ح‬‫م‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ى‬‫ف‬‫ط‬ &
‫ص‬‫ا‬) [(Allah
chose Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)] (
‫ار‬‫ت‬&
‫خ‬‫ا‬
,
‫ى‬‫ق‬‫ت‬&‫ن‬‫ا‬
,
‫ى‬‫ب‬‫ت‬&
‫ج‬‫ا‬ , etc.)

8. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
IX ‫ل‬‫ع‬&‫ف‬‫ا‬  To become a certain colour or defect in an
intense way
 ‫̀د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ه‬ &
‫ج‬‫و‬ ‫ر‬‫م‬&
‫ح‬‫ا‬ (Zaid’s face became intensely red
i.e. he blushed intensely)

9. Verb
Form
Meaning Patterns Example
X ‫ل‬‫ع‬&
‫ف‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬
 to request s.th. whether in the real or
metaphorical sense
 a‫ال‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ر‬‫ف‬&‫غ‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬ (I requested Allah’s Forgiveness)
 ‫ن‬‫د‬ &‫ع‬‫&م‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ن‬ ‫م‬ ‫ب‬‫ه‬‫ذ‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ت‬&
‫ج‬‫ر‬&
‫خ‬‫ت‬ &
‫س‬‫ا‬ (I requested the
coming out or exiting of the gold from the mine i.e. I
extracted it)
 to become or turn into s.th. either in the real
or metaphorical senses
 ‫ن‬ &‫ي‬W‫ط‬‫ال‬ ‫ر‬‫ج‬&
‫ح‬‫ت‬ &
‫س‬‫ا‬ (the clay became or turned into
stone)
 ‫ر‬ ‫س‬&‫ن‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ي‬ ‫ا‬‫ن‬ ‫ض‬&
‫أر‬‫ب‬ ‫اث‬ ‫غ‬‫&ب‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ن‬‫إ‬ [truly, the bughaath (a
weak little bird) in our land became a vulture i.e. the weak
in our land became strong]
 to believe s.th. to have a certain quality
 ‫̀د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ي‬&‫أ‬‫ر‬ ‫ت‬&‫ن‬‫س‬&
‫ح‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬ (I believed Zayd’s opinion to be
good)
 to abbreviate the citation of s.th.
 ‫̀ه‬&
‫و‬‫ر‬ &
‫ك‬‫م‬‫ب‬ ‫ه‬‫ت‬‫اب‬‫ص‬‫إ‬ ‫د‬&‫ن‬‫ع‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ع‬‫ج‬&
‫ر‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬ [Zaid said ‫ا‬‫ن‬‫إ‬‫و‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬‫ن‬‫إ‬
‫ن‬&
‫و‬‫ع‬‫اج‬‫ر‬ ‫ه‬&‫لي‬‫إ‬ when something bad befell him]
 to be s.th in an intense and extreme manner
 :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ر‬‫ب‬&
‫ك‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬ (Zayd was intensely arrogant), ‫ر‬‫ت‬&
‫ه‬‫ت‬ &
‫س‬‫ا‬
‫و‬:
‫ر‬&
‫م‬‫ع‬ (Amr was extremely careless)
 To find s.o. as having a certain quality
 ‫ا‬5
‫ر‬ &
‫م‬‫ع‬ ‫&ت‬‫ل‬‫خ‬&‫ب‬‫ت‬&
‫اس‬‫و‬ ‫ا‬5
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ت‬&
‫م‬‫ر‬&
‫ك‬‫ت‬&
‫س‬‫ا‬ (I found Zayd to be
generous and ‘Amr to stingy)
 To be reflexive of form IV
 ‫ام‬‫ق‬‫ت‬ &
‫اس‬‫ف‬ ‫ن‬ &
‫ص‬‫&غ‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ :
‫د‬&‫ي‬‫ز‬ ‫ام‬‫أق‬ (Zayd straightened out the
wood so it straightened out)