The passive voice is widely used in Arabic without the negative associations regarding style that the passive voice has in English. American students are often uncomfortable with the passive voice when reading Arabic texts because the unvoweled passive conjugations often look exactly like active voice conjugations. Since many students often are horrified at the thought of reading for meaning and recognizing words in context, and since they are usually very weak in grammar, sentences in the passive often are totally misunderstood.

Below are the passive voice conjugations for the verb يَفْحَصُ , فَحَصَ (“to examine”) in the past tense.

Plural		Dual		Singular
فُحِصْنا	نَحْنَ	فُحِصْتتُما	أنتُما	فُحِصْتُ	أنا
فُحِصْتُمْ	أنتُم	فُحِصا	هما (M)	فُحِصْتَ	أنتَ
فُحِصْتُنَّ	أنتُنَّ	فُحِصَتا	هما (F)	فُحِصْتِ	أنتِ
فُحِصوا	هم			فُحِصَ	هو
فُحِصْنَ	هنَّ			فُحِصَتْ	هي

 

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Passive Conjugations

Passive conjugations are differentiated from active conjugations by internal vowel changes. You can see from the conjugations above that the vowel on the first consonant is always a dhamma and that the stem vowel is always a kasra. These are the only differences. The suffixes are exactly the same as for the active voice. If you write out these passive conjugations without the short vowels, they will look just like active conjugations. Therefore context is what will tell you what is going on.

Now we will see how the passive is used and what it means. Let’s use “I studied the book” as a model sentence. This sentence is in the active voice. It is also a very boring sentence. Anyway, if we wish to convert this sentence to the passive voice in English we would say, “This book was studied by me.” (This is a gross barbarism in English, but such sentences do occur.) Now let’s look at the Arabic versions of these sentences.

1. I studied the book.	١. دَرَسْتُ الكتابَ
2. The book was studied.	٢.  دُرِسَ الكتابُ

 Look at the second Arabic sentence. The direct object of the first sentence is now the subject of the second sentence (just like English). Thus the verb is conjugated for the third person masculine singular in order to agree with the subject. The verb, of course, is conjugated in the passive voice. Notice that the Arabic sentence does not have the equivalent of “by me” included. This is because in Arabic the doer of the action is supposed to go unmentioned. In fact, the Arabic word for the passive is المَجْهول “the unknown,” in reference to the fact that the passive is used so the doer of the action will remain unknown. Here is another example.

1. The student (f) studied this book.	١. دَرَسَت الطالبةُ هذا الكتاب.
2. This book was studied	٢.  دُرِسَ هذا الكتابُ.

 See that the subject in the first sentence is removed and that the object of the first sentence becomes the subject in the next sentence. This is really not different from English. The only real difference is that in English we can mention who did the action in the passive, whereas in Arabic we cannot.

Question: How would you say in Arabic: “These books were studied”? Think of the answer and then look below.

 دُرِسَتْ هذه الكتبُ

 I hope you got this right. The subject of the sentence is a non-human plural, so the verb must be feminine singular and the demonstrative must also be feminine singular.

So far, you have only seen a sound From I verb conjugated in the past tense in the passive voice. Now I will show you the conjugations for a Sound Form II verb and a sound Form III verbfor the passive and in the past tense. Then I will give you the present tense conjugations for sound verbs Forms I-III. Then we will examine the hollows, defectives, etc. It seems like a lot at first, but you will see that the passive conjugations are actually simpler than the active ones.

Below are the passive past tense conjugations for the Form II verb دَرَّسَ Note that the voweling pattern is exactly the same as for Form I.

Plural		Dual		Singular
دُرِّسْنا	نَحْنَ	دُرِّسْتُما	أنتُما	دُرِّسْتُ	أنا
دُرِّسْتُمْ	أنتُم	دُرِّسا	هما (M)	دُرِّسْتَ	أنتَ
دُرِّسْتُنَّ	أنتُنَّ	دُرِّسَتا	هما (F)	دُرِّسْتِ	أنتِ
دُرِّسوا	هم			دُرِّسَ	هو
دُرِّسْنَ	هنَّ			دُرِّسَتْ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since the voweling pattern is the same for Forms I and II, these two forms will look alike when unvoweled in the passive. In fact, these verbs in the passive will look just the same as when written in the active. Thus, درس could represent دُرِسَ , دَرَّسَ , دَرَسَ or دُرِّسَ In fact, درس could also represent other things as well, such as دَرْس “lesson” or the command دَرِّسْ “teach.” Thus, you must be aware of the context.

Now let’s look at a Form III verb in the passive for the past tense.

Plural		Dual		Singular
شُوهِدْنا	نَحْنَ	شُوهِدْتُما	أنتُما	شُوهِدْتُ	أنا
شُوهِدْتُمْ	أنتُم	شُوهِدا	هما (M)	شُوهِدْتَ	أنتَ
شُوهِدْتُنَّ	أنتُنَّ	شُوهِدَتا	هما (F)	شُوهِدْتِ	أنتِ
شُوهِدوا	هم			شُوهِدَ	هو
شُوهِدْنَ	هنَّ			شُوهِدَتْ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Form III the alif is converted to a waaw which is the long counterpart of the dhamma, as you know. The stem vowel, as always, is a kasra. Since the waaw does stand out, you should have no trouble identifying a Form III verb in the passive voice when it is in the past tense.

Now we come to the present tense for the passive voice. First we will take the Form I verb, فَحَصَيَفْحَصُ

Plural		Dual		Singular
نُفْحَصُ	نَحْنَ	تُفْحَصانِ	أنتُما	أُفْحَصُ	أنا
تُفْحَصونَ	أنتُم	يُفْحَصانِ	هما (M)	تُفْحَصُ	أنتَ
تُفْحَصْنَ	أنتُنَّ	تُفْحَصانِ	هما (F)	تُفْحَصينَ	أنتِ
يُفْحَصونَ	هم			يُفْحَصُ	هو
يُفْحَصْنَ	هنَّ			تُفْحَصُ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the present tense, the vowel on the prefix is always a dhamma (for all ten forms). The stem vowel is always a fatha (also for all ten forms). The suffixes are the same as for the active voice. Note that it is the internal voweling which indicates the voice. Thus, unvoweled, the active and passive present look exactly the same.

Form II verbs will be done exactly as Form I, as will Form III verbs. Here are the passive conjugations for Forms II and III in the present tense.

Plural		Dual		Singular
نُدَرَّسُ	نَحْنَ	تُدَرَّسانِ	أنتُما	أُدَرَّسُ	أنا
تُدَرَّسونَ	أنتُم	يُدَرَّسانِ	هما (M)	تُدَرَّسُ	أنتَ
تُدَرَّسْنَ	أنتُنَّ	تُدَرَّسانِ	هما (F)	تُدَرَّسينَ	أنتِ
يُدَرَّسونَ	هم			يُدَرَّسُ	هو
يُدَرَّسْنَ	هنَّ			تُدَرَّسُ	هي

 

 

Plural		Dual		Singular
نُشاهَدُ	نَحْنَ	تُشاهَدانِ	أنتُما	أُشاهَدُ	أنا
تُشاهَدونَ	أنتُم	يُشاهَدانِ	هما (M)	تُشاهَدُ	أنتَ
تُشاهَدْنَ	أنتُنَّ	تُشاهَدانِ	هما (F)	تُشاهَدينَ	أنتِ
يُشاهَدونَ	هم			يُشاهَدُ	هو
يُشاهَدْنَ	هنَّ			تُشاهَدُ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see that the Form II pattern is just like the Form I pattern in that you begin with a dhamma and the stem vowel is a fatha. Note that the vowel over the first radical is also a fatha. This is because, in the present tense passive, all vowels after the dhamma on the prefix are always fatha until you get to the suffix. You will see more examples of this when we deal with other forms of the verb. Just remember that in the passive voice for the present tense, the prefix will always be a dhamma and all vowels after that (including the stem vowel) will always be a fatha until you get to the suffix at the end.

Since Form II verbs have a dhamma on the prefix in both the active and passive voices, and since they all have a fatha on the first radical of the verb in both voices, it is only the stem vowel that tells you which voice is being used. Obviously, in writing, the active and passive will look alike when unvoweled. When listening you will have to focus on the stem vowel.

In Form III we have the same situation as in Form II. It is only the stem vowel which gives you the voice since the dhamma is used in the prefixes in both voices. Again, when written, the active and passive present tense will look the same when unvoweled.

Plural		Dual		Singular
زِرْنا	نَحْنَ	زِرْتُما	أنتُما	زِرْتُ	أنا
زِرْتُمْ	أنتُم	زيرا	هما (M)	زِرْتَ	أنتَ
زِرْتُنَّ	أنتُنَّ	زيرَتا	هما (F)	زِرْتِ	أنتِ
زيروا	هم			زيرَ	هو
زِرْنَ	هنَّ			زيرَتْ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because the stem vowel for the passive in the past tense is always a kasra, the middle radical of a Form I hollow verb must either appear as a kasra or a ي , the long counterpart of the kasra. The rules for when shorten the ي to a kasra are the same as the rules for shortening the middle radical in the active  voice past tense. Exactly the same. Note that زيرَ is clearly in the passive voice, since the ي will not  appear in the active past tense for a Form I hollow verb. However, زِرْتُ, when unvoweled, will look just like the active.

NOTE THAT ALL FORM I HOLLOW VERBS WILL CONJUGATE JUST LIKE THE VERB ABOVE IN THE PASSIVE FOR THE PAST TENSE.

Moving right along to the present tense, the passive conjugation of يَزورُ is يُزارُ . Thus, just as for a sound verb, the prefix vowel is a dhamma. The stem vowel will be either an alif, or its short counterpart, the fatha, which is the passive stem vowel for all sound verbs. Here is the complete conjugation.

Plural		Dual		Singular
نُزارُ	نَحْنَ	تُزارانِ	أنتُما	أُزارُ	أنا
تُزارونَ	أنتُم	يُزارانِ	هما (M)	تُزارُ	أنتَ
تُزرْنَ	أنتُنَّ	تُزارانِ	هما (F)	تُزارينَ	أنتِ
يُزارونَ	هم			يُزارُ	هو
يُزَرْنَ	هنَّ			تُزارُ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that the principle of shortening applies here just as it does in the active voice. Note also that: ALL FORM I HOLLOW VERBS FOR THE PRESENT TENSE IN THE PASSIVE VOICE WILL CONJUGATE EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS THE VERB IN THE CHART ABOVE.

Form II hollow verbs are completely regular in both tenses and will conjugate just as دَرَّسَ does. For example,زَوَّرَ is  زُوِّرَ in the past tense passive and  يُزَوَّرُ in the present tense passive.

Form III hollow verbs are also completely regular in the passive, as they are in the active. قَاوَمَbecomes  قووِمَ in the past and يُقاوَمُ in the present. Personally, I like the two waaws you get in قووِمَ . I have always felt it is too bad that there is not a verb واوَوَ. In the passive for the past tense it would look like this وووو and would sound even more ridiculous than a network newscaster trying to pronoun such difficult Arabic names as بَشار .

Assimilated Verbs

Assimilated verbs in Form I are perfectly regular in the past tense passive. Thus وَصَفَ becomesوُصِفَ

Furthermore, in the present tense these Form I verbs are also regular, unlike their condition in the present active voice. Remember that in the present active voice, these verbs lose the و. Thusوَصَفَ becomes يَصِفُ. But in the passive the و remains, giving يُوصَفُ So if you see the و and you know that the verb is From I, you know that you have the passive. On the next page you will find the present tense passive conjugations for يَصِفُ , وَصَفَ

Plural		Dual		Singular
نوصَفُ	نَحْنَ	توصَفانِ	أنتُما	أُوصَفُ	أنا
توصَفونَ	أنتُم	يوصَفانِ	هما (M)	توصَفُ	أنتَ
تُوصَفْنَ	أنتُنَّ	توصَفانِ	هما (F)	توصَفينَ	أنتِ
يوصَفونَ	هم			يوصَفُ	هو
يوصَفْنَ	هنَّ			توصَفُ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assimilated verbs in Forms II and III are completely regular in both tenses in the passive just as they are in the active. The Form II  وَقَّعَ is وُقِّعَ  in the past passive and  يُوَقَّعُ in the present passive. Similarly, the Form III واصَلَ is ووصِلَ (there are those two waaws again) in the past passive and  يُواصَلُ in the present passive.

 Doubled Verbs

Form I doubled verbs work the same way in the passive as they do in the active voice when it comes to breaking up the doubled consonant of the root. As I am totally certain you recall, عَدَّ for example, when conjugated in the past tense, will have the two د’s separated whenever the suffix begins with a consonant. Thus “I counted” is عَدَدْتُ . In the passive “I was counted” you would have   عُدِدْتُ I hope this is transparent. Now, whenever the doubled consonant is not broken up, there is no kasra. Thus “he was counted” is عُدَّ Here the dhamma of the passive appears but there is no place to put the kasra.  Here is the complete passive past tense for عَدَّ.

Plural		Dual		Singular
عُدِدْنا	نَحْنَ	عُدِدْتُما	أنتُما	عُدِدْتُ	أنا
عُدِدْتُمْ	أنتُم	عُدَّا	هما (M)	عُدِدْتَ	أنتَ
عُدِدْتُنَّ	أنتُنَّ	عُدَّتا	هما (F)	عُدِدْتِ	أنتِ
عُدّوا	هم			عُدَّ	هو
عُدِدْنَ	هنَّ			عُدَّتْ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the present tense there is no problem at all. The passive of يَعُدُّ is يُعَدُّ. Here you see the dhamma on the prefix of the passive, as always. The stem vowel of the present tense active has been replaced by the fatha of the passive. Now, if the doubled consonant needs to be broken up, for the pronoun هن for example, you will see this: يُعْدَدْنَ. Here, the stem vowel in the passive is moved over to its position between the second and third radicals just as the stem vowel of the active would be.

Now without looking at the completed chart below, fill in the blank chart immediately underneath this paragraph with the passive present tense conjugations for يَعُدُّ , عَدَّ. Then check your work against the chart underneath it.

Plural		Dual		Singular
	نَحْنَ		أنتُما		أنا
	أنتُم		هما (M)		أنتَ
	أنتُنَّ		هما (F)		أنتِ
	هم				هو
	هنَّ				هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the completed chart.

Plural		Dual		Singular
نُعَدُّ	نَحْنَ	تُعَدّانِ	أنتُما	أُعَدُّ	أنا
تُعَدّونَ	أنتُم	يُعَدّانِ	هما (M)	تُعَدُّ	أنتَ
تُعَدَدْنَ	أنتُنَّ	تُعَدّانِ	هما (F)	تُعَدّينَ	أنتِ
يُعَدّونَ	هم			يُعَدُّ	هو
يُعَدَدْنَ	هنَّ			تُعَدُّ	هي

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you got most of the above conjugations right.

Form II doubled verbs are totally regular. Thus the passive of  حَدَّدَ is حُدِّدَ in the past tense and  يُحَدَّدُin the present tense.

Form III doubled verbs are extremely rare and are not taught in this book.