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18 The maṣdar

18.1 Introduction

Every verb has a set of verbal-nouns derived from it that, despite being nouns, have a verbal meaning to them. One of these verbal-nouns is the maṣdar, that we shall study in this chapter.

Consider the following form 1 verb:

Root	Past verb	Resembling verb (raised-state)	Maṣdar
ذهب	ذَهَبَ “he went”	يَذْهَبُ “he goes”	ذَهَاب “going”

The maṣdar associated with this verb is ذَهَاب d͡hahāb. It denotes “the action of going”, or simply “going”. In this section we shall learn how this and other verbal-nouns are used.

Before we proceed, we present a new method to present a verb and its meaning in this book. We will often give a new verb in the format:

ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go”

The past verb for the singular masculine absentee participant “he”, the corresponding resembling verb, and their maṣdar are given together, in sequence. The maṣdar is given in the propped-state, because of a usage that we shall learn in a later chapter, if Allāh wills. This is how verb definitions are traditionally found in Arabic dictionaries. And the English meaning is given using the dictionary definition, in this case, the phrase: “to go”.

18.2 Patterns of the maṣdar for form 1 verbs

The patterns of the maṣdar for form 1 verbs are very variable. It is best to learn the maṣdar when you learn a new verb. Having said that, there are some general trends which may be useful to keep in mind:

If the verb takes a direct doee, then the past verb must necessarily be of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala or فَعِلَ faɛila (because past verbs of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula never take a direct doee). In this case:
1. The maṣdar for many verbs, in general, tends to be فَعْل faɛl. Examples:
  - فَتَحَ يَفْتَحُ فَتْحًا “to open (هـ s.th.)”
  - أَخَذَ يَأْخُذُ أَخْذًا “to take (هـ s.th.)”
  - حَمِدَ يَحْمَدُ حَمْدًا “to praise (ه s.o.)”
If the verb does not take a direct doee, then:
1. If the past verb is of the pattern فَعِلَ faɛila, then:
  1. If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فَعَل faɛal. Examples:
    - تَعِبَ يَتْعَبُ تَعَبًا “to become tired”
    - جَزِعَ يَجْزَعُ جَزَعًا “to be impatient”
    - أَسِفَ يَأْسَفُ أَسَفًا “to be sorrowful”
  2. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes being a color, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فُعْلَة fuɛlah. Examples:
    - خَضِرَ يَخْضَرُ خُضْرَةً “to be green”
    - سَمِرَ يَسْمَرُ سُمْرَةً “to be brown”
  3. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some work or effort, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Example:
    - قَدِمَ يَقْدَمُ قُدُومًا “to arrive”
  4. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes some static quality, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah. Example:
    - يَبِسَ يَيْبَسُ يُبُوسَة “to be dry”
2. If the past verb is of the pattern فَعَلَ faɛala, then:
  1. If the meaning of the verb does not fall under the cases ii., iii., and iv. (below), then the maṣdar tends to be, in general, of the pattern فُعُول fuɛūl. Examples:
    - قَعَدَ يَقْعُدُ قُعُودًا “to sit, stay back”
    - سَجَدَ يَسْجُدُ سُجُودًا “to prostrate down”
    - خَضَعَ يَخْضَعُ خُضُوعًا “to be humble”
  2. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes an ailment, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فُعَال fuɛāl. Examples:
    - سَعَلَ يَسْعُلُ سُعَالً “to cough”
  3. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes travelling, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl. Examples:
    - رَحَلَ يَرْحَلُ رَحِيلًا “to depart”
  4. If, instead, the meaning of the verb denotes a sound, then the maṣdar is usually of the pattern فَعِيل faɛīl or فُعَال fuɛāl, or both. Examples:
    - صَرَخَ يَصْرُخُ صَرِيخًا وَصُرَاخًا “to scream”
If the verb denotes a craft or a profession or a rank, then the maṣdar is often of the pattern فِعَالَة fiɛālah. Examples:
- تَجَرَ يَتْجُرُ تِجَارَةً “to trade”
- أَمِرَ يَأْمَرُ إِمَارَةً “to be a commander”
If the past verb is of the pattern فَعُلَ faɛula, then the maṣdar tends to be of the pattern فُعُولَة fuɛūlah or فَعَالَة faɛālah. Examples:
- صَعُبَ يَصْعُبُ صُعُوبَةً “to be difficult”
- شَجُعَ يَشْجُعُ شَجَاعَةً “to be brave”

As mentioned earlier, these are only general trends and there are many verbs that have maṣdars which don’t fall under the above rules.

18.3 Usage of the maṣdar

18.3.1 State and definiteness

The maṣdar has properties of a noun, like state and definiteness. But it gives the meaning of a verb. For example, consider the verb أَكَلَ يَأْكُلُ أَكْلًا “to eat”. We can use its maṣdar in a sentence like this:

فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنَ ٱلْأَكْلِ.
farag͡ha zaydun mina -lʾakli.
“Zayd got done with eating.”

Note how the maṣdar ٱلْأَكْلِ ʾalʾakli gives the meaning of the action of the verb “eating”. But since it is a noun, it obeys the rules for nouns, like being in the lowered-state when preceded by the preposition مِنْ min.

Another point worth noting is that we have made it definite by saying ٱَلْأَكْلِ ʾalʾakli instead of saying أَكْلٍ ʾaklin for the meaning of “eating”. This is because, as we explained in section @ref(usage-of-definite-and-indefinite-nouns), the definite noun is usually used in Arabic to give a general meaning, where in English we would not use “the”. This may be a good time to re-read that section.

Having said that, the indefnite maṣdar may be used too, and this will give the meaning of “a certain”, or “a specific”. For example, with the verb عَمِلَ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلًا “to work”, we can say:

فَرَغَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ صَعْبٍ.
farag͡ha min ɛamalin ṣaɛbin.
“He got done with a [certain] difficult work.”

18.3.2 With a doer

A doer may be used with the maṣdar to show who is doing the action. In this case, the maṣdar and the doer are usually placed in an annexation. The maṣdar shall be the annexe noun and the doer shall be in the lowered-state as the base noun in the annexation. For example, consider the verb قَرَأَ يَقْرَأُ قِرَاءَةً “to read”. We can say:

سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَةَ زَيْدٍ.
samiɛtu qirāʾata zaydin.
“I heard Zayd’s reading.”

The doer may similarly be a pronoun, in which case, as usual, attached pronouns are used. So we can say:

سَمِعْتُ قِرَاءَتَهُ.
samiɛtu qirāʾatahu.
“I heard his reading.”

18.3.3 With an indirect doee

If a verb uses a particular preposition with indirect doees, and the maṣdar of that verb is to be used with an indirect doee, then that same preposition is used with the maṣdar.

For example the verb ذَهَبَ يَذْهَبُ ذَهَابًا “to go” is used with the preposition إِلَىٰ ʾilā “to” with an indirect doee to give the place to which the doer is going. This same preposition is then used with the maṣdar, thus:

تَعِبْتُ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَابِ إِلَىٰ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ ٱلْبَعِيدَةِ.
taɛibtu mina -d͡hd͡hahābi ʾila -lmadīnati -lbaɛīdati.
“I became tired from going to the far city.”

If a doer is used along with the indirect doee, then the doer shall be placed in a noun chain with the doer participle, as explained in the previous section. For example,

حَزِنْتُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ زَيْدٌ إِلَىٰ مَدِينَةٍ بَعِيدَةٍ.
ḥazintu min d͡hahābi zaydin ʾilā madīnatin baɛīdatin.
“I became sad from Zayd’s going to a far city.”

18.3.4 With a direct doee

If a verb takes a direct doee, and we wish to use the direct doee with the verb’s maṣdar, then we may deal with it in one of three ways:

18.3.4.1 The direct doee in the lowered-state in an annexation with the maṣdar

In the first method, the direct doee is in the lowered-state as the base noun in an annexation with the maṣdar. This method is used when the doer of the verbal noun is not mentioned with the maṣdar, or when there is no other phrase between the maṣdar and the direct doee. For example,

فَرَغَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْكِتَابِ.
farag͡ha zaydun min qirāʾati -lkitābi.
“Zayd got done with reading the book.”

In this sentence, ٱَلْكِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is the direct doee of the maṣdar قِرَاءَةِ qirāʾati “reading”. The doer زَيْدٌ zayd “Zayd” is only mentioned in the beginning of the sentence but not again with the maṣdar. Therefore, the direct doee ٱَلْكِتَابِ ʾalkitābi “the book” is allowed to be put in an annexation with the maṣdar thus: قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْكِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”.

Instead of a noun, the direct doee may be a pronoun instead. For example,

قَرَأ زَيْدٌ ٱلْكِتَابَ فَفَرَغَ مِنْ قِرَاءَتِهِ.
qaraʾa zayduni -lkitāba fafarag͡ha min qirāʾatihi
“Zayd read the book, and then he got done with reading it.”

Remember from the previous section, that a doer is handled in the same way with a maṣdar by placing it in an annexation with the maṣdar. So how do we know whether the base noun in an annexation with a maṣdar is a doer or a doee? Well, for many verbs the meaning of the verbal-noun and the noun is sufficient. For example, in the phrase قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْكِتَابِ qirāʾati -lkitābi “reading the book”, the meaning of “reading” makes it clear that ٱَلْكِتَابِ ʾalkitābi can only be a doee, because a book can’t be the one doing the reading.

But there are some verbs, however, where the meaning of the verbal-noun itself is not sufficient to tell us whether the noun following it in an annexation is a doer or a doee. Consider the verb ضَرَبَ يَضْرِبُ ضَرْبًا “to beat (ه s.o.)”. If we form an annexation using its maṣdar, thus: ضَرْبُ زَيْدٍ ḍarbu zaydin, we cannot know whether Zayd is the doer (the one doing the beating), or the doee (the one getting beaten). In this case, we will need more context to help us determine whether Zayd is the doer or the doee. Here are a few sentences that may help illustrate this point:

ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو.
ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbi ɛamrin.
“Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of beating Ɛamr.”

We can see that the meaning of the sentences help us determine that in the phrase ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ ḍarba zaydin, Zayd is the doer, and in ضَرْبِ عَمْرٍو ḍarbi ɛamrin, Ɛamr is the doee.

18.3.4.2 The direct doee in propped-state following the maṣdar

The second way to deal with a direct doee and a maṣdar is to put it in the propped-state after the maṣdar. This is usually done when the doer is mentioned with the maṣdar in an annexation with it. The direct doee is then placed after the doer in the propped-state. For example, we can re-word the previous example:

ضَرَبَ زَيْدٌ عَمْرًا. سَمِعَ ٱلْأَبُ ضَرْبَ زَيْدٍ عَمْرًا فَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ. فَنَدِمَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا.
ḍaraba zaydun ɛamran. samiɛa -lʾabu ḍarba zaydin ɛamran fag͡haḍiba ɛalayhi. fa nadima zaydun min ḍarbihi ɛamran.
“Zayd beat Ɛamr. The father heard Zayd’s beating Ɛamr so he became angry with him. So, Zayd became remorseful of his beating Ɛamr.”

Notice that in ضَرْبِهِ عَمْرًا ḍarbihi ɛamran “his beating Ɛamr”, the doer is a pronoun instead of a noun. This is permissible, and is in line with other usages we have learned so far.

The doee noun in the propped-state, too, may be replaced with a pronoun, but just like when the attached doee pronoun is separated from its verb it has to instead be attached to the prefix إِيَّا ʾiyyā, here too this prefix is used. For example,

أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ.
ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu.
“Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.”

This usage of putting the direct doee in the propped-state after the maṣdar is not only done when the doer is mentioned with the maṣdar. But it is also done when the direct doee is separated from the maṣdar by some other words, like a prepositional phrase. For example,

فَرَغْتُ مِنَ ٱلْقِرَاءَةِ فِي ٱلْمَكْتَبَةِ كِتَابًا.
farag͡htu mina -lqirāʾati fi -lmaktabati kitāban.
“I got done with reading, in the library, a book.”

The prepositional phrase فِي ٱلْمَكْتَبَةِ fi -lmaktabati in the above example is placed between the maṣdar and the doee for effect. It could, of course, also have been placed after the doee, in a more normal fashion. In this case, it would be preferred for the maṣdar and the doee to be placed in an annexation, in the manner we have already learned.

فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ كِتَابٍ فِي ٱلْمَكْتَبَةِ .
farag͡htu min qirāʾati kitābin fi -lmaktabati.
“I got done with reading a book in the library.”

18.3.4.3 The direct doee in lowered-state preceded by the preposition لِ li

The third way to deal with a direct doee and a maṣdar is to put it in the lowered-state preceded by the preposition لِ li. This is usually done in one of the following scenarios:

When the maṣdar is indefinite and immediately precedes the direct doee. Example:

فَرَغْتُ مِنْ قِرَاءَةٍ لِلْكُتُبِ.
farag͡htu min qirāʾatin lilkutubi.
“I got done with a reading of the books.”

This sentence can be used to indicate one particular instance of reading the books. As opposed to saying قِرَاءَةِ ٱلْكُتُبِ qirāʾati -lkutubi which would indicate that the reading was general or complete.
When the doer comes between the maṣdar and the doee. Example,

أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ لَهُ.
ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin lahu.
“Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.”

This is as an optional alternative to putting the doee in the propped-state, in the manner we have already learned in the previous section:

أَلِمَ عَمْرٌو مِنْ ضَرْبِ زَيْدٍ إِيَّاهُ.
ʾalima ɛamrun min ḍarbi zaydin ʾiyyāhu.
“Ɛamr was in pain from Zayd’s beating him.”

18.4 Multiple maṣdars for the same verb

It is possible, and fairly common, for verbs to have more than one maṣdar. Usually, each of the maṣdars has its own meaning, distinct from each other.

For example, the verb حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلًا means “to carry (هـ s.th.)” Here is an example of its maṣdar in a sentence:

تَعِبَ زَيْدٌ مِنْ حَمْلِهِ لِلْكُتُبِ ٱلثَّقِيلَةِ.
taɛiba zaydun min ḥamlihi lilkutubi -t͡ht͡haqīlati.
“Zayd became tired from his carrying the heavy books.”

There exists another meaning for this verb with its own maṣdar: حَمَلَ يَحْمِلُ حَمْلَةً which means “to launch an attack (عَلَىٰ on s.o.)” Here is an example of its maṣdar in a sentence:

دَهِشَ ٱلْقَوْمُ مِنْ حَمْلَةِ ٱلْعَدُوِّ عَلَيْهِمْ.
dahis͡ha -lqawmu min ḥamlati -lɛaduwwi ɛalayhim.
“The people were astonished at the attack launched by the enemy on them.”

Sometimes the meaning between the multiple maṣdars is only slight. Consider, for example, the verb جَهِلَ يَجْهَلُ “to not know, or to be ignorant (هـ of s.th.)”

It has two maṣdars: جَهْلٌ jahl and جَهَالَة jahālah which have meanings that are close to each other.

جَهْلٌ jahl is the more simple maṣdar used for not knowing something. For example,

مَا فَعَلَ زَيْدٌ ٱلْوَاجِبَ لِجَهْلِهِ إِيَّاهُ.
mā faɛala zayduni -lwājiba lijahlihi ʾiyyāhu.
“Zayd did not do the obligatory [work] because of his not knowing it.”

جَهَالَة jahālah has the more abstract meaning of “ignorance”. For example,

نَفَرَ ٱلْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ جَهَالَةِ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ.
nafara -lmuslimu min jahālati -lmus͡hrikīna.
“The Muslim was repulsed by the ignorance of the pagans.”

As a general rule of thumb, the fewer letters in a maṣdar, the simpler its meaning. And maṣdars of the pattern فَعَالَة faɛālah tend to have an abstract meaning.

18.5 Maṣdars re-used as common nouns

There are many maṣdars, that in addition to their verbal meaning, are also re-used as common nouns. Their common noun meaning is typically associated, in some manner, with their verbal meaning.

For example, the verb سَأَلَ يَسْأَلُ سُؤَالًا means “to question or ask (ه عن s.o. about s.th.)”. The maṣdar سُؤَالٌ suʾālun can be used with its verbal meaning: “questioning”. For example,

سَئِمَ ٱلْأَبُ مِنْ كَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِ ٱبْنِهِ إِيَّاهُ.
saʾima -lʾabu min kat͡hrati suʾāli -bnihi ʾiyyāhu.
“The father became weary from the excessiveness of his son’s questioning him.”

سُؤَالٌ suʾālun, in addition to being a maṣdar “questioning” is re-used as a common noun with the meaning “a question” and the broken plural أَسْئِلَة ʾasʾilah “questions”. So, for example, we can say:

كَتَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ سُؤَالًا عَلَى ٱلسَّبُّورَةِ.
kataba -lʾustād͡hu suʾālan ɛala -ssabbūrati.
“The professor wrote a question on the board.”

18.6 Common nouns re-used as maṣdars

Just as some maṣdars are re-used as common nouns, there are some common nouns that may be re-used as maṣdars. For example, the verb فَعَلَ يَفْعَلُ “to do (هـ an action)” has the maṣdar فَعْلٌ faɛlun.

There is an associated common noun from this root: فِعْلٌ fiɛlun “an act”. This common noun is frequently used in place of the maṣdar فَعْلٌ faɛlun. For example:

طَلَبَ ٱلْأُسْتَاذُ مِنَ ٱلتَّلَامِيذِ فِعْلَ ٱلْوَاجِبِ.
ṭalaba -lʾustād͡hu mina -ttalāmīd͡ha fiɛla -lwājibi.
“The professor wanted from his students the doing of the obligatory [work].”

18.7 TODO

Add multiple doees with masdar