Arabic Grammar consists almost entirely of putting harakaat on letters.
Arabic writing is typically written without the harakaat. How is it possible to read? One must learn slowly, piece by piece, and read with understanding. Arabic is not like English–you have to actively read and consciously think while you read about what it means. (At least, when you start out.)
Why are harakaat important? Harakaat determine the meaning of words and sentences entirely. A different choice of harakaat can sometimes invert the meaning of a sentence entirely!
For example, this word: ضرب (daad-ra-ba) can mean hit (ضَرَبَ: daraba), hitting (ضَرْبٌ: darboon), was hit (ضُرِبَ: duriba), and more! Another word is من (meem-noon) which can mean from (مِن: min) or who (مَن: man), and so on.
InshaAllah ta’ala now that you know, start paying attention to the vowels as you read Qur’an. It makes all the difference.
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) grant us all knowledge of Arabic, the language of the Glorious Qur’an, ameen!
Sorry this might seem like the most beginner question ever, but anyway:
I thought daraba meant “He hit” (past) then darabaa darabuu darabat darabata darabna, darabta, darabtuma, darabtum, darabtuma, darabtum, darabtunna darabtuu darabnaa. (He hit, they (m. 2) hit, they (masc, all hit)
Then I came across another website which says daraba means “to hit”
I’m very confused! I don’t know if daraba means to hit, or he hit (past tense)
Or…does it depend what’s before the daraba?
ie. daraba on its own, like any other verb in arabic means to X
but if you add, huwa to the front of daraba, then it becomes he hit, past tense?
So then, you don’t change the to hit verb to anything to make it into the past tense?
Can you explain this to me please?
JZK
Also another possibly silly question…
What’s the difference between verb conjugation …. and verb forms
I understand how to conjugate verbs (past tense, present and future, as well as negation)
I just recently discovered Arabic words have 14 verb forms, of these, 10 are commonly used, the other 4 are rare. I have no idea what verb forms are, if you could maybe give me some idea please?
Thanks again
In regards to your questions:
- Daraba means “he hit” (past tense). In English, verbs like “to hit” is called the “infinitive” of a verb. Arabic does not have infinitives, which are used to explain a verb’s meaning or grammar without any tense. The closest thing is the past-tense he (single masculine third-person) version, like “daraba.”
- I’m not sure what you mean by verb forms. It could mean taking the verb and turning it into something else. For example, the verb “darasa” (he learned) can be transformed into “mudarris” (teacher), “madrasah” (school), etc. — all this as a derived form of the original root verb. Or it may mean the different baabs (eg. darrasa, daarasa, etc.)
Wallahu a’lam.
Jazakallah that’s really explained it to me!
I will post a few lines here to show what I mean about verb forms:
Form 1 – فعل (fa3ala)
Form 2 – فعّل (fa33ala)
Form 3 – فاعل (faa3ala)
Form 4 – أفعل (af3ala)
Form 5 – تفعّل (tafa33ala)
Form 6 – تفاعل (tafaa3ala)
Form 7 – انفعل (infa3ala)
Form 8 – افتعل (ifta3ala)
Form 9 – افعلّ (if3alla)
Form 10 – استفعل (istaf3ala)
What are these?
Are these the same thing as darasa going to mudarris?
Lastly, i’m not sure what baab is?
Thanks so much for your reply, it’s really useful.
Really lastly – would you recommend the Medinah books? Or something else?
JZK
These “forms” are called “baabs” in Arabic. What they mean is: by taking the Form 1, you can add an extra letter to get a different form with a different shade of meaning.
For example, qatala (he killed) in baab 2 (form 2) becomes qattala (he severely killed), which is mentioned in the Qur’an.
These are not the same thing as darasa going to mudarris. That was a mistake; darasa will probably become daaris, while darrasa (form 2) will become mudarris.
I don’t recommend the Medinah books without a teacher; they’re very difficult to puzzle out on your own, and they focus exclusively on grammar. Take whatever classes you find in your area.
I want 14 verb form (fa a la ) & yaf a lu