An-Nahw Al-Waadih, Part One, Lesson 3b: Division of The Verb with Regard to Its Time: The Present Tense Verb

Lesson 3b:

Division of The Verb with Regard to Its Time

(2)              The Present Tense Verb (Al-fi’lu al-Mudaari’u)

Al-qaa’idah:

(5)       Al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u: Huwa kullu fi’lin yadullu ‘alaa husooli ‘amalin fee al-zamani al-haadiri aw al-mustaqbali wa laa budda an yakoonu mabdoo’an bi harfin min ahroofin al-mudaari’ati, wa hiya al-hamzatu wa an-noonu wa al-yaa’u wa al-taa’u.

 

 

The Rule:

(5)       Al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u: It is any verb/action that indicates the occurrence of an action in the present time or the future, and it must- no doubt-  start with a letter from the letters of al-mudaari’u, and they are al-hamzah, an-noon, al-yaa’u, and at-taa’u.

 

 Al-amthilah:

The examples:

1.       I wash my hands/ I am washing my hands.

2.      I wear my clothes/ I am wearing my clothes.

3.      We play with the ball/ We are playing with the ball.

4.      We walk in the fields/ We are walking in the fields.

5.      The dog barks/ The dog is barking.

6.      The guard becomes alert/ The guard is alert.

7.      The girl eats/ The girl is eating.

8.     The rose withers/ The rose is withering.

 

Explanation:

As explained earlier, the Arabic tenses are not exactly the same as the English tenses. In the Arabic language, we have the ‘present tense verb’ (al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u) as an equivalence for the English present tense, even though they are not exactly the same. Al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u is a verb that is used to show that an action is taking place in the present time, and it is also used to show actions that are happening— or will happen— in the future as well [more about that later].

The fi’lu al-mudaari’u (present tense verb) is almost similar with the English present tense in that it signifies the time of an action as being the present time, but it is different in that it may be used as the English future tense equivalent (i.e. to show that something is happening—or will happen— in the future).

In the examples provided under al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u above, we will see that all of the actions are either taking place at the time of the talk or are continuous actions. In the first example, ‘Agsilu yadayya’ (‘I wash my hands’), we will see that the hand-washing action of the speaker is either taking place at the time of speaking or is a continuous action that the speaker does all the time. The same applies to all of the examples.

The present tense verbs of the Arabic language are identified by the presence of the four letters of al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u (al-hamzah, an-noon, al-yaa’u, and at-taa’u); every present tense verb must begin with either of these letters depending on the subject of the verb. If we look at all the examples, we will see that they begin with either of these mudaari’ah letters.

It should be noted that al-fi’lu al-mudaari’u (the present tense verb) can be used to indicate something happening in the future. Normally, a fi’lu al-mudaari’u may and may not take the meaning of the future. So, the indication of futurity in a fi’lu al-mudaari’u is vague and depends only on the context. Therefore, if someone wishes to explicitly indicate the happening of an action in the future, there are two prefixes used.

If the action is happening in the near future, a prefix of ‘sa-’ is added to the fi’lu al-mudaari’u to mean ‘will’. If the action is happening in the future not so near, a prefix of ‘sawfa-’ is added to the fi’lu al-mudaari’u to mean ‘will’.

In the example above, ‘Agsilu yadayya’ means ‘I wash my hands’, but if the action will be happening in the future it will become ‘Sa-agsilu yadayya’ (‘I will wash my hands’) or ‘Sawfa-agsilu yadayya’ (‘I will wash my hands’).

 

Vocabulary from the examples:

 Agsilu = I wash.

Yadayya = My hands.

Albasu = I wear.

Thiyaabee = My clothes. [Thawb = cloth, Thiyaab = clothes, and the ‘-ee’ ending is for the speaker]

Nal’abu = We play.

Bi= With

Kurah = Ball.

Namshee = I walk.

Fee = In, inside, or within.

Huqool = Fields [ Singular=> Haql]

Yanbahu = He/it barks.

Kalb = Dog.

Yantabihu = He/it becomes alert.

Haaris = Guard.

Ta’kulu = She eats.

Bint = Girl.

Tazbulu = It withers.

 

[Remember: The prefix ‘al-’ on some of the nouns in the examples is only used to indicate definiteness and it is not part of the noun. E.g Kurah = A ball, and Al-kurah = The ball.]

 

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