Lesson 3c:
Division of The Verb with Regard to Its Time
(3)
The Verb of Command (Fi’lu al-Amri)
Al-qaa’idah:
(6) Fi’lu al-amri: Huwa kullu fi’lin yutlabu
bihi husoolu shay’in fee al-zamani al-mustaqbali.
The
Rule:
(6) Fi’lu
al-amri: It is any verb/action with which the occurrence of something
in the future is requested/sought.
Al-amthilah:
The examples:
1.
Play with the ball.
2.
Feed your cat.
3.
Clean your clothes.
4.
Sleep early.
5.
Take easy when travelling/ Be careful when travelling.
6.
Chew food well.
Explanation:
The
‘verb of command’ (fi’lu al-amr) has no direct equivalent tense in the English
language. So its formation and rulings may be entirely new to English speakers,
but it is easier than uttering the word ‘Jack’. How easy it is!
The fi’lu al-amr
is a type of Arabic verb that is used for giving commands or extending requests
for actions to be done in the future, and hence the name fi’lu al-amr (verb of command). It has no equivalent verb type in
the English language, but the good news is that it is easier to form and use. Let’s
look at one of the examples first.
The first example, ‘Il’ab bi al-kurrati’
(‘Play with the ball!), indicates a command to a second person or listener. As
you will observe, this type of a verb is not signifying an action in the past
or the present, rather it is commanding/requesting the person to perform an
action (i.e. playing) in the future. The default format of the command verb is
for a singular male.
But what if the commanded person is a singular
female, dual (two) male or female, plural males, plural females? Well, nothing
is easier than this!
- For singular female, add a yaa’ (-iy) to the end of the default
command verb.
=> Il’abiy bi al-kurrati
(Play with the ball!), and the command will be understood to be for a singular
female.
- For dual (male and female) add an alif (-aa) to the end of the
default command verb.
=> Il’abaa bi al-kurrati
(Play with the ball!), and the command will be understood to be for a dual male
or female.
- For plural males, add a waaw
and a silent alif
(-oo) to the end of the default
command verb.
=> Il’aboo bi al-kurrati
(Play with the ball!), and the command will be understood to be for plural males.
- For plural females, add a noon
with a fathah
(-na) to the end of the
default command verb.
=>
Il’abna bi al-kurrati (Play with the ball!), and the command will be understood to be for plural
females.
How to form
a command verb (fi’lu al-amr) in Arabic
For regular Arabic verbs, the command verb is
derived from the fi’lu al-mudaari’u
through the following steps:
- Remove the mudaari’ah
letter (al-hamzah,
an-noonu, al-yaa’u, or at-taa’u) and
replace it with an alif.
- Add a
dammah to the alif if the middle letter of the fi’lu al-mudaari’u has a dammah vowel
on top of it.
- Add a
kasrah on the alif If the middle letter has a fathah
or a kasrah vowel on top of it.
- Replace
the vowel on the last letter with a sukoon.
Let's take the verb of command in the first example (i.e. Il'ab) to how it is formed:
Note 1: These
procedures only apply to regular Arabic verbs with no defective letter (al-alif,
al-yaa’u, or al-waawu) in them. The verbs of
command for irregular Arabic verbs will be tackled in later lessons.
Note 2: The
verbs of command are only used to give commands or extend requests to second
persons.
Vocabulary from
the examples:
Il’ab = Play!
Bi = With.
Kurah = Ball.
At’im = Feed!
Qittah = Cat.
Nazzif = Clean!
Thiyaabaka = Your clothes [Thawb =
cloth, thiyaab = clothes and the ‘-ka’ is for the
second person singular male (you). The original word is thiyaabuka=your
clothes, but it becomes thiyaabaka for being the object of the
verb].
Nam = Sleep!
Mubakkir = Early.
Tamahhal = Take it easy! (or be gentle!)
Fee = In.
Sayr = Travelling.
Ajid = Do well! (or do earnestly!)
Madga = Chewing.
Ta’aam = Food.
[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.]
Any
question, comment, observation, correction, or suggestion? Don’t hesitate to
say it out! Use the contact page, or email us at Arabicbeginners2020@gmail.com
I
ask Allah to guide us and make it easy for all of us in our quest for
knowledge and other affairs. Aameen!
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