Arabic Verb Forms

The Arabic verb forms are by far my favorite part of the language by a wide stretch.

Each form has its own separate meaning which modifies the root letters inside of it.

If you understand them they grant you this sort of logical ability to modify familiar verbs, change their meaning and even gain a rough understanding of words you have never even heard before.

You can then use these verbs to derive related nouns and adjectives and extend your vocabulary into this kind of interconnected web of relations.

If you get really good then it is even possible to create humorous corruptions of the language which logically make sense but don’t actually exist as words.

In this article I’ll go through the first ten forms (it is rare to encounter the forms above ten), and explain how they affect the meaning of the words they are applied to.

Form I

فَعلَ - يَفعل - الفَعل

This one is straightforward.

A verb for doing stuff.

The second root letter can have any haraka on it in the past and present tense, hence why it is left unvowelled in the example.

Form II

فَعَّلَ - يُفَعِّل - التفعيل